This Week in Tech 2j4s4b

In this jam-packed episode celebrating Towel Day, the TWiT crew dives into Apple's terrible week with Trump's tariff threats, Google and Microsoft's latest AI advances, the death of CAPTCHAs, and some wild new tech including laser-powered smart homes and sock-picking robot vacuums. Trump's Phone Tariff Ultimatum - President threatens 25% tariffs on iPhones and Samsung devices unless manufacturing moves to the US, putting Apple in an impossible position between economics and politics The Sock-Stealing Robot Revolution - Jennifer tests a $2,600 Roborock vacuum with an arm that picks up socks and occasionally tries to grab cats Microsoft's AI Science Breakthrough - Microsoft Build showcases agentic AI platform that helped create new coolant liquids by analyzing scientific journals and generating novel molecular compounds Windows Goes Agentic - Microsoft announces M protocol integration into Windows, raising both excitement about AI capabilities and concerns about data security Gaming Industry Consolidation - FTC finally drops its challenge to Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition after three years of failed legal battles Meta's Monopoly Defense Strategy - Company argues that Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions were beneficial rather than anti-competitive, as antitrust trial concludes Google's Hyper-Realistic AI Videos - Veo 3 generates convincing fake videos that blur the line between reality and AI creation, raising concerns about misinformation Revenge Porn Legislation Concerns - New "Take It Down" Act es with bipartisan but raises censorship worries about its 48-hour removal requirements Smart Glasses Make a Comeback - Google announces Android XR partnerships with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster, signaling the return of consumer AR eyewear The $6.5 Billion AI Hardware Gamble - OpenAI's record-breaking acquisition of Jony Ive's design firm sparks debate about whether AI needs dedicated hardware devices Amazon's Smart Speaker Surveillance - Investigation reveals how much personal data Echo devices collect and store, highlighting the privacy costs of convenient AI assistants The Death of CAPTCHAs - AI now solves visual puzzles better than humans, making traditional bot-detection methods obsolete and forcing a rethink of online security America Abandons the Penny - The US will stop minting pennies due to production costs exceeding face value, ending a century-old currency tradition Air Traffic Control Crisis Exposed - Newark Airport's radar failures reveal America's dangerously outdated aviation infrastructure held together by 1990s technology and hope Fortnite's App Store Victory - Epic Games successfully returns to iOS after Apple quickly capitulates under legal pressure, ending years of bitter disputes Brain-Computer Interface Competition - Valve's Gabe Newell announces Neuralink competitor, expanding the race to connect human brains directly to computers Infrared Lenses Enable Night Vision - Researchers develop s that let wearers see heat signatures even with eyes closed, promising superhuman vision capabilities 23andMe's Genetic Data Gold Rush - Regeneron Pharmaceuticals acquires the DNA testing company for $256 million, raising questions about genetic privacy and Stolen These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech/episodes/1033 Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, Brian McCullough, and Mike Elgan Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit expressvpn.com/twit spaceship.com/twit uscloud.com storyblok.com/twittv-25

GTA 6 trailer 2 and anticipation Grok Pivots From 'White Genocide' to Being 'Skeptical' About the Holocaust Elon Musk's apparent power play at the Copyright Office completely backfired Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Explains How He's Making Himself Obsolete With AI How Finland's district heating systems are harvesting heat from data centers; Microsoft's project in Kirkkonummi will be the largest in the world when completed OpenAI launches Codex, an AI coding agent, in ChatGPT China begins assembling its supercomputer in space NASA engineers revive Voyager 1's dead thrusters from 15 billion miles away 25% of steam playeres play Blue Prince Jamie Lee Curtis publicly shamed Mark Zuckerberg to remove a deepfaked ad Fortnite players can speak with Darth Vader through a James Earl Jones-voiced AI Epic Games says Apple is blocking Fortnite from the US and EU App Stores Epic wants the court to compel Apple to approve Fortnite's return to the US App Store Nextcloud accuses Google of "Big Tech gatekeeping" over Android app permissions Samsung's Galaxy S25 Edge starts off the super thin phone era Square's $399 Handheld accepts tap-to-pay at your table Montana Becomes First State To Close the Law Enforcement Data Broker Loophole - Slashdot Republicans Try to Cram Ban on AI Regulation Into Budget Reconciliation Bill The first US hub for experimental medical treatments is coming The US Army is getting in on right-to-repair They're just giving up and calling it HBO Max again Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Wil Harris, Devindra Hardawar, and Harper Reed or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! what you love and get ad-free shows, a -only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: oracle.com/twit ziprecruiter.com/twit drata.com/weekintech monarchmoney.com with code TWIT Melissa.com/twit

Apple asks court to halt App Store rule changes while it appeals Proposed Amicus Brief – #1300, Att. #1 in UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. GOOGLE LLC (D.D.C., 1:20-cv-03010) – CourtListener.com Eddy Cue Causes a Stir for Google DOJ pushes for Google to sell its advertising platforms Google Will Pay $1.4 Billion to Texas to Settle Claims It Collected Data Without Permission What Stacey has been doing Attorney General Bailey Files Groundbreaking Rule to End Big Tech's Censorship Monopoly and Protect Online Free Speech DOGE bro Kyle Schutt's computer infected by malware, credentials found in stealer logs The Signal Clone the Trump Uses Was Hacked Samsung is paying $350 million for audio brands Bowers & Wilkins, Denon, Marantz and Polk Zuckerberg's Grand Vision: Most of Your Friends Will Be AI - Slashdot How AI Demand Is Draining Local Water Supplies Tom Brady, Stephen Curry and other big names are mostly off the hook from the FTX fallout FTC Bans Hidden Fees For Live Events and Short-Term Rentals - Slashdot The FTC puts off enforcing its 'click-to-cancel' rule 20 years to give away virtually all my wealth | Bill Gates Mexico is suing Google over 'Gulf of America' name change for US s Switzerland To Hold Referendum on Introducing Electronic ID Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Shoshana Weissmann, Wesley Faulkner, and Stacey Higginbotham or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! what you love and get ad-free shows, a -only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: expressvpn.com/twit bitwarden.com/twit threatlocker.com/twit NetSuite.com/TWIT shopify.com/twit

Judge Blasts Apple For Violating Antitrust Ruling Google's Sundar Pichai Calls US Remedies 'De Facto' Spinoff of Search - Slashdot Firefox could be doomed without Google search deal, says executive Visa Announces Plans to Give AI Agents Your Credit Card Information The Age of Realtime Deepfake Fraud Is Here The TAKE IT DOWN Act: A Flawed Attempt to Protect Victims That Will Lead to Censorship Congress Moving Forward On Unconstitutional Take It Down Act White House Slams Amazon After Report it Will Highlight Tariff Costs The Kickstarter you backed may soon ask for more money to cover Trump's tariffs Microsoft Raises Xbox Prices 20% as Tariffs Drive Up Cost of Development UPS will cut 20,000 jobs because fewer Amazon packages are coming Elon Musk's DOGE ties could get his companies out of $2 billion in potential liability President Trump's fiscal 2026 budget proposal suggests slashing $491M from CISA's ~$3B budget, claiming the cut "refocuses CISA on its core mission" Government Actually Threatens Wikipedia's Editorial Freedom; Self-Proclaimed Free Speech Warriors Suddenly Have Other Plans Mark Zuckerberg Sailed 5,300 Miles With Two Superyachts Only to Helicopter Up a Mountain and Ski Down in Billionaire Style - Sustainability Times Massive power outage in Spain, Portugal leaves millions in dark Wall Street Banks Sell Final Slug of Elon Musk's X Debt Elon Musk's SpaceX gets a company town in Texas Amazon deploys the first Project Kuiper internet satellites Researchers Secretly Ran a Massive, Unauthorized AI Persuasion Experiment on Reddit s How Badly Did ChatGPT and Copilot Fail to Predict the Winners of the Kentucky Derby? - Slashdot Quantum message travels record distance over fiber optic network Photo appears to show Mike Waltz using Signal-like app that can archive messages Chinese university designed 'world's first silicon-free 2D GAAFET transistor,' claims new bismuth-based tech is both the fastest and lowest-power transistor yet The one interview question that will protect you from North Korean fake workers Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Owen Thomas, Iain Thomson, and Gary Rivlin or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! what you love and get ad-free shows, a -only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: canary.tools/twit - use code: TWIT outsystems.com/twit drata.com/weekintech coda.io/twit zscaler.com/security

The Hottest AI Job of 2023 Is Already Obsolete NYT Asks: Should We Start Taking the Welfare of AI Seriously? Microsoft finally ships controversial Windows 11 'Recall' feature after year-long delay — now rolling out to all Copilot+ PCs Sam Altman says OpenAI is no longer "compute-constrained" — after Microsoft lost its exclusive cloud provider status Only Google Can Run Chrome, Company's Browser Chief Tells Judge What Happens When You Pay People Not to Use Google Search? 4chan Is Back Online, Days After The Infamous Hack That Leaked Its 'Janitors' Emails Mark Zuckerberg Says Social Media Is Over Google is scrapping its planned changes for third-party cookies in Chrome Google's revenue tops Wall Street's expectations — and the stock climbs Google will stop ing early Nest thermostats on October 25 PC shipments spike as Windows 10's end and U.S. tariffs loom Apple Aims To Source All US iPhones From India in Pivot Away From China Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders: Sold out at most retailers including GameStop, Walmart, Target, Best Buy and others The $20,000 American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, and no touchscreen Tesla whistleblower says Musk wanted to deport her team for raising brake issue In a Boon for Tesla, Feds Weaken Rules for Reporting on Self-Driving Enter The Fourth Amendment, Yet One More Reason DOGE Is Such A Constitutional Nightmare Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Abrar Al-Heeti, Daniel Rubino, and Cathy Gellis or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! what you love and get ad-free shows, a -only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: kinsta.com/twit monarchmoney.com with code TWIT outsystems.com/twit drata.com/twit expressvpn.com/twit

Judge rules Google illegally monopolized ad tech, opening door to potential breakup AI-hallucinated code dependencies become new supply chain risk OpenAI's secret Yap score 4chan, the internet's most infamous forum, is down following an alleged hack FTC v. Meta: the US argued Meta has a monopoly in the "personal social networking" market, which it claims includes only Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat, and MeWe Trump Signals Semiconductor Tariffs Are Coming 'Very Soon' Tariffs making it impossible to shop for tech, applicances Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders live on April 24, for real this time; fans still mad at $80 games Is this a Bad Therapist? Real Therapist Reacts to Adolescence Risks to children playing Roblox 'deeply disturbing', say researchers Hacked Crosswalks In Bay Area Play Deepfake-Style Messages From Tech Billionaires China's First Robot Marathon Runners Trip, Emit Smoke, Fall Apart OpenAI is building a social network Leaked: Palantir's Plan to Help ICE Deport People New Jersey Sues Discord for Allegedly Failing to Protect Children Scientists Find Promising Indication of Extraterrestrial Life—124 Light-Years Away Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Georgia Dow, Nicholas De Leon, and Paris Martineau or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! what you love and get ad-free shows, a -only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: Melissa.com/twit shopify.com/twit kinsta.com/twit oracle.com/twit monarchmoney.com with code TWIT

Trump gives Apple a giant break with wide-ranging tariff exemptions Car safety experts at NHTSA, which regulates Tesla, axed by DOGE Jack Dorsey and Elon Musk would like to 'delete all IP law' 5 things to know about Meta's FTC trial Meta's New Tech Wants You Using Phones in Theaters Trump Orders Investigation into Former Cybersecurity Chief Beyond Showerheads: Trump's Attempts to Kill Appliance Regulations Cause Chaos Microsoft rolls out Recall AI in preview to Copilot+ PCs, after delaying the feature twice, from June 2024 and October 2024, over security and privacy concerns The Dire Wolf Isn't Back—But Here's What 'De-Extinction' Tech Can Actually Do Trump White House budget proposal eviscerates science funding at NASA Linda McMahon just handed A.1. steak sauce an unbelievable opportunity Researcher uncovers dozens of sketchy Chrome extensions with 4 million installs Vizio Shows What Happens When U.S. Fascism And TV Ensh*ttification Meet Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Sam Abuelsamid, Allyn Malventano, and Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! what you love and get ad-free shows, a -only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: ZipRecruiter.com/Twit threatlocker.com/twit NetSuite.com/TWIT expressvpn.com/twit bitwarden.com/twit

Big Tech Backed Trump for Acceleration. They Got a Decel President Instead Trump delays TikTok ban again Amazon Said to Make a Bid to Buy TikTok in the U.S. China is Already Testing AI-Powered Humanoid Robots in Factories - Slashdot Invasion of the Home Humanoid Robots Starliner's flight to the space station was far wilder than most of us thought With new contracts, SpaceX will become the US military's top launch provider Eric Raymond, John Carmack Mourn Death of 'Bufferbloat' Fighter Dave Taut Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Jason Calacanis and Alex Wilhelm or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! what you love and get ad-free shows, a -only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: drata.com/weekintech canary.tools/twit - use code: TWIT coda.io/twit outsystems.com/twit kinsta.com/twit

Leaked Signal group chat, xAI x X merger, Studio ChatGhibli-T Hayao Miyazaki's AI Nightmare Studio Ghibli has few legal options to stop OpenAI from ripping off its style No elephants: Breakthroughs in image generation Okay, I'm Starting to Think AI Can Do My Job After All Clearly we're talking about the WH Signal Leak Is it safe to travel with your phone right now? Musk shuffles $80 billion in assets, reshapes gov't — just another week at the office 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy and CEO Anne Wojcicki has stepped down Replit CEO Amjad Masad says learning to code is a waste of time, citing Dario Amodei's prediction that AI may generate essentially all code by next year As AI Takes His Readers, A Leading History Publisher Wonders What's Next Madison Square Garden's surveillance system banned this fan over his T-shirt design China bans facial recognition without consent; where's US law on this? Google's new experimental AI model, Gemini 2.5 Pro, is now available to free s too Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Alex Kantrowitz, Iain Thomson, and Jacob Ward or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! what you love and get ad-free shows, a -only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: NetSuite.com/TWIT Melissa.com/twit oracle.com/twit shopify.com/twit

Intel's new CEO to host Vision 2025 Opening Keynote on March 31st Apple Can't Beat Spotify Google says its test removing European news content for 1% of s in eight EU countries found that there was no change to Search ad revenue due to the removal Democratic Senators Team Up With MAGA To Hand Trump A Censorship Machine Vance Expects Outlines of TikTok Deal to Become Clear by Early April Telegram's Pavel Durov, Charged With Range of Crimes, Is Allowed to Leave Alphabet's Starlink competitor Taara is spinning off into an independent company Commerce Official Gives Elon Musk Middle Finger Over Starlink Facial Recognition Company Clearview Attempted to Buy Social Security Numbers and Mugshots for its Database Scientists Achieve Record-Breaking Fusion Stability, Bringing Us One Step Closer to Clean Infinite Energy Police Warn iPhone, Android s As Dangerous Texts Soar 600% Do school phone bans actually work? A new study says not really Klarna's deal with DoorDash is a dystopian reminder that groceries are so expensive you need a loan to shop Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Harry McCracken, Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ, and Patrick Beja or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! what you love and get ad-free shows, a -only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: monarchmoney.com with code TWIT expressvpn.com/twit Melissa.com/twit kinsta.com/twit oracle.com/twit

The Electric State, Kill Switches, Baidu's AI, Scopely, Careless People, Gemini Robotics An arbitrator instructs a former Meta employee to stop promoting and publishing her book alleging company misconduct; publisher Flatiron Books earlier objected DeepMind's latest AI model can help robots fold origami and close Ziploc bags Future Today Strategy Group, or FTSG. Intel has a new CEO Russo Brothers' Busy, Boring Netflix Sci-Fi Directors Anthony and Joe Russo say they're building a high-tech studio aiming to help artists use AI as a creative tool to make films, shows, and video games Baidu launches two new versions of its AI model Ernie Startup Claims Its (RISC-V ISA) Zeus GPU is 10X Faster Than Nvidia's RTX 5090 Pokemon Go is getting a new owner after almost 9 years with Niantic Developer convicted for "kill switch" code activated upon his termination TikTok will play 'calming music' to remind teens to stop using the app F-35 kill switch concerns non-US countries Firmware update bricks HP printers, makes them unable to use HP cartridges Sonos Cancels Its Streaming Video Player - Slashdot Everything You Say To Your Echo Will Be Sent To Amazon Starting On March 28 Musk-led cuts drive US consumer protection agency to ask for Amazon trial delay Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Amy Webb, Glenn Fleishman, and Mikah Sargent or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! what you love and get ad-free shows, a -only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: zscaler.com/security shopify.com/twit deleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT ZipRecruiter.com/Twit uscloud.com

'Spring forward' no more: Trump and Musk want to end Daylight Saving Time changes. Here's what health experts say The $100 Trillion Disruption: The Unforeseen Economic Earthquake Apple Is Delaying the 'More Personalized Siri' Apple Intelligence Features An audit found that 10 top AI chatbots, including ChatGPT, Copilot, and Gemini, repeated false claims from a pro-Kremlin disinformation network 33% of the time Digg is getting another revival, this time with an injection of AI The Weird and Wacky Gadgets We Saw at MWC 2025 AMD finally has a decent NVIDIA killer with the Radeon 9070 + 9070 XT Sources: there haven't been negotiations between ByteDance and prospective TikTok US buyers, amid confusion over who's leading Trump istration negotiations Crony Crypto Capitalism Utah es First US App Store Age Verification Law The modern era of low-flying satellites may begin this week YouTube and Music Sur 125 Million Subscribers America's Justice Department Still Wants Google to Sell Chrome ing 'Space Ghost' Voice Actor George Lowe Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Devindra Hardawar, Mike Elgan, and Louis Maresca or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! what you love and get ad-free shows, a -only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: threatlocker.com for This Week in Tech bitwarden.com/twit expressvpn.com/twit NetSuite.com/TWIT coda.io/twit

Amazon Alexa event live blog: all the news from the keynote Amazon announces AI-powered Alexa Plus An in-depth look at Apple's AI crisis, as some in Apple's AI division believe that a true conversational "LLM Siri" won't be ready until iOS 20 at best in 2027 Google's co-founder tells AI staff to stop "building nanny products 'I want him to be prepared': why parents are teaching their gen Alpha kids to use AI Skype is shutting down after two decades Researchers accuse North Korea of $1.4 billion Bybit crypto heist House Democrats take aim at $TRUMP crypto meme coin Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard suggests UK broke agreement in secretly asking Apple to build iCloud backdoor Biden Justice Department downplayed U.K. demand for Apple 'back door' "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week ordered U.S. Cybercommand to "stand down" on Russia Meta Apologizes for Error That Flooded Instagram With Violent Content YouTube Says It Now Has More Than 1 Billion Monthly Viewers of Podcast Content 'The Brutalist' Director Brady Corbet Responds to AI Backlash Netflix is building an anti-Disneyland An small microbial ecosystem has formed on the International Space Station All 50 States Have Now Introduced Right to Repair Legislation Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Emily Forlini, Doc Rock, and Janko Roettgers or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! what you love and get ad-free shows, a -only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: canary.tools/twit - use code: TWIT deleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT ziprecruiter.com/twit zscaler.com/security expressvpn.com/twit

Over $1.4 billion taken from Bybit crypto exchange Apple Removes Cloud Encryption Feature From UK After Backdoor Order iOS18.4 Beta adds priority notifications, for robot vacs in Apple Home, but no smarter siri Amazon's revamped Alexa might launch over a month after its announcement event OpenAI now serves 400M s every week The New York Times adopts AI tools in the newsroom Amazon Appstore for Android is shutting down in August Spotify is making it easier to release audiobooks narrated by AI California privacy regulator seeks to fine Florida data broker after huge breach of Social Security numbers Donald Trump Is Turning CISA Into The Embodiment Of His Election Conspiracy Theories Asus Continues Fragrant Device Trend With an Aromatic Mouse - Slashdot iPhone 16E: all the news on Apple's new $599 phone Smart ring tracks health, fitness data with long battery life Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, Abrar Al-Heeti, and Larry Magid or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! what you love and get ad-free shows, a -only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: expressvpn.com/twit ziprecruiter.com/twit uscloud.com threatlocker.com for This Week in Tech Melissa.com/twit

TikTok is back on the App Store and the Play Store in the U.S. Elon Musk's DOGE Website Is Already Getting Hacked IRS Acquiring Nvidia Supercomputer Elon's bid for OpenAI is about making the for-profit transition as painful as possible for Altman, Intel has spoken with the Trump istration and TSMC over the past few months about a deal for TSMC to take control of Intel's foundry business Broadcom s TSMC In Considering Deals For Parts of Intel Arm to start making server Us in-house Thomson Reuters wins the first major US AI copyright ruling against fair use, in a case filed in May 2020 against legal research AI startup Ross Intelligence Perplexity just made AI research crazy cheap—what that means for the industry YouTube Surprise: CEO Says TV Overtakes Mobile as "Primary Device" for Viewing Google Maps now shows the 'Gulf of America' Scarlett Johansson Urges Government to Limit A.I. After Faked Video of Her Opposing Kanye West Goes Viral Google CEO Sees 'Useful' Quantum Computers 5 to 10 Years Away Trump says he has directed US Treasury to stop minting new pennies, citing rising cost Nearly 10 years after Data and Goliath, Bruce Schneier says: Privacy's still screwed Amazon's revamped Alexa might launch over a month after its announcement event Meta's Brain-to-Text AI Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Wesley Faulkner, Iain Thomson, and Brian McCullough or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! what you love and get ad-free shows, a -only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: shopify.com/twit oracle.com/twit zscaler.com/security ziprecruiter.com/twit deleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT

UK orders Apple to give it access to encrypted cloud data Google rolls back DEI efforts, including hiring goals Brits Want to Ban 'Smarter Than Human' AI Chiefs-Eagles Super Bowl 'Trades' Pit State Regulators Against Feds Google pulls incorrect Gouda stat from its AI Super Bowl ad "Torrenting from a corporate laptop doesn't feel right": Meta emails unsealed Amazon's AI revamp of Alexa assistant nears unveiling Google starts testing new Search 'AI Mode' internally – Here's an early look at it In Upholding The TikTok Ban, SCOTUS Compromises, And With It The First Amendment TikTok advises Android s in the US to sideload the app In Other SCOTUS First Amendment News, It Also Just Heard Oral Argument Over Yet Another Texas Law Censoring The Internet Teen on Musk's DOGE Team Graduated from 'The Com' CISA staffers offered deferred resignations, extending broader cybersecurity fears Elon Musk Ally Tells Staff 'AI-First' Is the Future of Key Government Agency German civil activists win victory in election case against Musk's X Trump Ends Legal Challenge Over Twitter Ban After Jan. 6 Riot Crypto-stealing apps found in Apple App Store for the first time Apple's Long-Awaited Overhaul of iPhone SE Nears Release Former iOS engineer sued by Apple issues apology as lawsuit is dismissed PS5 sales more than twice Xbox Series X/S reveals Take-Two by accident Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Daniel Rubino, Cathy Gellis, and Lisa Schmeiser or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! what you love and get ad-free shows, a -only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: threatlocker.com for This Week in Tech coda.io/twit bitwarden.com/twit expressvpn.com/twit NetSuite.com/TWIT

Takeaways From a Monumental Week for AI Sam Altman: OpenAI has been on the 'wrong side of history' concerning open source | TechCrunch DeepSeek's AI success is overshadowed by a serious security breac AI systems with 'unacceptable risk' are now banned in the EU | TechCrunch OpenAI partners with U.S. National Laboratories on scientific research, nuclear weapons security The NTSB chooses Elon Musk's X to update the press on plane crashes OpenAI launches o3-mini, its latest 'reasoning' model | TechCrunch Rabbit R1 and Pebble Apple's AI and AR Struggles Show It Has Lost Some of Its Product Edge Elon Musk's X begins its push into financial services with Visa deal Elon Musk's X sues Lego, Nestlé and more brands, accusing them of advertising boycott Thousands of U.S. Government Web Pages Have Been Taken Down Since Friday Musk aides lock workers out of OPM computer systems Elon Musk seizes computer system, locks out senior government officials Google says it will change Gulf of Mexico to 'Gulf of America' in Maps app after government updates Comcast unveils ultra-low lag Internet connection 23andMe might sell itself as it runs out of money Streaming prices climb in 2025 after already suring inflation rates Super Bowl Sundays are really noisy everywhere in the US Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Shoshana Weissmann, Christina Warren, and Dan Patterson or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! what you love and get ad-free shows, a -only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: uscloud.com canary.tools/twit - use code: TWIT ZipRecruiter.com/Twit deleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT zscaler.com/security

The Microsoft 365 Copilot launch was a total disaster Satya Nadella says he's 'good for $80 billion' after Elon Musk claims Stargate Project doesn't have the cash How Chinese AI Startup DeepSeek Made a Model that Rivals OpenAI Tesla brand value drops $15B in 2024 Wall Street Banks Prepare to Sell Billions of Dollars of X Loans Mark Zuckerberg post re: Llama 4 Hundreds of Subreddits Are Considering Banning All Links to X Crypto czar David Sacks says NFTs and memecoins are collectibles, not securities Trump's Crypto Venture Divides the Industry He Aims to Paul McCartney calls on UK government to protect artists from AI | TechCrunch Sony Japan ends production of recordable Blu-rays with 'no successor' planned Startups are built on dreams. This one is just more literal about it. When S.F. fought 'Pac-Man' Interview with Eventbrite CEO Julia Hartz Bill Gates: Trump, Musk and how my neurodiversity made me Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Ed Bott, Sam Abuelsamid, and Owen Thomas or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: oracle.com/twit zscaler.com/security expressvpn.com/twit Melissa.com/twit ZipRecruiter.com/Twit

Supreme Court Upholds Law That Threatens US TikTok Ban Trumpcoin Texas Sues Allstate Over Its Collection of Driver Data Skyrocketing car-insurance s are pushing inflation higher Behind the Curtain — Coming soon: Ph.D.-level super-agents 4 surprise products we could see at Samsung Unpacked 2025 Apple suspends error-strewn AI generated news alerts US Finalizes Rule Banning Smart Cars With Russian, Chinese Tech Natrium 'advanced nuclear' power plant wins Wyoming permit - WyoFile Cash App parent fined $175 million for 'woefully incomplete' response to fraud FDA Proposes Significant Step Toward Reducing Nicotine to Minimally or Nonaddictive Level in Cigarettes and Certain Other Combusted Tobacco Products Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Jason Hiner, Paris Martineau, and Molly White or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: deleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT ziprecruiter.com/twit NetSuite.com/TWIT canary.tools/twit - use code: TWIT shopify.com/twit

The discusses CES 2025 How Watch Duty's wildfire tracking app became a crucial lifeline for LA Worst in Show awards 2025 Aaron Swartz v Sam Altman We've not been trained for this: life after the Newag DRM disclosure All the Meta stuff (fact checking, etc.) Heritage Foundation plans to 'identify and target' Wikipedia editors The Government Wants to Protect Robux From Hackers Twitch Streamers Come Home After Big-Money Contracts at Rivals Dried Up Candy Crush, Tinder, MyFitnessPal: See the Thousands of Apps Hijacked to Spy on Your Location Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Nicholas De Leon, Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ, and Cory Doctorow or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: coda.io/twit expressvpn.com/twit threatlocker.com for This Week in Tech uscloud.com bitwarden.com/twit