Tech News Weekly (Audio)

Abrar Al-Heeti is guest-hosting this episode of Tech News Weekly and is joined by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy for the first half of the show! Apple's smart home display could be closer than we think. Is the iPhone Duo going to be for most consumers? Are there too many satellites in orbit? And a leak IPO filing from Anthropic shows concerns within the company that its AI models pose a risk to humanity.

• Jennifer breaks down Mark Gurman's reporting that Apple's long-rumored smart home display could be announced as early as October 13, and shares specs of the device, including a 6-inch screen, an iMac G4-style design, and a price point between $250-$350.


• Abrar wrote a piece for CNET about how she thinks that Apple's $2,000 iPhone Duo is not going to be for everyone and how foldable phones will be a niche market for some time.


• Senior Writer Joe Supan of CNET joins the show to talk about space junk and how, since satellite launches have exploded since 2019, a cascade of collisions within low Earth orbit is of concern.


• And CNN's Tech Editor Lisa Eadicicco talks about a leaked IPO report from Anthropic that shows concerns and risks with its AI models to the human race.

Hosts: Abrar Al-Heeti and Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

Guests: Joe Supan and Lisa Eadicicco

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Dan Moren of Six Colors joins the show this week! Meta's Muse has a zero-day vulnerability. Rat brains can power an AI model? Why are we hearing more about AI agents escaping their testing environments? And Meta's new VR glasses.

• Dan talks about a new zero-day exploit that affects Meta's Muse AI agent, which allows an app or terminal command that can impersonate the AI agent and easily gain access to users' messages, emails, and other sensitive data.


• Mikah is amazed at the Biological Computing Company's new AI video model that was built from patterns utilizing lab-grown rat neurons.


• Mikah walks through The Verge's report on why researchers can't simply air-gap AI agents that keep escaping test environments and hitting real-world targets.


• And Scott Stein of CNET joins the show live from Meta's Headquarters to share his hands-on impressions of Meta's new VR glasses that were unveiled at this year's Meta Connect event.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Dan Moren

Guest: Scott Stein

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Jennifer Pattison Tuohy joins the show this week! AI-generated "news" sites. Are "health age" scores helpful, or harmful? Google Home now supports the Model Context Protocol. And Apple unveils a new photo verification technology for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max.

• Mikah shares a story about Futurism's investigation into Brown Brothers Media reveals a network of AI-generated "news" sites - complete with fabricated writer personas and stolen bylines.


• Victoria Song of The Verge joins the show to explain why "health age" scores from wearables like Whoop, Oura, and now Apple Watch are wildly inconsistent proprietary metrics that can fuel unnecessary shame or false confidence about your health.


• Jennifer discusses Google Home's new MCP support and makes the case that what smart homes really need is a dedicated, on-device "smart home computer" rather than more cloud-dependent AI.


• And Mikah talks about Apple's Reference Image feature for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, which aims to verify photo authenticity straight from the camera sensor, an approach the company says avoids the privacy and security pitfalls of industry standards like C2PA.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

Guest: Victoria Song

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Jacob Ward explores the resignation of an Anthropic AI researcher and mounting alarms over AI's potential dangers, while Dan Moren recaps Apple's major iPhone event, new hardware, and controversial AI-powered features.

• AI researcher Jacob Coxon quits Anthropic, warning the company is "gambling with our lives," an admission echoed by Anthropic's own AI safety leads, as calls for regulation grow louder inside the industry.


• Apple's iPhone event marks the start of the John Ternus era as CEO, with Tim Cook stepping up to executive chairman and handing off the spotlight at a packed launch.


• Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 launch with advanced health sensors and Apple Intelligence-powered "Live Rewind" transcription features, raising questions about privacy, surveillance, and brand identity.


• Apple finally unveils the iPhone Duo foldable, with a redesigned interface for multitasking and new workflows, aiming to set the standard for premium foldables as pricing and developer adaptation come under scrutiny.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Jacob Ward

Guest: Dan Moren

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Apple enters the John Ternus era as he becomes CEO ahead of the anticipated iPhone event, a climate scientist exposes the real energy costs of AI use, a bezel-free concept phone debuts at IFA, and Malwarebytes warns GTA fans about dangerous fake "GTA 6 Extended Look" downloads.

• Apple kicks off the John Ternus era as CEO, just ahead of a much-anticipated iPhone event—facing challenges in AI, manufacturing, regulation, and the ever-present rumor of a foldable iPhone.


• A climate scientist's 8-week experiment spotlights how much energy AI actually burns, showing prompt-based measurements miss the real environmental impact of today's intensive tools.


• Tecno unveils Bezelless - a bezel-less concept phone at IFA, as anticipation builds for Apple's rumored border-free iPhone.


• Chris Fistonich from Malwarebytes joins to warn about fake GTA 6 sites delivering info-stealing malware to unsuspecting gamers.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Abrar Al-Heeti

Guest: Chris Fistonich

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