Podcast
This Week in Tech with Jeanne Destro
Hosted by Jeanne Destro · EN
WAKR's Jeanne Destro discusses a new tech topic each week!
17episodes
Episodes
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I Just Want To Bang The (3-D Printed) Drum All Day!
6d ago00:18:50Tap to summarizeHats off to Todd Rundgren, who inspired today's headline with his ever-popular 1982 classic hit, "Bang The Drum", because that's certainly what I'm doing (at least in my head) today, thinking about a unique fusion of art, music, and technology that's happening right here in Northeast Ohio. While Akron used to be known as the "Rubber Capital of The World"; it is now considered the nation's premier polymer tech hub, with millions of dollars pouring in from both the federal government and private industry to fund research and development of advanced, sustainable polymers. But Professor Markus Vogl is doing something different, more colorful, and more creative, with polymers. He's making and selling custom, 3-D printed drums that are not only cool to look at, but also smokin' hot to play! Listen now to find out how Vogl is using technology to turn art into music, music into money, and business know-how, into practical lessons for the artists and engineering students who take his classes on 3-D printing at the University of Akron Myers School of Art.
Transcribe →AI Battle Royale: Who Will Win?
2w ago00:15:28Tap to summarizeIn what could be a weeks-long trial; the world's richest man, Elon Musk, is squaring off against Open AI CEO, Sam Altman, over whether or not Musk, who voluntarily walked away from a seat on the Open AI Board in 2018, deserves $134 billion dollars in compensation for alleged harm. That is a big ask, and according to reports this week, including by NBC News, is also leading to bigger questions such as "Will AI lead to the extinction of the human race?". But, as you'll hear now in my conversation with former CNET Editor, and current CBS News Tech Contributor, Ian Sherr, it's more about money, power, and control, than it is about any high-minded moral quandaries or existential arguments. Find out more. Listen now.
Transcribe →Beam Me Up!: Killing Cancer With Rays Of Light
3w ago00:18:01Tap to summarizeThe next time you apply sunscreen to project your skin from potentially cancer-inducing Ultraviolet rays from the sun; consider this: rays of light are actually being used right now to kill skin cancer, and may one day be used on other forms of cancer deep inside the body. This promising new development is being explored by a research team at the Cleveland Clinic, headed by Dr. Vijay Krishna, who tells us all about their ground-breaking research, in this week's edition of This Week In Tech With Jeanne Destro. Listen now to find out how this project, which just won a $2 million dollar award through Wellcome Leap’s Quantum for Bio Challenge , is powered by a Quantum computer which can process information in the blink of an eye that would take, in Krishna's words, "trillions" of years for even the most advanced, conventional, binary computer.
Transcribe →One AI To Rule Them All
4w ago00:24:07Tap to summarizeWill the new Anthropic "Mythos" AI model be a blessing, or a curse? Well, that depends on who wields what could be the most powerful cyber weapon ever created, according to a tech expert we talked to on this week's edition of "This Week in Tech with Jeanne Destro". We'll also be talking about an escalating backlash to AI in general, and data centers in particular, why you should always double-check the medical advice you get from AI, violence aimed at those who aim to further AI development., and Anthropic's ongoing dispute with the Pentagon. Listen now.
Transcribe →Scary, Sublime, Celestial: An Amazing Week in Tech
Apr 1000:14:54Tap to summarizeThis week, an AI model from Anthropic so powerful its creators are limiting its release, a lawsuit claiming Open AI’s Chat GPT was behind a mass shooting, farmers notching a win for the right to repair, and NASA astronauts once again orbiting the moon.
Transcribe →The Eyes Have It: New High Tech Vision Research
Apr 400:08:08Tap to summarizeDid you know that the cells in your eyes can "talk" to one another? Well, they can, according to some new research going on right now at the University of Akron. Listen now, and find out more from U-A Biology Chair, Dr. Jordan Renna. He's our special guest, on "This Week in Tech With Jeanne Destro".
Transcribe →Juries To Big Tech: Stop Hurting Our Kids!
Mar 2800:31:30Tap to summarizeThis week, the business landscape in which big tech companies operate dramatically shifted, as juries in two different states awarded big monetary judgements to plaintiffs who alleged the social media giants Meta and Google were harming children. While the two cases—one in California, and the other; in New Mexico–were similar, they were not the same. So, to get some clarity on what was claimed in each, and how the juries made their decisions; I talked about it with University of Akron Visiting Law Professor, Jess Miers. Miers focuses on the intersection of law and technology, has actually worked in the tech industry, and has done a great deal of research on issues including online speech, the federal law that has protected big tech from legal judgements for decades known as Section 230, AI, cybercrime, and more:
Transcribe →Data Center Pushback, and the Return of Vinyl
Mar 2000:11:21Tap to summarizeAI continues to stir controversy nationwide this week, as more communities, including some in Ohio, are pushing back against huge data centers that support AI, which use a lot of resources, but bring very few jobs to the communities in which they are located. In addition, despite all the hype about how great AI will be for efficiency and possible advances in many areas including science and medicine; there are growing concerns about job losses, with thousands already cut from big Tech companies like Meta, Amazon, Oracle, Pinterest, and eBay. There is also concern that the US Postal Service might run out of money in the next year, because of long-term, and expanding financial problems, exacerbated this week by the news that Amazon, which is their largest customer, is reducing the number of packages it plans to have delivered through USPS. We've also got a story about how analog vinyl records, which have become increasingly popular among young people raised in the digital age, are now smashing sales records going back decades. Listen now.
Transcribe →Anthropic Fights Back, Fukushima Remembered, and Protecting Kids From Dangerous Technology
Mar 1300:12:10Tap to summarizeWhy Anthropic is suing the US government, a solemn reminder of how even the most advanced technology is no match for Mother Nature, and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine's plea for protecting children from the harmful effects of technology. That's what's on tap in the latest edition of "This Week in Tech with Jeanne Destro." Listen now.
Transcribe →US Issues Iran Cyber Threat Warning: How To Protect Your Networks
Feb 2700:12:35Tap to summarizeAs the US gears up for a possible military confrontation with Iran; the federal government has issued a warning for US companies and government agencies, to tighten up cyber defenses to ensure our networks here at home, can withstand possible state-sponsored cyber attacks. But though the current buildup of military force against Iran is fairly recent; our adversarial relationship with that country goes back many years, perhaps exemplified best by the release of the Stuxnet worm that sabotaged Iran's nuclear program, in 2011. Listen now to find out more, and also what you can do right now, to harden your company or government agency’s defenses against persistent threats from Iran.
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