Grumpy Old Geeks
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Ep 691: Cry Me A River (to Cool Off My AI) - Ad Free!
🕑 Added 2025-04-04 19:37:24 +0000 UTC
This week, the Geeks wade into a swamp of tech meltdowns, governmental facepalms, and the usual Elon-flavored absurdity. Kicking things off, protesters take their beef with Tesla to the streets while Proud Boys decide this is the hill to vroom and die on. Meanwhile, Elon’s privacy prayers have finally been answered—thanks to new FAA rules, he and Tay-Tay can jet around untracked like it’s 1999. Oh, and while Earth dodges a killer asteroid, the Moon might be signing up for an unplanned smackdown. Sorry, Luna.
In the news, Signal’s reputation as the go-to encrypted app takes a nosedive thanks to Republican Senate drama and an Inspector General with receipts. The NSA warned us. Nobody listened. Now it’s “SignalGate” season. Elon continues his narcissist Voltron strategy by having xAI buy X (from Elon). Trump, meanwhile, is moonwalking into a $2.3B Truth Social payday, while his meme coin tanks post-tariff tantrum. OpenAI flexes with new AGI funding and 700M AI-generated images (probably 699M of them cursed), while the first therapy chatbot actually helps someone and a brain-voice interface starts sounding a lot like Skynet: The Prequel. Oh, and in shocking news: Trump’s war on “information silos” is code for “your personal data is about to be someone else’s business.”
Media Candy serves up a grab bag from punk docs (Turn It Around) to jungle pulp throwbacks (Tales of the Gold Monkey), and yes—Stephen Collins is still problematic. Apple’s prepping new AI-powered health apps, emoji drops, and a food tab for News+, because why not. WhatsApp now wants to be your phone, Alexa+ disappoints, and Zuckerberg tries to make Facebook usable again with a “Friends-only” feed. Meanwhile, Bill Gates pulls a nostalgia flex by dropping OG Microsoft source code like it’s a rare vinyl. In other dark corners: Kermit the Frog is now giving commencement speeches, Val Kilmer sadly exits stage left, and Elon fails in his bid to buy a state supreme court. Hands off, Elon. Just… hands off.
Show notes at https://gog.show/691
FOLLOW UP
Crowds Turn Out Across the U.S. for ‘Tesla Takedown’ Protests
The Proud Boys and Militias Come to Tesla’s Defense
Taylor Swift and Elon Can Finally Fly Private Without Being Tracked Thanks to New FAA Rule
Earth Is Safe From Menacing Asteroid—but Our Moon Might Take the Hit
IN THE NEWS
Republican chair of Senate Armed Services Committee calls for investigation into Signal chat
DoD Inspector General Says He’s Looking Into SignalGate
Waltz’s team set up at least 20 Signal group chats for crises across the world
NSA warned of vulnerabilities in Signal app a month before Houthi strike chat
Trump administration fires director of National Security Agency
xAI, Elon Musk's AI company, just purchased X, Elon Musk's social media company
Trump kicks off sale of $2.3bn Truth Social stake
You’ll Never Guess What Happened to Trump’s Meme Coin After He Announced His Tariffs
OpenAI: New funding to build towards AGI
Oxygen Levels in Earth's Lakes Are Plummeting, Study Reveals
ChatGPT users have generated over 700M images since last week, OpenAI says
First Therapy Chatbot Trial Yields Mental Health Benefits
US Senate committee opens review into Meta’s efforts to gain access to China
Brain-to-voice neuroprosthesis restores naturalistic speech
Generative AI Leadership & Strategy Specialization
President Trump’s War on ‘Information Silos’ Is Bad News for Your Personal Data
MEDIA CANDY
The White Lotus
The Studio
Orphan Black: Echoes
Orphan Black
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
Tales of the Gold Monkey
Stephen Collins
Turn It Around: The Story of East Bay Punk
Genres are bustin’ out all over in Strange New Worlds S3 teaser
Ferris Bueller's teacher schools Trump on tariffs
APPS & DOODADS
Project 2025 Tracker
Apple is reportedly on track to launch the M5 iPad Pro and MacBook Pro later this year
Apple is said to be developing a revamped Health app with a built-in AI doctor
iOS 18.4 is available now with new emoji, Apple News+ Food and priority notifications
Change the default apps on iPhone
WhatsApp can be your default calling and texting app on iPhone
Alexa+ is out, but missing a lot of features Amazon demoed last month
Facebook’s new Friends-only feed ditches all the algorithmic junk
Bill Gates Publishes Original Microsoft Source Code in a Blog Post
Red Salsa
THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE
Dave Bittner
The CyberWire
Hacking Humans
Caveat
Control Loop
Only Malware in the Building
Kermit the Frog named University of Maryland commencement speaker
CLOSING SHOUT-OUTS
Bletchley code breaker Betty Webb dies aged 101
Val Kilmer, Top Gun Actor and One-Time Batman, Dead at 65
Elon Musk tried to buy Wisconsin's Supreme Court. He lost.
Hands Off!
