Sept. 3, 2026

761: Whatever...

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The AI apocalypse has lawyers now, and apparently that’s progress. A federal judge tells the Pentagon its Anthropic ban was “illegal and baseless” after Anthropic refused to remove safeguards that would allow Claude to be used for mass surveillance and autonomous weapons. Meanwhile, Sony and Warner are suing Anthropic over allegedly scraping and torrenting copyrighted music to train Claude, while a separate lawsuit accuses xAI of using child sexual abuse material in Grok training. Because nothing says “revolutionary technology” quite like a growing stack of lawsuits and federal judges.

Elsewhere in the dystopian workplace, employees are increasingly fed up with AI, communities are pushing back against data centers, and one AI startup is fleeing that backlash for Saudi Arabia. Google’s AI shopping mode is also accused of recommending products that cost significantly more than traditional search results, while Waymo and Zoox rack up injuries among test drivers. Tesla’s Autopilot is implicated in another fatal crash, and FSD apparently still has a complicated relationship with freight trains. In the prediction-market casino, a federal appeals court sides with Nevada against Kalshi, while George Santos earns the platform’s first lifetime ban for allegedly manipulating a market. And Meta’s AI glasses are facing another privacy lawsuit, this time from the people who never bought the glasses but may have been recorded by them anyway.

Plus, the new Twitter is back from the dead, complete with a $20 admission fee and an AI fact-checker named Vera; Sony would like you to understand that buying a digital game means you don't actually own the damn thing; Siri on the Apple Watch moves at approximately the speed of continental drift; JBL makes Wi-Fi speakers and we have Star Trek, Ted Lasso, Silo, Spaceballs, Wicked, The Traitors, The Gentlemen, and more. Welcome to the future. Please bring your wallet, your lawyer, and possibly you're best eye-roll.


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Show notes at https://gog.show/761


Watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/Y9B6C6nzO50


SHOW NOTES


Judge rules that the Pentagon's Anthropic ban was 'illegal and baseless'


Elon Musk’s xAI used child porn to train Grok models, lawsuit says


Sony and Warner sue Anthropic for 'blatant violation' of copyright law


Researchers Warn AI Could Be Changing Us in an Unexpected Way


More Evidence Emerges That Gen-Xers Feel the Most ‘Whatever’ About AI


Employees Absolutely Loath AI in the Workplace, Survey Finds


Fleeing Data Center Backlash at Home, American AI Startup Sets Up Shop In Saudi Arabia


Trump to Communities Fighting Data Centers: Have Fun Being Poor


Google’s AI Mode Is Ripping Shoppers Off With Vastly Higher Prices, Study Claims


Waymo, Zoox Vehicles Still Causing Injuries to Test Drivers: Report


Another Tesla on Autopilot Stopped on Freeway, Driver Died: Report


Teslas Are Still Driving Into Oncoming Freight Trains


US appeals court sides with Nevada in legal fight with Kalshi


George Santos Gets Kalshi’s First-Ever Lifetime Ban


Meta Hit With Sweeping New Claims That Its AI Glasses Violated the Consent of “Millions” of Bystanders in Searing Lawsuit


Richest Man in the World Currently Ranks 4th in Race to Bribe the Most Politicians


JBL just introduced a trio of Wi-Fi speakers for whole-home audio


There's a new Twitter in town, even though a judge has yet to rule on a trademark injunction


Sony says ‘reasonable consumers’ know they don’t own the digital games they buy


Star Trek: Strange New Worlds


Ted Lasso


Silo


Wicked: For Good


Spaceballs


Dave Bittner


The CyberWire


Hacking Humans


Caveat


Only Malware in the Building


Roland's new digital piano has built-in Wi-Fi that integrates with a teaching app


Roland FP-40 Digital Piano Review


Elton John - I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That


Roland RD-1000


The Brutalist Report

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