Grumpy Old Geeks – Episode 737: "Monetizable Content"

Release Date: March 13, 2026
Hosts: Jason DeFilippo & Brian Schulmeister
Guest: Dave Bittner (not present this episode)

Episode Overview

This week's Grumpy Old Geeks delivers its signature tech-industry roast, dissecting the latest news and scandals from the world of tech, AI, data privacy, and digital media. With their trademark no-holds-barred commentary, Jason and Brian break down social media bans, AI disasters, data leaks, and the monoculture of “monetizable content.” The episode is loaded with sharp observations, personal milestones, and plenty of both cynicism and wit.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal Milestones and Banter

• Brian celebrates four years cancer-free and is now on yearly checkups ([00:21]).
  • “That is four years cancer free. I am one year, one year out from being considered. I guess they just say cancer free, but, you know, okay, not terribly exciting, but a big deal for me.” — Brian ([00:21])
• Jason jokes about sobriety and cancer milestones.

2. International Social Media Bans & US Lag

• Multiple countries (Indonesia, Spain, Malaysia) are enacting bans or strict regulations on social media for users under 16, following Australia’s lead ([02:44]).
• The U.S. is slow to follow, barely passing new privacy protections (COPPA 2.0), which Jason and Brian deride as insufficient and outdated ([10:56]).
  • “Or we could do what every other country in the world is doing and ban it for kids.” — Brian ([11:18])
• Discussion highlights the hypocrisy of tech execs not allowing their own kids on these platforms.

3. Anthropic vs. The Pentagon & The “Axis of AI Evil”

• Anthropic (Claude AI) sues the government after being designated a supply chain risk, usually a label for foreign adversaries ([04:16]).
• Jokes about a new “Axis of Evil” consisting of tech CEOs Sam Altman (OpenAI), Dario Amodei (Anthropic), and possibly Mark Zuckerberg ([04:43]).
  • “Now if we got the Axis of Evil, we've got Sam Altman, he's Hitler. Now we've got Dario, he's Mussolini... I think we should just make Zuck the third wheel...” — Jason ([04:43])

4. Ongoing AI Copyright Wars & Data Scraping

• Gracenote (Nielsen-owned metadata company) sues OpenAI for copying their data and not paying for it ([06:56]).
  • “Defendants instead improperly copied and used gracenote data to create their own commercially valuable AI products, all without paying a dime, the complaint states.” — Brian ([08:06])
• The lawsuit also argues that it’s not just content, but data structure being stolen.
• Ongoing trend of companies rushing to integrate AI, often at great cost.

5. Roblox "AI Filters" & The Uselessness of AI Moderation

• Roblox rolls out a new AI-powered filter to rephrase inappropriate chat in real time, but the Geeks are skeptical ([08:44]).
  • “Do we need to call these AI filters? Because I remember doing regex In Perl for the same thing in 1993.” — Jason ([09:19])
  • “They are burning oceans for that, Jason.” — Brian ([10:01])
• Kids are unlikely to be fooled, and “AI” is more marketing than substance.

6. AI Disasters in Real Life: Pentagon Missile Strike

• Pentagon investigation finds an AI hallucination may have led to a missile strike on a girls’ school in Iran ([12:54]).
  • “In what may be the worst case of AI hallucination imaginable...” — Jason ([12:54])
• Discussion of risk in rapidly integrating AI into military decisions, lack of basic operational oversight.

7. Meta’s Ineffective Oversight & AI Expansion

• Meta’s Oversight Board urges stricter rules for AI-generated content, but has no real enforcement power ([16:37]).
  • “Let us remind you that all they can do is urge them to do things because the Meta Oversight Board has zero operational capabilities, no teeth, no nothing.” — Brian ([17:06])
• Meta continues to acquire or partner with “viral” AI projects (usually revealed as smoke and mirrors), and their platforms flood users with poorly labeled AI content ([18:21]).
  • “All the posts that went viral basically involved people. This is the ultimate case of AI is people.” — Brian ([19:22])

8. Tech Layoffs & the AI Bubble

• Oracle plans to cut thousands of jobs to reinvest in AI infrastructure and contracts with OpenAI ([20:45]).
• Observations on the cyclical hype, investment, and collateral damage caused by the AI arms race.

9. User Data Leaks & Security Debacles

• Large-scale Social Security data leak connected to a government contractor, exposing sensitive data of over 500 million Americans ([28:40]).
  • “When we say personal information, we mean all of the information.” — Brian ([29:12])

10. Companies Suing the US Government Over Tariffs

• Nintendo and others are currently suing the US government to recover money lost from Trump-era tariffs which were ruled illegal ([30:52]).

11. Tech Stagnation and the AI “Beige Effect”

• Large language models (LLMs) and AI tools are flattening human creativity, according to a new meta-study ([24:25]).
  • “It is putting everything into the same fucking bucket, swishing it around and all you get is, is beige.” — Jason ([25:33])
• Brian shares his experience with AI music generation tools: everything is generic and indistinguishable ([26:04]).

12. Science News Highlights

• SETI might be missing alien signals due to plasma and space weather, not alien indifference ([32:37]).
• Ig Nobel Prizes move to Europe due to US immigration hostility, illustrating the US scientific brain drain ([34:08]).
  • “Not only are we having a brain drain, which is people, people. The best and brightest used to come here. Now they do not. They will not come here.” — Brian ([35:18])

13. Apps, Doodads, and Tech Reviews

• Jason mentions “Clash Royale” clan longevity and “Open Audible” for backing up personal audiobooks ([38:24]).
• Open Audible’s slow performance and legality discussed candidly.
• Brian reviews the news of Bluesky CEO stepping down ([40:44]).

14. Pokemon Go's "Accidental" World Mapping

• Niantic (Pokemon Go’s developer) has created a stunning visual positioning system using billions of crowd-sourced urban photos, now powering delivery robots ([42:30]).
  • “Probably the best mapping of the planet is going to come from Pokemon Go...” — Brian ([44:20])

15. Robot News and Societal Impact

• A humanoid robot frightens an elderly woman in Macau, raising concerns about public robot deployments ([46:43]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On US vs. International Social Policy:
  “Or we could do what every other country in the world is doing and ban it for kids.” — Brian ([11:18])
• On Tech’s “Axis of Evil”:
  “Now if we got the Axis of Evil, we've got Sam Altman, he's Hitler. Now we've got Dario, he's Mussolini… I think we should just make Zuck the third wheel…” — Jason ([04:43])
• On the Ineffectiveness of AI Filters:
  “They are burning oceans for that, Jason.” — Brian ([10:01])
• On AI Flattening Creativity:
  “It is putting everything into the same fucking bucket, swishing it around and all you get is beige.” — Jason ([25:33])
• On Data Security Scandals:
  “When we say personal information, we mean all of the information.” — Brian ([29:12])
• On Brain Drain and America’s Anti-Science Tilt:
  “Not only are we having a brain drain, which is people, people. The best and brightest used to come here. Now they do not... The best and brightest are starting to leave.” — Brian ([35:18])
• On Monetizable Content:
  “I think we need to rename this segment from mediacami to Monetizable Content...I fucking hate the word content so much.” — ([55:56]–[56:13])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Personal milestones, jokes: [00:21]–[01:10]
• Social media bans/global policy: [02:44]–[04:16]
• Anthropic vs. DoD/Axis of Evil: [04:16]–[06:16]
• Gracenote lawsuit/OpenAI data: [06:56]–[08:41]
• Roblox “AI filter”: [08:44]–[10:50]
• COPPA 2.0/US lagging on privacy: [10:56]–[12:44]
• AI in military disaster: [12:54]–[14:35]
• Meta’s AI flood and “agent” scam: [16:37]–[20:45]
• Tech layoffs and AI arms race: [20:45]–[22:08]
• Massive Social Security data leak: [28:40]–[30:43]
• Tariffs and Nintendo lawsuit: [30:52]–[32:13]
• AI, creativity, “beige effect”: [24:25]–[28:36]
• SETI, Ig Nobel, and science policy: [32:37]–[36:48]
• Apps & Doodads: [38:24]–[42:04]
• Niantic's world mapping/robotics: [42:30]–[46:00]
• Robot frightens senior in Macau: [46:43]–[47:55]
• Media Commentary ("Monetizable Content"): [48:08]–[59:44]

Personality & Tone

• The hosts’ banter is sardonic, highly critical of tech industry hype, and passionate about tech's social impacts.
• They balance personal, relatable anecdotes with extensive industry knowledge.

Takeaways for the Uninitiated

• The tech industry’s rapid and unregulated AI push is having consequences far beyond just annoying search results—ranging from massive data theft to actual loss of life due to AI hallucination in military targeting.
• Global governments (mostly outside the US) are taking concrete action to protect children online, while the US settles for piecemeal, largely ineffective legislation.
• Major corporations are focused on monetization, consolidation, and self-preservation—often at the expense of user rights, employee jobs, and public good.
• AI creativity is a paradox: it promises “innovation” but, when deployed at scale, ensures a glut of generic, risk-averse output—flattening human contribution into beige mediocrity.
• The biggest winners are platforms (YouTube, Meta) and data brokers, while average users and small businesses are squeezed ever tighter.

For Further Information

• All references and links mentioned are in the show notes at GOG.show/737.
• Listener support and merchandise are available as detailed near the episode’s end.

Grumpy Old Geeks delivers a dense, unfiltered 90 minutes of both news and commentary. Even for those who haven’t listened, this summary captures the unique spirit, highlights, and essential information from episode 737: “Monetizable Content.”