 This 10th year of Daily Tech News show is made possible by its listeners, thanks to all of you, including DeGrasche A. Daniels, Irwinster, Ken Hayes, and our new Patron, Travis! Welcome, Travis! On this episode of DTNS, when home security cameras aren't in fact secure, what happens? Amazon will let you know if AI wrote your next favorite book and the weirdest thing that you will see in Target ever. This is the Daily Tech News for Monday, September 11th, 2023. From Studio Salon, I'm Sarah Lane. From deep in the heart of Texas, I'm Justin Robert Young. And I'm the show's producer, Roger J. All right, we are talking about all the things today. You know, the next book that you buy on Amazon might be written by AI, might not, but you're going to know. But first, before we get to any of that, let's start with the quickups. Qualcomm announced on Monday that Apple will buy its modem semiconductors for three more years. That's extending an agreement that was set to end this year. Good news for Qualcomm, because Apple is Qualcomm's largest customer, and according to Bloomberg, makes up almost a quarter of Qualcomm's overall revenue. At its 2023 Roblox Developers Conference last week, Roblox announced new AI tools to help creators make experiences more easily. The Roblox Assistant, as it's called, is an extension of previously announced features that will help build virtual assets and write code by typing in prompts to do things like generating virtual environments. An example Roblox used for this is typing, quote, I want to make a game set in ancient ruins, make the player spawned by a campfire in the ruins, add some trees for the player to chop down, end quote. Roblox also announced that it will be available on the PlayStation 4 and 5, starting in October, spooky. Ancient ruins everywhere with trees to chop down. I mean, that was only one example, but sense one. Reuters sources say Sweden-based Embracer, Embracer owns Gearbox Entertainment, is exploring a sale of Gearbox Entertainment, which is a US game developer that you might know of because it is the owner of the Tomb Raider franchise, as well as Borderlands. Well known. Back in June, Embracer announced a restructuring including studio closures, cancel projects, and layoffs, so this may be a way to further cut costs. Pretty good IP. You got to wonder where it's going to land. Instacart filed for an IPO Monday with a target of up to $9.3 billion in valuation. Instacart said it hopes to raise up to $616 million by offering 22 million shares priced between $26 and $28 each. In a move seen as unusual, some investors have agreed to buy up to $400 million worth of shares sold in the offering, which would make up almost two-thirds of the total proceeds at the top of the price range. Almost as if it's still private while going. The Wall Street Journal sources say that Metta is working on a new artificial intelligence system designed to be as powerful as OpenAI's chat GPT, or at least the company hopes so. Metta reportedly hopes its model will be ready by next year, at some point, and designed to be several times more powerful than Lama II, which you might remember is the model that released it released just two short months ago. Metta's all in on AI. And those are the quick hits. All right, let's talk about writing books and who should. After complaints from groups, such as the Author's Guild, but not the only group, Amazon has started requiring writers who want to sell books through Amazon's Ebrook program to disclose if their work includes artificial intelligence material. The Author's Guild says the new regulations posted last week are a welcome first step towards keeping a handle on AI-generated books on the platform, saying that it thanks, quote, the Amazon team for taking our concerns into account and enacting this important step towards ensuring transparency and accountability for AI-generated content. Boy, Justin, if all the guilds and the, you know, big ol' conglomerates could work as nicely as these two have. But how do we feel about AI-generated book content in general? I'm not sure how much I would care if it was a good book, but I think disclosure is probably the right call. Well, here's the bigger problem for Amazon and ebooks. And first, let's understand their scenario before we delve into what AI does to it. Amazon is the unquestioned king of this market. Not only do they have the biggest library, they have a relationship with customers that they have built for as long as Amazon has been a company, and ebook readers are voracious. These are sometimes multiple book a day readers that are largely also consumers to Amazon by way of their Kindle products. All that being said, part of what makes that relationship strong is Amazon's recommendation engine. When Amazon recommends something, ebook consumers very often take them up on it. What Amazon does not want is a infinite flooding of their market by way of AI writing, things that are not necessarily great, but are gameable to a point where it will sell X amount of copies and people can essentially make money by chumming up the waters for ebooks. One might say that it's already hit elements of saturation up till now. Imagine what happens when infinite books happen into that store infinitely. And so because of that, Amazon has actually been pretty punitive about fully AI generated books for a while now. And in fact, to my knowledge, they still don't allow fully AI generated books. Right. And we're living in the world of 2023 for which AI is very helpful for writing. And you can understand that if you're an author and you're writing at the speed of some of these ebook authors, maybe a little help here and again, even if it's just for helping out the story or grammar, you might want to use AI. And so essentially what they want to do is just continue to monitor and make people disclose certain things because eventually we're going to get to a point where these AI models are good enough that they can rip out books that are good for the readers. And when that happens, Amazon has a whole new different problem on their hands. 100%. And you know, never been a novel fiction or film fiction publisher myself. I can say, if it's good, it's good. Who cares? Now, if you're an author, you don't necessarily feel at all the same way that I do. When I think about Amazon in general and the idea of AI and, you know, maybe promoting products that aren't that great and, you know, fake reviews and just sort of a gamification of the system in general, I think that's a lot harder, at least for me, as somebody who buys things and by and large, the same things over and over on Amazon. You know, I still will just like get some like rando company that's selling some, I don't know, eye masks and, you know, I don't care all that much about, you know, how good they are, how well they're made. But if I, you know, get burned once, I won't come back. But when you're an author, you know, there's so much more at stake, right? If you're an author that puts out, let's just say, AI generated book that's just a bunch of hot garbage. It's not just that people will say that was a bad book, it's that that's a bad author. So sure, I guess you could change your name and, you know, game the system that much farther, but only to a certain point. Well, we often with any kind of future technology tend to think that the future is just the present but slightly larger. And so all the examples that you gave were essentially just making the lives of people that already game systems easier, of which it will almost assuredly do. But there are already safeguards for that kind of behavior. What I really think is going to be existentially cataclysmic for the relationships of authors who have found the ebook store to be a lifeline for middle class writers. And the future of AI is going to be the point where they need to decide, am I an AI prompt engineer that sows things together, or maybe even doesn't, because the token limit will get so high? Or am I still going to be writing and hand crafting these things? And will the audience give a rat's patoot? Before we move on, just to note, the US Copyright Office again rejected copyright protection for art created using AI, the specific case was a request by artist Jason M. Allen, which was denied due to a copyright covering an award winning image that he created with the generative AI system mid journey. Allen had argued I put in over 600 prompts. This was definitely me as a human's work. The US Copyright Office did not agree. All right, Justin, let's talk about everyone's worst nightmare. Well, all the smart people that listen to this show, I'm sure you might have some of these friends of yours that think that you're being over dramatic about privacy. Well, I want you to find them. And I want you to tell them to their face or via text the following story Friday, some why security camera owners noted on Reddit that they were able to see webcam feeds that weren't their own. A wise spokesperson tells the Verge that this was indeed an error and was due to a web caching issue noting that the paging question was quote currently under maintenance and that quote, we are working on this and we'll update you when it's available again. Yeah, so after the Verge published the story originally wise spokesperson Dave Crosby told the publication quote, this was a web caching caching issue and is now resolved for about 30 minutes this afternoon, a small number of users who used a web browser to log into their camera on view.wise.com. That's W I Z E may have seen cameras of other users who may also have been logged in through view.wise.com during that time frame. This issue did not affect the wise app or users that did not log into view.wise.com during that time period. Okay, well, this is definitely the company saying small number of users, many of you, you know, are using apps or just weren't active during this time. But it just takes the one just takes the one. Well, you know, this gets to, I think, a natural point that we were going to eventually land at after two decades of extraordinarily cheap manufacturing. And I don't mean to say that that's a negative thing. In fact, I want it to be a positive thing that as we created web services and hardware in a match that is more and more affordable. Number one, more people can understand the benefits that technology can give them. But we've also grown faster than I think our expectation for security and reputation of companies should be. I foresee a world where, you know, Apple has spent a lot of time, love or hate them, Apple spent a lot of time saying security is a priority for us. We are going to eschew money on advertising so we can protect your security. We are going to make big public fights and lines in the sand with the government based on the idea that we will have a secure device for you that matters to us, especially as you are going to pay a higher price for their products. Wise, for example, and I have a wise scale, so everybody will be able to know that I weighed in at 167 pounds this morning. And probably even the trend line of where my body fat percentage is going. 167, look at you, trim man. I mean, hey, the body fat percentage is going in the wrong direction. All that aside, this is something for which I bought because it was cheap and not necessarily cheap, but mid-budget. I can see a world where reputation is really going to matter and it's not just going to matter based on hacks or on mistakes like this. It's going to be based on the hierarchy and the decision that they have made from an organizational level on up on how to protect this data because that's going to matter a lot more going forward than simply the ability to get a cheap camera or get a cheap light bulb or get a cheap scale. That's always going to be available, but I do think it's going to become more of a common talking point, how serious they're taking care of your data. Yeah, I'm not, I know our audience would know, but I'm not sure how much the average wise user of a variety of products that are designed to be private, unless you want them to be shared with other people. How many people are going to be outraged over this? When I saw this story, I was like, I mean, this is the worst case scenario, absolute worst case scenario for any company that is supposed to let you be able to check in on your house or check in on your pets or your family members or whatever. Your child, your baby, anything. And somehow someone else is like, I saw your mom in your living room in her underwear. And it doesn't even have to be like, ooh, I saw something that's really sensitive. That's not the point. The point is that you have an expectation that something like this would not happen. A web caching issue, you know, the company didn't do it on purpose, but that is a really big fail. And yeah, I mean, I wouldn't buy a wise camera after this. It's an organizational thing. And that's something that when I say that people are going to be more aware of it, I would expect it to be mentioned in places like Wirecutter or something like that. Very public facing, consumer friendly elements. If you're going to talk about trade offs, it's not just going to be a hardware thing. It will also be, hey, this company has a history of not securing data. Well, what has a history of securing our hearts and minds is video games. Yeah, yeah. If you want to know what Tom Merritt thinks about video games, especially video games of the past, you should watch the latest Tom's top five, the show where Tom breaks down the five top things he thinks you need to know about technology. And the latest episode Tom lists the top five oddball video game consoles ever made from triangle shaped consoles to the one that induces nausea. Hmm, I don't know. Fun for some. Learn about all of them at youtube.com slash daily tech news show. All right, Justin, let's talk about the DMA, that is the European Union's Digital Markets Act that is the moment we've all been waiting for, set to impose strict rules on big tech companies that will have to provide interoperability to let users communicate with each other using different apps. Meta owned WhatsApp in the news today, because it is considered a gatekeeper by the DMA, thus must comply with the DMA. And the latest WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.19.8 update shows that even though sort of it's a big nothing right now, at least for people who code can see, ah, WhatsApp is already working on solutions for new regulations. Although what's about six months to do so, what the idea eventually will be is, let's say I send you something, Justin, using the signal app, you're a WhatsApp user, I am not, I would be able to send you that message and our ability. So thoughts here, you know, the EU is always doing something crazy, right? Can I be an old man here, Sarah? You're gonna, you're gonna, I know, I just performatively ask for permission. I'm gonna do it. Do we really know you must run over you because that's another old man thing to do is to run over people after asking a rhetorical question. Do we really want these apps to be communicating with each other? Because I do. Why? Well, because that would mean less work on my end. And listen, I am, I am not under the impression that somebody on, I'm not under the impression that somebody on Facebook Messenger thinks that I should, you know, send a response on iMessage, you know, iOS, iMessage and it for it to work. But that would be cool. I mean, but these brands mean something to me. My messages app are for friends and family and people who wrote down my number the one time that I on a dare published it on the internet. The signal is all my security friends and a few of my more paranoid family members. Telegram and WhatsApp are by and large international friends of mine that I have been lucky enough to make. And I like that. I go to different digital neighborhoods. I have different conversations. If everything became one big slosh, then I wouldn't care about them in the way that I care about these conversations now. So I'm sure that this is probably a shifting opinion. And maybe Gen Z wants everything to be in one big pile. But for me, I like, you know, I'm going to channel the offspring. You got to keep them separated. Well, well, I don't think you're going to not in the EU anyway, unless you want some some pretty hefty fines. I mean, this, I know what you're saying. And I totally agree with you. Like my Facebook Messenger crew, and they're lovely. If anyone's out there, love, love you. But you're a certain area of my life. My Telegram people are a little bit different. My WeChat people, boy, are they different? And that but that doesn't really say anything about the companies. It says something about the people who are using this stuff. I mean, this reminds me of something like Trillion, where, you know, it was AOL instant messenger, Yahoo messenger, ICQ, like whoever just dump it all on there. And then you've got like this fun way to chat with a bunch of people. That's what I, I think as a user, I get out of this. I mean, obviously I understand what the EU is doing to say like, Hey, you're too big. And now you must fail and, you know, start playing nicely with others. Well, I think it's the EU making work for themselves and making decisions, whether or not the customer base really wants it. That's the other thing is that all these things are free by and large. Aside from, you know, Apple's Messenger app, which obviously you need to have an Apple device. So there is a gate there that you have to pay to enter. In general, these are all apps that if you have a phone, you can download them, you can create different accounts for each of them. I just, I don't see the customer need for it because for my consumer drive does not want it. If these apps wanted to work together, then I think they would find a reason to do it. I don't know. I like being able to separate my conversations into different apps. Yeah. At the same time, you know, and I hate to be like, well, what about, you know, your grandmother kind of thing, because lots of people in our lives have different. Or your grandfather. I got you. I mean, I don't even have any grandparents anymore. They're along gone. But somebody in my life who is who is not super, you know, tech savvy for me to kind of set up something for them and say here, all you have to do is hang out in one place. That's great. But that's actually not what the European Union cares about in the sense that we're not thinking about the untech savvy people in the world. Yeah, I don't know. This feels like an application of other EU law that I don't know if it fits here. But, you know, maybe we can set up a little telegram group complaining about EU regulations and then eventually we'll be able to infect every other app. I would prefer signal, Justin, but okay. You got it. Let's let's do that. All right. I'm just going to read this next description about a product from Target, US national chain, beloved love target, quote, inspired by the most influential gaming console of its time. This collector building set celebrates the legacy of the Xbox 360 jump back in with a fully buildable light up console and controller. The console opens to reveal a disk drive and other Easter eggs place the Halo three themed disk inside to activate the motherboard adult builders take note completing the set unlocks the ultimate achievement. Okay, sounds kind of fun question question. Would you know that this is not in fact an Xbox 360 if you bought it because it costs the same amount as an Xbox 360 more or less. This is a remarkable moment in history where adults totally run the toy market. Kids don't want toys aside from really, really young ones. They want them less and less. They want screen time. They want to interact with their Roblox virtual assistant so they can make a game featuring ruins and three trees where you spawn next to the campfire. That's what they want. And so the toy market having existed for oh so many years have realized that the people that are buying their stuff are adults, adults who want to remember the time that they were children. And guess what? There's an entire generation that are collecting big boy and girl paychecks that are ready to rebuild among their first consoles the Xbox 360. So for them, I'm sure it is great. They're going to have a really, really good time. And I hope the ultimate achievement is a red ring of death. Well, okay, so when I first saw this, this, this item, the ultimate achievement, I was like, Oh, and then it works. And it's an Xbox 360. And I actually sent this around. This is like, you know, a couple of days ago, you know, to friends of mine, I was like, am I dumb or am I missing something here? And they were like, no, man, this is like Lego stuff. This is not Xbox 360. No. And by the way, I'm going to buy it and think it's like drastically, you know, reduced. I don't think he mad. I think that they know exactly what they're doing. And as Roger is putting in our chat here, pre orders are sold out for this. Oh, yeah. So it is already extraordinarily popular. And I say, you know, for people that grew up playing with Legos and playing Halo three. Hey, you know, the snow days are right around the corner, everybody, you get that you get that build that. I mean, I will say, you know, iPods were something that were very, very important to my college years, my late, or my college years. And so like I went back when I got to a certain buying power, I just bought old iPod iPods. I have no idea what I'm going to do with them. I always like a fancy world where I'll make a little art installation with them. I have no idea. I just like to remember that time that I own those iPods. I bought one and then I started mentioning that I wanted like, I imagine like 25 or something. People started sending me their old iPods. And so now I have probably 10 or 11. Oh, you know what? Installation time. That'll be fun. I know. I know. Yeah. But hey, if anybody either has bought the Xbox 360 kit, the mod, the mod set, or really, really, really has a great thought about why this is so fun, even though it won't play any actual games. Do send us an email feedback at dailytechnewshow.com. We would love to know more. Speaking of emails, Kirill wrote in about our combo last Thursday. That was around a BMW scrapping its heated seat subscription model saying no one liked that and we are not going to do that anymore. Knock it off. Yeah. But Kirill said, this is kind of like software licenses, right? He says, do you remember the days when software came on multiple CDs or DVDs and then you had to enter a license key to unlock some of the features? Let's say you have a disc with home, professional, and enterprise versions of Windows. You can't say, but the enterprise version is already on the disc. Why can't I use it? Same thing with maybe Adobe, Kirill products, where they may give you a disc with all of their products, but your license may unlock only some of them. Kirill says, maybe BMW is considering itself a software company in this regard, spending lots of time and money in research and development to create a product, now licensing to others the right to use some or all of those features. It's not a bad analogy, but hardware matters psychologically differently in the minds of the consumer. And that's where I think you find the pushback, especially at a luxury status symbol item like BMW. When you are spending BMW money, you want to feel like a BMW owner. You don't want to feel like a middle-class BMW owner who has a cold butt. Yeah, yeah. I get what you're going with here, Kirill. And there are definitely some comparisons to be had, but yeah, when you're like, but the software to heat the seats is already installed in this car that I am sitting in right now and I pay monthly for, you know, it's a tough sell. And it's like, if I wanted to save money, I could buy a tricked out luxury Hyundai for probably less than what you paid for the BMW and your butt would be toasty warm because they don't do that. Yeah. Or even cool. Oh, you know, the cars, we have the cool ones. Delightful. An absolute delight. Makes you want to wear shorts again in a car. Well, just remember, young, thank you whether you wear shorts or not for being with us today. Let folks know where they can keep up with your latest. Like John Stockton. They're way past mid-thigh. Ladies and gentlemen, you have one thing to do if you have not already done it. And that's listen to the season premiere of Know a Little More. On this season of Know a Little More, we are going to dive into every little nook and cranny of the mother of all demos. 1968, demonstrating much of the technology that we use in our modern world, including hypertext, the mouse, video conferencing. Why did it take over a decade for these technologies to go mainstream? We go piece by piece, including in the premiere, the demo itself, the fact that the mother of all demos literally gave birth to the Apple, Google and Microsoft demos that we know and love today. It's Know a Little More with Tom Merritt. Well, we're so happy to have you on the show with us. Patrons, you know who you are, but we'd like to shout you out and just say, hi, we really appreciate you. Do stick around for the extended show, Good Day, Internet. Would you sign up for a credit card from a video game company? You might already sign up for credit card versus, you know, depending on certain platforms. So we're going to discuss Xbox's latest move to broaden its brand to credit cards. But just a reminder, you can get your show live Monday through Friday at 4 p.m. Eastern. That is 2,800 at UTC. And you can find out more at dailytechnewshow.com slash live. We're back again tomorrow. Kind of a ho-hum day. Wunderlust, Apple announcement. I'm just kidding. It's going to be a big one. The Snobboist team will be joining us. Nico Monford and Terence Gaines will be joining us. Don't miss it. Talk to you then.