Hashtag Trending

Episodi

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  Hashtag Trending 2,500th Episode: Tech Trends 2027, Trustworthy AI ROI, and the Attention Economy (with Brian Jackson & Alex Coop) 17.09.2026 29min

  On the 2,500th episode of Hashtag Trending (Thursday, September 17), host Jim Love welcomes former hosts and tech journalists Brian Jackson and Alex Coop. Brian previews Tech Trends 2027, warning CIOs about rising insider threats enabled by AI wearables and prediction markets, faster AI-assisted vulnerability exploitation that makes weekly/monthly patching obsolete, and geopolitical uncertainty affecting procurement of frontier AI services. Alex highlights SAS's second annual Data and AI Impact Report, showing organizations with strong governance, data quality, and auditability achieve at least double the AI ROI, while only 19.3% of Canadian respondents expect strong returns despite a rising AI trustworthiness index and growing compliance concerns. Jim also discusses research suggesting Americans spend about eight hours online daily and offers tactics to reduce screen-time triggers, followed by an afterword conversation reflecting on the show's origins, production challenges, milestones, and what the hosts do now. 00:00 2500th Episode Kickoff 01:18 Tech Trends 2027 Preview 02:11 Insider Threats and Wearables 03:31 AI Vulnerability Management 04:44 Geopolitics and Procurement 05:35 SAS Trust and ROI Report 07:51 Online Time and Attention Economy 11:24 Reclaiming Screen Time 12:15 Social Media Reflections 13:40 Afterword Trending Origins 19:51 Favorite Memories and Mishaps 24:01 Where They Are Now 29:15 Final Sign Offs
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  AI Panic: The $750B Spending Gamble & Who Benefits From a Slowdown? 16.09.2026 12min

  Who pays if the AI investment boom falls short—and who benefits if development slows down? Jim Love examines the money, motives and economic assumptions in this special AI Panic edition of Hashtag Trending. MIT Technology Review explores the risks behind roughly $750 billion in expected spending by the biggest cloud companies. We examine debt financing, competition from cheaper models such as DeepSeek, recurring chip replacement costs, and potential exposure for pension funds, life insurance investments and electricity customers. Business Insider questions the conveniently timed calls for an AI slowdown. Could safety regulations also protect established companies from competition? We discuss OpenAI ruling out a 2026 IPO, Anthropic's continuing listing plans, and the publicity surrounding researcher Jacob Coxon's resignation. Finally, we examine Anthropic's economic scenarios—including an extreme case in which US GDP reaches roughly 32% above its no-AI baseline by 2030. That is a scenario, not a prediction, and it comes with substantial unemployment, difficult retraining questions and significant gaps in what the model covers. CHAPTERS 00:00 AI Panic Edition: Headlines 00:42 The $750B AI Data Centre Gamble 03:32 AI Debt Risks: Dot-Com Bust or Another 2008? 05:24 Who Benefits From an AI Slowdown? 07:24 Jacob Coxon's Resignation and Safety Lobbying 09:23 Anthropic's 2030 GDP and Jobs Scenarios 11:46 Wrap-Up and How to Reach Us Can AI deliver real economic gains while its biggest investors lose money? And can safety concerns be sincere while also serving corporate interests? Share your thoughts in the comments. Subscribe to Hashtag Trending for technology news with Jim Love. Contact us through technewsday.ca or technewsday.com.
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  AI Safety Fears Grow—Who Writes the Rules? | Database Risks, Microsoft Exit & a Canadian Teen's AI to Help Homeless 15.09.2026 11min

  AI safety concerns are growing, but agreement on what to do remains elusive. Can governments establish effective oversight amid U.S.–China rivalry, industry self-interest and questions about transparency? On Hashtag Trending for Tuesday, September 15, 2026, Jim Love examines the push to slow AI development—and why both industry proposals and rushed legislation deserve scrutiny. Also in this episode: • Why companies postpone database upgrades. A Percona-sponsored survey produces a startling 97% headline, but the sample and meaning of "outdated" matter. We explore compatibility failures, testing costs and the difference between older software and software without security patches. • Frank Shaw's Microsoft departure. The longtime communications chief will leave at the end of December after helping shape Microsoft's message across the Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer and Satya Nadella eras. • A Canadian teenager puts AI to work for others. Toronto Grade 11 student Nathan Yizhou Han is developing an app to help people experiencing homelessness navigate housing, shelters and support services. His award-winning robotics experience offers a hopeful perspective on purposeful AI education. CHAPTERS 00:00 Today's Tech Headlines 00:38 AI Safety: The U.S.–China Standoff 03:05 Who Can We Trust on AI Safety? 03:59 AI Regulation: Making the Rules Work 05:03 Why Companies Run Outdated Databases 05:40 Database Upgrades: Costs and Compatibility 07:58 When Older Software Becomes a Security Risk 09:14 Frank Shaw Is Leaving Microsoft 10:50 Canadian Teen Builds AI Tool for Homeless Support 12:05 Robotics Awards and Canada's CanCode Programme 14:08 AI in Schools: Creativity and Compassion 15:20 Closing and Subscribe What would meaningful AI oversight look like to you? Leave a comment below. Subscribe to Hashtag Trending for technology news with context and a critical lens. Contact Jim through the Contact Us page: https://technewsday.ca https://technewsday.com
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  Altman & Amodei Call for AI Slowdown | Microsoft Adds Grok, Flock Arrests 14.09.2026 11min

  Sam Altman and Dario Amodei back slowing AI development as researchers raise fresh safety concerns. Microsoft brings Grok to Copilot, and a Flock camera investigation triggers more police arrests and firings. Jim Love covers these stories on Hashtag Trending for Monday, September 14, 2026: • AI safety and regulation: Former Anthropic researcher Joe Benton and former Google DeepMind researcher Josh Engels speak out following Jacob Coxon's resignation. OpenAI rules out a 2026 IPO, California advances independent AI oversight, and Bernie Sanders and Greg Casar propose restrictions on superintelligence. • Microsoft adds Grok: Copilot expands model choice in Word, Excel and PowerPoint. We examine Grok's pricing, workplace agents and Microsoft's growing range of alternatives to OpenAI. • Flock camera misuse: USA TODAY's reporting prompts arrests, firings and investigations. Communities suspend camera use or change suppliers—but who monitors how police use surveillance technology? • AI in Yemen: Houthi opponents allege a cloned voice circulated a false retreat order. Its authenticity and battlefield impact remain unverified. Separately, Anthropic reports that a weapons-development cell in northern Yemen used Claude for missile-guidance software and test analysis before its accounts were blocked. CHAPTERS 00:00 Today's tech headlines 00:57 AI researchers warn about loss of control 02:26 Altman, Amodei and the AI regulation push 04:53 Can the world agree to slow AI? 05:27 Microsoft adds Grok to Copilot 05:42 Grok pricing, Tesla and Starlink 07:17 Grok's AI teammates and Microsoft's strategy 08:14 Flock camera investigation triggers arrests 10:30 Who holds police surveillance accountable? 11:21 Yemen's alleged AI-generated retreat order 11:53 Anthropic uncovers Claude-assisted weapons work 13:19 Closing and sign-off Subscribe to Hashtag Trending for technology news with Jim Love. Share your thoughts in the comments: what would meaningful oversight of AI and surveillance technology look like? Contact us through the Contact Us page at technewsday.ca or technewsday.com.
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  Who Is Paying People To Say AI Will Kill Us All? 12.09.2026 1h 14min

  Project Synapse (Sept 12): Tesla FSD, AI Agents, OpenAI Image 2.5, and the "AI Doom" PR Timeline Join us on our Discord at https://discord.gg/B8FfgDsg92 On Project Synapse for Saturday, September 12, Jim, Marcel Gagné, and John Pinard discuss Marcel's enthusiasm for his Tesla and full self-driving, then shift to writing and editing workflows, including token limits and costs across models like OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra vs Sol, and tools such as Atticus for formatting. They review recent AI updates including DeepSeek 4.1 Flash, OpenAI Images 2.5 with a sketch tool, and Meta's upcoming Muse personal AI agents, plus industry-targeted AI tools for financial services and regulated sectors like law (including Augur). They also cover practical website creation approaches (static sites via Cloudflare workers and GitHub, or AI-generated HTML/CSS/JS). The episode ends with a critique of manipulated AI narratives, outlining a rapid, coordinated PR/political rollout around Jacob Coxon's resignation claims, and urging viewers to be critical, not cynical. 00:00 Show Kickoff 00:25 Tesla Lovefest 01:43 Apple Prices Jokes 02:25 Book Writing Grind 04:12 ADHD Workflows 05:35 Lightning Round Begins 06:08 DeepSeek and Qwen 07:56 Token Limits and Costs 09:39 AI Proofreading Tools 11:00 Atticus Formatting 14:20 Model Selection Backlash 15:36 Astra Power and Bottlenecks 19:30 AI Built Websites 19:55 Cloudflare GitHub Setup 24:50 Em Dashes Debate 26:11 Website Backend Demo 27:18 OpenAI Images 2.5 30:56 Sketch Tool Philosophy 33:38 Meta Muse Tease 33:53 Meta Management Whiplash 36:06 Mixed Reality Value Debate 38:10 Muse Agents Pricing Play 39:58 AI Finance Tools Arrive 42:30 Adapt Or Get Left Behind 48:54 X Becomes A Bank 50:32 Regulated AI For Law 53:02 Jobs Cliff And Self Driving 54:34 Manufactured AI Doom Narrative 57:19 Follow The Money Timeline 01:11:11 Regulatory Capture And Trust 01:13:52 Be Critical Not Cynical