Tech News Weekly (Audio)

TWiT
Tech News Weekly (Audio)
TECH NEWS WEEKLY

Ad-free audio episodes of Tech News Weekly

$2.99/month or $29.99/year

Industry expert Mikah Sargent, brings you interviews from tech journalists who make or break the top stories of the week. Get the freshest perspective and in depth insight into the fast-paced world of technology from Tech News Weekly. Records every Thursday at 2:00pm Eastern / 11:00am Pacific / 19:00 UTC.

  1. FEB 6

    AI Wins a Grammy - Uber Rides With Waymo, Sonos Streaming Box, Meta's VR Devs Struggle

    In this episode of Tech News Weekly, Mikah Sargent and CNET's Abrar Al-Heeti talk the latest developments in self-driving tech, Sonos' work on a new streaming box, an AI-assisted Beatles song winning a Grammy, and the current state of Meta's Quest platform according to developers. - Uber is expanding its partnership with Waymo, allowing people in Austin to summon a Waymo robo-taxi through the Uber app. Abrar shares her experiences with self-driving cars and discusses the evolving relationship between Uber and Waymo. - Sonos is reportedly working on a new streaming box codenamed "Pinewood," which includes an HDMI switch to address inconsistencies in smart TV firmware and software. The device is expected to cost between $200 and $400, and it aims to provide a full-featured streaming sound setup. - An AI-assisted Beatles track, "Now and Then," won the Grammy for Best Rock Performance, sparking conversations about the role of AI in music and art. The US Copyright Office has stated that AI tools used to assist in the creative process don't undermine the copyright of the work. - Developers are struggling with declining sales and visibility on the Meta Quest app store, despite record revenue for Meta Reality Labs. Meta's focus on its own Horizon Worlds app seems to be at the expense of traditional VR games. Some developers find it more profitable to sell on other platforms like Steam and PlayStation VR. Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Abrar Al-Heeti Download or subscribe to Tech News Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-weekly. 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 Sponsor: joindeleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT

    1h 4m
  2. JAN 10

    Checking In With CES 2025 - Siri NOT Spying, Meta's Misinformation Gamble, NVIDIA COSMOS

    This week on Tech News Weekly, host Mikah Sargent is joined by guest co-host Dan Moren to discuss Siri privacy concerns and how Apple could leverage AI to improve the user experience. Jason Hiner of ZDNET.com reports on CES 2025 on the latest TV displays, NVIDIA's AI innovations, and more. Then Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, weighs in on Meta's controversial decision to end fact-checking on its platforms. Dan's latest column explores how Apple could use AI to benefit users by improving spam filtering, search capabilities, and automation. Implementing these features would align with Apple's focus on simplifying technology. Apple released a statement clarifying that Siri recordings are not being used to build ad profiles, despite an ongoing conspiracy theory that devices are always listening. In reality, ad targeting is based on online behavior. At CES 2025, new TV display technologies were announced including brighter OLED panels likely using "tandem OLED" and a new mini-LED backlight system from Hisense for improved color depth. Lenovo showcased an expensive laptop prototype with a screen that rolls up to double in size, though it may have limited practical appeal for now. NVIDIA unveiled COSMOS, an AI framework to generate synthetic training data for robots and self-driving systems, which could accelerate future autonomous innovations. Offbeat CES products included an electric spoon that makes low-sodium foods taste saltier to promote healthier eating, and aggressively priced TVs from TCL. Meta announced it will end fact-checking and rely on community moderation, which CCDH CEO Imran Ahmed argues will amplify the spread of misinformation and cause real-world harms. Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Dan Moren Guests: Jason Hiner and Imran Ahmed Download or subscribe to Tech News Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-weekly. Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: veeam.com uscloud.com Melissa.com/twit

    1h 6m
  3. JAN 2

    Facebook Hopes You'll Befriend AI Influencers - AI Phishing, Retro Tech Revival, Passkey Predicament

    In the first episode of 2025, Mikah and Abrar discuss Meta's plans to add AI bots to their social media platforms, the rise of AI-generated phishing scams, the trend of parents giving their kids retro tech devices to reduce screen time, and the current state and future potential of passkeys for secure logins. Meta plans to populate Facebook and Instagram with AI-generated bot accounts that can create content, share posts, and interact with users, in an effort to drive engagement as user growth stagnates. Abrar and Mikah debate the pros and cons of AI bots on social media. Cybersecurity experts have seen a significant increase in sophisticated phishing scams using AI to generate hyper-personalized messages mimicking people's communication styles, with over 90% of successful cyberattacks now beginning with phishing emails. Abrar and Mikah discuss cybersecurity training and email filtering used by companies to combat this. There's a growing trend of parents gifting their kids retro tech like Walkmans, portable CD players, and MP3 players in an effort to reduce screen time. Mikah and Abrar reflect on the appeal of single-purpose devices and bonding over music. Passkeys, a new login technology aiming to replace passwords, have seen increasing adoption but face usability challenges and inconsistent implementation across sites and devices. Mikah explains how passkeys work and recommends using password managers for now, as both hosts agree passkeys aren't quite ready for mainstream adoption yet. Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Abrar Al-Heeti Download or subscribe to Tech News Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-weekly. Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: zscaler.com/security joindeleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT cachefly.com/twit

    1h 11m
3.9
out of 5
1,059 Ratings

About

Industry expert Mikah Sargent, brings you interviews from tech journalists who make or break the top stories of the week. Get the freshest perspective and in depth insight into the fast-paced world of technology from Tech News Weekly. Records every Thursday at 2:00pm Eastern / 11:00am Pacific / 19:00 UTC.

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes, and get the latest updates.

Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada