TechLinked Podcast Summary

Episode: Sora shut down, Meta/YouTube Rulings, Arm AGI CPU + more!
Date: March 26, 2026
Host: Linus Media Group

Episode Overview

This edition of TechLinked takes the form of a playful “Court of Tech News,” with the host presiding over a packed docket of issues that are rocking the tech world. Key topics include OpenAI's abrupt shutdown of Sora, landmark legal rulings against Meta and YouTube over social media's impact on children, ARM’s bold move to manufacture its own AGI CPU, and a rapid-fire set of “Quick Bits” news updates. The episode is energetic, satirical, and packed with both industry insight and sharp humor.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. OpenAI Shuts Down Sora (00:31)

• OpenAI abruptly discontinues Sora, its TikTok-like "slop video generating" service, across all platforms less than six months after launch, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
• The shutdown is part of a strategic shift to productivity tools, merging ChatGPT, Codex, and Atlas browser into a new “desktop super app.”
• Sora’s downloads declined sharply from 3.3 million (Nov.) to 1.1 million (Feb.), generating only $2.14 million in revenue.
• Disney, having planned a $1B investment with over 200 licensed characters for Sora, pulled out after being blindsided by the announcement.
• Disney reps express frustration; an insider calls it a “big rug pull” (01:40).
  • Quote: "Disney, who was reportedly blindsided by the announcement, released a statement with all of the energy of a recent divorcee, saying that they respect OpenAI’s decision to exit the video generation business and to shift its priorities elsewhere." (01:25)
• Meta-commentary: The host mocks the sudden shift — "Sea Dance 2.0 is eating our lunch and Sammy Boy doesn’t wanna look like a dingus."

2. Landmark Meta/YouTube Legal Rulings (02:23)

• Two major decisions:
  1. New Mexico jury: Orders Meta to pay $375M for misleading parents about platform safety.
  2. LA jury: Finds Meta & YouTube negligent for “addictive platform design,” awarding $3M in damages.
• Mark Zuckerberg’s court defense compared harms to children to “inevitabilities” with large user bases (03:10).
  • Quote: “Zuckerberg attempted to refute the evidence by stating that harms to children were inevitable on his platforms due to their massive user bases. Yikes dude.” (03:18)
• These rulings are significant for rejecting the Section 230 defense that typically shields tech companies from liability for user-generated content.
• Both cases are ongoing: punitive damages in LA still pending; New Mexico public nuisance phase scheduled for May.
• Quote: "These two cases are bellwethers for a glut of similar cases waiting in the wings. So. So the bleeding isn't over for ol Zucker Cord." (04:35)

3. ARM’s First Physical Chip: AGI CPU (05:01)

• ARM (typically a neutral licensor) is making its own physical data center chip for the first time: the AGI CPU.
• Specs: 3nm process, 136 cores, 300W TDP (air-cooled), 12 DDR5 channels.
• ARM collaborates with Meta as the lead customer; plans to pair chip with Meta’s own accelerators.
• Claimed advantages: single air-cooled rack fits 8,000+ cores, “twice the performance per rack compared to x86,” with potential savings of $10B per gigawatt of data center.
• Raises the question: Why is ARM competing with customers like Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Nvidia, all of whom design their own ARM-based chips?
  • Quote: “Does it piss off Nvidia? I’d imagine it will piss off Intel and AMD more. Piss off everybody. Got it. Good strategy.” (06:43)

Quick Bits (Rapid News Updates) (07:05)

1. Intel Arc Pro B70 GPU Launch (07:12)

   • First card using “Big Battle Mage” full-fat G31 GPU.
   • 32GB GDDR6 for $950; workstation/AI orientation—not gaming.
   • Undercuts Nvidia’s $1,900 RTX 4000 Pro (24GB RAM).

2. Wine11’s NT Sync Boosts Linux Gaming (07:55)

   • Integrates NT Sync at kernel level starting with Linux kernel 6.14.
   • Dramatic gaming performance increases for Windows games on Linux.
     • Example: Dirt 3 jumps from 110 to 860 FPS.
   • Quote: “It might be time for Microsoft to adopt a new slogan. Windows 11—the best way to download the OS that runs our games better.” (08:20)

3. Ayaneo Halts Strix Halo Handheld Preorders (08:42)

   • Hardware costs now double sale price (started at $2,000).
   • Cause: "AI data centers going hungry hungry hippos on the global memory supply."
   • Suspension is "temporary" until memory prices are reasonable.

4. FCC Bans New Foreign-Made Consumer Routers (09:16)

   • US ban responding to national security risks; existing models grandfathered in.
   • Irony: nearly all “domestic” routers built overseas; Typhoon hacks targeted enterprise (Cisco), not consumer gear.
   • Quote: “Made in America. Hacked in America… at least they’re keeping jobs domestic.” (10:02)

5. Nail Polish for Touchscreens (10:23)

   • Louisiana undergrad invents conductive clear coat (taurine & ethanolamine).
   • Aimed at long fingernails and “zombie finger” sufferers.
   • Host humorously questions the march of innovation, invoking Icarus and Daedalus metaphors.
   • Quote: “Is there no rest or respite? No moment where we say we have come far enough and turned back from the precipice of innovation? Or will we be forever pushed out beyond the edges of the map by those behind us clamoring to see territory still unclaimed for? Here be monsters, my friends. And I fear that those monsters are us.” (10:48)

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On OpenAI's Sora shutdown:
  • “May God have mercy on your bleeps and bloops, you computer goblins.” (00:33)
• Disney's reaction:
  • “With all of the energy of a recent divorcee...” (01:25)
• Meta’s defense in court:
  • “I guess his PR team forgot to explicitly tell him that real humans don't love it when you refer to harming children as an inevitability.” (03:24)
• ARM goes to war:
  • "The Switzerland of chips declared war and to the front lines they brought the ARM AGI CPU." (05:08)
• Reflecting on new inventions:
  • "It’s in moments like this that I wonder: has science gone too far? Are we like Icarus flying on wings of wax, too close to the sun for what? To fulfill the hubris of our fathers, Daedaluses, seeking only to serve their own egos?" (10:42)

Key Timestamps

• 00:31: Court of Tech News opens; Sora shutdown news begins
• 01:10: Sora’s stats; Disney’s reaction and cancellation
• 02:23: Legal rulings against Meta/YouTube
• 05:01: ARM announces its first physical chip (AGI CPU)
• 07:05: Quick Bits segment
  • 07:12: Intel Arc Pro B70 launch
  • 07:55: Wine11’s NT Sync Linux update
  • 08:42: Ayaneo handheld preorder suspension
  • 09:16: FCC router ban
  • 10:23: Conductive nail polish invents new tech anxiety
• 10:58: Host’s philosophical monologue on tech innovation
• 11:38: Court “adjourned;” episode wraps main content

Conclusion

The episode delivers a biting, fast-paced survey of the week's most significant tech stories. Between industry shakeups, legal reckoning for social giants, and surprising innovation twists, the host’s blend of satire and insight keeps tech fans both informed and entertained. The recurring theme: the tech world’s relentless forward march is rarely smooth, never boring, and always worthy of judgment in the “Court of Tech News.”