This Week in Tech (Audio)

What happens when AI bots get their own social network, Silicon Valley execs cozy up to power, and Apple takes a cut from creators? This week's panel calls out the bold, bizarre, and often problematic ways tech's biggest players are reshaping everything from AI assistants to your everyday privacy. There's a social network for AI agents, and it's getting weird Moltbook is the most interesting place on the internet right now Exposed Moltbook Database Let Anyone Take Control of Any AI Agent on the Site Pentagon clashes with Anthropic over military AI use, sources say Salesforce signs $5.6B deal to inject agentic AI into the US Army Angry Norfolk residents lose lawsuit to stop Flock license plate scanners SpaceX wants to put 1 million solar-powered data centers into orbit Elon Musk reportedly wants a June SpaceX IPO to align with his birthday, the planets Tesla hits a grim milestone: its second straight year of decline Tesla says production-ready Optimus robot is coming soon Microsoft reports strong cloud earnings in Q2 as gaming declines What We Learned From Meta, Microsoft and Tesla Apple tells Patreon to move creators to in-app purchase for subscriptions by November Apple CEO Tim Cook 'heartbroken' after repeated ICE killings in Minneapolis A rival smart glasses company is suing Meta over its Ray-Ban products TikTok, YouTube, and Meta are headed to court for a landmark trial over social media addiction The 'Social Media Addiction' Narrative May Be More Harmful Than Social Media Itself TikTok users freak out over app's 'immigration status' collection — here's what it means A Waymo hit a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica Autonomous cars, drones cheerfully obey prompt injection by road sign Samsung's TriFold phone will cost $2,899 in the US Groundhogs are bad at predicting weather, but they're valuable animal engineers\ Satellites encased in wood are in the works Belkin reminds users that its Wemo smart home products are shutting down this week Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Gary Rivlin, Devindra Hardawar, and Victoria Song Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: monarch.com with code TWIT Melissa.com/twit helixsleep.com/twit canary.tools/twit - use code: TWIT expressvpn.com/twit

Microsoft quietly hands over BitLocker keys to the government, TikTok's new privacy terms spark a user panic, and Europe's secret tech backups reveal anxious prep for digital fallout. Plus, how gambling platforms are changing the future of news and sports. You can bet on how much snow will fall in New York City this weekend Europe Prepares for a Nightmare Scenario: The U.S. Blocking Access to Tech China, US sign off on TikTok US spinoff TikTok users freak out over app's 'immigration status' collection -- here's what it means Elon Musk's Grok A.I. Chatbot Made Millions of Sexualized Images, New Estimates Show Microsoft Gave FBI Keys To Unlock Encrypted Data, Exposing Major Privacy Flaw - Forbes House of Lords votes to ban social media for Brits under 16 Overrun with AI slop, cURL scraps bug bounties to ensure "intact mental health" Route leak incident on January 22, 2026 149 Million Usernames and Passwords Exposed by Unsecured Database Millions of people imperiled through sign-in links sent by SMS Anthropic revises Claude's 'Constitution,' and hints at chatbot consciousness The new Siri chatbot may run on Google servers, not Apple's A Wikipedia Group Made a Guide to Detect AI Writing. Now a Plug-In Uses It to 'Humanize' Chatbots GitHub - anthropics/original_performance_takehome: Anthropic's original performance take-home, now open for you to try! Telly's "free" ad-based TVs make notable revenue—when they're actually delivered - Ars Technica Toilet Maker Toto's Shares Get Unlikely Boost From AI Rush - Slashdot Dr. Gladys West, whose mathematical models inspired GPS, dies at 95 Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Alex Stamos, Doc Rock, and Patrick Beja Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: threatlocker.com/twit meter.com/twit redis.io expressvpn.com/twit shopify.com/twit

Claude isn't just the hottest name in AI right now—it's quietly ushering in a wave of ultra-personalized, vibe-coded software that could transform how we build and use tech in 2026. Find out why coders and normies alike are obsessed and what's coming next. Claude Cowork Exfiltrates Files Behind the Curtain: The AI future has arrived Our Algorithmic Grey-Beige World Musk wants up to $134B in OpenAI lawsuit, despite $700B fortune Elon Musk's Grok 'Undressing' Problem Isn't Fixed I asked Grok's AI to undress me after X's new limits. It's still easy on the app. Senate passes Defiance Act for a second time to address Grok deepfakes Instagram says it fixed the issue that sent password reset emails Instagram AI Influencers Are Defaming Celebrities With Sex Scandals French Court Orders Popular VPNs to Block More Pirate Sites, Despite Opposition Nearly 5 Million Accounts Removed Under Australia's New Social Media Ban TikTok has quietly launched a new micro drama app called PineDrama as the category picks up steam in the US Creator income inequality is rising as top influencers rake in big paydays from brands Managers on alert for "launch fever" as pressure builds for NASA's Moon mission Senate passes minibus bill funding NASA, rejecting Trump's proposed cuts Pentagon Device Linked To Havana Syndrome Zuck#: A programming language for connecting the world. And harvesting it Amazon is buying copper harvested by bacteria for its data centers 'Are You Dead?' is now the top paid App Store app in China Danish dev delights kid by turning floppy drive into easy TV remote Cinemark will fill almost anything with popcorn this weekend—but there's a catch Happy Birthday, Wikipedia: We need you now more than ever Pluralistic: The world needs an Ireland for disenshittification (17 Jan 2026) Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Harper Reed and Abrar Al-Heeti Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: ZipRecruiter.com/twit redis.io zscaler.com/security monarch.com with code TWIT

Is putting a camera in your toilet the future of health, or have tech companies lost the plot? This episode's panel digs into what's truly innovative versus what's just over the top, as industry leaders spar over privacy concerns and the real impact of AI in everyday devices. We tried to get humanoid robots to do the laundry Boston Dynamics unveils production-ready version of Atlas robot at CES 2026 Hair Drying Robot Jensen Huang Says Nvidia's New Vera Rubin Chips Are in 'Full Production' AMD's Ryzen AI 400 series includes the first Copilot+ desktop CPU — Team Red refreshes Zen 5 APUs and Strix Halo Meta's EMG wristband is moving beyond its AR glasses Lego's Smart Brick Gives the Iconic Analog Toy a New Digital Brain The Alexa Plus website is now available to everyone in early access Throne, from the co-founder of Whoop, uses computer vision to study your poop The Verge Awards at CES 2026 These are the smart home gadgets that impressed me at CES 2026 Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ, Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, and Jason Hiner Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: redis.io bitwarden.com/twit meter.com/twit joindeleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT NetSuite.com/TWIT

Happy New Year! NVIDIA just spent $20 billion to hollow out an AI company for its brains, while Meta and Google scramble to scoop up fresh talent before AI gets "too weird to manage." Who's winning, who's left behind, and what do these backroom deals mean for the future of artificial intelligence? Andrej Karpathy admits programmers cannot keep pace with AI advances Economic uncertainty in AI despite massive stock market influence Google, Anthropic, and Microsoft drive AI productization for business and consumers OpenAI, Claude, and Gemini battle for consumer AI dominance Journalism struggles to keep up with AI realities and misinformation tools Concerns mount over AI energy, water, and environmental impact narratives Meta buys Manus, expands AI agent ambitions with Llama model OpenAI posts high-stress "Head of Preparedness" job worth $555K+ Training breakthroughs: DeepSeek's mHC and comparisons to Action Park U.S. lawmakers push broad, controversial internet censorship bills Age verification and bans spark state laws, VPN workaround explosion U.S. drone ban labeled protectionist as industry faces tech shortages FCC security initiatives falter; Cyber Trust Mark program scrapped Waymo robotaxis stall in blackouts, raising AV urban planning issues School cellphone bans expose kids' struggle with analog clocks MetroCard era ends in NYC as tap-to-pay takes over subway access RAM, VRAM, and GPU prices soar as AI and gaming squeeze supply CES preview: Samsung QD-OLED TV, Sony AFEELA car, gadget show hype Remembering Stewart Cheifet and Computer Chronicles' legacy Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Dan Patterson and Joey de Villa Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: zscaler.com/security canary.tools/twit - use code: TWIT monarch.com with code TWIT Melissa.com/twit redis.io

AI video generation TWiT turns 20 Harper Reed on vibe-coding Job loss and AI Apple's iPhone 16 event Amy Webb's crazy husband talks about his anonymous computer Host: Leo Laporte Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsor: zscaler.com/security

After a year tangled in political drama, AI hype, and regulation battles, the TWiT crew explains how many of tech's "biggest stories" simply fizzled into nothing or left us with new headaches by year's end. Year-end tech trends: AI, politics, and security dominated 2025 Major stories faded fast: TikTok saga, political tech drama, DOGE scandal TikTok's ownership battle—Oracle, Trump donors, and US-China tensions China tech fears: banned drones, IoT vulnerabilities, secret radios in buses Rising political pressure for internet privacy and media literacy reform Surveillance and kill switch concerns in US grid and port infrastructure Convenience vs. privacy: Americans trade data for discounts and ease Age verification, surveillance, and flawed facial recognition across countries Discord's ID leak highlights risks of rushed compliance with privacy laws Social media's impact on kids pushes age-gating and verification laws ISPs monetize customer data, VPNs pitched for personal privacy Global government crackdowns: UK bans VPN advertising, mandates age checks The illusion of absolute privacy: flawed age gates and persistent tracking AI takes over: explosive growth, but profits elusive for big players Arms race in LLMs: DeepSeek's breakthrough, OpenAI/Meta talent bidding war Ad-driven models still rule; Amazon's playbook repeated in AI Humanoid robots and AGI hype: skepticism vs. Silicon Valley optimism AI-generated art, media, and the challenge of deepfake detection Social platforms falter: Instagram and X swamped by fake or low-value content Google's legal, regulatory, and technical woes: ad tech trial, Manifest V3 backlash RAM price spikes and hardware shortages blamed on AI data center demand YouTube overtakes mobile for podcast and video viewing, Oscars move online The internet's growth: Cloudflare stats, X vs. Reddit, spam domain trends Weird tech stories: hacked crosswalks, Nintendo Switch 2 Staplegate, LEGO theft ring Sad farewell: Lamar Wilson's passing and mental health awareness in tech Reflections on the year's turbulence and hopes for a better 2026 Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Mikah Sargent, Paris Martineau, and Steve Gibson Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: expressvpn.com/twit zscaler.com/security Melissa.com/twit ventionteams.com/twit auraframes.com/ink

Are we witnessing an AI-fueled gold rush or the early signs of an epic crash? Listen to these hard-hitting discussions on bubbles, breakthroughs, and the real impact behind Silicon Valley's AI obsession. Time Magazine's "Person of the Year": the Architects of AI The AI Wildfire Is Coming. It's Going to Be Very Painful and Incredibly Healthy. 'ChatGPT for Doctors' Startup Doubles Valuation to $12 Billion as Revenue Surges Trump Pretends To Block State AI Laws; Media Pretends That's Legal It's beginning to look a lot like (AI) Christmas Amazon Prime Video Pulls AI-Powered Recaps After Fallout Flub Could America win the AI race but lose the war? Google Says First AI Glasses With Gemini Will Arrive in 2026 Border Patrol Agent Recorded Raid with Meta's Ray-Ban Smart Glasses The countdown to the world's first social media ban for children US could demand five-year social media history from tourists before allowing entry Reddit making global changes to protect kids after social media ban - 9to5Mac There are no good outcomes for the Warner Bros. sale Paramount CEO Made Trump a Secret Promise on CNN in Warner Bros. Convo Whatnot's Schlock Empire Shows Digital Live Shopping Can Thrive in America The Military Almost Got the Right to Repair. Lawmakers Just Took It Away Apple loses its appeal of a scathing contempt ruling in iOS payments case Japan law opening phone app stores to go into effect Microsoft Excel Turns 40, Remains Stubbornly Unkillable - Slashdot Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 sweeps The Game Awards — analysis and full winners list Microsoft promises more bug payouts, with or without a bounty program An ex-Twitter lawyer is trying to bring Twitter back Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Iain Thomson, Owen Thomas, and Jason Hiner Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: shopify.com/twit NetSuite.com/TWIT ventionteams.com/twit zscaler.com/security helixsleep.com/twit

What happens if your internet provider gets the blame for what you download? This week, the panel unpacks a billion-dollar copyright battle at the Supreme Court that could upend how we all use the web. Justice Alito Makes The Most Sense, Or This Week At The Supreme Court In The Cox-Sony Copyright Case First Porn, Now Skin Cream? 'Age Verification' Bills Are Out of These new FDA-approved glasses promise to slow nearsightedness in kids. Here's how they work Amazon Tests U.S. Ultrafast Delivery Offering What the heck is going on at Apple? | CNN Business Meta's Zuckerberg Plans Deep Cuts for Metaverse Efforts Meta acquires AI device startup Limitless Instagram mandates total return to office for employees in 2026 Is Netflix Trying to Buy Warner Bros. or Kill It? - Slashdot School Cell Phone Bans and Student Achievement RoboCop statue rises in Detroit: 'Big, beautiful, bronze piece of art' People who talk with their hands seem clearer, more persuasive - Fast Company (a petition to cancel Twitter's trademark for abandonment) Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Amy Webb, Cathy Gellis, and Brian Woolf Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: miro.com expressvpn.com/twit bitwarden.com/twit ZipRecruiter.com/twit canary.tools/twit - use code: TWIT

Is Black Friday really booming, or are inflated prices and AI shopping assistants just muddying the waters? This episode rips into the data, exposes retailer tactics, and debates if smarter tech is actually making us better shoppers. Black Friday data shows online sales strong, store results mixed Silicon Valley's man in the White House is benefiting himself and his friends View: Trump's AI agenda sails toward an iceberg of bipartisan populist fury 'We do fail ... a lot': Defense startup Anduril hits setbacks with weapons tech Solar's growth in US almost enough to offset rising energy use Datacenters in space are a terrible, horrible, no good idea China leapfrogs US in global market for "open" AI models Danish authorities in rush to close security loophole in Chinese electric buses The Ford F-150 Lightning was supposed to transform the industry. Now, Ford may pull the plug Roblox is a problem — but it's a symptom of something worse Warner Music and Suno strike deal for AI music, giving artists control over their likeness Leak confirms OpenAI is preparing ads on ChatGPT for public roll out Jony Ive, Sam Altman: OpenAI plans elegantly simple device One tech tip: Modern cars are spying on you. Here's what you can do about it How a GM EV1 was sold for the first time GPU prices are coming to earth just as RAM costs shoot into the stratosphere Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Daniel Rubino, Sam Abuelsamid, and Mike Elgan Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: ventionteams.com/twit deel.com/twit zapier.com/twit Melissa.com/twit zscaler.com/security

A judge is racing to break up Google's advertising empire before they can appeal, while Microsoft's Copilot stumbles on camera. Australia's sweeping social bans, Roblox's selfie requirement, and flawed AI moderation spark sharp debate on what happens when online gatekeeping gets serious. Top MAGA Influencers Accidentally Unmasked as Foreign Trolls NetChoice Sues Virginia To Block Its One-Hour Social Media Limit For Kids Roblox is requiring 9yo kids to submit a video selfie to prove age Outage at Cloudflare Disrupts Parts of the Internet It's not just you, many websites are not working this morning amid Cloudflare outage Cloudflare-related variation on the classic XKCD Trump's DOGE Is Dead and We Won't Miss It Meta Wins FTC Antitrust Trial Over Instagram, WhatsApp Deals Europe is scaling back its landmark privacy and AI laws Talking to Windows' Copilot AI makes a computer feel incompetent 780,000 Windows Users Downloaded Linux Distro Zorin OS in the Last 5 Weeks Fortnite is getting Unity games Oops. Cryptographers cancel election results after losing decryption key. SEC Dismisses Case Against SolarWinds, Top Security Officer Google Starts Testing Ads In AI Mode A decision about breaking up Google's adtech monopoly is on the horizon Work is "optional" and irrelevant money: Musk's creepy utopian dream White House Tries to axe the GAIN act (Act that would have prevented AI tech from being sold to other nations.) Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ, Molly White, and Wesley Faulkner Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: spaceship.com/twit helixsleep.com/twit expressvpn.com/twit zscaler.com/security deel.com/twit

Meta's Ray-Ban Display glasses steal the spotlight on a Rome trip, triggering debates about privacy, wearable tech etiquette, and the uncomfortable power of recording the world through your eyewear. Plus, gadgets scanning your urine, bots shaping your inbox, and the future of Disney+! Counting Renaissance butts in Rome with the Meta Ray-Ban Display Jury says Apple owes Masimo $634M for patent infringement Google ordered to pay $665 million for anticompetitive practices in Germany Disney and YouTube TV reach deal to end blackout The future of Disney Plus could involve AI-generated videos X is finally rolling out Chat, its DM replacement with encryption and video calling Tim Cook could step down as Apple CEO 'as soon as next year' iPhone Pocket revealed in hands-on videos of new Apple accessory AMD continues to chip away at Intel's X86 market share — company now sells over 25% of all x86 chips and powers 33% of all desktop systems Google DeepMind is using Gemini to train agents inside Goat Simulator 3 George Lucas' narrative art museum opens next year in LA Spotify's new audiobook recap feature uses AI to remind you of the story so far PNG is back! 3 SeatGuru alternatives for finding the best airline seats What Are We Going to Do With 300 Billion Pennies? Withings Beamo Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Victoria Song and Christina Warren Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: zapier.com/twit deel.com/twit zscaler.com/security helixsleep.com/twit ventionteams.com/twit

Elon Musk's eye-popping trillion-dollar pay package, Apple's big F1 gamble, and Meta's scam-friendly ad policies set the stage for a candid debate on Big Tech's priorities and who really pays the price for innovation (and neglect). Musk gets approval for bumper Tesla payout but, unlike his robot, there are strings attached - Behold the one trillion dollar man SpaceX to Buy Another $2.6 Billion of Echostar Spectrum Chinese Astronauts Stuck in Space After Suspected Damage to Return Craft YouTube's Goes Bonkers, Removes Windows 11 Bypass Tutorials, Claims 'Risk of Physical Harm' Scammy Ads Generated an Estimated 10% of Meta's Revenue in 2024 Texas Sues Roblox For Allegedly Failing To Protect Children On Its Platform YouTube TV responds to Disney memo with no deal in sight YouTube TV exec calls Disney 'unnecessarily aggressive' Sports streaming is a fragmented hot mess Denmark's Government Aims To Ban Access To Social Media For Children Under 15 The Department Of Defense Wants Less Proof Its Software Works China suspends export restrictions for a year on five critical minerals to the US, including gallium and germanium, used to make certain types of semiconductors Immigration agents have new technology to identify and track people Internet Archive's legal fights are over, but its founder mourns what was lost FBI subpoenas the web registrar behind Archive.is Trump AI Czar Says 'No Federal Bailout For AI' After OpenAI CFO's Comments Fedora man unmasked: Meet the teen behind the Louvre mystery photo Take-Two delays 'GTA VI' for second time to November next year Apple TV's new Pluribus show might be its best sci-fi series yet After more than 200 years, the 'Farmers' Almanac' is shutting down for good Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Iain Thomson, Ashley Esqueda, and Janko Roettgers Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: expressvpn.com/twit shopify.com/twit ziprecruiter.com/twit NetSuite.com/TWIT bitwarden.com/twit

From AI-powered code generation boosting productivity to adversaries using the same tools to hunt zero-days, the panel exposes the coming wave of AI-fueled cyberattacks—and why most companies aren't ready for it. Cotton blocks Trump-backed effort to make daylight saving time permanent The End of Cybersecurity Amazon says it didn't cut 14,000 people because of money. It cut them because of 'culture' Here's How the AI Crash Happens US government is getting closer to banning TP-Link routers Neato cloud shutdown sees robocleaners robbed of their smarts FCC will vote to scrap telecom cybersecurity requirements Trump FCC Votes To Make It Easier For Your Broadband ISP To Rip You Off Swedish Death Cleaning But for Your Digital Life The F5 Hack is a Big Deal OpenAI Releases Agentic Security Researcher 'Do not trust your eyes': AI generates surge in expense fraud Proton Data Breach Observatory aims to alert you in near real-time Using a Security Key on X? Re-Enroll Now or Your Account Will Be Locked YouTube denies AI was involved with odd removals of tech tutorials 10M people watched a YouTuber shim a lock; the lock company sued him. Bad idea. Samsung's $2000 smart fridges are getting ads - gHacks Tech News ESPN, ABC, and other Disney channels go dark on YouTube TV Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Jill Duffy, Alex Stamos, and Stacey Higginbotham Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: ziprecruiter.com/twit zscaler.com/security miro.com canary.tools/twit - use code: TWIT Melissa.com/twit

When a major Amazon cloud outage brings everything from smart mattresses to Snapchat grinding to a halt, what does it reveal about our digital fragility—and are we trusting the cloud a little too much? A Single Point of Failure Triggered the Amazon Outage Affecting Million Pluralistic: The mad king's digital killswitch (20 Oct 2025) Trump and Xi will 'consummate' TikTok deal on Thursday, treasury secretary says 3,000 YouTube Videos Exposed as Malware Traps in Massive Ghost Network Operation Can YouTube Replace 'Traditional' TV? All the implications of F1's game-changing TV move Foreign hackers breached a US nuclear weapons plant via SharePoint flaws Browser Promising Privacy Protection Contains Malware-Like Features, Routes Traffic Through China iCloud data helps crack NBA and mob poker scheme Rubbish IT systems cost the US at least $40bn during Covid: study Counter-Strike cosmetics economy loses nearly $2 billion in value overnight GM to introduce eyes-off, hands-off driving system in 2028 WordPress co-founder files countersuit against WP Engine over trademark violations a16z-Backed Startup Sells Thousands of 'Synthetic Influencers' to Manipulate Social Media as a Service Bill Gates-Backed 345 MWe Advanced Nuclear Reactor Secures Crucial US Approval Programmer Gets Doom Running On a Space Satellite Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Richard Campbell and Doc Rock Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: deel.com/twit zapier.com/twit helixsleep.com/twit expressvpn.com/twit zscaler.com/security

Shocking new research reveals how anyone with $750 can intercept unencrypted satellite data, exposing everything from government secrets to in-flight Wi-Fi traffic. Find out why decades-old vulnerabilities are still open and who actually wants it that way. Study: The World's Satellite Data Is Massively Vulnerable To Snooping You Only Need $750 of Equipment to Pilfer Data From Satellites, Researchers Say Hackers Dox Hundreds of DHS, ICE, FBI, and DOJ Officials DHS says Chinese criminal gangs made $1B from US text scams cr.yp.to: 2025.10.04: NSA and IETF Why Signal's post-quantum makeover is an amazing engineering achievement Court reduces damages Meta will get from spyware maker NSO Group but bans it from WhatsApp How I Almost Got Hacked By A 'Job Interview' New California law requires AI to tell you it's AI The European Union issued its first fines under the AI Act, penalizing a French facial recognition startup €12 million for deploying unverified algorithms in public security contracts Wikipedia Says AI Is Causing a Dangerous Decline in Human Visitors Texas hit with a pair of lawsuits for its app store age verification requirements Australia shares tips to wean teens off social media ahead of ban. Will it work? California enacts age-gate law for app stores Meta is asking Facebook users to give its AI access to their entire camera roll Meta poached Andrew Tulloch, co-founder of Thinking Machines Lab, with a compensation package rumored to reach $1.5 billion over six years Even top generals are looking to AI chatbots for answers Roku's AI-upgraded voice assistant can answer questions about what you're watching Tesla debuts a steering wheel-less taxi for two Waymo and DoorDash Are Teaming Up to Deliver Your Food via Robotaxi Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Jacob Ward, Harper Reed, and Abrar Al-Heeti Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: Melissa.com/twit ZipRecruiter.com/twit deel.com/twit zscaler.com/security zapier.com/twit

From internet service providers facing billion-dollar lawsuits for their users' file sharing to Amazon's smart displays turning into ad machines, the future of your connected life is up for grabs. If you want to know who's really pulling the strings in tech and where the battle lines are being drawn, this is the episode you can't miss. October Term 2025 Supreme Court denies Google's request to pause Play Store changes while it appeals Epic case I Want A New Drug. A Vaccine Even. And A Functioning FDA, CDC, NIH, Etc... AI videos of dead celebrities are horrifying many of their families Amazon's giant ads have ruined the Echo Show Chat Control: Germany says NEIN Apple Banned an App That Simply Archived Videos of ICE Abuses China Flexed. Trump Hit Back. So Much for the Thaw. Taiwan sees no significant impact on chip sector from China rare earths curbs FCC Chair Brendan Carr says major US online retailers have removed several million listings for prohibited Chinese electronics as part of the agency's crackdown Windows 10 support ends October 14, but here's how to get an extra year for free California bans loud commercials on Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming services Synology Reverses Policy Banning Third-Party HDDs After NAS sales plummet TiVo Exiting Legacy DVR Business - Media Play News Introducing Figure 03 Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Cathy Gellis, Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, and Gary Rivlin Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: fieldofgreens.com Promo Code "TWIT" NetSuite.com/TWIT shopify.com/twit bitwarden.com/twit expressvpn.com/twit

As AI-generated clip content upends trust and creativity, this week's panel members join forces to unravel whether we're facing a cultural disaster or just the next leap forward (and what anyone online needs to watch out for next). Is the world ready for AI-generated video slop flooding the internet, legal headaches over deepfakes, and million-dollar tech maneuvering? Sora 2 is here We need to stop the slop of OpenAI's Sora and Meta's Vibes AI video apps before it's too late Yahoo nears deal to sell AOL to Italy's Bending Spoons for $1.4 billion, sources say One in five Americans now regularly get news on TikTok, up sharply from 2020 YouTube Bends the Knee Apple removes ICEBlock, an app for anonymously reporting ICE officer sightings, from the App Store; AG Pam Bondi says the DOJ requested its removal ICEBlock Owner After Apple Removes App: 'We Are Determined to Fight This' How ICE Is Using Your Data — and What You Can Do About It | KQED CISA, the key law that helps the federal government guard against cyber threats to US critical systems, expired when the government shut down ByteDance to Maintain Control Of TikTok's U.S. Advertising, E-Commerce German government must reject chat control Swiss government looks to undercut privacy tech, stoking fears of mass surveillance Swiss voters back electronic identity cards in close vote Apple Shelves Vision Headset Revamp to Prioritize Meta-Like AI Glasses Microsoft revamps Xbox Game Pass plans and hikes Ultimate to $29.99 a month No suds for you! Asahi brewery attack leaves Japanese drinkers dry Revenge of the nerds: Inside the Microsoft Excel UK Championships Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Patrick Beja, Georgia Dow, and Iain Thomson Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: ZipRecruiter.com/twit canary.tools/twit - use code: TWIT zscaler.com/security spaceship.com/twit miro.com

With Nvidia's plan to invest $100 billion over time in OpenAI, is this type of investment in other competitors healthy for AI? Can LLMs actually handle enterprise tools and tasks? Meta launches a new AI short-form video feed. Apple is testing a new internal chatbot called Veritas as part of its efforts to revamp Siri. Nvidia (intends to) invest (up to) $100B in OpenAI (over time). Spending on AI is at epic levels. Will it ever pay off?. Jensen Huang: "We're already seeing trillion-dollar AI investments". How Anthropic and OpenAI are developing AI 'co-workers'. OpenAI says GPT-5 stacks up to humans in a wide range of jobs. OpenAI launches ChatGPT Pulse to proactively write you morning briefs. Meta launches 'Vibes,' a short-form video feed of AI slop. Trump signs executive order supporting proposed deal to put TikTok under US ownership. Amazon reaches $2.5 billion settlement over allegations it misled Prime users. Is GenZ unemployable? Top economists and Jerome Powell agree that Gen Z's hiring nightmare is real—and it's not about AI eating entry-level jobs. AI startup friend bets on foes with $1M NYC subway campaign. Peter Thiel wants everyone to think more about the Antichrist. Apple builds a ChatGPT-like App to help test the revamped Siri. Host: Alex Kantrowitz Guests: Brian McCullough, Dan Shipper, and Ari Paparo Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: helixsleep.com/twit expressvpn.com/twit fieldofgreens.com Promo Code "TWIT" zscaler.com/security spaceship.com/twit

Is strapping notifications to your face the next frontier, or just tech gone too far? Dive into a lively, sometimes skeptical discussion on Meta's AR glasses, social media's shifting power, the fate of TikTok, and how AI is quietly rewriting the rules, whether we like it or not. Seeing Through the Reality of Meta's Smart Glasses I regret to inform you Meta's new smart glasses are the best I've ever tried Parents outraged as Meta uses photos of schoolgirls in ads targeting man Windows 10 EOL coming soon Trump's $100,000 Visa Fee Spurs Confusion and Chaos 4Chan, MAGAs unite in 'clog the toilet' op to block H-1B workers flying back iPhone Air review: Thinness with a point Phone batteries are getting more compact, but the US is missing out A MacBook Pro touchscreen? About damn time TikTok deal will be signed soon, with U.S. control of algorithm, White House says By some measures, TikTok has grown bigger than Facebook or Instagram in the US Two UK teens charged in connection to Scattered Spider ransomware attacks Teen Suspect Surrenders in 2023 Las Vegas Casino Cyberattack Case - Casino.org Jaguar Land Rover extends its production shutdown after a cyberattack discovered in late August, and says efforts to reboot production safely "will take time" ctrl/tinycolor and 40+ NPM Packages Compromised - StepSecurity Never steal a hacker's girlfriend's phone: How an expert exposed a global network of thieves Revealed: the huge growth of Myanmar scam centres that may hold 100,000 trafficked people Pope Leo XIV Rejects a proposal by a Catholic organization to create an "AI Pope Leo" avatar Ig Winners Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Devindra Hardawar, Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ, and Nicholas De Leon Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: uscloud.com smarty.com/twit ZipRecruiter.com/twit helixsleep.com/twit zscaler.com/security