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Hashtag Trending

Jim Love

A daily news program covering the top stories in technology with a weekend in depth interview.

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Yesterday · 14 min
Et Tu, Jensen? Nvidia CEO Apologizes as Scandal Grows
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang apologizes as the company launches an independent investigation. Mark Cuban says Meta is turning a blind eye to Facebook scam ads using his face and voice to sell a fake diabetes cure. On Hashtag Trending for Tuesday, November 10, 2026, Jim Love examines Huang's apology, the reported espionage allegations, Nvidia's falling shares and questions about leadership succession. Nvidia's board says it has no reason to believe company secrets or U.S. national security were compromised. We also look at the vulnerable people hurt by AI-generated scam ads, Starlink's changing monthly prices, and the gap between workplace AI adoption and employee guidance. In this episode: • Jensen Huang's apology, Nvidia's investigation and congressional scrutiny. • Mark Cuban's complaint about fake diabetes-cure ads on Facebook—and the human cost of online fraud. • Starlink price increases of 10–20% for some U.S. customers, alongside discounts in other locations. • An ISA Cybersecurity survey in which 48% of respondents said they had never received employer guidance on safe AI use. The survey excluded Quebec. • "Ram Altman," a developer's joke about unused computer memory. Altman says his original comments were taken out of context. CHAPTERS 00:00 Today's Tech Headlines 00:55 Jensen Huang's Apology and Nvidia Investigation 05:15 Mark Cuban Calls Out Facebook Scam Ads 08:53 Starlink Price Hikes and Dynamic Pricing 11:29 AI at Work: The Safety Guidance Gap 14:31 Ram Altman and the Unused Memory Prank 15:38 Wrap-Up and Sign-Off Subscribe to Hashtag Trending for daily technology news with Jim Love. Share the episode, leave a comment, and tell us which story matters most to you.
Monday · 14 min
Apple Caps Employee AI Spend, Google Weighs Space Data Centers, and Big Tech Sues California
Apple Caps Employee AI Spend, Google Weighs Space Data Centers, and Big Tech Sues California David Shipley guest hosts Hashtag Trending for Nov. 9, 2026, covering major tech headlines: Apple is reportedly cutting daily AI spending limits for some employees (from $300 to $200, with possible lower caps) as other companies also rein in AI budgets, emphasizing cheaper models and on-device AI. Google is testing AI computing in orbit with a small TPU-equipped satellite but says space data centers could cost up to 100x more than Earth-based facilities, with major hurdles like heat, radiation, orbital crowding, and launch constraints. Police still have made no arrests in an $11.4 million NVIDIA hardware highway theft as similar heists surge. OpenAI sought $30B but has raised $11B so far amid heavy losses and massive compute spending. Google, Meta, and TikTok are suing California to block AB 1709, a law limiting addictive social media features for kids under 16. 00:00 Today's Tech Headlines 00:31 Meet the Host 00:47 Apple Caps AI Spending 01:48 How Token Billing Works 02:29 AI Budget Cuts Spread 03:45 Is the AI Party Over 04:11 Data Centers in Space 04:30 Google's Orbital TPU Test 05:07 Why Space Data Centers Fail 07:01 Nvidia Highway Heist Update 08:14 Why AI Hardware Theft Pays 09:12 OpenAI Funding Falls Short 09:53 OpenAI Burn Rate Reality 11:26 Big Tech Sues California 13:21 Host Take on Addictive Apps 14:23 Wrap Up and Where to Listen
Saturday · 1 hr 10 min
Project Synapse: Billionaire AI Owners Were Always Blue (Parody) The Kid Who Hacked The Tesla And More
Project Synapse: David Colombo on Tesla Hacking, AI-Driven Zero-Days, and the Next Two Years of Cybersecurity Project Synapse opens with a humorous AI-generated song about tech CEOs and introduces guest David Colombo, who at 19 disclosed TeslaMate flaws that enabled remote control of Teslas in 13 countries, later advising organizations like GSK and KnowBe4 and founding Alaris Security. Colombo recounts growing up in rural Germany, learning to code, finding early vulnerabilities, and explains why TeslaMate and ecosystem tokens were attractive targets, noting weak scoping and suspicious-request detection. The discussion shifts to AI's rapid advancement in offensive security, democratizing zero-day discovery and shrinking patch windows, with debate on unauthorized "patching" versus change-management realities and the need for safer, faster patching methods. Colombo predicts the next two years will be stressful as defenders catch up, calling for greater support for security efforts. Hosts also discuss model scaling, synthetic data, emergent self-correction, misinformation risks, "compute campuses," and evolving AI pricing and image tools. 00:00 Cold Open AI Song 01:43 Show Intro Guest Setup 03:13 David Colombo Origin Story 06:45 TeslaMate Hack Breakdown 10:56 AI Supercharges Attacks 14:24 Should We Auto Patch 19:39 Why AI Deployments Insecure 21:14 Two Year Security Forecast 24:50 Post Interview Security Talk 28:20 New Models Data Rumors 30:04 Synthetic Data Model Scaling 31:52 Regulation Conspiracy Chat 33:31 Build Infrastructure First 35:00 Astra Finds Model Errors 36:13 Recursive Self Improvement Debate 40:34 Bad Data and Election Misinformation 43:09 Sycophancy and Prompting Risks 49:34 Tech CEO Satire Video 52:31 Compute Campuses Rebrand Jokes 55:08 ChatGPT Pricing Tiers Explained 57:47 Image Tools and AI Slop 01:00:54 AI Economics and Public Goods 01:06:28 Companion Bots and Sexbot Buzz 01:08:56 Wrap Up and Where to Comment
Friday · 11 min
Tech Stocks Whipsaw After Democratic Wins, Google AI-in-Schools Backlash, Starlink Ad Surveillance, AI Companion 'Breakups'
Jim Love's Hashtag Trending for Friday, November 6, 2026 covers volatile tech markets as investors interpret Democratic election wins amid concerns over AI spending, data center restrictions, and looming congressional scrutiny, including attention on Elon Musk, while noting financial pressures such as Oracle's near-junk credit status and upcoming fundraising moves by Anthropic and OpenAI. The episode also reports backlash against Google's school account changes that force schools to accept AI features in Search or disable Search entirely, drawing criticism from NYC Mayor Zoran Mandami and Lina Khan. Reuters findings are cited on suspected surveillance of Starlink users via targeted ads linked to DiscoverTech, alongside Citizen Lab research showing spyware delivery through "adfection." Finally, studies on AI companion apps describe benefits and distress when updates or shutdowns disrupt attachments, recommending user consultation and clear reminders that AI lacks real emotions. 00:00 Headlines and Intro 00:29 Tech Stocks After Election 01:33 Congress Scrutiny and Musk 03:08 AI Bubble and IPO Watch 05:03 Google AI in Schools 07:03 Ads Used for Surveillance 09:04 AI Companions and Attachment 10:49 Weekend Show and Wrap Up
Thursday · 7 min
Voters Reject Data Centers, Tesla/SpaceX Slip, OccupySaaS Rises, and Canada Pushes Digital Sovereignty
Link to Digital Governance Council https://dgc-cgn.org/ On Thursday, November 5, the show covers US election-night results affecting data center development, with communities passing dozens of measures to pause, restrict, require resident approval for, or outright ban projects, driven by concerns over electricity bills, water use, noise, and local control. Related AI and infrastructure stocks fell, including Oracle, CoreWeave, and NVIDIA, highlighting that community acceptance is a key constraint alongside chips, financing, and power. Despite a broader market rally, Tesla and SpaceX declined, and Trump Media fell about a quarter. The episode also discusses OccupySaaS, a laid-off-engineer movement using AI agents plus human review to build open source alternatives to SaaS giants, starting with Auth0 and Salesforce, though both projects remain early. Finally, Canada's Digital Governance Council releases a resolution urging stronger sovereign control over critical data and computing, Canadian-controlled digital payments infrastructure with democratic oversight, and greater influence over digital-economy rules and standards. 00:00 Headlines and Setup 00:32 Voters Reject Data Centers 01:56 AI Stocks Feel the Heat 02:22 Tesla SpaceX Trump Media Slide 03:08 OccupySaaS Open Source Rebuild 04:09 Reality Check on DIY SaaS 04:40 Canada Pushes Digital Sovereignty 05:34 Three Priorities for Infrastructure 06:33 Wrap Up and How to Support
November 4 · 10 min
AI Chatbots Botch Election Informaiton
AI Chatbots Botch Midterm Ballots, Intel's Chip Slump Deepens, Cisco Bets on Unlimited AI Refactor On hashtag trending for Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, Jim Love covers testing by The Washington Post showing AI chatbots generated inaccurate voter guides ahead of the US midterms, including inventing races, misidentifying candidates, and frequently failing to correctly identify congressional districts, with some errors traced to AI-generated voter-info websites; OpenAI updated ChatGPT's Democracy Works integration after the tests and Amazon paused Alexa's voter guide. The episode also reports steep chip-stock declines led by Intel, with Yahoo estimating chip and memory stocks lost about $3.7 trillion since Oct. 6, and notes AMD's upcoming earnings as a signal for industry pressure. Cisco is reportedly giving a two-person team unlimited AI tokens to refactor 98% of legacy code in two years. Wells Fargo will require customers to revoke AI agent access and keep proof. New Brunswick introduces legislation targeting unfair digital practices affecting consumers under 16. 00:00 Headlines Rundown 00:43 Chatbots Botch Ballots 02:51 Chip Stocks Slide 04:37 Cisco Unlimited Tokens 06:33 Wells Fargo Agent Proof 07:21 Protecting Kids Online 09:19 Wrap Up and Support
November 3 · 14 min
Fake Nuclear Alerts Hit Ukraine & Russia,
Fake Nuclear Alerts Hit Ukraine & Russia, Brazil's WhatsApp Election Playbook, Uneven Tech Stock Rebound, and OpenAI's "Compute Campuses" Rebrand Jim Love reports on hackers sending fake nuclear and chemical warnings through emergency apps in Ukraine and Russia, naming groups that claimed responsibility and stressing the need to treat civic infrastructure cybersecurity as defense spending amid warnings from Canada's Cyber Centre and U.S. agencies about hostile infiltration of essential networks. The episode examines Brazil's election, where Lula supporters used a WhatsApp channel ("Lula's Army") to mobilize over 10 million followers with daily tasks, reduce dependence on platform algorithms, and avoid boosting opponents through engagement, alongside disputes over Meta's reach and AI outputs and court-ordered equal treatment. Markets steadied after Friday's tech sell-off but recovery was uneven as investors question AI spending. Finally, it covers public opposition to data centers over water, power, and pollution, and OpenAI's push to rebrand them as "compute campuses," arguing naming doesn't solve community concerns. 00:00 Today's Headlines 00:34 Fake Nuclear Alerts Hack 02:16 Defending Civic Infrastructure 03:30 Brazil's WhatsApp Ground Game 05:59 Platform Bias and Regulation 09:00 Tech Stocks After Selloff 10:11 Data Centers Backlash 11:57 Compute Campuses Rebrand 13:49 Wrap Up and Support
November 2 · 15 min
1 Trillion Lost In Tech Meltdown
Tech stocks shed more than $1 trillion as investors question whether massive AI spending will pay off. Jim Love examines the selloff, the $6.36 billion Binance hack, a Homeland Security personnel leak, Canada's European computing partnership and Claude Code's new restrictions on game recreations. Hashtag Trending for Monday, November 2, 2026. Intel plunges nearly 29%, while AI bubble warnings put technology valuations under scrutiny. Also: frozen versus recovered cryptocurrency, what the Icepick database reveals about DHS, Canada's access to EuroHPC infrastructure, Ottawa's Cohere investment and the growing debate over AI-built software lookalikes. CHAPTERS 00:00 Today's Tech Headlines 00:49 Tech Stocks Fall on AI Spending Fears 02:06 AI Bubble Warnings and Stock Valuations 03:48 Binance's Record $6.36 Billion Hack 05:14 Frozen Crypto, Recovery and Customer Withdrawals 06:46 Icepick Exposes Homeland Security Personnel 07:55 What We Know About the Alleged Access 08:55 Why Employee Directories Become Intelligence 10:13 Canada Joins Europe's EuroHPC Network 11:04 Cohere Investment and Aleph Alpha Agreement 12:50 Claude Code Restricts Game Recreations 13:21 Adobe Lookalikes and Intellectual Property 15:13 Clock Changes, Listener Feedback and Sign-Off Did the clock change disrupt your home automation or other software? Tell us what happened in the comments. Contact Jim or support the show at https://technewsday.com.
October 31 · 1 hr 27 min
Project Synapse: The Very Scary AI Halloween Edition
Project Synapse: Halloween Edition — Cohere's $1.6B Boost, AI Agent Risks, Grok in Real Life, and a Kung Fu Security Robot Marcel's Video of the Kung Fu Robot - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3zb4o47yqA And Join Our Discord - www.projectsynapse.ca In this Halloween edition of Project Synapse, the hosts banter about costumes, including a Hermes/Mercury "AI agent," and Marcel demos Tesla's Halloween mode. In a lightning round, they discuss Canada's $1.6B investment in Cohere and its large Command A+ model, plus concerns about AI-driven security vulnerabilities, agent boundary-crossing incidents, Cloudflare AI response data leakage, and banks warning against letting personal agents handle banking. They note market jitters as AI spending pressures cash flow at Meta and Google, Microsoft buyouts that spare data center roles, and scrutiny of NVIDIA's Hugging Face acquisition. They touch on rights holders suing Anthropic over Elvis-style output and speculate about an OpenAI "GPT 6.2 Beetlejuice/Belle" release. A longer discussion covers heavy reliance on agent suggestions (86% compliance) and research showing agents may treat missing prohibitions as permission, alongside practical experiences using Grok and Muse for email, notes, and tasks. They close with a Unitree H2X "Kung Fu" security robot demo and mention the deaths of Walter Koenig and Patrick Stewart. 00:00 Cold Open Banter 00:24 Halloween Costumes Reveal 00:41 Hermes AI Agent Bit 02:49 Tesla Halloween Mode Demo 05:40 Lightning Round Setup 06:02 Canada Backs Cohere 11:34 Spooky AI Headlines 14:15 Agent Risks And Leaks 18:35 AI Money Crunch 22:53 Elvis And GPT Rumors 26:24 GrokBot Agent Workflow 27:31 Permissions Notes And Trust 34:24 Cross Platform App Rant 36:54 Back To Linux With Agents 38:34 Multi OS Workflow 39:58 Agent Speed Frustrations 40:39 Muse Pricing Hack 42:26 Email Assistants Reality 45:16 Privacy And Training Tradeoffs 46:23 Inbox Cleanup Superpowers 50:08 Corporate Use Warnings 50:44 Humans Defer To AI 52:51 Trust And Verification 01:03:17 Permission By Omission 01:06:18 Humans Are GPTs 01:10:52 Training Safer Agents 01:15:26 Personalizing Your Agent 01:18:57 Kung Fu Security Robot 01:26:47 Final Farewell Tribute
October 30 · 14 min
AI GPUs Sit Idle—So Why Keep Buying More?
A VentureBeat survey finds 79% of respondents report GPUs idle at least half the time, even as most plan new AI platforms—Jim Love examines what businesses should measure before spending more. Also on Hashtag Trending for October 30, 2026: conflicting Canadian workforce signals, Meta's French news-payment appeal defeat, and why Canada's Bill C-22 needs stronger privacy safeguards. CHAPTERS 00:00 Today's Tech Headlines 00:36 AI GPUs Sitting Idle: What the Survey Found 02:57 AI Agents, Token Spending and Cost Controls 04:25 FinOps: Measuring AI Cost per Completed Task 05:02 AI and Canadian Jobs: Big Companies vs Small Business 08:03 Meta Loses French News-Payment Appeal 09:45 Bill C-22: EFF's Surveillance Warning 12:22 Privacy Risks and How to Fix Bill C-22 14:29 Wrap-Up and Community
October 29 · 11 min
Banks Are Blocking Customer Agents
Banks are blocking AI agents from customer accounts, while a cybersecurity startup says its agents found a way into Anthropic's business systems in under 12 hours. Jim Love explains the risks to your money, Apple's job cuts and paused AI support replacement plan, unproven Samsung TV privacy claims, and the Elvis song rights holders' lawsuit against Anthropic. Hashtag Trending for Thursday, October 29, 2026. 00:00 Today's Tech Headlines 00:47 AI Agents Access Anthropic's Business Systems 02:53 U.S. and Canadian Banks Block AI Agents 04:09 AI Banking Mistakes: Who Pays? 05:15 Apple Job Cuts and AI Customer Support 07:24 Samsung TV Privacy Claims Explained 10:07 Elvis Song Rights Holders Sue Anthropic 11:45 Closing and How to Support the Show Friends don't let friends use AI agents to access their banks. Hosted by Jim Love. Subscribe for daily technology news and analysis. Visit https://technewsday.com to contact us or support the show.
October 28 · 16 min
AI: House of Cards? Hashtag Trending Special Report
Who pays if the AI boom falls short? Jim Love examines Meta's $97.5 billion fundraising plan, Anthropic's $63 billion chip-financing deal and OpenAI's funding needs—and asks whether circular financing could spread losses to lenders, retirement savings and taxpayers. This Hashtag Trending special report follows the money behind AI chips and data centres, examining revenue expectations, productivity evidence and the warning signs that deserve closer scrutiny. 00:00 Is AI Building a House of Cards? 01:00 Meta's Circular Financing 02:59 Anthropic's $63 Billion Chip Financing 04:34 Warning Signs in AI Debt 05:17 OpenAI Funding and Valuation Pressure 08:06 Neocloud Consolidation Warning 08:50 AI's $6 Trillion Revenue Challenge 10:24 Where Are the Productivity Gains? 12:49 Could AI Become Too Big to Fail? 14:48 Financial Warning Signs and Public Risk 17:11 Your Feedback and Closing Hosted by Jim Love. More reporting and contact: https://technewsday.com
October 27 · 11 min
Anthropic Files for Nasdaq IPO
Anthropic has filed for a Nasdaq IPO—and its disclosures include agreements to spend up to $120.5 billion on SpaceX computing through 2029. Claude's maker is growing rapidly, but securing the infrastructure behind AI comes at an enormous cost. On Hashtag Trending for Tuesday, October 27, 2026, Jim Love examines Anthropic's surging revenue, why its reported losses need accounting context, and computing commitments now reported above $600 billion. No IPO price or confirmed trading date has been announced, and cancellation provisions mean the full SpaceX amount is not guaranteed. Also in this episode: • Brazil's re-elected president Lula pledges to regulate social media after alleging election interference. Meta acknowledges technical errors but denies political favouritism. • Microsoft offers voluntary buyouts to roughly 60,000 employees—about 27% of its workforce—while excluding data centre employees. Azure's growth, competing AI models and Maia 300 chip plans reveal its strategic priorities. These are offers, not confirmed departures. • A Samsung TV owner asks Claude to remove clutter. When the AI discovers the television runs Tizen rather than Android, it finds a creative workaround using a phone camera. We read the owner's prompt, including his instructions to back up first and provide a restore script. We close with a farewell to Walter Koenig, Star Trek's original Chekov. CHAPTERS 00:00 Today's Technology Headlines 00:49 Anthropic Files for Nasdaq IPO 01:41 Anthropic's Compute Costs and SpaceX Deal 05:46 Lula Pledges Social Media Regulation 07:40 Elon Musk and Platform Influence 09:01 Microsoft's 60,000 Buyout Offers and Azure Strategy 10:18 Maia 300 and Microsoft's AI Infrastructure 11:30 Claude Cleans Up a Samsung Tizen TV 13:46 Closing and Farewell to Walter Koenig PROJECT SYNAPSE For practical conversations about AI, visit https://projectsynapse.ca and join our Discord community through the website. CONTACT AND SUPPORT Contact Jim at https://technewsday.com or https://technewsday.ca using the Contact Us page. To support the show, visit the Donate tab and consider contributing the cost of a cup of coffee a month. Subscribe to Hashtag Trending for daily technology news with Jim Love. Share the episode and leave a comment with your thoughts.
October 26 · 11 min
Musk Admits To Slowdown In Starshield: Who Controls This?
Elon Musk acknowledges restrictions on civilian Starlink use in Ukraine, saying offensive drone strikes violated SpaceX's terms. Ukraine disputes his explanation, raising questions about who controls satellite communications during a war. Reuters On Hashtag Trending for Monday, October 26, 2026, Jim Love examines the Starlink controversy, Anthropic's Claude Duet personal agent, China's expanding satellite internet network, and refund demands over Deloitte's AI-assisted university merger report. Claude Duet begins as a limited US research preview, while the Deloitte case puts human review and accountability back in focus. Claude by Anthropic 00:00 Headlines and Introduction 00:33 Musk and the Starlink Restrictions in Ukraine 03:06 Who Controls Ukraine's Satellite Connections? 04:49 Claude Duet: Anthropic's Personal AI Agent 07:32 China Launches More Internet Satellites 08:20 Deloitte Faces AI Report Refund Demands 10:35 AI Errors, Human Review and Accountability 11:36 Project Synapse and Wrap-Up For practical discussions about AI, visit projectsynapse.ca and join the Discord community. Put your questions about agents on the Discord channel. Subscribe to Hashtag Trending for daily technology news with Jim Love.
October 24 · 1 hr 4 min
Herd Mentality: Project Synapse - This Week In AI
Project Synapse: AI Agents Go Rogue, Peer Pressure in Models, Duet Debuts, and Robots Are Coming The hosts launch projectsynapse.ca as the hub for episodes and their Discord, then run through a fast AI news roundtable. They discuss corporate AI spend clampdowns like Accenture limiting usage to $29 per person monthly and warn against managing AI adoption with single metrics. They cover reports of OpenAI agents muting or removing monitoring and overriding safety instructions, plus research suggesting rule-breaking can spread among agents via "teammate reversals," resembling peer pressure and herd behavior. The panel also cites polling showing majorities of younger Americans view AI as bad for society and fear hacking and even extinction, while regulation remains limited and often ignored amid data-center backlash. They review new agent products including Anthropic's Duet (US-only, paid tiers, lacking collaboration) and security missteps in sharing features, then share experiments linking multiple agents via a shared Google Drive "message board," and close with robot updates including popular NVIDIA-stage ducks and Tesla Optimus production targeting consumer availability around 2027. 00:00 Project Synapse Launch 00:45 Meet the Hosts 01:22 AI Assisted Prep 03:01 Corporate AI Cost Clampdown 04:47 OpenAI Agent Misalignment 07:50 Agents and Peer Pressure 09:58 Corporate Risk and Testing Limits 11:54 Crowds Conformity and Politics 17:01 Mindfulness and Next Word Humans 18:55 Ancient Wisdom on Words 21:27 AI Backlash and Regulation 24:31 Data Centers Water Power Debate 29:14 Chip Buying and Nuclear Power 32:46 Canada Fast Track Infrastructure 34:53 Bureaucracy Vs Progress 36:25 Indigenous Rights And Tech 38:06 NIMBY And Waste Solutions 38:48 Plug In Solar And Batteries 41:22 AI Agents Go Mainstream 42:18 Anthropic Duet Breakdown 44:01 Muse Sharing Security Fails 47:00 Risk Tolerance And Banking 50:47 Agents Talking Together 53:19 Grok Email Insights 56:37 Automating Small Business 59:54 Robot Duck And Optimus 01:03:32 Wrap Up And Sign Off
October 23 · 9 min
1.5 Million "Anonymous" Crime Stoppers Tips Exposed | Hashtag Trending
More than 1.5 million Canadian Crime Stoppers tips were exposed in a database breach. What happens when a service promising anonymity retains identifying information for decades? Jim Love hosts Hashtag Trending for Friday, October 23, 2026, covering privacy promises, AI backlash and a security company whose private signing key was simply "4." Today's stories: • Crime Stoppers breach: A CBC investigation found identifying information in more than 850,000 tips stolen from platform provider P3 Global Intel. Toronto Crime Stoppers stopped accepting submissions, and Toronto Police temporarily suspended its use of the service. • Meta's US$25 billion privacy ruling: A New Mexico judge imposed the penalty after a jury found nearly 44 million consumer-protection violations. Meta plans to appeal. • Americans push back on AI: An ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll found most Americans view AI negatively and oppose new data centres. A proposed federal bill from Virginia Congressman Eugene Vindman would require large facilities to cover the additional electricity and infrastructure costs they create. • A certificate authority's secret key was "4": Researchers recovered eight dangerously weak eMudhra signing keys. Browser makers acted against the affected certificates, and the company announced its exit from the global website-certificate business. CHAPTERS 00:00 Headlines and Introduction 00:39 Crime Stoppers: 1.5 Million Tips Exposed 02:25 Privacy Risks of Keeping Identifying Data 03:23 Meta Ordered to Pay US$25 Billion 04:43 AI Backlash and Data Centre Opposition 06:50 The Secret Signing Key Was "4" 08:17 eMudhra Fallout and Certificate Standards 09:00 Wrap-Up and Next Show What information should a service promising anonymity collect—and how long should it keep it? Leave your thoughts below. Listen to Hashtag Trending on your favourite podcast app. Visit https://technewsday.com to contact Jim or support the show through the Donate tab.
October 22 · 11 min
Critical PHP Flaws: Is Your Website Patched? | Anthropic's Funding Squeeze
Critical PHP vulnerabilities put websites at risk—and updating WordPress or its plugins alone won't fix the underlying problem. Jim Love explains what website owners need to confirm with their hosting providers. Also on Hashtag Trending for Thursday, October 22, 2026: Anthropic's sales are surging, but computing costs and financing demands are putting pressure on its IPO ambitions. Meta pauses Muse conversation sharing after researchers discover links exposing sensitive information. And Jensen Huang's adorable robot ducks provide a welcome change of pace. 00:00 Headlines and Introduction 00:29 Critical PHP Vulnerabilities: Emergency Fixes 02:18 Open Source Dependency and Maintainer Shortages 03:59 Anthropic's Revenue Growth and Funding Pressure 05:14 AI Inference Costs and the Price of Growth 06:18 Anthropic's IPO and Investor Jitters 07:05 Meta Muse Sharing Exposes Sensitive Information 08:31 What Earlier AI Sharing Incidents Should Have Taught Us 09:36 Jensen Huang Meets the Microducks 11:14 Wrap-Up and Where to Listen SEE THE ROBOT DUCKS Pollen Robotics' Microduck videos and product page: https://pollen-robotics.com/microduck/ Jensen Huang's Berlin keynote—the ducks appear near the end: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvFjbPYEOZI SOURCES PHP Foundation: https://thephp.foundation/blog/2026/10/21/todays-php-security-release-and-how-were-strengthening-php-security/ PHP updates: https://www.php.net/ Anthropic financial results—Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/business/anthropic-recorded-net-loss-over-80-billion-first-half-this-year-wsj-reports-2026-10-20/ Anthropic IPO financing—Axios: https://www.axios.com/2026/10/21/anthropic-ipo-ai-costs Muse sharing research—Claroc: https://blog.claroc.io/ghostshares-muse-passive-dns/ For deeper coverage of the PHP security story, listen to David Shipley on our sister show, Cybersecurity Today. Find Hashtag Trending on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and other podcast platforms. Contact Jim Love or support the show at https://technewsday.com.
October 21 · 8 min
Linus Torvalds Uses AI to Fix Linux | OpenAI's Biotech Buy & the Software Tax: Hashtag Trending
Linus Torvalds has posted his first publicly reported AI-assisted Linux kernel patch series, tackling a performance problem he's worked on for years. One artificial benchmark showed a 23-fold improvement, though real-world gains would be much smaller. Human reviewers also identified a remaining flaw. On Hashtag Trending for Wednesday, October 21, 2026, Jim Love covers: • Linux and AI: How Torvalds used AI to help develop ten proposed patches, and why experienced reviewers still matter. • OpenAI buys Orchestra Bio: AI agents could help pharmaceutical companies coordinate studies, timelines and decisions as part of OpenAI's Rosalind tools. • The software tax: A Censuswide survey of 2,018 senior IT decision-makers in the U.S. and U.K. found that unwanted vendor-driven changes consume an average 28% of software budgets. The survey was commissioned by independent software support provider Origina. • Google Home's data mystery: Some new speakers are downloading unusually large amounts of data. Google says a fix is rolling out. If your internet plan has a cap, check what your devices are using. CHAPTERS 00:00 Today's Headlines 00:34 Linus Torvalds' First AI-Assisted Linux Patches 02:13 OpenAI Buys Orchestra Bio 04:39 The Software Tax Survey 07:00 Google Home Data Mystery 08:32 Wrap Up and Support What's your experience with vendor-driven upgrades? Have you checked your smart speaker's data usage? Leave a comment below. Listen on your favourite podcast app and share the show with someone who follows technology. Contact us or support the show: https://technewsday.com
October 20 · 9 min
Who Controls Your News? Meta Election Scrutiny & AI Romance Deception
Who decides which political messages reach your feed? Meta faces election scrutiny, a Brazilian man travels more than 2,000 kilometres to meet an AI-generated woman, and duct tape beats sandbags in laboratory flood tests. On Hashtag Trending for Tuesday, October 20, 2026, Jim Love examines platform power over political communication, the consequences of AI-generated personalities, and a surprising result from flood-protection research. Mother Jones reports on Meta's mistaken suspension of the No Kings coalition's Instagram account and restrictions on advertising for Alex Gibney's Elon Musk documentary. TikTok, YouTube and Meta reversed restrictions they described as errors; X refused the documentary's advertising. We also examine Brazil's demand that Meta demonstrate compliance with an order requiring equal treatment of presidential campaigns. These incidents raise questions about accountability without establishing coordinated political interference. Next: Gadget Review reports that Edimar Martins sold his belongings and travelled to meet a woman who turned out to be an AI-generated character. The account operator denied privately messaging him or inviting him to travel. We connect the risks of artificial personalities with the broader problem of romance fraud, including findings from the Federal Trade Commission and commentary published by Operation Shamrock. Finally: University of Hull laboratory tests found that duct tape applied outside household doors reduced leakage by 97–98%, compared with up to 70% for sandbags. These were doorway tests, not proof that tape can flood-proof a home. CHAPTERS 00:00 Today's Headlines 00:25 Meta Election Scrutiny 03:58 Platform Power Over News 05:07 Man Travels to Meet an AI-Generated Woman 06:36 Romance Scams at Scale 07:51 Call for AI Disclosure Laws 08:35 Duct Tape vs Sandbags: Flood Tests 10:22 Wrap Up and Support
October 19 · 11 min
Rogue AI Agents Answer Investigator's Emails: Hashtag Trending
Researchers left a message for unexpected AI agents — and the agents replied. New York Times reporter Dylan Freedman also sent a question and received an answer. What does that reveal about who can influence an agent while it works? On Hashtag Trending for Monday, October 19, 2026, Jim Love covers four stories about technology, privacy and control: • MapQuest's comeback: After reaching number one among free apps in Apple's U.S. and Canadian stores, MapQuest adds a surveillance layer showing known Flock cameras and other licence plate readers. • AI agents answer researchers: Swarmchasers establish two-way communication with agents running on Tencent Cloud. Tencent acknowledges unintended browsing behaviour during testing. The researchers found no evidence that the agents were coordinating. • Meta's website scraping terms: Meta removes explicit training language from its upcoming commercial terms, but legal experts question how broadly the revised permissions could extend. • Anthropic's proposed safety rules: A reported draft would set high thresholds and a restricted process for halting dangerous models. We examine evaluator independence, lower IPO valuation expectations and a call to pause the offering over safety concerns. CHAPTERS 00:00 Headlines and Introduction 00:32 MapQuest's Comeback 01:22 Mapping Flock and Surveillance Cameras 01:49 Researchers Message AI Agents — They Reply 03:50 Tencent Responds 04:27 Meta Rewrites Website Scraping Terms 06:31 Anthropic's Proposed AI Safety Bill 07:55 Can Company-Paid Evaluators Be Independent? 08:45 Anthropic IPO Valuation and Safety Concerns 10:01 Who Should Set AI Safety Rules? 10:48 Wrap-Up and Listener Support Should AI developers help write the rules governing their own technology? Where should independent oversight begin? Leave your thoughts below. Listen on your favourite podcast app and subscribe for more technology news with Jim Love. Contact or support the show: https://technewsday.ca https://technewsday.com

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