Trending Now
We have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for Eurasia Group and its affiliates, including GZERO Media, to clarify the types of data we collect, how we collect it, how we use data and with whom we share data. By using our website you consent to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, including the transfer of your personal data to the United States from your country of residence, and our use of cookies described in our Cookie Policy.
{{ subpage.title }}
Will there be a big tech breakup? Apple likely to announce 5G phone
Watch as Nicholas Thompson, editor-in-chief of WIRED, explains what's going on in technology news:
How likely will big tech companies Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google be forced to breakup as recommended by Democrats on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust?
I think it's pretty unlikely. I think there will be hearings. I think there will be damages. I think that there will be scrutiny on future mergers. I don't think there will be breakups.
"Hi, Speed." What can we expect from this week's annual Apple release?
Apple has a new phone most likely coming out next week. The motto is "Hi, Speed." I think it's going to be mostly about 5G. These phones will be 5G compatible. It doesn't mean the 5G infrastructure has been built up in this country or most other countries. But still, when it is, the phones will be fast. Also, I think the LiDAR sensors that were built on the last iPad, which was kind of a small announcement that people didn't really notice, will be on the new iPhone and that will be great for augmented reality.
Social media sites overwhelmed by misinformation about Trump's condition
Nicholas Thompson, editor-in-chief of WIRED, shares his perspective on technology news in Tech In 60 Seconds:
With Trump testing positive for corona, how are social media sites combating the mountains of misinformation?
Well, the same way they always do, demoting some content, labeling some false content, but mostly getting overwhelmed. And the reason they'll get particularly overwhelmed now is that there could be no topic more ripe for misinformation than this one. The White House will be opaque. People will spread every rumor imaginable. And just the nature of the Internet combining coronavirus and Trump, you can get a misinformation orgy.
New York City released a contact tracing app. How does it work and will other cities adopt it?
Well, it's a new app you download it onto your phone. What it does is it will alert you if you have been in close contact with someone who tests positive for corona. Or if you test positive, you enter into the app and it will alert people whose phones have been near yours receiving Bluetooth signals anonymously. That's a very good thing. I've installed it. I hope everybody does, keep everybody safe. See you next week.
Russian hackers found targeting US election; robots that write?
Nicholas Thompson, editor-in-chief of WIRED, helps us make sense of today's stories in technology:
What are the Russians doing to the US election?
Well, they are trying to hack it. They're trying to hack into the accounts of individuals working on campaigns. They're trying to hack into accounts of nonprofit organizations. They're trying to mess it all up again. They're probably trying to help their favorite candidate, too. How did we find out about it? Well, Microsoft, thank you Microsoft, is running an election security operation and they noticed this. Now, have they found everything that the Russian group Fancy Bear is doing? I highly doubt it. We'll probably learn a lot more after the election, unfortunately.
What's this? Robots can write! Should we be afraid?
So OpenAI has used artificial intelligence to build a text generating system called GPT-3. It's way of computers writing sentences that look almost like human sentences. The Guardian ran a story written entirely by GPT-3 about whether robots will take over the world. Am I afraid this indicates robots will take over the world? I'm not. The article is terrible, confusing, incomprehensible. Not really a big concern. I am concerned, though, that systems like this could be used for the purposes of misinformation and for creating chaos on the Internet. But that's a separate matter.
Barr pressures DOJ to bring antitrust suit against Google
Nicholas Thompson, editor-in-chief of WIRED, discusses technology industry news today:
What's the deal with Google and antitrust?
Well, we've long known that the Department of Justice is likely bringing an antitrust suit against Google. What we've just learned this week is that William Barr, the attorney general, is pressuring them to bring it really quickly, and the career lawyers don't like that idea. Why is he doing that? Maybe because he thinks they're going slowly, maybe because he wants a political victory for Trump before the election.
Should we be worried about the decline in stock for Apple, Amazon and Tesla?
No, we should not. Those stocks, well, tech stocks swing wildly. All three companies are totally fine. Their stocks were quite inflated.
What is the controversy over Disney Plus's new movie, Mulan?
Amazing thing is that about five minutes ago, I got an e-mail saying my kids had purchased it and are watching it. The controversy is, what I saw, which is, "I've already paid for Disney Plus and I have to pay $30 more?" If they like it, it's worth it, but it's still a lot.
Elon Musk's Neuralink startup aims to process thoughts; TikTok & Walmart
Nicholas Thompson, editor-in-chief of WIRED, helps us make sense of today's stories in technology:
What is going on with Elon Musk's startup, Neuralink?
He demonstrated on a Friday night, this small little sensor you put into your skull, or as he showed on TV, into the skull of a pig, it can read and write electrical signals into the brain. What will it likely be able to do? It may, for example, be able to process simple thoughts, allow people who have lost ability to move their arm, to move their arms again. The long-term promise, which Musk talked about, would allow you to download and rewind your memories, highly unlikely and highly speculative.
Why does Walmart want to buy TikTok?
Well, TikTok will generate tons of revenue. It's a booming platform and there are lots of possible ways it could integrate with Walmart. E-commerce, advertising, branding. I don't know if that's a great idea for TikTok but it does make sense for Walmart.
Uber, Lyft, Epic & Apple: what's at stake in Big Tech lawsuits
Watch as Nicholas Thompson, editor-in-chief of WIRED, explains what's at stake in Big Tech lawsuits in 2020:
What's going on between Uber & Lyft and the state of California?
California would like Uber and Lyft to classify all of their drivers as employees, not as contractors. And Lyft would like to save money and classify them as contractors, not employees. There is a lawsuit, there's been an injunction most likely issue will be settled at the ballot box. I should add that Uber and Lyft have threatened to leave California if they lose.
What is going on between Epic and Apple?
This fight is also pretty interesting. So, Apple charges all developers who sell products in their apps on iPhones a 30% tax. Epic, the maker a Fortnite, a hugely popular game you may have heard of, decided they did not want to pay 30%. They said they wanted to control sales themselves and not pay that giant tax. So, Apple kicked them out. Now there is a lawsuit. There are spicy e-mails going back and forth. There is a lot, a lot at stake in this fight.
Digital campaigning in 2020 will rely on personal connections
Nicholas Thompson, Editor-in-Chief of WIRED, provides his perspective on technology news:
How do you run a successful digital campaign in 2020?
Well, we know that all campaigning during 2020, because of the pandemic, will be digital. What do you need to do? My guess is that the most successful campaigns will be ones that really learn how to leverage personal connections, to make it easy for you to pass a message to someone in your address book. Because I think mass communication, mass blasts, registration forms to "get out the vote" on big web sites were saturated. It's going to be human to human contact that changes people's votes or gets people to the polls who wouldn't get there otherwise.
What is a dark pattern?
A dark pattern is a bit of web design that makes it hard for you to do something that the company doesn't want you to do. For example, it is very easy to subscribe to New York Times and there are lots of options. It's piece of cake. You press lots of buttons. It's great. Try to unsubscribe. It's much harder. This is true of many, many different sites. Try to delete your Amazon account. Good luck.
What is Starlink?
Well, Starlink is a system blasted up by SpaceX to give satellite Internet connection. Why is that important? Well, in rural areas that don't have fiber optic cables in the ground, it gives everybody a chance to get online. Will it work? So far, it's not bad. Connection speeds are pretty good and any way we can get more of this country connected to the Internet, particularly in a pandemic. The better.
TikTok ban: warning from US to Chinese tech firms
Jon Lieber, Managing Director for the United States at the Eurasia Group, shares his perspective on US politics.
Where are US-China relations in this battle over TikTok and what is happening?
Well, this may seem like a minor deal. It's a video sharing app that the president has given 45 days to sell to a US entity or get banned in the United States. But along with WeChat, these are two of China's most successful technology companies that the US has now banned from entry into the United States and potentially banned from being used on operating systems that rely on US software inside China. So, this is a huge escalation in the geotech war between the United States and China. China for a long time has not allowed Google and Facebook and other American applications to be fully operative inside their borders. And now the US is stepping up against Chinese technology companies. The reason is that there's concerns among the US government about these tech, these apps data security practices. Members of the military, high ranking government officials aren't allowed to have these on their phones because there's concern about what China does with the data that they can harvest from those phones. This is a real warning sign to other Chinese technology companies that they may not be welcome inside the American market unless they can prove in some way, they are totally independent from the Chinese government and the Chinese military. Expect a lot of escalation in this area over the coming months and years.
As November 3rd nears, what can we expect to hear from US intelligence officials about the possibility of campaign interference in the US election?
Well, the intelligence community is hoping to depoliticize information around election interference in this election cycle. They've designated the head of counterintelligence in the US, a guy named William Evanina, to be the front man and the face of all information campaigns surrounding foreign interference. He said he's going to give regular updates to Congress and to the public. Democrats have been skeptical of these efforts. Republicans seem much more willing to wait and see. So far, what he's told us is that Russia has stepped up their disinformation campaigns in particular around the coronavirus. Expect to see regular updates out of him. And this may become a household name as we get closer to the election if you see the levels of foreign interference in the 2020 cycle that you saw in 2016.
This past week, Trump signed into law the Great American Outdoors Act. What is it?
Well, President Trump hasn't exactly been known for his environmental conservation efforts during his administration. And what this act does is dedicate billions of dollars to ongoing maintenance of public lands and in particular, the National Park Service. This bill has been out there for a while. What drove its final passage into law is two things: one is the reelection needs of a couple of vulnerable western Republican senators, and two, the relative lack of concern over the deficit in the Trump administration, which has been one of the hallmarks of this administration. And the deficit in the past, was one of the things that kept this bill from passing into law. So, this could be one of President Trump's most important, lasting environmental legacies. And in 10 years, could make a huge difference to the quality and accessibility of public lands in the US.