May 1, 2023 - Episode 646

This week, Siri's future is in trouble, Microsoft's Activision acquisition is blocked, AI regulation is coming together, and Black Mirror is coming back.

Description

This week, Siri's future is in trouble, Microsoft's Activision acquisition is blocked, AI regulation is coming together, and Black Mirror is coming back.

ParticipantsScott ErtzHost

Scott is a developer who has worked on projects of varying sizes, including all of the PLUGHITZ Corporation properties. He is also known in the gaming world for his time supporting the rhythm game community, through DDRLover and hosting tournaments throughout the Tampa Bay Area. Currently, when he is not working on software projects or hosting F5 Live: Refreshing Technology, Scott can often be found returning to his high school days working with the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), mentoring teams and helping with ROBOTICON Tampa Bay. He has also helped found a student software learning group, the ASCII Warriors, currently housed at AMRoC Fab Lab.

Avram PiltchHost

Avram's been in love with PCs since he played original Castle Wolfenstein on an Apple II+. Before joining Tom's Hardware, for 10 years, he served as Online Editorial Director for sister sites Tom's Guide and Laptop Mag, where he programmed the CMS and many of the benchmarks. When he's not editing, writing or stumbling around trade show halls, you'll find him building Arduino robots with his son and watching every single superhero show on the CW.

OpeningPowered by TeknoAXENifty GiftiesPowered by Microsoft StoreSiri is in trouble as Apple's AI ambitions are full of "dysfunction"

Over the past few months, the topic of artificial intelligence, and particularly generative AI, have become a significant topic. We've even talked about the past few episodes of Piltch Pointt because of how important it has become. We've seen companies like Microsoft and Google begin integrating the technology into their search tools and in Microsoft's case all of their tools. But, for Apple, there has been essentially zero discussion about the technology, despite the company's existing position with Siri, and it might be because the company has no direction for Siri at all.

read full articlePiltch Point with Avram PiltchPowered by PureVPNExtra LifePowered by EksaMicrosoft deal for Activision might be dead thanks to UK's CMA

It has been just over a year since Microsoft announced its intention to purchase gaming company, Activision Blizzard. The merged company would have brought a ton of games from Activision and Blizzard's catalog to the Game Pass subscription service, making it an even better deal for gamers. The companies even committed to keeping high-profile franchises on competitors' hardware. Despite all of this, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has decided to block the acquisition, but that doesn't mean this is the end.

read full articleNews From the TubesPowered by MalwarebytesAI Act draft passed in EU, generative AI copyright in the spotlight

As the interest in and usage of artificial intelligence (AI) has increased, so has concern over its safety and future. People ranging from Elon Musk to the engineers at Google have been speaking out over fears about what could happen if AI goes unchecked. Some governments have just begun to think about the future of AI in the world, but the European Union was ahead of the curve and has passed a draft version of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act.

read full article* DRM Not IncludedPowered by Amazon PrimeBlack Mirror is coming back just as its core subject comes to life

If you are a fan of dystopian sci-fi series, then there's some really good news for you. Netflix has announced that Black Mirror season 6 is finally coming this June. The series has managed to address many traditional sci-fi tropes through a lens of the near future, making it ultra-realistic to viewers. And producers are bringing back the same feeling but with changes to the overall themes.

read full articleClosingPowered by Tech Podcast Network