{"video_id":"eMKsn_OlC1w","title":"Thanks Google, Much Better","channel":"TechLinked","show":"TechLinked","published_at":"2026-04-04T14:53:29Z","duration_s":672,"segments":[{"start_s":0.24,"end_s":7.6,"text":"Welcome to the tech news, where every story makes me feel a little bit like","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":4.319,"end_s":9.519,"text":"Elmo, a small red creature screaming","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":7.6,"end_s":13.84,"text":"into the void while the man's hand controls everything I do. It's like,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":11.679,"end_s":18.72,"text":"what are you doing? Google is now using AI to replace news headlines in its","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":16.48,"end_s":23.279,"text":"search results. The Verge found multiple instances where headlines they wrote","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":20.8,"end_s":27.519,"text":"were swapped for AI generated versions, sometimes changing the meaning entirely.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":25.84,"end_s":32.0,"text":"When contacted for comment, Google claimed that this is part of a small and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":29.84,"end_s":36.88,"text":"narrow experiment to explore the effects of serving headlines that better match","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":34.32,"end_s":41.28,"text":"the user's profile. With the personalized titles being based on the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":39.2,"end_s":45.92,"text":"user's query, location, and search history, critics have been quick to call","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":43.44,"end_s":50.16,"text":"out that these tailor made headlines go so far as to be clickbaity, something","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":48.64,"end_s":54.559,"text":"that the internet has never had to deal with before. While not great for","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":52.399,"end_s":57.84,"text":"journalistic integrity, it does explain why my search results have all been","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":56.0,"end_s":62.559,"text":"clickbait articles for the big shrimp conspiracy that my uncle keeps googling","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":59.6,"end_s":68.4,"text":"when he comes over. Dave, big shrimp isn't real. You were on a banana boat","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":65.76,"end_s":72.88,"text":">> and you had heat stroke. >> It's worth noting that Google said that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":70.32,"end_s":78.4,"text":"the insertion of AI headlines into the discover feed back in July was also an","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":75.84,"end_s":82.64,"text":"experiment, but a month later they made it a permanent feature. Since then,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":80.4,"end_s":88.72,"text":"publishers have seen organic traffic drops of 30 to 60%. As Google is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":86.08,"end_s":92.88,"text":"actively filling search with slop, over on the YouTube side, they're stopping to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":90.32,"end_s":96.24,"text":"ask, \"Hey, how sloppy do you like it?\" Users have reported seeing polls","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":94.56,"end_s":101.68,"text":"inquiring whether the videos they're watching feel like AI slop, which while","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":99.6,"end_s":105.68,"text":"annoying that it's necessary, is at least an indication of some level of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":103.52,"end_s":109.84,"text":"self-awareness. Many were quick to call this out, however, as YouTube just","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":107.6,"end_s":114.479,"text":"crowdsourcing free training data for Google's next slot model, which sounds","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":111.84,"end_s":121.36,"text":"like a horrifying reality show. >> Still featuring Tyro Banks though.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":117.68,"end_s":124.399,"text":"They come out onto the runway like, \"HI,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":121.36,"end_s":127.439,"text":"SUPER Micro co-founder Wall-E Leah has","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":124.399,"end_s":129.28,"text":"been arrested by the FBI for smuggling$2","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":127.439,"end_s":134.72,"text":"and a half billion dollars worth of servers fitted with NVIDIA GPUs to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":131.68,"end_s":137.28,"text":"China. This is before America was trying","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":134.72,"end_s":141.599,"text":"to get the China to buy them. Lea together with his Taiwan-based sales","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":139.52,"end_s":145.28,"text":"manager Steven Chang used a front company in Southeast Asia to order the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":143.68,"end_s":150.319,"text":"servers which were delivered to the front company, repackaged into unmarked","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":147.52,"end_s":154.16,"text":"boxes, and forwarded to China. To fool inspectors, they stocked the front","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":152.08,"end_s":158.959,"text":"company's warehouse with thousands of dummy servers so that when Super Micro's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":156.48,"end_s":163.44,"text":"compliance team or US export officials came to verify the equipment, it looked","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":160.879,"end_s":167.04,"text":"like the already smuggled hardware that was already on the ocean was still","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":165.519,"end_s":170.72,"text":"sitting right there. Surveillance footage from the warehouse even caught","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":168.64,"end_s":175.519,"text":"workers using a haird dryer to peel serial numbers off the real server and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":173.04,"end_s":180.879,"text":"press them onto the fakes. These arrests are part of a broader US government","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":177.599,"end_s":182.08,"text":"effort to track how restricted AI chips","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":180.879,"end_s":186.56,"text":"keep reaching China. >> They keep slipping over there.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":184.72,"end_s":191.28,"text":">> They're too slippery. In a statement to the press, FBI assistant director and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":188.72,"end_s":197.12,"text":"Spongebob Squarepants character James C. Barnacle Jr. That's amazing.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":194.879,"end_s":201.44,"text":"Says the FBI will hold accountable anyone who uses American companies to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":199.28,"end_s":206.0,"text":"provide export control technology to adversaries. Super Micro itself is not","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":204.159,"end_s":208.879,"text":"named as a defendant and says it's cooperating fully with the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":207.2,"end_s":215.04,"text":"investigation. Despite this, Super Micro's stock dropped 25%. As of now,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":212.4,"end_s":220.64,"text":"Lea and a Taiwanese middleman have been arrested, but Chang is on the run.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":218.48,"end_s":226.799,"text":"He's probably repacking himself into an unmarked box labeled not NVIDIA GPUs as","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":224.0,"end_s":232.72,"text":"we speak. Happy trails, partner. We hope you live. Google is adding a mandatory","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":229.76,"end_s":236.959,"text":"24-hour waiting period to sideloadad apps from unverified developers on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":234.959,"end_s":241.76,"text":"Android because apparently your phone needs to sleep on it. It's it's a big","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":239.28,"end_s":246.4,"text":"decision. Starting in August, the new advanced flow will require users to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":244.08,"end_s":250.879,"text":"enable developer mode, confirm they're not being coerced by a scammer, restart","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":248.799,"end_s":256.079,"text":"their phone, which conveniently kills any active calls from said scammer, and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":253.2,"end_s":260.0,"text":"then just wait a day. Give it a day. see how you feel. After that, you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":257.84,"end_s":266.16,"text":"authenticate with biometrics or a pin and you can allow unverified installs","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":262.16,"end_s":268.479,"text":"for 7 days or indefinitely. Oh, okay.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":266.16,"end_s":273.12,"text":"So, it's not 24 hours per app. It's 24 hours one time and then it's normal","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":271.12,"end_s":278.08,"text":"sideloading. Okay. Google says sideloaded apps carry malware at 50","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":275.759,"end_s":282.96,"text":"times the rate of Play Store apps and scammers rely on manufactured urgency to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":281.12,"end_s":288.4,"text":"pressure victims into installing sketchy APKs. So developers can skip the drama","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":285.84,"end_s":293.04,"text":"by verifying their identity and paying a $25 fee. And Google's also offering free","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":291.52,"end_s":297.759,"text":"limited distribution accounts for students and hobbyists to share apps","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":295.12,"end_s":302.4,"text":"with up to 20 devices. Then in September, mandatory verification kicks","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":300.08,"end_s":307.36,"text":"in for Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand with global enforcement","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":304.4,"end_s":312.56,"text":"targeting 2027. Open source advocates like FDroid are calling the whole","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":309.36,"end_s":314.16,"text":"program an existential threat. But hey,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":312.56,"end_s":319.28,"text":"at least you won't have to wait 24 hours for our sponsor SY. Did you know that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":316.8,"end_s":324.16,"text":"there are other countries? And if you go there, then your phone just doesn't","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":321.36,"end_s":328.479,"text":"work. That sucks. Luckily, if you get an e SSIM from SY, you can stay connected","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":326.24,"end_s":332.0,"text":"without hunting for public Wi-Fi or waiting in line at the airport for a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":329.919,"end_s":338.479,"text":"local SIM card or being stuck somewhere called Spain, unable to watch even a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":335.36,"end_s":340.72,"text":"single subway surfer's Tik Tok. Ah, SLY","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":338.479,"end_s":344.88,"text":"has affordable eim plans in over 200 destinations that significantly reduce","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":342.479,"end_s":348.32,"text":"or even eliminate roaming fees if you're hitting multiple countries. Their global","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":346.479,"end_s":353.759,"text":"and regional plans let you travel with one eim the whole trip, which means","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":351.12,"end_s":358.56,"text":"hello to non-stop connectivity. And goodbye to being scammed by a guy who","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":356.16,"end_s":362.24,"text":"promises to drive you to the internet. Works on iOS and Android. 24/7 chat","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":361.039,"end_s":367.52,"text":"support if you need it, and a full refund if your device isn't eent compatible. Download the SY app and use","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":365.84,"end_s":374.56,"text":"code techlink at checkout for an exclusive 15% off. Time for quick bits.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":371.52,"end_s":376.319,"text":"Elmo loves quick bits. Elmo also loves","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":374.56,"end_s":380.4,"text":"referring to himself in the third person, which is a trait shared by","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":378.24,"end_s":386.039,"text":"exactly two groups. Sesame Street characters and Tuxios under federal","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":383.039,"end_s":386.039,"text":"investigation.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":386.16,"end_s":394.16,"text":"Meta has reversed its decision to shut down VR support for its VR ccentric","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":392.0,"end_s":399.52,"text":"social platform, Horizon Worlds. Just two days after confirming the shutdown,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":396.88,"end_s":404.08,"text":"CTO Andrew Bosworth said on an Instagram Q&A they decided to keep it running","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":401.68,"end_s":408.479,"text":"after a fan reached out saying they were heartbroken that it would be shut down,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":406.319,"end_s":413.12,"text":"which might be the single most powerful customer complaint in history. Who is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":410.8,"end_s":418.0,"text":"this person? Horizon Worlds will stay on Quest for all existing games, but any","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":415.84,"end_s":421.44,"text":"new development will be mobile only. Okay, interesting. They're like","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":419.36,"end_s":426.24,"text":"grandfathering it. Bosworth previously said the team was having to build","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":423.039,"end_s":428.24,"text":"everything twice for phones and VR.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":426.24,"end_s":434.16,"text":"Apparently, that includes the decision to kill it, too.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":430.479,"end_s":436.639,"text":"It's so nice they decided it twice. The","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":434.16,"end_s":443.12,"text":"world's largest coalition of botnets, Isuru, Kim Wolf, Jack Skid, and MSAD.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":441.28,"end_s":448.96,"text":">> I think it's unrelated. >> Different MSAD. It's a different song","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":446.72,"end_s":454.72,"text":">> has been taken down in a joint operation between American, German, and Canadian","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":451.199,"end_s":458.08,"text":"federal police. Hey, we were there, too.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":454.72,"end_s":460.0,"text":">> That was a was it that was a eh, not a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":458.08,"end_s":465.039,"text":"like a y. All right. The four botnets compromised","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":462.319,"end_s":470.56,"text":"over 3 million IoT devices like routers and webcams, launching DOS attacks that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":467.36,"end_s":472.4,"text":"peaked at a record-breaking 31.4 terabs","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":470.56,"end_s":476.96,"text":"per second, enough to knock basically anything offline. Authorities seized","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":474.56,"end_s":481.28,"text":"domains, servers, and crypto worth tens of thousands of dollars. But while two","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":478.96,"end_s":484.479,"text":"suspected admins were identified, no arrests have been made. The police are","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":482.96,"end_s":487.599,"text":"like, \"We got tired from carrying all the servers and stuff, okay? We're just","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":486.24,"end_s":492.479,"text":"going to come back tomorrow, okay? Don't go anywhere. We just We're going on a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":490.4,"end_s":496.96,"text":"donut break. Just stop. >> We're trusting you.\"","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":495.039,"end_s":501.84,"text":"A North Carolina musician just pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":499.12,"end_s":507.039,"text":"fraud for stealing over $10 million in streaming royalties. Michael Smith,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":504.479,"end_s":512.56,"text":"first indicted in 2024, colluded with an unnamed AI music company. Uhhuh. Uh to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":510.319,"end_s":517.919,"text":"generate hundreds of thousands of AI tracks. Smith then used a botnet to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":515.519,"end_s":523.039,"text":"stream the massive catalog billions of times, spreading plays across thousands","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":520.32,"end_s":529.92,"text":"of fake artists to dodge detection. Smith faces up to 5 years in prison and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":525.6,"end_s":532.08,"text":"has agreed to forfeit over $8 million.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":529.92,"end_s":535.04,"text":">> That's nice of him. >> Some of it.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":532.959,"end_s":539.04,"text":">> Yeah. What? What? In their press release on the case, the DOJ says they're","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":536.88,"end_s":543.519,"text":"dedicated to prosecuting AI powered theft from real artists. Except if","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":541.44,"end_s":547.76,"text":"you're training an AI model, then it's Yeah, that's fine. We don't really care","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":545.04,"end_s":554.48,"text":"what copyright is anymore. NVIDIA has seemingly confirmed that DLSS5 is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":550.959,"end_s":557.12,"text":"basically just a very fast fancy AI","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":554.48,"end_s":562.8,"text":"image to image model. NVIDIA rep Jacob Freeman told YouTuber Daniel Owen that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":559.76,"end_s":565.04,"text":"the tech takes a single 2D frame plus","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":562.8,"end_s":569.36,"text":"motion vectors, which is just like saying where things are going to move in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":566.48,"end_s":576.16,"text":"the frame as input. The model does not have direct awareness of the 3D geometry","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":573.04,"end_s":579.519,"text":"in the scene. no depth data and no PBR","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":576.16,"end_s":582.24,"text":"materials, just what it can see. It was","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":579.519,"end_s":587.36,"text":"also revealed that if the AI yosifies a game character a bit too much, devs only","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":584.48,"end_s":592.959,"text":"have the option to either turn it down, uh, mask out items in the scene","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":589.6,"end_s":594.959,"text":"entirely, or tweak color information","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":592.959,"end_s":600.399,"text":"just a little bit, which is a far cry from Jensen's claim that DLSS 5 critics","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":597.36,"end_s":602.64,"text":"were completely wrong. It sounds like","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":600.399,"end_s":607.519,"text":"they were mostly right. billions of dollars in R&D. And we got a really","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":605.279,"end_s":612.32,"text":"expensive Instagram filter. Some people want it. They shouldn't, but And","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":609.839,"end_s":617.839,"text":"scientists at Singapore's NTEU have built cyborg cockroaches that pull","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":615.36,"end_s":625.279,"text":"miniature camera rigs through pipelines to detect leaks. Yeah.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":622.0,"end_s":627.6,"text":"Like each roach gets a tiny electronic","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":625.279,"end_s":632.32,"text":"backpack that steers it via electrical pulses. And a new process can assemble","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":630.16,"end_s":637.12,"text":"its little payload in just over a minute. Project lead Hiro Takasato","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":634.72,"end_s":641.68,"text":"already deployed 10 of these bad boys to Myanmar after last year's earthquake to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":639.92,"end_s":646.56,"text":"aid with search and rescue. And apparently a German startup is working","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":644.0,"end_s":652.079,"text":"on their own cyborg cockroaches for military recon and espionage.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":649.76,"end_s":655.76,"text":"Sam Fischer wishes he was this good at crawling through tight spaces","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":653.2,"end_s":662.88,"text":"undetected. Just like I wish I'll see you on Monday for more tech news. Or El","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":659.36,"end_s":666.32,"text":"or Elmo will find you. And not in a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":662.88,"end_s":669.6,"text":"tickle me way, in a Elmo has your IP","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":666.32,"end_s":672.399,"text":"address and Elmo doesn't forget way. See","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":669.6,"end_s":672.399,"text":"you next time.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"Welcome to the tech news, where every story makes me feel a little bit like Elmo, a small red creature screaming into the void while the man's hand controls everything I do. It's like, what are you doing? Google is now using AI to replace news headlines in its search results. The Verge found multiple instances where headlines they wrote were swapped for AI generated versions, sometimes changing the meaning entirely. When contacted for comment, Google claimed that this is part of a small and narrow experiment to explore the effects of serving headlines that better match the user's profile. With the personalized titles being based on the user's query, location, and search history, critics have been quick to call out that these tailor made headlines go so far as to be clickbaity, something that the internet has never had to deal with before. While not great for journalistic integrity, it does explain why my search results have all been clickbait articles for the big shrimp conspiracy that my uncle keeps googling when he comes over. Dave, big shrimp isn't real. You were on a banana boat >> and you had heat stroke. >> It's worth noting that Google said that the insertion of AI headlines into the discover feed back in July was also an experiment, but a month later they made it a permanent feature. Since then, publishers have seen organic traffic drops of 30 to 60%. As Google is actively filling search with slop, over on the YouTube side, they're stopping to ask, \"Hey, how sloppy do you like it?\" Users have reported seeing polls inquiring whether the videos they're watching feel like AI slop, which while annoying that it's necessary, is at least an indication of some level of self-awareness. Many were quick to call this out, however, as YouTube just crowdsourcing free training data for Google's next slot model, which sounds like a horrifying reality show. >> Still featuring Tyro Banks though. They come out onto the runway like, \"HI, SUPER Micro co-founder Wall-E Leah has been arrested by the FBI for smuggling$2 and a half billion dollars worth of servers fitted with NVIDIA GPUs to China. This is before America was trying to get the China to buy them. Lea together with his Taiwan-based sales manager Steven Chang used a front company in Southeast Asia to order the servers which were delivered to the front company, repackaged into unmarked boxes, and forwarded to China. To fool inspectors, they stocked the front company's warehouse with thousands of dummy servers so that when Super Micro's compliance team or US export officials came to verify the equipment, it looked like the already smuggled hardware that was already on the ocean was still sitting right there. Surveillance footage from the warehouse even caught workers using a haird dryer to peel serial numbers off the real server and press them onto the fakes. These arrests are part of a broader US government effort to track how restricted AI chips keep reaching China. >> They keep slipping over there. >> They're too slippery. In a statement to the press, FBI assistant director and Spongebob Squarepants character James C. Barnacle Jr. That's amazing. Says the FBI will hold accountable anyone who uses American companies to provide export control technology to adversaries. Super Micro itself is not named as a defendant and says it's cooperating fully with the investigation. Despite this, Super Micro's stock dropped 25%. As of now, Lea and a Taiwanese middleman have been arrested, but Chang is on the run. He's probably repacking himself into an unmarked box labeled not NVIDIA GPUs as we speak. Happy trails, partner. We hope you live. Google is adding a mandatory 24-hour waiting period to sideloadad apps from unverified developers on Android because apparently your phone needs to sleep on it. It's it's a big decision. Starting in August, the new advanced flow will require users to enable developer mode, confirm they're not being coerced by a scammer, restart their phone, which conveniently kills any active calls from said scammer, and then just wait a day. Give it a day. see how you feel. After that, you authenticate with biometrics or a pin and you can allow unverified installs for 7 days or indefinitely. Oh, okay. So, it's not 24 hours per app. It's 24 hours one time and then it's normal sideloading. Okay. Google says sideloaded apps carry malware at 50 times the rate of Play Store apps and scammers rely on manufactured urgency to pressure victims into installing sketchy APKs. So developers can skip the drama by verifying their identity and paying a $25 fee. And Google's also offering free limited distribution accounts for students and hobbyists to share apps with up to 20 devices. Then in September, mandatory verification kicks in for Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand with global enforcement targeting 2027. Open source advocates like FDroid are calling the whole program an existential threat. But hey, at least you won't have to wait 24 hours for our sponsor SY. Did you know that there are other countries? And if you go there, then your phone just doesn't work. That sucks. Luckily, if you get an e SSIM from SY, you can stay connected without hunting for public Wi-Fi or waiting in line at the airport for a local SIM card or being stuck somewhere called Spain, unable to watch even a single subway surfer's Tik Tok. Ah, SLY has affordable eim plans in over 200 destinations that significantly reduce or even eliminate roaming fees if you're hitting multiple countries. Their global and regional plans let you travel with one eim the whole trip, which means hello to non-stop connectivity. And goodbye to being scammed by a guy who promises to drive you to the internet. Works on iOS and Android. 24/7 chat support if you need it, and a full refund if your device isn't eent compatible. Download the SY app and use code techlink at checkout for an exclusive 15% off. Time for quick bits. Elmo loves quick bits. Elmo also loves referring to himself in the third person, which is a trait shared by exactly two groups. Sesame Street characters and Tuxios under federal investigation. Meta has reversed its decision to shut down VR support for its VR ccentric social platform, Horizon Worlds. Just two days after confirming the shutdown, CTO Andrew Bosworth said on an Instagram Q&A they decided to keep it running after a fan reached out saying they were heartbroken that it would be shut down, which might be the single most powerful customer complaint in history. Who is this person? Horizon Worlds will stay on Quest for all existing games, but any new development will be mobile only. Okay, interesting. They're like grandfathering it. Bosworth previously said the team was having to build everything twice for phones and VR. Apparently, that includes the decision to kill it, too. It's so nice they decided it twice. The world's largest coalition of botnets, Isuru, Kim Wolf, Jack Skid, and MSAD. >> I think it's unrelated. >> Different MSAD. It's a different song >> has been taken down in a joint operation between American, German, and Canadian federal police. Hey, we were there, too. >> That was a was it that was a eh, not a like a y. All right. The four botnets compromised over 3 million IoT devices like routers and webcams, launching DOS attacks that peaked at a record-breaking 31.4 terabs per second, enough to knock basically anything offline. Authorities seized domains, servers, and crypto worth tens of thousands of dollars. But while two suspected admins were identified, no arrests have been made. The police are like, \"We got tired from carrying all the servers and stuff, okay? We're just going to come back tomorrow, okay? Don't go anywhere. We just We're going on a donut break. Just stop. >> We're trusting you.\" A North Carolina musician just pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for stealing over $10 million in streaming royalties. Michael Smith, first indicted in 2024, colluded with an unnamed AI music company. Uhhuh. Uh to generate hundreds of thousands of AI tracks. Smith then used a botnet to stream the massive catalog billions of times, spreading plays across thousands of fake artists to dodge detection. Smith faces up to 5 years in prison and has agreed to forfeit over $8 million. >> That's nice of him. >> Some of it. >> Yeah. What? What? In their press release on the case, the DOJ says they're dedicated to prosecuting AI powered theft from real artists. Except if you're training an AI model, then it's Yeah, that's fine. We don't really care what copyright is anymore. NVIDIA has seemingly confirmed that DLSS5 is basically just a very fast fancy AI image to image model. NVIDIA rep Jacob Freeman told YouTuber Daniel Owen that the tech takes a single 2D frame plus motion vectors, which is just like saying where things are going to move in the frame as input. The model does not have direct awareness of the 3D geometry in the scene. no depth data and no PBR materials, just what it can see. It was also revealed that if the AI yosifies a game character a bit too much, devs only have the option to either turn it down, uh, mask out items in the scene entirely, or tweak color information just a little bit, which is a far cry from Jensen's claim that DLSS 5 critics were completely wrong. It sounds like they were mostly right. billions of dollars in R&D. And we got a really expensive Instagram filter. Some people want it. They shouldn't, but And scientists at Singapore's NTEU have built cyborg cockroaches that pull miniature camera rigs through pipelines to detect leaks. Yeah. Like each roach gets a tiny electronic backpack that steers it via electrical pulses. And a new process can assemble its little payload in just over a minute. Project lead Hiro Takasato already deployed 10 of these bad boys to Myanmar after last year's earthquake to aid with search and rescue. And apparently a German startup is working on their own cyborg cockroaches for military recon and espionage. Sam Fischer wishes he was this good at crawling through tight spaces undetected. Just like I wish I'll see you on Monday for more tech news. Or El or Elmo will find you. And not in a tickle me way, in a Elmo has your IP address and Elmo doesn't forget way. See you next time."}