Podcasts about Neuromancer

1984 novel by William Gibson

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Best podcasts about Neuromancer

Latest podcast episodes about Neuromancer

Mona Lisa Overpod
MLOP 31: Down For The Count Zero

Mona Lisa Overpod

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 10, 2025 123:28


Welcome to Mona Lisa Overpod, the show that asks the question "What is cyberpunk?" On each episode, hosts Ka1iban and author Lyda Morehouse dive into the genre that helped define sci-fi fiction in the '80s and break down the themes which remain relevant to our lives in the 21st century. Pull on your mirrorshades, jack into the matrix, and start your run with us today!William Gibson's Neuromancer crystallized--if not created--the burgeoning genre of cyberpunk and he's been running from that label ever since. The sequel to his debut novel presents an expansion of his singular and evocative cyberpunk world, following the experiences and actions of a trio of protagonists, caught up in a globe-spanning conflict between the human forces of capital and the nascent and puissant influence of mysterious cyberspace "gods." Not content to simply replicate the noir-tinged heist of his first work, Gibson shows us an increasingly chaotic world where class is an identity, art is a commodity, and human ingenuity is on borrowed time.In this episode, we discuss Gibson's inspirations behind Count Zero and his views on art, the limits of iconoclasty, how science fiction requires precision in metaphor, "Japonification" in cyberpunk, updating the Cold War for the 21st century, the flawed heroes of cyberpunk, literal ghosts in the machine, technology as a tool for immortality, and the fusion of the technical and the traditional in Gibson's work. We also talk about "spyberpunk", asking the ceiling for the answer, "higherly", being a mercury-filled spider, "Heinleining", going biopunk, villains touching grass, money as its own AI, fetal VR soap opera syndrome, reducing your motherf*cker count, being invited to the voodoo cookout, the importance of Joseph Cornell to Gibson's work, cyber colonialism, protagonist energy, and Kal goes after millennials!CHAPTER 14?!NEWS UPDATE: Anthropic settles!https://www.theverge.com/news/766311/anthropic-class-action-ai-piracy-authors-settlementThe new edition of Lyda's book, Ressurection Code, is out now!https://wizardstowerpress.com/books-2/books-by-lyda-morehouse/resurrection-code/Join Kaliban on Twitch weekdays at 12pm for the Cyber Lunch Hour!http://twitch.tv/justenoughtropePut Just Enough Trope merch on your body!http://justenoughtrope.threadless.comMLOP is a part of the Just Enough Trope podcast network. Check out our other shows about your favorite pop culture topics and join our Discord!http://www.twitter.com/monalisaoverpodhttp://www.justenoughtrope.comhttp://www.instagram.com/monalisaoverpodhttps://discord.gg/7E6wUayqBuy us a coffee on Ko-Fi!https://ko-fi.com/justenoughtrope

The Enginerdy Show
EPISODE 656: Ridin' Nerdy

The Enginerdy Show

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2025


This week we talk about St. Jimmy and Master Z's trip on the Idaho Backcountry Discovery Route, Mr. Pold's trip to see his granddaughter in Montana, and D'Viddy's trip to Silver City. Consumption: Mr. Pold - The Naked Gun, The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear, Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult St. Jimmy - Risen, Songbird, You're Next, Neuromancer, Jug Face D'Viddy - Knife of Dreams, The Terminal List: Dark Wolf, Kill Tony: Mayhem at Madison Square Garden, Sakamoto Days, Clevatess Master Z - Golden Son Music Provided By: Greg Gibbs / Most Guitars Are Made of Trees Butano Bazaar / Borrador JG Hackett / Feel the Pain

War College
Does the U.S. Need an Independent Cyber Force?

War College

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 29, 2025 64:53


Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comIf the internet is a battlefield, does that mean the United States needs a new military force to dominate it?On this episode of Angry Planet, retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Edward Charles Cardon and former House Armed Services Committee Democratic staffer Joshua Stiefel make the case for spinning off the Cyber Force into an independent branch. Both are part of a new commission at the Center for Strategic and International Studies — partnered with Jason's new bosses at Foundation for Defense of Democracies — with the goal of preparing for a new branch that both feel is inevitable.It's a wild and wandering conversation that touches on Neuromancer, AI, and fighting a cyber war against the Islamic State.“A Cyber Force is inevitable”How cyber works nowFrom Army Air Service to Air Force to Space ForceVolt Typhoon as warningIt's hard to recruit hackersThe Goldwater-Nichols Act mentioned, drinkBasic training for hackers?A retired Lt. General at DefconThe weird nebulous thinking of AI and cyberThe Army has soldiers, the Space Force has Guardians, what about Cyber Force?Neuromancers? Hackers?“The leaders of this domain have to understand the people they're talking to.”Change is only possible in the aftermath of something cataclysmic“AI is gonna put the offense on steroids”Glowing SymphonyIslamic State as the model conflictCSIS Launches Commission on Cyber Force Generation in Partnership With Cyber SolariumUnited States Cyber Force: A Defense ImperativeVolt TyphoonGoldwater-Nichols Act of 1986The Rise of ‘Vibe Hacking' Is the Next AI NightmareRussia Is Suspected to Be Behind Breach of Federal Court Filing SystemOperation Glowing SymphonySupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

ThinkEnergy
Summer Rewind: How AI impacts energy systems

ThinkEnergy

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 11, 2025 55:16


Summer rewind: Greg Lindsay is an urban tech expert and a Senior Fellow at MIT. He's also a two-time Jeopardy champion and the only human to go undefeated against IBM's Watson. Greg joins thinkenergy to talk about how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping how we manage, consume, and produce energy—from personal devices to provincial grids, its rapid growth to the rising energy demand from AI itself. Listen in to learn how AI impacts our energy systems and what it means individually and industry-wide. Related links: ●       Greg Lindsay website: https://greglindsay.org/ ●       Greg Lindsay on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-lindsay-8b16952/ ●       International Energy Agency (IEA): https://www.iea.org/ ●       Trevor Freeman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevor-freeman-p-eng-cem-leed-ap-8b612114/ ●       Hydro Ottawa: https://hydroottawa.com/en    To subscribe using Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thinkenergy/id1465129405   To subscribe using Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7wFz7rdR8Gq3f2WOafjxpl   To subscribe on Libsyn: http://thinkenergy.libsyn.com/ --- Subscribe so you don't miss a video: https://www.youtube.com/user/hydroottawalimited   Follow along on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hydroottawa   Stay in the know on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HydroOttawa   Keep up with the posts on X: https://twitter.com/thinkenergypod --- Transcript: Trevor Freeman  00:00 Hi everyone. Well, summer is here, and the think energy team is stepping back a bit to recharge and plan out some content for the next season. We hope all of you get some much needed downtime as well, but we aren't planning on leaving you hanging over the next few months, we will be re releasing some of our favorite episodes from the past year that we think really highlight innovation, sustainability and community. These episodes highlight the changing nature of how we use and manage energy, and the investments needed to expand, modernize and strengthen our grid in response to that. All of this driven by people and our changing needs and relationship to energy as we move forward into a cleaner, more electrified future, the energy transition, as we talk about many times on this show. Thanks so much for listening, and we'll be back with all new content in September. Until then, happy listening.   Trevor Freeman  00:55 Welcome to think energy, a podcast that dives into the fast changing world of energy through conversations with industry leaders, innovators and people on the front lines of the energy transition. Join me, Trevor Freeman, as I explore the traditional, unconventional and up and coming facets of the energy industry. If you have any thoughts feedback or ideas for topics we should cover, please reach out to us at think energy at hydro ottawa.com, Hi everyone. Welcome back. Artificial intelligence, or AI, is a term that you're likely seeing and hearing everywhere today, and with good reason, the effectiveness and efficiency of today's AI, along with the ever increasing applications and use cases mean that in just the past few years, AI went from being a little bit fringe, maybe a little bit theoretical to very real and likely touching everyone's day to day lives in ways that we don't even notice, and we're just at the beginning of what looks to be a wave of many different ways that AI will shape and influence our society and our lives in the years to come. And the world of energy is no different. AI has the potential to change how we manage energy at all levels, from our individual devices and homes and businesses all the way up to our grids at the local, provincial and even national and international levels. At the same time, AI is also a massive consumer of energy, and the proliferation of AI data centers is putting pressure on utilities for more and more power at an unprecedented pace. But before we dive into all that, I also think it will be helpful to define what AI is. After all, the term isn't new. Like me, many of our listeners may have grown up hearing about Skynet from Terminator, or how from 2001 A Space Odyssey, but those malignant, almost sentient versions of AI aren't really what we're talking about here today. And to help shed some light on both what AI is as well as what it can do and how it might influence the world of energy, my guest today is Greg Lindsay, to put it in technical jargon, Greg's bio is super neat, so I do want to take time to run through it properly. Greg is a non resident Senior Fellow of MIT's future urban collectives lab Arizona State University's threat casting lab and the Atlantic Council's Scowcroft center for strategy and security. Most recently, he was a 2022-2023 urban tech Fellow at Cornell Tech's Jacobs Institute, where he explored the implications of AI and augmented reality at an urban scale. Previously, he was an urbanist in resident, which is a pretty cool title, at BMW minis urban tech accelerator, urban X, as well as the director of Applied Research at Montreal's new cities and Founding Director of Strategy at its mobility focused offshoot, co motion. He's advised such firms as Intel, Samsung, Audi, Hyundai, IKEA and Starbucks, along with numerous government entities such as 10 Downing Street, us, Department of Energy and NATO. And finally, and maybe coolest of all, Greg is also a two time Jeopardy champion and the only human to go undefeated against IBM's Watson. So on that note, Greg Lindsey, welcome to the show.   Greg Lindsay  04:14 Great to be here. Thanks for having me. Trevor,   Trevor Freeman  04:16 So Greg, we're here to talk about AI and the impacts that AI is going to have on energy, but AI is a bit of one of those buzzwords that we hear out there in a number of different spheres today. So let's start by setting the stage of what exactly we're talking about. So what do we mean when we say AI or artificial intelligence?   Speaker 1  04:37 Well, I'd say the first thing to keep in mind is that it is neither artificial nor intelligence. It's actually composites of many human hands making it. And of course, it's not truly intelligent either. I think there's at least two definitions for the layman's purposes. One is statistical machine learning. You know that is the previous generation of AI, we could say, doing deep, deep statistical analysis, looking for patterns fitting to. Patterns doing prediction. There's a great book, actually, by some ut professors at monk called prediction machines, which that was a great way of thinking about machine learning and sense of being able to do large scale prediction at scale. And that's how I imagine hydro, Ottawa and others are using this to model out network efficiencies and predictive maintenance and all these great uses. And then the newer, trendier version, of course, is large language models, your quads, your chat gpts, your others, which are based on transformer models, which is a whole series of work that many Canadians worked on, including Geoffrey Hinton and others. And this is what has produced the seemingly magical abilities to produce text and images on demand and large scale analysis. And that is the real power hungry beast that we think of as AI today.   Trevor Freeman  05:42 Right! So different types of AI. I just want to pick those apart a little bit. When you say machine learning, it's kind of being able to repetitively look at something or a set of data over and over and over again. And because it's a computer, it can do it, you know, 1000s or millions of times a second, and learn what, learn how to make decisions based on that. Is that fair to say?   Greg Lindsay  06:06 That's fair to say. And the thing about that is, is like you can train it on an output that you already know, large language models are just vomiting up large parts of pattern recognition, which, again, can feel like magic because of our own human brains doing it. But yeah, machine learning, you can, you know, you can train it to achieve outcomes. You can overfit the models where it like it's trained too much in the past, but, yeah, it's a large scale probabilistic prediction of things, which makes it so powerful for certain uses.   Trevor Freeman  06:26 Yeah, one of the neatest explanations or examples I've seen is, you know, you've got these language models where it seems like this AI, whether it's chat, DBT or whatever, is writing really well, like, you know, it's improving our writing. It's making things sound better. And it seems like it's got a brain behind it, but really, what it's doing is it's going out there saying, What have millions or billions of other people written like this? And how can I take the best things of that? And it can just do that really quickly, and it's learned that that model, so that's super helpful to understand what we're talking about here. So obviously, in your work, you look at the impact of AI on a number of different aspects of our world, our society. What we're talking about here today is particularly the impact of AI when it comes to energy. And I'd like to kind of bucketize our conversation a little bit today, and the first area I want to look at is, what will ai do when it comes to energy for the average Canadian? Let's say so in my home, in my business, how I move around? So I'll start with that. It's kind of a high level conversation. Let's start talking about the different ways that AI will impact you know that our average listener here?   Speaker 1  07:41 Um, yeah, I mean, we can get into a discussion about what it means for the average Canadian, and then also, of course, what it means for Canada in the world as well, because I just got back from South by Southwest in Austin, and, you know, for the second, third year in row, AI was on everyone's lips. But really it's the energy. Is the is the bottleneck. It's the forcing factor. Everyone talked about it, the fact that all the data centers we can get into that are going to be built in the direction of energy. So, so, yeah, energy holds the key to the puzzle there. But, um, you know, from the average gain standpoint, I mean, it's a question of, like, how will these tools actually play out, you know, inside of the companies that are using this, right? And that was a whole other discussion too. It's like, okay, we've been playing around with these tools for two, three years now, what do they actually use to deliver value of your large language model? So I've been saying this for 10 years. If you look at the older stuff you could start with, like smart thermostats, even look at the potential savings of this, of basically using machine learning to optimize, you know, grid optimize patterns of usage, understanding, you know, the ebbs and flows of the grid, and being able to, you know, basically send instructions back and forth. So you know there's stats. You know that, basically you know that you know you could save 10 to 25% of electricity bills. You know, based on this, you could reduce your heating bills by 10 to 15% again, it's basically using this at very large scales of the scale of hydro Ottawa, bigger, to understand this sort of pattern usage. But even then, like understanding like how weather forecasts change, and pulling that data back in to basically make fine tuning adjustments to the thermostats and things like that. So that's one stands out. And then, you know, we can think about longer term. I mean, yeah, lots have been lots has been done on imagining, like electric mobility, of course, huge in Canada, and what that's done to sort of change the overall energy mix virtual power plants. This is something that I've studied, and we've been writing about at Fast Company. At Fast Company beyond for 20 years, imagining not just, you know, the ability to basically, you know, feed renewable electricity back into the grid from people's solar or from whatever sources they have there, but the ability of utilities to basically go in and fine tune, to have that sort of demand shaping as well. And then I think the most interesting stuff, at least in demos, and also blockchain, which has had many theoretical uses, and I've got to see a real one. But one of the best theoretical ones was being able to create neighborhood scale utilities. Basically my cul de sac could have one, and we could trade clean electrons off of our solar panels through our batteries and home scale batteries, using Blockchain to basically balance this out. Yeah, so there's lots of potential, but yeah, it comes back to the notion of people want cheaper utility bills. I did this piece 10 years ago for the Atlantic Council on this we looked at a multi country survey, and the only reason anybody wanted a smart home, which they just were completely skeptical about, was to get those cheaper utility bills. So people pay for that.   Trevor Freeman  10:19 I think it's an important thing to remember, obviously, especially for like the nerds like me, who part of my driver is, I like that cool new tech. I like that thing that I can play with and see my data. But for most people, no matter what we're talking about here, when it comes to that next technology, the goal is make my life a little bit easier, give me more time or whatever, and make things cheaper. And I think especially in the energy space, people aren't putting solar panels on their roof because it looks great. And, yeah, maybe people do think it looks great, but they're putting it up there because they want cheaper electricity. And it's going to be the same when it comes to batteries. You know, there's that add on of resiliency and reliability, but at the end of the day, yeah, I want my bill to be cheaper. And what I'm hearing from you is some of the things we've already seen, like smart thermostats get better as AI gets better. Is that fair to say?   Greg Lindsay  11:12 Well, yeah, on the machine learning side, that you know, you get ever larger data points. This is why data is the coin of the realm. This is why there's a race to collect data on everything. Is why every business model is data collection and everything. Because, yes, not only can they get better, but of course, you know, you compile enough and eventually start finding statistical inferences you never meant to look for. And this is why I've been involved. Just as a side note, for example, of cities that have tried to implement their own data collection of electric scooters and eventually electric vehicles so they could understand these kinds of patterns, it's really the key to anything. And so it's that efficiency throughput which raises some really interesting philosophical questions, particularly about AI like, this is the whole discussion on deep seek. Like, if you make the models more efficient, do you have a Jevons paradox, which is the paradox of, like, the more energy you save through efficiency, the more you consume because you've made it cheaper. So what does this mean that you know that Canadian energy consumption is likely to go up the cleaner and cheaper the electrons get. It's one of those bedeviling sort of functions.   Trevor Freeman  12:06 Yeah interesting. That's definitely an interesting way of looking at it. And you referenced this earlier, and I will talk about this. But at the macro level, the amount of energy needed for these, you know, AI data centers in order to do all this stuff is, you know, we're seeing that explode.   Greg Lindsay  12:22 Yeah, I don't know that. Canadian statistics my fingertips, but I brought this up at Fast Company, like, you know, the IEA, I think International Energy Agency, you know, reported a 4.3% growth in the global electricity grid last year, and it's gonna be 4% this year. That does not sound like much. That is the equivalent of Japan. We're adding in Japan every year to the grid for at least the next two to three years. Wow. And that, you know, that's global South, air conditioning and other needs here too, but that the data centers on top is like the tip of the spear. It's changed all this consumption behavior, where now we're seeing mothballed coal plants and new plants and Three Mile Island come back online, as this race for locking up electrons, for, you know, the race to build God basically, the number of people in AI who think they're literally going to build weekly godlike intelligences, they'll, they won't stop at any expense. And so they will buy as much energy as they can get.   Trevor Freeman  13:09 Yeah, well, we'll get to that kind of grid side of things in a minute. Let's stay at the home first. So when I look at my house, we talked about smart thermostats. We're seeing more and more automation when it comes to our homes. You know, we can program our lights and our door locks and all this kind of stuff. What does ai do in order to make sure that stuff is contributing to efficiency? So I want to do all those fun things, but use the least amount of energy possible.   Greg Lindsay  13:38 Well, you know, I mean, there's, again, there's various metrics there to basically, sort of, you know, program your lights. And, you know, Nest is, you know, Google. Nest is an example of this one, too, in terms of basically learning your ebb and flow and then figuring out how to optimize it over the course of the day. So you can do that, you know, we've seen, again, like the home level. We've seen not only the growth in solar panels, but also in those sort of home battery integration. I was looking up that Tesla Powerwall was doing just great in Canada, until the last couple of months. I assume so, but I it's been, it's been heartening to see that, yeah, this sort of embrace of home energy integration, and so being able to level out, like, peak flow off the grid, so Right? Like being able to basically, at moments of peak demand, to basically draw on your own local resources and reduce that overall strain. So there's been interesting stuff there. But I want to focus for a moment on, like, terms of thinking about new uses. Because, you know, again, going back to how AI will influence the home and automation. You know, Jensen Wong of Nvidia has talked about how this will be the year of robotics. Google, Gemini just applied their models to robotics. There's startups like figure there's, again, Tesla with their optimists, and, yeah, there's a whole strain of thought that we're about to see, like home robotics, perhaps a dream from like, the 50s. I think this is a very Disney World esque Epcot Center, yeah, with this idea of jetsy, yeah, of having home robots doing work. You can see concept videos a figure like doing the actual vacuuming. I mean, we invented Roombas to this, but, but it also, I, you know, I've done a lot of work. Our own thinking around electric delivery vehicles. We could talk a lot about drones. We could talk a lot about the little robots that deliver meals on the sidewalk. There's a lot of money in business models about increasing access and people needing to maybe move less, to drive and do all these trips to bring it to them. And that's a form of home automation, and that's all batteries. That is all stuff off the grid too. So AI is that enable those things, these things that can think and move and fly and do stuff and do services on your behalf, and so people might find this huge new source of demand from that as well.   Trevor Freeman  15:29 Yeah, that's I hadn't really thought about the idea that all the all these sort of conveniences and being able to summon them to our homes cause us to move around less, which also impacts transportation, which is another area I kind of want to get to. And I know you've, you've talked a little bit about E mobility, so where do you see that going? And then, how does AI accelerate that transition, or accelerate things happening in that space?   Greg Lindsay  15:56 Yeah, I mean, I again, obviously the EV revolutions here Canada like, one of the epicenters Canada, Norway there, you know, that still has the vehicle rebates and things. So, yeah. I mean, we've seen, I'm here in Montreal, I think we've got, like, you know, 30 to 13% of sales is there, and we've got our 2035, mandate. So, yeah. I mean, you see this push, obviously, to harness all of Canada's clean, mostly hydro electricity, to do this, and, you know, reduce its dependence on fossil fuels for either, you know, Climate Change Politics reasons, but also just, you know, variable energy prices. So all of that matters. But, you know, I think the key to, like the electric mobility revolution, again, is, is how it's going to merge with AI and it's, you know, it's not going to just be the autonomous, self driving car, which is sort of like the horseless carriage of autonomy. It's gonna be all this other stuff, you know. My friend Dan Hill was in China, and he was thinking about like, electric scooters, you know. And I mentioned this to hydro Ottawa, like, the electric scooter is one of the leading causes of how we've taken internal combustion engine vehicles offline across the world, mostly in China, and put people on clean electric motors. What happens when you take those and you make those autonomous, and you do it with, like, deep seek and some cameras, and you sort of weld it all together so you could have a world of a lot more stuff in motion, and not just this world where we have to drive as much. And that, to me, is really exciting, because that changes, like urban patterns, development patterns, changes how you move around life, those kinds of things as well. That's that might be a little farther out, but, but, yeah, this sort of like this big push to build out domestic battery industries, to build charging points and the sort of infrastructure there, I think it's going to go in direction, but it doesn't look anything like, you know, a sedan or an SUV that just happens to be electric.   Trevor Freeman  17:33 I think that's a the step change is change the drive train of the existing vehicles we have, you know, an internal combustion to a battery. The exponential change is exactly what you're saying. It's rethinking this.   Greg Lindsay  17:47 Yeah, Ramesam and others have pointed out, I mean, again, like this, you know, it's, it's really funny to see this pushback on EVs, you know. I mean, I love a good, good roar of an internal combustion engine myself, but, but like, you know, Ramesam was an energy analyst, has pointed out that, like, you know, EVS were more cost competitive with ice cars in 2018 that's like, nearly a decade ago. And yeah, the efficiency of electric motors, particularly regenerative braking and everything, it just blows the cost curves away of ice though they will become the equivalent of keeping a thorough brat around your house kind of thing. Yeah, so, so yeah, it's just, it's that overall efficiency of the drive train. And that's the to me, the interesting thing about both electric motors, again, of autonomy is like, those are general purpose technologies. They get cheaper and smaller as they evolve under Moore's Law and other various laws, and so they get to apply to more and more stuff.   Trevor Freeman  18:32 Yeah. And then when you think about once, we kind of figure that out, and we're kind of already there, or close to it, if not already there, then it's opening the door to those other things you're talking about. Of, well, do we, does everybody need to have that car in their driveway? Are we rethinking how we're actually just doing transportation in general? And do we need a delivery truck? Or can it be delivery scooter? Or what does that look like?   Greg Lindsay  18:54 Well, we had a lot of those discussions for a long time, particularly in the mobility space, right? Like, and like ride hailing, you know, like, oh, you know, that was always the big pitch of an Uber is, you know, your car's parked in your driveway, like 94% of the time. You know, what happens if you're able to have no mobility? Well, we've had 15 years of Uber and these kinds of services, and we still have as many cars. But people are also taking this for mobility. It's additive. And I raised this question, this notion of like, it's just sort of more and more, more options, more availability, more access. Because the same thing seems to be going on with energy now too. You know, listeners been following along, like the conversation in Houston, you know, a week or two ago at Sarah week, like it's the whole notion of energy realism. And, you know, there's the new book out, more is more is more, which is all about the fact that we've never had an energy transition. We just kept piling up. Like the world burned more biomass last year than it did in 1900 it burned more coal last year than it did at the peak of coal. Like these ages don't really end. They just become this sort of strata as we keep piling energy up on top of it. And you know, I'm trying to sound the alarm that we won't have an energy transition. What that means for climate change? But similar thing, it's. This rebound effect, the Jevons paradox, named after Robert Stanley Jevons in his book The question of coal, where he noted the fact that, like, England was going to need more and more coal. So it's a sobering thought. But, like, I mean, you know, it's a glass half full, half empty in many ways, because the half full is like increasing technological options, increasing changes in lifestyle. You can live various ways you want, but, but, yeah, it's like, I don't know if any of it ever really goes away. We just get more and more stuff,   Trevor Freeman  20:22 Exactly, well. And, you know, to hear you talk about the robotics side of things, you know, looking at the home, yeah, more, definitely more. Okay, so we talked about kind of home automation. We've talked about transportation, how we get around. What about energy management? And I think about this at the we'll talk about the utility side again in a little bit. But, you know, at my house, or for my own personal use in my life, what is the role of, like, sort of machine learning and AI, when it comes to just helping me manage my own energy better and make better decisions when it comes to energy? ,   Greg Lindsay  20:57 Yeah, I mean, this is where it like comes in again. And you know, I'm less and less of an expert here, but I've been following this sort of discourse evolve. And right? It's the idea of, you know, yeah, create, create. This the set of tools in your home, whether it's solar panels or batteries or, you know, or Two Way Direct, bi directional to the grid, however it works. And, yeah, and people, you know, given this option of savings, and perhaps, you know, other marketing messages there to curtail behavior. You know? I mean, I think the short answer the question is, like, it's an app people want, an app that tell them basically how to increase the efficiency of their house or how to do this. And I should note that like, this has like been the this is the long term insight when it comes to like energy and the clean tech revolution. Like my Emery Levin says this great line, which I've always loved, which is, people don't want energy. They want hot showers and cold beer. And, you know, how do you, how do you deliver those things through any combination of sticks and carrots, basically like that. So, So, hence, why? Like, again, like, you know, you know, power walls, you know, and, and, and, you know, other sort of AI controlled batteries here that basically just sort of smooth out to create the sort of optimal flow of electrons into your house, whether that's coming drive directly off the grid or whether it's coming out of your backup and then recharging that the time, you know, I mean, the surveys show, like, more than half of Canadians are interested in this stuff, you know, they don't really know. I've got one set here, like, yeah, 61% are interested in home energy tech, but only 27 understand, 27% understand how to optimize them. So, yeah. So people need, I think, perhaps, more help in handing that over. And obviously, what's exciting for the, you know, the utility level is, like, you know, again, aggregate all that individual behavior together and you get more models that, hope you sort of model this out, you know, at both greater scale and ever more fine grained granularity there. So, yeah, exactly. So I think it's really interesting, you know, I don't know, like, you know, people have gamified it. What was it? I think I saw, like, what is it? The affordability fund trust tried to basically gamify AI energy apps, and it created various savings there. But a lot of this is gonna be like, as a combination like UX design and incentives design and offering this to people too, about, like, why you should want this and money's one reason, but maybe there's others.   Trevor Freeman  22:56 Yeah, and we talk about in kind of the utility sphere, we talk about how customers, they don't want all the data, and then have to go make their own decisions. They want those decisions to be made for them, and they want to say, look, I want to have you tell me the best rate plan to be on. I want to have you automatically switch me to the best rate plan when my consumption patterns change and my behavior chat patterns change. That doesn't exist today, but sort of that fast decision making that AI brings will let that become a reality sometime in the future,   Greg Lindsay  23:29 And also in theory, this is where LLMs come into play. Is like, you know, to me, what excites me the most about that is the first time, like having a true natural language interface, like having being able to converse with an, you know, an AI, let's hopefully not chat bot. I think we're moving out on chat bots, but some sort of sort of instantiation of an AI to be like, what plan should I be on? Can you tell me what my behavior is here and actually having some sort of real language conversation with it? Not decision trees, not event statements, not chat bots.   Trevor Freeman  23:54 Yeah, absolutely. Okay, so we've kind of teased around this idea of looking at the utility levels, obviously, at hydro Ottawa, you referenced this just a minute ago. We look at all these individual cases, every home that has home automation or solar storage, and we want to aggregate that and understand what, what can we do to help manage the grid, help manage all these new energy needs, shift things around. So let's talk a little bit about the role that AI can play at the utility scale in helping us manage the grid.   Greg Lindsay  24:28 All right? Well, yeah, there's couple ways to approach it. So one, of course, is like, let's go back to, like, smart meters, right? Like, and this is where I don't know how many hydro Ottawa has, but I think, like, BC Hydro has like, 2 million of them, sometimes they get politicized, because, again, this gets back to this question of, like, just, just how much nanny state you want. But, you know, you know, when you reach the millions, like, yeah, you're able to get that sort of, you know, obviously real time, real time usage, real time understanding. And again, if you can do that sort of grid management piece where you can then push back, it's visual game changer. But, but yeah. I mean, you know, yeah, be. See hydro is pulling in. I think I read like, like, basically 200 million data points a day. So that's a lot to train various models on. And, you know, I don't know exactly the kind of savings they have, but you can imagine there, whether it's, you know, them, or Toronto Hydro, or hydro Ottawa and others creating all these monitoring points. And again, this is the thing that bedells me, by the way, just philosophically about modern life, the notion of like, but I don't want you to be collecting data off me at all times, but look at what you can do if you do It's that constant push pull of some sort of combination of privacy and agency, and then just the notion of like statistics, but, but there you are, but, but, yeah, but at the grid level, then I mean, like, yeah. I mean, you can sort of do the same thing where, like, you know, I mean, predictive maintenance is the obvious one, right? I have been writing about this for large enterprise software companies for 20 years, about building these data points, modeling out the lifetime of various important pieces equipment, making sure you replace them before you have downtime and terrible things happen. I mean, as we're as we're discussing this, look at poor Heathrow Airport. I am so glad I'm not flying today, electrical substation blowing out two days of the world's most important hub offline. So that's where predictive maintenance comes in from there. And, yeah, I mean, I, you know, I again, you know, modeling out, you know, energy flow to prevent grid outages, whether that's, you know, the ice storm here in Quebec a couple years ago. What was that? April 23 I think it was, yeah, coming up in two years. Or our last ice storm, we're not the big one, but that one, you know, where we had big downtime across the grid, like basically monitoring that and then I think the other big one for AI is like, Yeah, is this, this notion of having some sort of decision support as well, too, and sense of, you know, providing scenarios and modeling out at scale the potential of it? And I don't think, I don't know about this in a grid case, but the most interesting piece I wrote for Fast Company 20 years ago was an example, ago was an example of this, which was a fledgling air taxi startup, but they were combining an agent based model, so using primitive AI to create simple rules for individual agents and build a model of how they would behave, which you can create much more complex models. Now we could talk about agents and then marrying that to this kind of predictive maintenance and operations piece, and marrying the two together. And at that point, you could have a company that didn't exist, but that could basically model itself in real time every day in the life of what it is. You can create millions and millions and millions of Monte Carlo operations. And I think that's where perhaps both sides of AI come together truly like the large language models and agents, and then the predictive machine learning. And you could basically hydro or others, could build this sort of deep time machine where you can model out all of these scenarios, millions and millions of years worth, to understand how it flows and contingencies as well. And that's where it sort of comes up. So basically something happens. And like, not only do you have a set of plans, you have an AI that has done a million sets of these plans, and can imagine potential next steps of this, or where to deploy resources. And I think in general, that's like the most powerful use of this, going back to prediction machines and just being able to really model time in a way that we've never had that capability before. And so you probably imagine the use is better than I.   Trevor Freeman  27:58 Oh man, it's super fascinating, and it's timely. We've gone through the last little while at hydro Ottawa, an exercise of updating our playbook for emergencies. So when there are outages, what kind of outage? What's the sort of, what are the trigger points to go from, you know, what we call a level one to a level two to level three. But all of this is sort of like people hours that are going into that, and we're thinking through these scenarios, and we've got a handful of them, and you're just kind of making me think, well, yeah, what if we were able to model that out? And you bring up this concept of agents, let's tease into that a little bit explain what you mean when you're talking about agents.   Greg Lindsay  28:36 Yeah, so agentic systems, as the term of art is, AI instantiations that have some level of autonomy. And the archetypal example of this is the Stanford Smallville experiment, where they took basically a dozen large language models and they gave it an architecture where they could give it a little bit of backstory, ruminate on it, basically reflect, think, decide, and then act. And in this case, they used it to plan a Valentine's Day party. So they played out real time, and the LLM agents, like, even played matchmaker. They organized the party, they sent out invitations, they did these sorts of things. Was very cute. They put it out open source, and like, three weeks later, another team of researchers basically put them to work writing software programs. So you can see they organized their own workflow. They made their own decisions. There was a CTO. They fact check their own work. And this is evolving into this grand vision of, like, 1000s, millions of agents, just like, just like you spin up today an instance of Amazon Web Services to, like, host something in the cloud. You're going to spin up an agent Nvidia has talked about doing with healthcare and others. So again, coming back to like, the energy implications of that, because it changes the whole pattern. Instead of huge training runs requiring giant data centers. You know, it's these agents who are making all these calls and doing more stuff at the edge, but, um, but yeah, in this case, it's the notion of, you know, what can you put the agents to work doing? And I bring this up again, back to, like, predictive maintenance, or for hydro Ottawa, there's another amazing paper called virtual in real life. And I chatted with one of the principal authors. It created. A half dozen agents who could play tour guide, who could direct you to a coffee shop, who do these sorts of things, but they weren't doing it in a virtual world. They were doing it in the real one. And to do it in the real world, you took the agent, you gave them a machine vision capability, so added that model so they could recognize objects, and then you set them loose inside a digital twin of the world, in this case, something very simple, Google Street View. And so in the paper, they could go into like New York Central Park, and they could count every park bench and every waste bin and do it in seconds and be 99% accurate. And so agents were monitoring the landscape. Everything's up, because you can imagine this in the real world too, that we're going to have all the time. AIS roaming the world, roaming these virtual maps, these digital twins that we build for them and constantly refresh from them, from camera data, from sensor data, from other stuff, and tell us what this is. And again, to me, it's really exciting, because that's finally like an operating system for the internet of things that makes sense, that's not so hardwired that you can ask agents, can you go out and look for this for me? Can you report back on this vital system for me? And they will be able to hook into all of these kinds of representations of real time data where they're emerging from, and give you aggregated reports on this one. And so, you know, I think we have more visibility in real time into the real world than we've ever had before.   Trevor Freeman  31:13 Yeah, I want to, I want to connect a few dots here for our listeners. So bear with me for a second. Greg. So for our listeners, there was a podcast episode we did about a year ago on our grid modernization roadmap, and we talked about one of the things we're doing with grid modernization at hydro Ottawa and utilities everywhere doing this is increasing the sensor data from our grid. So we're, you know, right now, we've got visibility sort of to our station level, sometimes one level down to some switches. But in the future, we'll have sensors everywhere on our grid, every switch, every device on our grid, will have a sensor gathering data. Obviously, you know, like you said earlier, millions and hundreds of millions of data points every second coming in. No human can kind of make decisions on that, and what you're describing is, so now we've got all this data points, we've got a network of information out there, and you could create this agent to say, Okay, you are. You're my transformer agent. Go out there and have a look at the run temperature of every transformer on the network, and tell me where the anomalies are, which ones are running a half a degree or two degrees warmer than they should be, and report back. And now I know hydro Ottawa, that the controller, the person sitting in the room, knows, Hey, we should probably go roll a truck and check on that transformer, because maybe it's getting end of life. Maybe it's about to go and you can do that across the entire grid. That's really fascinating,   Greg Lindsay  32:41 And it's really powerful, because, I mean, again, these conversations 20 years ago at IoT, you know you're going to have statistical triggers, and you would aggregate these data coming off this, and there was a lot of discussion there, but it was still very, like hardwired, and still very Yeah, I mean, I mean very probabilistic, I guess, for a word that went with agents like, yeah, you've now created an actual thing that can watch those numbers and they can aggregate from other systems. I mean, lots, lots of potential there hasn't quite been realized, but it's really exciting stuff. And this is, of course, where that whole direction of the industry is flowing. It's on everyone's lips, agents.   Trevor Freeman  33:12 Yeah. Another term you mentioned just a little bit ago that I want you to explain is a digital twin. So tell us what a digital twin is.   Greg Lindsay  33:20 So a digital twin is, well, the matrix. Perhaps you could say something like this for listeners of a certain age, but the digital twin is the idea of creating a model of a piece of equipment, of a city, of the world, of a system. And it is, importantly, it's physics based. It's ideally meant to represent and capture the real time performance of the physical object it's based on, and in this digital representation, when something happens in the physical incarnation of it, it triggers a corresponding change in state in the digital twin, and then vice versa. In theory, you know, you could have feedback loops, again, a lot of IoT stuff here, if you make changes virtually, you know, perhaps it would cause a change in behavior of the system or equipment, and the scales can change from, you know, factory equipment. Siemens, for example, does a lot of digital twin work on this. You know, SAP, big, big software companies have thought about this. But the really crazy stuff is, like, what Nvidia is proposing. So first they started with a digital twin. They very modestly called earth two, where they were going to model all the weather and climate systems of the planet down to like the block level. There's a great demo of like Jensen Wong walking you through a hurricane, typhoons striking the Taipei, 101, and how, how the wind currents are affecting the various buildings there, and how they would change that more recently, what Nvidia is doing now is, but they just at their big tech investor day, they just partner with General Motors and others to basically do autonomous cars. And what's crucial about it, they're going to train all those autonomous vehicles in an NVIDIA built digital twin in a matrix that will act, that will be populated by agents that will act like people, people ish, and they will be able to run millions of years of autonomous vehicle training in this and this is how they plan to catch up to. Waymo or, you know, if Tesla's robotaxis are ever real kind of thing, you know, Waymo built hardwired like trained on real world streets, and that's why they can only operate in certain operating domain environments. Nvidia is gambling that with large language models and transformer models combined with digital twins, you can do these huge leapfrog effects where you can basically train all sorts of synthetic agents in real world behavior that you have modeled inside the machine. So again, that's the kind, that's exactly the kind of, you know, environment that you're going to train, you know, your your grid of the future on for modeling out all your contingency scenarios.   Trevor Freeman  35:31 Yeah, again, you know, for to bring this to the to our context, a couple of years ago, we had our the direcco. It's a big, massive windstorm that was one of the most damaging storms that we've had in Ottawa's history, and we've made some improvements since then, and we've actually had some great performance since then. Imagine if we could model that derecho hitting our grid from a couple different directions and figure out, well, which lines are more vulnerable to wind speeds, which lines are more vulnerable to flying debris and trees, and then go address that and do something with that, without having to wait for that storm to hit. You know, once in a decade or longer, the other use case that we've talked about on this one is just modeling what's happening underground. So, you know, in an urban environments like Ottawa, like Montreal, where you are, there's tons of infrastructure under the ground, sewer pipes, water pipes, gas lines, electrical lines, and every time the city wants to go and dig up a road and replace that road, replace that sewer, they have to know what's underground. We want to know what's underground there, because our infrastructure is under there. As the electric utility. Imagine if you had a model where you can it's not just a map. You can actually see what's happening underground and determine what makes sense to go where, and model out these different scenarios of if we underground this line or that line there. So lots of interesting things when it comes to a digital twin. The digital twin and Agent combination is really interesting as well, and setting those agents loose on a model that they can play with and understand and learn from. So talk a little bit about.   Greg Lindsay  37:11 that. Yeah. Well, there's a couple interesting implications just the underground, you know, equipment there. One is interesting because in addition to, like, you know, you know, having captured that data through mapping and other stuff there, and having agents that could talk about it. So, you know, next you can imagine, you know, I've done some work with augmented reality XR. This is sort of what we're seeing again, you know, meta Orion has shown off their concept. Google's brought back Android XR. Meta Ray Bans are kind of an example of this. But that's where this data will come from, right? It's gonna be people wearing these wearables in the world, capturing all this camera data and others that's gonna be fed into these digital twins to refresh them. Meta has a particularly scary demo where you know where you the user, the wearer leaves their keys on their coffee table and asks metas, AI, where their coffee where their keys are, and it knows where they are. It tells them and goes back and shows them some data about it. I'm like, well, to do that, meta has to have a complete have a complete real time map of your entire house. What could go wrong. And that's what all these companies aspire to of reality. So, but yeah, you can imagine, you know, you can imagine a worker. And I've worked with a startup out of urban X, a Canada startup, Canadian startup called context steer. And you know, is the idea of having real time instructions and knowledge manuals available to workers, particularly predictive maintenance workers and line workers. So you can imagine a technician dispatched to deal with this cut in the pavement and being able to see with XR and overlay of like, what's actually under there from the digital twin, having an AI basically interface with what's sort of the work order, and basically be your assistant that can help you walk you through it, in case, you know, you run into some sort of complication there, hopefully that won't be, you know, become like, turn, turn by turn, directions for life that gets into, like, some of the questions about what we wanted out of our workforce. But there's some really interesting combinations of those things, of like, you know, yeah, mapping a world for AIS, ais that can understand it, that could ask questions in it, that can go probe it, that can give you advice on what to do in it. All those things are very close for good and for bad.   Trevor Freeman  39:03 You kind of touched on my next question here is, how do we make sure this is all in the for good or mostly in the for good category, and not the for bad category you talk in one of the papers that you wrote about, you know, AI and augmented reality in particular, really expanding the attack surface for malicious actors. So we're creating more opportunities for whatever the case may be, if it's hacking or if it's malware, or if it's just, you know, people that are up to nefarious things. How do we protect against that? How do we make sure that our systems are safe that the users of our system. So in our case, our customers, their data is safe, their the grid is safe. How do we make sure that?   Greg Lindsay  39:49 Well, the very short version is, whatever we're spending on cybersecurity, we're not spending enough. And honestly, like everybody who is no longer learning to code, because we can be a quad or ChatGPT to do it, I. Is probably there should be a whole campaign to repurpose a big chunk of tech workers into cybersecurity, into locking down these systems, into training ethical systems. There's a lot of work to be done there. But yeah, that's been the theme for you know that I've seen for 10 years. So that paper I mentioned about sort of smart homes, the Internet of Things, and why people would want a smart home? Well, yeah, the reason people were skeptical is because they saw it as basically a giant attack vector. My favorite saying about this is, is, there's a famous Arthur C Clarke quote that you know, any sufficiently advanced technology is magic Tobias Ravel, who works at Arup now does their head of foresight has this great line, any sufficiently advanced hacking will feel like a haunting meaning. If you're in a smart home that's been hacked, it will feel like you're living in a haunted house. Lights will flicker on and off, and systems will turn and go haywire. It'll be like you're living with a possessed house. And that's true of cities or any other systems. So we need to do a lot of work on just sort of like locking that down and securing that data, and that is, you know, we identified, then it has to go all the way up and down the supply chain, like you have to make sure that there is, you know, a chain of custody going back to when components are made, because a lot of the attacks on nest, for example. I mean, you want to take over a Google nest, take it off the wall and screw the back out of it, which is a good thing. It's not that many people are prying open our thermostats, but yeah, if you can get your hands on it, you can do a lot of these systems, and you can do it earlier in the supply chain and sorts of infected pieces and things. So there's a lot to be done there. And then, yeah, and then, yeah, and then there's just a question of, you know, making sure that the AIs are ethically trained and reinforced. And, you know, a few people want to listeners, want to scare themselves. You can go out and read some of the stuff leaking out of anthropic and others and make clot of, you know, models that are trying to hide their own alignments and trying to, like, basically copy themselves. Again, I don't believe that anything things are alive or intelligent, but they exhibit these behaviors as part of the probabilistic that's kind of scary. So there's a lot to be done there. But yeah, we worked on this, the group that I do foresight with Arizona State University threat casting lab. We've done some work for the Secret Service and for NATO and, yeah, there'll be, you know, large scale hackings on infrastructure. Basically the equivalent can be the equivalent can be the equivalent to a weapons of mass destruction attack. We saw how Russia targeted in 2014 the Ukrainian grid and hacked their nuclear plans. This is essential infrastructure more important than ever, giving global geopolitics say the least, so that needs to be under consideration. And I don't know, did I scare you enough yet? What are the things we've talked through here that, say the least about, you know, people being, you know, tricked and incepted by their AI girlfriends, boyfriends. You know people who are trying to AI companions. I can't possibly imagine what could go wrong there.   Trevor Freeman  42:29 I mean, it's just like, you know, I don't know if this is 15 or 20, or maybe even 25 years ago now, like, it requires a whole new level of understanding when we went from a completely analog world to a digital world and living online, and people, I would hope, to some degree, learned to be skeptical of things on the internet and learned that this is that next level. We now need to learn the right way of interacting with this stuff. And as you mentioned, building the sort of ethical code and ethical guidelines into these language models into the AI. Learning is pretty critical for our listeners. We do have a podcast episode on cybersecurity. I encourage you to go listen to it and reassure yourself that, yes, we are thinking about this stuff. And thanks, Greg, you've given us lots more to think about in that area as well. When it comes to again, looking back at utilities and managing the grid, one thing we're going to see, and we've talked a lot about this on the show, is a lot more distributed generation. So we're, you know, the days of just the central, large scale generation, long transmission lines that being the only generation on the grid. Those days are ending. We're going to see more distributed generations, solar panels on roofs, batteries. How does AI help a utility manage those better, interact with those better get more value out of those things?   Greg Lindsay  43:51 I guess that's sort of like an extension of some of the trends I was talking about earlier, which is the notion of, like, being able to model complex systems. I mean, that's effectively it, right, like you've got an increasingly complex grid with complex interplays between it, you know, figuring out how to basically based on real world performance, based on what you're able to determine about where there are correlations and codependencies in the grid, where point where choke points could emerge, where overloading could happen, and then, yeah, basically, sort of building that predictive system to Basically, sort of look for what kind of complex emergent behavior comes out of as you keep adding to it and and, you know, not just, you know, based on, you know, real world behavior, but being able to dial that up to 11, so to speak, and sort of imagine sort of these scenarios, or imagine, you know, what, what sort of long term scenarios look like in terms of, like, what the mix, how the mix changes, how the geography changes, all those sorts of things. So, yeah, I don't know how that plays out in the short term there, but it's this combination, like I'm imagining, you know, all these different components playing SimCity for real, if one will.   Trevor Freeman  44:50 And being able to do it millions and millions and millions of times in a row, to learn every possible iteration and every possible thing that might happen. Very cool. Okay. So last kind of area I want to touch on you did mention this at the beginning is the the overall power implications of of AI, of these massive data centers, obviously, at the utility, that's something we are all too keenly aware of. You know, the stat that that I find really interesting is a normal Google Search compared to, let's call it a chat GPT search. That chat GPT search, or decision making, requires 10 times the amount of energy as that just normal, you know, Google Search looking out from a database. Do you see this trend? I don't know if it's a trend. Do you see this continuing like AI is just going to use more power to do its decision making, or will we start to see more efficiencies there? And the data centers will get better at doing what they do with less energy. What is the what does the future look like in that sector?   Greg Lindsay  45:55 All the above. It's more, is more, is more! Is the trend, as far as I can see, and every decision maker who's involved in it. And again, Jensen Wong brought this up at the big Nvidia Conference. That basically he sees the only constraint on this continuing is availability of energy supplies keep it going and South by Southwest. And in some other conversations I've had with bandwidth companies, telcos, like laying 20 lumen technologies, United States is laying 20,000 new miles of fiber optic cables. They've bought 10% of Corning's total fiber optic output for the next couple of years. And their customers are the hyperscalers. They're, they're and they're rewiring the grid. That's why, I think it's interesting. This has something, of course, for thinking about utilities, is, you know, the point to point Internet of packet switching and like laying down these big fiber routes, which is why all the big data centers United States, the majority of them, are in north of them are in Northern Virginia, is because it goes back to the network hub there. Well, lumen is now wiring this like basically this giant fabric, this patchwork, which can connect data center to data center, and AI to AI and cloud to cloud, and creating this entirely new environment of how they are all directly connected to each other through some of this dedicated fiber. And so you can see how this whole pattern is changing. And you know, the same people are telling me that, like, yeah, the where they're going to build this fiber, which they wouldn't tell me exactly where, because it's very tradable, proprietary information, but, um, but it's following the energy supplies. It's following the energy corridors to the American Southwest, where there's solar and wind in Texas, where you can get natural gas, where you can get all these things. It will follow there. And I of course, assume the same is true in Canada as we build out our own sovereign data center capacity for this. So even, like deep seek, for example, you know, which is, of course, the hyper efficient Chinese model that spooked the markets back in January. Like, what do you mean? We don't need a trillion dollars in capex? Well, everyone's quite confident, including again, Jensen Wong and everybody else that, yeah, the more efficient models will increase this usage. That Jevons paradox will play out once again, and we'll see ever more of it. To me, the question is, is like as how it changes? And of course, you know, you know, this is a bubble. Let's, let's, let's be clear, data centers are a bubble, just like railroads in 1840 were a bubble. And there will be a bust, like not everyone's investments will pencil out that infrastructure will remain maybe it'll get cheaper. We find new uses for it, but it will, it will eventually bust at some point and that's what, to me, is interesting about like deep seeking, more efficient models. Is who's going to make the wrong investments in the wrong places at the wrong time? But you know, we will see as it gathers force and agents, as I mentioned. You know, they don't require, as much, you know, these monstrous training runs at City sized data centers. You know, meta wanted to spend $200 billion on a single complex, the open AI, Microsoft, Stargate, $500 billion Oracle's. Larry Ellison said that $100 billion is table stakes, which is just crazy to think about. And, you know, he's permitting three nukes on site. So there you go. I mean, it'll be fascinating to see if we have a new generation of private, private generation, right, like, which is like harkening all the way back to, you know, the early electrical grid and companies creating their own power plants on site, kind of stuff. Nicholas Carr wrote a good book about that one, about how we could see from the early electrical grid how the cloud played out. They played out very similarly. The AI cloud seems to be playing out a bit differently. So, so, yeah, I imagine that as well, but, but, yeah, well, inference happen at the edge. We need to have more distributed generation, because you're gonna have AI agents that are going to be spending more time at the point of request, whether that's a laptop or your phone or a light post or your autonomous vehicle, and it's going to need more of that generation and charging at the edge. That, to me, is the really interesting question. Like, you know, when these current generation models hit their limits, and just like with Moore's law, like, you know, you have to figure out other efficiencies in designing chips or designing AIS, how will that change the relationship to the grid? And I don't think anyone knows quite for sure yet, which is why they're just racing to lock up as many long term contracts as they possibly can just get it all, core to the market.   Trevor Freeman  49:39 Yeah, it's just another example, something that comes up in a lot of different topics that we cover on this show. Everything, obviously, is always related to the energy transition. But the idea that the energy transition is really it's not just changing fuel sources, like we talked about earlier. It's not just going from internal combustion to a battery. It's rethinking the. Relationship with energy, and it's rethinking how we do things. And, yeah, you bring up, like, more private, massive generation to deal with these things. So really, that whole relationship with energy is on scale to change. Greg, this has been a really interesting conversation. I really appreciate it. Lots to pack into this short bit of time here. We always kind of wrap up our conversations with a series of questions to our guests. So I'm going to fire those at you here. And this first one, I'm sure you've got lots of different examples here, so feel free to give more than one. What is a book that you've read that you think everybody should read?   Greg Lindsay  50:35 The first one that comes to mind is actually William Gibson's Neuromancer, which is which gave the world the notion of cyberspace and so many concepts. But I think about it a lot today. William Gibson, Vancouver based author, about how much in that book is something really think about. There is a digital twin in it, an agent called the Dixie flatline. It's like a former program where they cloned a digital twin of him. I've actually met an engineering company, Thornton Thomas Eddie that built a digital twin of one of their former top experts. So like that became real. Of course, the matrix is becoming real the Turing police. Yeah, there's a whole thing in there where there's cops to make sure that AIS don't get smarter. I've been thinking a lot about, do we need Turing police? The EU will probably create them. And so that's something where you know the proof, again, of like science fiction, its ability in world building to really make you think about these implications and help for contingency planning. A lot of foresight experts I work with think about sci fi, and we use sci fi for exactly that reason. So go read some classic cyberpunk, everybody.   Trevor Freeman  51:32 Awesome. So same question. But what's a movie or a show that you think everybody should take a look at?   Greg Lindsay  51:38 I recently watched the watch the matrix with ideas, which is fun to think about, where the villains are, agents that villains are agents. That's funny how that terms come back around. But the other one was thinking about the New Yorker recently read a piece on global demographics and the fact that, you know, globally, less and less children. And it made several references to Alfonso Quons, Children of Men from 2006 which is, sadly, probably the most prescient film of the 21st Century. Again, a classic to watch, about imagining in a world where we don't where you where you lose faith in the future, what happens, and a world that is not having children as a world that's losing faith in its own future. So that's always haunted me.   Trevor Freeman  52:12 It's funny both of those movies. So I've got kids as they get, you know, a little bit older, a little bit older, we start introducing more and more movies. And I've got this list of movies that are just, you know, impactful for my own adolescent years and growing up. And both matrix and Children of Men are on that list of really good movies that I just need my kids to get a little bit older, and then I'm excited to watch with them. If someone offered you a free round trip flight anywhere in the world, where would you go?   Greg Lindsay  52:40 I would go to Venice, Italy for the Architecture Biennale, which I will be on a plane in May, going to anyway. And the theme this year is intelligence, artificial, natural and collective. So it should be interesting to see the world's brightest architects. Let's see what we got. But yeah, Venice, every time, my favorite city in the world.   Trevor Freeman  52:58 Yeah, it's pretty wonderful. Who is someone that you admire?   Greg Lindsay  53:01 Great question.

M2 Podcast
MKwadrat #211 – 1000 Elden-Coinów

M2 Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 12, 2025 175:59


W tym odcinku gościmy Filipa Chrzuszcza z portalu Gry-wideo.pl, a także Hostile'a, czyli największego apostoła VRu w Polsce po abdykacji Simplexa. Wspólnie omawiamy apokaliptyczne wydarzenia ze świata gier, czyli regularne zwolnienia, a także całą dramę z petycją przeciwko niszczeniu gier. W recenzjach eldeński spin-off, mięsny platformer i piłeczka od twórców gry o starzeniu się.W sekcji VR niezbyt wiele newsów, za to dzięki gościowi, aż 4 recenzje gier - w tym jednej aspirującej do miana VRowego GOTY.Ogłaszamy też wyniki konkursu z poprzedniego odcinka. Podziękowania dla Defana za okladkę, Perki za montaż, Rudego za rozpiskę. Podziękowania dla Patronów za wsparcie, a najbardziej dla: Op1ekun, Jan Jagieła, Lisu, Janomin, Łukasz M., Tomasz Herduś, Paweł G., Uki, Mateusz "Kaduk" Kadukowski z kanału Kadukowo, Taktyki, Kosmaty dziadu z kanału 8biters.Discord MKwadrat Podcast- https://discord.gg/PafByaf9DU Discord akcji #PolishOurPrices: https://discord.gg/zvzvFp7qmEKanał Defana: https://www.youtube.com/@wsumiespoko/ W co ostatnio graliśmy(00:00:00) Start(00:02:15) Chrzuszczu(00:04:53) Hostile(00:12:40) PerkaNaleśniki(00:21:50) STOP KILLING GAMES - PODPISZCIE PETYCJĘ(00:26:35) EA wyłączy Anthem(00:30:42) Zwyrole z UBI skazani w zawieszeniu(00:32:28) Apokalipsa w Xboksie(00:36:20) Drama o GenAI w The Alters(00:41:15) Defan się cieszy że powstaje Rouge Tower 2(00:42:20) Half Life 2 - ale to PRL i Stan Wojenny(00:45:36) Działająca Żappka na 3DSa xD(00:47:58) Problemy z Battlefield 6(00:52:28) Bezlitosny Kojima wymaga od recenzentów ukończenia gry przed recenzją!(00:57:20) Super Meat Boy - Perka(01:06:40) Elden Ring Nightreign - Chrzuszczu(01:17:40) New Super Mario Bros 2 - Perka(01:23:10) Rematch - ChrzuszczuVR(01:34:25) Sony przypomniało sobie o PSVR2(01:39:35) VRowe Little Nightmares powstaje(01:41:16) Pokazy gier VR w najbliższym czasie(01:45:35) Anomalia w ankiecie Steama(01:49:05) Xbox Quest 3S się wyprzedał w ciągu kilku dni(01:56:19) GORN - Perka(02:05:00) Ghost Town - Hostile(02:15:49) Dig VR - Perka(02:24:05) Interstellar Strike Team - HostileKulturka/Społeczność(02:34:05) Apple robi serial na podstawie Neuromancer(02:36:07) 28 Years Later/28 lat później (Absolutne Kino) - Chrzuszczu(02:42:39) Podziękowania dla patronów(02:43:32) Ankieta/Recenzja odcinka(02:44:35) Komentarze na YT/Spotify(02:51:45) Wyniki konkursuKonsumpcja:MP3: https://mkwadratpodcast.pl/podcast/MKwadrat_211.mp3YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MKwadratPodcastRSS: https://mkwadratpodcast.pl/feed/podcastSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7e5OdT8bnLmvCahOfo4jNGiTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/mkwadrat-podcast/id1082742315twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mkwadratpodcastInterakcja:WWW: https://mkwadratpodcast.pl/Forum: https://stareforumpoly.pl/Discord: https://discord.com/invite/PafByaf9DUFanpage: https://facebook.com/MkwadratPodcast/Grupa FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mkwadratpodcast/Twitter: https://twitter.com/mkwadratpodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mkwadratpodcast/Kontrybucja:Patronite: https://patronite.pl/mkwadratpodcastSuppi: https://suppi.pl/mkwadratpodcast

Grumpy Old Geeks
704: I'm Lovin' It

Grumpy Old Geeks

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2025 82:19


Apparently, you can't keep a good grifter down, as Billy McFarland's seven-figure Fyre Fest deal collapsed, so he's hawking the brand on eBay like a box of junk. Meanwhile, Indeed and Glassdoor are laying off over 1,000 workers, probably to pay for the AI that's jacking up our electric bills. Speaking of AI, a Tesla robotaxi crashed itself while Elon Musk's Grok chatbot went full Nazi, which is of course being installed in Teslas "next week." Fittingly, X CEO Linda Yaccarino stepped down and promptly lost her blue check. To cap off the dystopian news, the DOJ is targeting an anti-ICE app developer, the 'click-to-cancel' rule is dead, and you can hack McDonald's with the password ‘123456'. The future is now, and it's dumber than we ever imagined.On the media front, Murderbot gets a second season, and the Jim Henson and The Beach Boys documentaries are must-sees. Sadly, Netflix canceled The Residence. We also got trailers for Neuromancer, Project Hail Mary, and Edgar Wright's The Running Man. Speaking of building the future, we took a deep dive into AI-assisted coding using tools like Cursor, building a functional app in hours with zero original code. It's a stark reminder that while the "free lunch" of AI development is ending, the future for junior coders is already cooked. This glorious new world also includes playing every retro game ever on your phone, thanks to emulators like Delta and PPSSPP and the Backbone controller, which led to a nostalgic dive into the classic soundtracks of Mega Man 2 and Wipeout XL. This all culminated in a personal victory: conquering all 4,678 boards in Mahjong Titan+, freeing us from our porcelain thrones.Sponsors:DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off.Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month.SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!!1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1passwordShow notes at https://gog.show/704FOLLOW UPBilly McFarland Says His Seven-Figure Deal to Sell Fyre Fest Has Fallen ThroughOwn FYRE Festival – Iconic Brand, Trademarks, IP, Social Media Assets, and MoreBilly McFarland Is Now Trying to Unload the Fyre Fest Brand on eBayIN THE NEWSIndeed and Glassdoor are cutting more than 1,000 jobsA Tesla robotaxi inexplicably drove into a parked carMajor US power operator says AI and data center demands are pushing prices upAn AI That Promises to “Solve All Diseases” Is About to Test Its First Human Drugs‘Round Them Up': Grok Praises Hitler as Elon Musk's AI Tool Goes Full NaziMusk's Grok 4 launches one day after chatbot generated Hitler praise on XElon Musk says Grok is coming to Tesla vehicles just after it went full HitlerElon Musk Says He's Installing His Racist Grok AI in Teslas "Next Week"X CEO Linda Yaccarino is stepping down after two yearsThey took away Linda Yaccarino's blue check!Six Months Ago NPR Left Twitter. The Effects Have Been NegligibleHow SpaceX is blocking astronomers' view of spaceNew Research Bolsters Freaky Theory That Earth Sits in a Giant Cosmic VoidDOJ goes after US citizen for developing anti-ICE appTrump's FTC Let Lobbyists Kill Popular Click-To-Cancel Rule, Advocates SayEU regulators are once again investigating TikTok over data transfers to ChinaResearchers Jailbreak AI by Flooding It With Bullshit JargonBug Hunters Gain Access to 64 Million McDonald's Job Applicants' Info by Using the Password ‘123456'MEDIA CANDYMurderbotMurderbot is getting a season 2 on Apple TV PlusRapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy: A Tor Original (The Murderbot Diaries) by Martha WellsNetflix Cancels ‘Pulse' and Shondaland's ‘The Residence' After One Season EachNeuromancer — In Production | Apple TV+PROJECT HAIL MARY Trailer (2025) Ryan GoslingThe Running Man | Official Trailer (2025 Movie) - Edgar Wright, Glen PowellSandman Season 2Animal KingdomGuy Ritchies The CovenantThunderboltsThe Old Guard 2Jim Henson Idea ManThe Beach BoysAMC now warns moviegoers to expect ‘25-30 minutes' of ads and trailersAPPS & DOODADSAnker issues new global power bank recall over fire hazardVisual Studio CodeCursorWindsurfAnthropic AcademyThe Onion in 2056: A dystopian world of Flash animationJack Dorsey just released a Bluetooth messaging app that doesn't need the internetWhereGoes Link CheckerYouTube prepares crackdown on ‘mass-produced' and ‘repetitive' videos, as concern over AI slop growsTHE DARK SIDE WITH DAVEDave BittnerThe CyberWireHacking HumansCaveatControl LoopOnly Malware in the BuildingBackbone iPhone Game ControllerPPSSPP - A PSP emulatorDelta EmulatorOpenEMUMajor Nintendo Switch Piracy Website Seized By FBIUpdate on the Anbernic emulator deviceMegaMan 2 music performed by an orchestraMusic by John WilliamsWipeout XLWipeout XL PlaylistMahjong Titan+ Apple ArcadeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Las Charlas de Applesfera
Fundación 3, iOS 26, chips M6, Vision Pro 2 y el verano más ambicioso de Apple - con Guille Lomener

Las Charlas de Applesfera

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2025 63:03


En este último episodio de la temporada, Pedro Aznar (https://www.instagram.com/pedroaznar/) y Guille Lomener (https://x.com/gglomener) repasan los grandes temas del ecosistema Apple y más allá. Empieza con una crítica de Pedro a la tercera temporada de Fundación en Apple TV+, a la que califica como una de las mejores series de ciencia ficción jamás hechas, incluso para quienes no han visto las anteriores temporadas. A partir de ahí, ambos analizan en profundidad la evolución del diseño en iOS 26, la gestión del feedback en las betas, y novedades como el potente filtro de llamadas anti-spam. También se adentran en el futuro del Mac con la llegada de los chips M5 y M6, el impulso (pendiente) del gaming en macOS, y las posibilidades de un iPhone plegable. El episodio cierra con reflexiones sobre Apple Vision Pro y su próxima generación, la futura serie Neuromancer, el estado de Apple TV+ y un agradecimiento a la audiencia por una temporada más como líderes en podcasts de tecnología en España. *** Cuenta Autónomos: empieza tu negocio con Santander Empieza tu negocio con una cuenta sin comisiones ni condiciones y disfruta de TPV con tarifa plana, asesoría legal y protección digital por 0€: https://online.bancosantander.es/landings/cuentas/cuenta-autonomos/ *** ‍ Las Charlas de Applesfera es el podcast del equipo de Applesfera, donde se trata el gran tema de la semana y su contexto - contado por los expertos que te acompañan en el mundo Apple desde 2006. ✉️ Contacta con el director, Pedro Aznar, en pedroaznar@applesfera.com X: https://x.com/applesfera Instagram: https://instagram.com/applesfera YouTube: https://youtube.com/applesfera Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@applesfera ❤️ ¡Gracias por escuchar y apoyar este podcast! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The iServalanâ„¢ Show
Best 10 Sci-Fi Books now on the internet and beyond 2025 and why they are so great

The iServalanâ„¢ Show

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 6, 2025 5:03


Best 10 Sci-Fi Books now on the internet and beyond 2025 and why they are so great “Featuring original lyrics by Tale Teller Club and artwork by iServalan, The Book of Immersion: Volume 1 offers a multisensory reading experience that is as poetic as it is provocative. It is not merely a story—it is a threshold to another state of being.” (books.google.com)If you've ever wished a novel could sing to you, paint for you, and then whisper its last line through a vocoder, Sarnia de la Mare's The Book of Immersion is already living in your head. It's literature spliced with sound art and graphic storytelling—a proof-of-concept for sci-fi as total sensory plunge, and a perfect gateway to ten other speculative masterpieces that also stretch the genre in bold directions.1. The Book of Immersion by Sarnia de la MareAmazon listingDe la Mare's debut folds prose, lyrics, and AI-generated visuals into a layered “Strata” structure that mimics a DJ set. The central character—an autistic-coded artificial intelligence named Renyke—experiences emotion like glitching code, making sensory overload a narrative engine rather than a side note. It's part novel, part concept album, part artbook, and wholly immersive. (books.google.com)2. Dune by Frank HerbertWikipediaPublished in 1965 and still the yard-stick for epic world-building, Dune blends ecology, theology, and real-politik into a desert planet saga so persuasive that planetary scientists now name Titan's dunes after its planets. The spice-fuelled power struggles feel uncannily contemporary, reminding us that resource wars are timeless. (en.wikipedia.org)3. Neuromancer by William GibsonWikipediaGibson's 1984 cyberpunk heist hard-wired “cyberspace” into popular vocabulary and imagined console cowboys decades before VR headsets hit shelves. Its neon-noir mood and jacked-in hackers still shape everything from The Matrix to modern infosec slang. (en.wikipedia.org)4. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le GuinWikipediaLe Guin's 1969 classic sends an envoy to an ice-world where inhabitants are biologically ambisexual. The result is anthropology via first-contact, a meditation on gender fluidity decades before the term went mainstream, and a lesson in how culture can be the strangest alien of all. (en.wikipedia.org)5. Snow Crash by Neal StephensonWikipediaStephenson's 1992 roller-blade ride predicted the Metaverse, viral memes as literal viruses, and pizza-delivery drone capitalism. It's equal parts linguistic theory and sword-swinging satire, proving that big ideas and break-neck action can share the same page. (en.wikipedia.org)6. Hyperion by Dan SimmonsWikipediaStructured like The Canterbury Tales in space, Hyperion (1989) threads six pilgrim backstories around the terrifying time-bending Shrike. Genre-hopping—from detective noir to military SF—creates a mosaic about faith, storytelling, and the cruelty of time. (en.wikipedia.org)7. The Three-Body Problem by Liu CixinWikipediaHard science meets Cultural-Revolution history in this 2008 Chinese phenomenon. Liu turns orbital mechanics into existential horror, asking what humanity deserves when the cosmos finally takes notice. (en.wikipedia.org)8. The Fifth Season by N. K. JemisinWikipediaJemisin launches the Broken Earth trilogy with tectonic apocalypse, second-person narration, and magic as geologic force. It's a brutal climate-change parable wrapped in a story about oppressed bodies weaponised by empire. (en.wikipedia.org)9. Project Hail Mary by Andy WeirWikipediaWeir trades Mars for Tau Ceti in a 2021 page-turner where lone-scientist ingenuity—and an unexpectedly endearing alien—stand between Earth and stellar extinction. A film adaptation from Lord & Miller starring Ryan Gosling just dropped its first trailer this week, so read before Hollywood spoils the twist. (en.wikipedia.org, indiatimes.com)10. Ancillary Justice by Ann LeckieWikipediaBreq, an AI once spread across thousands of bodies, is now trapped in one and out for vengeance. Leckie's 2013 debut won the Hugo, Nebula, and Clarke in the same year by queering space opera norms—everyone is “she,” and personhood is a matter of degree, not biology. (en.wikipedia.org)Why these ten?Each title here rewires science fiction in its own way—whether through multimedia experimentation (Immersion), ecological epics (Dune), digital frontiers (Neuromancer, Snow Crash), or radical takes on identity (Left Hand, Ancillary Justice). Together they map a genre that's less about rockets and more about possibilities: new politics, new pronouns, new physics, new artforms. Grab any one of them and prepare to exit the airlock of the ordinary.

Tabletopped
What's on Our Character Sheets? Games, Books, and Brainworms We Can't Stop Thinking About

Tabletopped

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 2, 2025 46:24


In this episode, we're diving into the things that have been living rent-free in our heads lately—from dice-rolling daydreams to late-night reading binges. We're talking cyberpunk aesthetics, revisiting Neuromancer and what it means for TTRPG worldbuilding, plus some of the coolest new D&D monsters we've come across and how they could shake up your next encounter.Whether you're looking for campaign inspiration or just want to hear what kinds of media are fueling our creativity, this one's for you.Topics Covered:The legacy of Neuromancer and how cyberpunk still hacks our imaginationsNew and weird D&D monsters that could derail your whole party (in a good way)Books that are shaping the way we think about storytellingIndie game discoveries and TTRPG ideas we can't stop noodling onSo grab your dice, your favorite beverage, and come hang out with us!Join our seasoned panel of GMs—Nick, Franco, Rio, and Shade—as we draw from over 50 years of Game Mastering experience to help you find the next perfect obsession.LINKS!→ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tabletopped's website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠→ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠→ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠→ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Check us out on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! We have a new monthly pod as well as behind the scenes clips that you can get on a secret Spotify feed! We will also be dropping some more treats from time to time!Theme music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mitch Poulin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Fully-Booked: Literary Podcast
If You Loved ACOTAR Or Murderbot, Read These Next

Fully-Booked: Literary Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 16, 2025 54:30


In this episode of the Fully-Booked literary podcast, we're back in the room with Meaghan, Shirin, and Arthur, though Arthur gets plenty of playful shade right out of the gate. The energy is chaotic in the best way, and we all seem to embrace it.This time around, we're not doing a structured game or typical author discussion. Instead, we've decided to have a casual roundtable where we toss out book recommendations based on popular titles.Think of it as a “if you liked this, try this” style chat, the kind of stuff you might scroll through on BookTok, but with more tangents, more laughs, and a whole lot more coffee shop banter.So, yes, it's a podcast version of one of those aesthetic recommendation reels, but longer and full of personality. We're hoping it helps listeners find their next favorite read, whether they're winding down for bed or commuting with earbuds in. Along the way, we make plenty of jokes, toss in personal stories, and keep things as relatable as ever.Cozy Fantasy And Twisty YA PicksMeaghan kicks things off with Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree. It's a standout in cozy fantasy, a genre that's all about lower stakes and high charm. This one's about a retired assassin who just wants to run a coffee shop. We love it because it's charming without the constant doom that high fantasy sometimes leans into. If you're tired of watching your favorite characters die dramatically, this is your safe space.From there, we get three recommendations to follow that cozy vibe:This Will Be Fun by E.B. Asher offers more of an epic twist, following four heroes who reunite years after saving the world to stop another evil. It's got humor, sarcasm, and a nostalgic team-up energy.Forged by Magic by Jenna Wolfhart includes orcs, elves, and romance, much like Legends and Lattes, but kicks the fantasy world-building up a notch.Dreadful by Caitlin Rosakus is quirky and a bit chaotic. A man wakes up in an evil wizard's lair and slowly realizes… he's the wizard. It's got dark magic with a comedic undertone that keeps things from getting too heavy.Next, Shirin brings up We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, a twisty, emotional YA mystery that clearly divides readers. Some of us saw the ending a mile away. Others (hi, Shirin) were shocked. Either way, it sparks strong reactions. From there, the recommended reads are:One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus, a classic high school murder mystery.A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson, which begins as a school project but morphs into a full-on whodunit.Both offer those unreliable narrators and layers of secrets that make for great binge reads (and binge-worthy shows, too).Sci-Fi Sarcasm and Robots with FeelingsArthur (yes, we're letting him talk now) shifts us into sci-fi territory. He spotlights The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, which is being adapted into a TV show. The series centers around a sarcastic AI bot who's pretending not to be sentient while dealing with messy human feelings. It's funny, sharp, and dives into questions about identity and autonomy.The companion picks for Murderbot are:Neuromancer by William Gibson, the cyberpunk classic full of noir and hacking vibes.Autonomous by Annalee Newitz, a gritty, emotional dive into freedom and biotech ethics.Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie features a starship AI stuck in a single human body, trying to cope and also seek revenge.This whole section sparks a thoughtful conversation about how sci-fi is evolving to focus more on questions of self, ethics, and AI rights, especially as real-world conversations about artificial intelligence ramp up.From Gothic to Gruesome: Creepy Houses and Haunting PastsMeaghan circles back with another strong pick: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. This gothic classic inspires a group of haunting and eerie recommendations:The September House by Carissa Orlando, where every September, the house goes full horror mode with blood on the walls and something lurking in the basement.The Only One Left by Riley Sager, another gothic mystery involving a secluded cliffside mansion and a historical murder case.We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson delivers that same psychological tension and sense of dread found in Rebecca.We also detour briefly into House of Leaves territory, a book so bizarre in structure it's basically unreadable in audiobook form. Everyone agrees it's an experience, not just a novel.Court of Thorns, Shadow Daddies, and Fae RomanceThen we dive into a big one: A Court of Thorns and Roses (or ACOTAR, because who has time for long titles) by Sarah J. Maas. This fantasy romance gets a lot of love and some side-eye, depending on who you ask. It starts like Beauty and the Beast but quickly turns into something much more plot-heavy and twisty.Meaghan recommends:Quicksilver by Callie Hart, where the heroine gets dragged into the fae realm after trying to save her family. It's rich in world-building and dramatic romantic tension.Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco, a witchy, demon-summoning fantasy with Italian vibes, mouthwatering food descriptions, and yes—another shadowy love interest.We joke a lot about the term shadow daddy, which is hilarious and weirdly accurate for some of these characters. The group shares a good laugh about imagining their dads lurking in shadows. Totally normal podcast behavior...One-Person Sci-Fi Adventures (and Existential Crisis Fuel)Back in sci-fi land, Arthur brings us to Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, which is getting a film adaptation with Ryan Gosling. The book features a lone scientist in space trying to save Earth, accompanied only by an alien rock creature named Rocky. The humor and heart between the human and the alien make it surprisingly emotional.The suggested read-alikes:The Martian, also by Weir. Obviously.Beacon 23 by Hugh Howey has that isolated, losing-your-sanity-in-space vibe.Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke, a classic of alien exploration and big questions.We get into the emotional toll of reading too much sci-fi. Some of us find it uplifting and full of imagination. Others (Shirin) find it deeply depressing. Fair enough.Vampires, Book Clubs, and Dark HumorShirin wraps things up with The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix. It's part horror, part comedy, and all about strong women who take matters into their own hands. Think housewives turned vampire hunters. The book doesn't shy away from gruesome details, especially involving rats and face tentacles. But it's also heartfelt and hilarious.Similar reads include:The Honeys by Ryan La Sala, a genre-bending YA horror story about identity, loss, and hive-mind weirdness.So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison, another vampire tale that's more about the women fighting their way through chaos than the monsters themselves.We end with another surprise: Arthur picks something non-sci-fi for once. Catabasis by R.F. Kuang gets mentioned as a dark academia fantasy with two rival scholars traveling to hell. Yep. Hell. To save a professor. Talk about dedication.Recommendations here include:The Atlas Six by Olivie BlakeThe Secret History by Donna TarttIf We Were Villains by M.L. RioThey all explore dark magic, academic rivalries, and blurred lines between performance and reality. By the end, our TBR piles are towering, and we're all a little overwhelmed in the best way.Wrapping UpWe went through a ton of books in this episode: cozy fantasies, murder mysteries, sci-fi sagas, dark academia, and good old-fashioned horror. Some are funny. Some are terrifying. Some make you question your life choices. And some just make you feel seen as a reader who wants something a little different.We hope at least one of these picks piqued your interest or gave you something new to add to your list. And if your TBR just grew five feet taller, well… same. Until next time, keep on reading. We'll be here, figuring out how to read all of these before next week.

Weird Studies
Episode 189: Care of the Dead, with Jacob G. Foster

Weird Studies

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 23, 2025 95:17


In this episode, JF and Phil are joined by Jacob G. Foster—sociologist, physicist, and researcher at Indiana University Bloomington and the Santa Fe Institute—for a conversation about their recent collaboration in Daedalus, the journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Their co-authored essay, “Care of the Dead,” explores how the dead continue to shape our cultures, languages, and ways of being. Together, they discuss the process of writing the piece and what it means to say that the dead are not gone—that they persist, and that they make claims on the living. The article is available here: https://direct.mit.edu/daed/article/154/1/166/127931/Care-of-the-Dead-Ancestors-Traditions-amp-the-Life **References** [Peter Kingsley,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Kingsley) English writer  Weird Studies, [Episode 98 on “Taboo”]) https://www.weirdstudies.com/98)  John Berger, “12 Theses on the Economy of the Dead” in _[Hold Everything Dear](12 Theses on the Economy of the Dead)_  Bernard Koch, Daniele Silvestro, and Jacob Foster, ["The Evolutionary Dynamics of Cultural Change”](https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/659bt_v1)  Gilbert Simondon, _[Imagination and Invention](https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9781517914455)_  William Gibson, _[Neuromancer](https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780441007462)_  [Phlogiston theory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phlogiston_theory)  George Orwell, _[1984](https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780451524935)_  HP Lovecraft, [“The Case of Charles Dexter Ward”](https://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/cdw.aspx)  Weird Studies, [Episode 187 on “Little, Big”](https://www.weirdstudies.com/187)  [John Dee,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dee) English occultist  Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, _[The Western Esoteric Traditions: A Historical Introduction](https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780195320992)_  Robert Harrison, _[The Dominion of the Dead](https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780226317939)_  Gilles Deleuze, _[Bergsonism](https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780942299076)_  Elizabeth LeGuin, _[Boccherini's Body](https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780520240179)_  Elizabeth LeGuin, [“Cello and Bow thinking”](http://www.echo.ucla.edu/cello-and-bow-thinking-baccherinis-cello-sonata-in-eb-minor-faouri-catalogo/)  Johannes Brahms, _Handel Variations_  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Fellowship of the Geeks Podcast
Don't Believe Anything For A Month - Week of 4/16/25

The Fellowship of the Geeks Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 13, 2025 124:23


The Fellowship is pleased to present our discussion of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) as we kick off a month of Star Wars. We might have opinions

Broken Campfire
BC #189 – Washing Machine Choo Choo In Real Life

Broken Campfire

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 11, 2025 132:44


Do you love Jim Carrey's timeless slapstick comedy stylings? Then this episode might be for you! Andy, Flask, Greg, John, and Vito clown around about Jim Carrey, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, Split Fiction, Psycho Patrol R, WorldBox - God Simulator, The Last of Us Part II Remastered, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, South of Midnight, Neuromancer, The Electric State, Wanderstop, The Haunting of Joni Evers, the Nintendo Switch 2 direct, the Triple-I Initiative, and more! 0:00 - Intro 0:59 - Vito (Roundtable) 1:22 - Ace Ventura 6:55 - Lorelei and the Laser Eyes 14:03 - Andy (Roundtable) 14:56 - Jim Carrey movies 20:38 - Split Fiction 23:22 - Psycho Patrol R 27:13 - One Piece 35:17 - Greg (Roundtable) 35:33 - WorldBox - God Simulator 39:17 - The Last of Us Part II Remastered 47:47 - John (Roundtable) 48:02 - Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty 51:40-53:53 - Spoilers 54:25 - WH40K: Darktide 59:37 - South of Midnight 1:12:03 - BREAK Chill out & Adventure Time in Fortnite 1:15:32 - Flask (Roundtable) 1:15:38 - Jake the Dog in Jake the Car 1:16:23 - Neuromancer 1:21:06 - The King Tide 1:22:58 - The Electric State 1:24:54 - Black Bag 1:27:59 - Atomfall 1:29:14 - Wanderstop 1:34:57 - The Haunting of Joni Evers 1:37:31 - NEWS 1:37:47 - Nintendo Switch 2 Direct 1:38:28 - Silksong 1:40:09 - Donkey Kong: Bananza 1:40:52 - Pokémon Legends: Z-A 1:41:05 - Mario Kart World 1:43:14 - The Duskbloods 1:45:00 - Metroid Prime 4: Beyond 1:45:15 - Kriby Air Riders & Gamecube games 1:45:33 - Drag x Drive 1:45:55 - Camera 1:46:01 - Game-Key Cards 1:46:54 - Welcome Tour 1:47:04 - Kirby & the Forgotten Land DLC 1:47:34 - Yakuza 0 director's cut 1:48:29 - Triple-A launch titles 1:49:48 - Triple-i Initiative Indie Showcase 1:50:32 - Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core 1:56:05 - Frostrail 1:57:26 - Outbound 1:59:04 - Escape Simulator 2 2:00:14 - Duskfade 2:00:32 - Ikuma: The Frozen Compass 2:00:50 - Into the Fire 2:01:19 - Clover Pit 2:02:50 - Opus: Prism Peak 2:03:35 - No, I'm Not a Human 2:04:36 - Timberborn 2:04:55 - The Eternal Life of Goldman 2:05:47 - Neverway 2:07:21 - Speedrunners 2 2:08:06 - Vampire Survivors 2:08:38 - Balatro 2:11:09 - Outro Find out more at https://broken-campfire.pinecast.co

Science Faction Podcast
Episode 552: From Magic Mirrors to Microchips

Science Faction Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 9, 2025 59:18


Real Life: This week's episode has movie madness, creepers, princesses, and ducks with vendettas. Devon took a deep dive into the Minecraft Movie—yes, it's real, and yes, it might haunt him forever. Steven watched Disney's live-action Snow White and has thoughts... strong ones. Meanwhile, Ben got cartoon-punched in the face (in the best way) by The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie (IMDb). Think: Bugs Bunny meets alien invasion. Future or Now: Solar Panels on Canals? Yes, Please: Ben brings us Project Nexus—the U.S.'s first solar panel canopy system over irrigation canals. The $20 million pilot is up and running in California's Turlock Irrigation District and could be a game-changer. Benefits include reducing water evaporation, improving quality, and cutting down on canal maintenance. Also? Clean energy. Read more TV Necromancy: Devon reports on shows coming back—some you missed, some you didn't know you missed, and a few you assumed were never coming back. Television's not dead. It's just rebooting. ba-ba-ba-BA-baaaaaa: Steven delivers the science: a Western diet can mess you up in just two weeks. Inflammation, weakened immunity, and long-term disease processes all kick in fast. But the good news? Switching to a traditional African diet (think fiber, fermented foods, veggies) can start reversing the damage just as quickly. Check it out “Book Club”: This week we read Johnny Mnemonic by William Gibson. A short story that drips with classic cyberpunk vibes, data couriers, and one incredibly dangerous dolphin. Devon didn't totally connect with it, but Steven loved the gritty worldbuilding and its ties to Neuromancer. Ben was onboard for the full ride—hacker noir, neon grit, and all. Next week: We're tuning in to It's Storytime with Wil Wheaton (link) and covering “Rock, Paper, Scissors, Love, Death” by Caroline M. Yoachim (read it here). Time travel and heartbreak? Sign us up.

Hugonauts: The Best Sci Fi Books of All Time
Altered Carbon - Wild tech, visceral action, and an unhinged plot!

Hugonauts: The Best Sci Fi Books of All Time

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 8, 2025 36:14


If you like gritty cyberpunk settings, a page-turning, action-driven plot, and a lot of visceral explorations of violence and sexuality, this one's for you. If you're looking for deep characters, a carefully crafted plot, or philosophical ideas, this might not be your next read.As always, no spoilers until the end when we get into the full plot explanation and discussion. This episode is sponsored by The Pythagorean by Alexander Morpheigh, which is available in print or kindle edition here.Join the Hugonauts book club on discord!Or you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer videoSimilar books we recommend: Neuromancer by William GibsonTitanium Noir by Nick HarkawayPermutation City by Greg Egan

Pop Culture & Movie News - Let Your Geek SideShow
Neuromancer Casting, Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 3 — March 24, 2025

Pop Culture & Movie News - Let Your Geek SideShow

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 24, 2025 4:34


Neuromancer Casting, Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 3, River Towns Premieres, Ted Lasso Season 4 Updates. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

INFINITE PLANE RADIO on Odysee
CYBER PANDEMIC INEVITABLE--- IPS EVENING DEPROGRAM 3_23_25

INFINITE PLANE RADIO on Odysee

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 24, 2025 86:31


The Infinite Plane Radio broadcast on March 23, 2025, discussed several key topics centered around the hosts' perspective on world events and media narratives.A central theme was the prediction of an inevitable cyber pandemic. This idea stems from a clip featuring Candace Owens discussing the World Economic Forum's warnings and exercises regarding such an event. The host believes this will be used as a justification for shutting down the internet and implementing stricter censorship, possibly blaming right-wing extremism. This is linked to the concept of "Disease X," which the host believes will be a "mind virus" spread through platforms like X (formerly Twitter) rather than a biological virus.The host introduced a new product, "Exit Trutherville: A crash course in auto-hoaxology". This course aims to provide a framework for understanding media and psyops, targeting "truthers" who recognize mainstream lies but haven't fully grasped the integration of entertainment and news. It includes a video, a PDF "World Stage Deprogramming Guide," and graphic illustrations, focusing on concepts like active vs. passive media consumption. The course is available for purchase on Gumroad, with an affiliate program offering a referral fee.The broadcast delved into predictive programming and the idea that movies and drills often precede and shape public perception of real-world events. Examples included the movie "Canary Black" resembling a cyber nuke scenario and the 2019 coronavirus pandemic exercise mirroring the actual events. The host argues that these are not predictions of real events but rather simulations treated as real.Several current events were analyzed through this lens:The reported discovery of a vast city beneath the pyramids was dismissed as likely clickbait and a hoax. The host connects this to other fleeting narratives like global drone invasions and promised information from the Epstein and JFK files, suggesting a pattern of distraction.NASA's astronaut landing footage was described as looking like "pathetic CGI" and "100% garbage," raising questions about its authenticity. This skepticism extends to other space agency content, with a suggestion to use AI video detection software on older footage.The death of a 33-year-old bald eagle named Murphy on March 22 (3/22, associated with Skull and Bones) was linked to symbolism and predictive programming, contrasting the mainstream narrative of climate change with right-wing claims about wind turbines. The destruction of the Georgia Guidestones on 7/6/2022 (76 being George Bush Sr.'s age) was also revisited for its symbolic significance.The host noted the use of predictive programming proxies, such as celebrities like Robert De Niro and Rosie O'Donnell, whose public statements and past work allegedly align with ongoing psyops.The phenomenon of "swatting" targeting figures like Owen Shroyer was dismissed as likely performative and fake, lacking the characteristics of genuine swatting incidents.The host also discussed the importance of informed disbelief and the concept of narrative control, where an arbitrary starting point is established to shape understanding. The broadcast touched on the nature of truthers' cognitive dissonance and the strategic targeting of this group with the "Exit Trutherville" course.Finally, the host solicited suggestions for required reading and viewing for the IPS think tank, mentioning personal favorites like William Gibson's "Neuromancer," Sun Tzu's "The Art of War," and Edward Bernays' "Propaganda". The host also mentioned using AI (Perplexity) to assist with transcript analysis and link extraction for the newsletter archives.EXIT TRUTHERVILLE https://timozman.gumroad.com/l/bsure

Does It Fly?
The Horrifying Reality of THE MATRIX

Does It Fly?

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 21, 2025 41:31


Released in 1999, The Matrix has become a timeless sci-fi classic. Whether it's the groundbreaking visual effects, the positively bonkers action sequences, or the disturbing looks at a world that has been consumed by AI and virtual experiences, there's something that will resonate with just about any member of the audience, even a quarter century after its initial box office success. But there's one moment in particular that perfectly illustrates the true horror at the heart of The Matrix. Since the titular concept of the film can only exist because humans have all been placed in a form of stasis, with their very bodies used to power the machines that now rule the world and create their shared reality, the big reveal of how that works needs to be suitably disturbing. And boy, does it deliver. When Neo (Keanu Reeves) chooses to wake up to actual reality, he's revealed as a hairless body, covered in goo, with feeding and breathing tubes stuffed down his throat. While not quite the iconic moment that the bullet time fights and martial arts sequences are, it might very well be the most powerful moment in the film or its sequels.It's a moment that has stayed with us for over 25 years, which is why today we're asking the question: does the human body really generate enough electrical power to essentially serve as a battery?Take the red pill in the latest episode of Does it Fly? for the answers…https://youtu.be/9e-CZiFpd6oSUGGESTED VIEWING We based the majority of today's discussion just on the first film in the franchise, which is, of course, 1999's The Matrix. If you need a viewing order, it's followed by The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions in 2003. But we've gotta say, you're missing out if you don't check out the bizarre and cool The Animatrix, which fills in a lot of backstory. And count us among the folks who think 2021's The Matrix Resurrections is a much sharper movie than it gets credit for.FURTHER READING Do you want to delve a little deeper into the facts, concepts, and stories Hakeem and Tamara referenced in today's episode? Of course you do! The Simulation ArgumentEver wonder if you're living in a computer simulation? The roots of that argument come from Nick Bostrum and the details on it can be found here.How Much Power Output From Humans?Believe it or not, there have been respectable studies about the potential for the human body to generate power for small devices from everyday activities. A summary can be found here with some more in depth information here. Somewhat related, it's worth considering the difference between the efficiency of solar energy power and the use of power from biofuels.The Matrix Starter PackThere are three books that are key to understanding the themes of The Matrix, and it seems they were required reading on set of the film. They are: Jean Baudrillard's 1981 philosophical treatise Simulacra and Simulation, William Gibson's seminal work of cyberpunk fiction Neuromancer (which has yet to get the screen adaptation it deserves), and 1995's Out of Control by Kevin Kelly.WANT MORE FROM DOES IT FLY?For a more recent take on a sci-fi dystopia, allow us to recommend our Squid Game episode!The disturbing practical effects of the Neo awakening scene does recall some of the more unsettling cyberpunk aspects of RoboCop, which we covered here.FOLLOW US!Stay in the loop! Follow DoesItFly? on YouTube and TikTok and let us know what you think! Subscribe to Does It Fly? Pod: https://www.youtube.com/@doesitflypod?sub_confirmation=1And don't forget to follow Roddenberry Entertainment:Instagram: @RoddenberryOfficial Facebook: RoddenberryBluesky: @roddenberrypod.bsky.socialFor Advertising Inquiries: doesitfly@roddenberry.comCheck out the official Does it Fly? playlist, too!

Mona Lisa Overpod
MLOP 19: Bubblegum Crisis

Mona Lisa Overpod

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 19, 2025 94:59


Welcome to Mona Lisa Overpod, the show that asks the question "What is cyberpunk?" On each episode, hosts Ka1iban and author Lyda Morehouse dive into the genre that helped define sci-fi fiction in '80s and they break down its themes which remain relevant to our lives in the 21st century. Pull on your mirrorshades, jack into the matrix, and start your run with us today!Cyberpunk is not solely an American phenomenon, and even as Western works like Blade Runner and Neuromancer were releasing in the 1980s, Japan was already well on its way to becoming a wellspring of high-tech-low-life science fiction. Part Charlie's Angels, part Iron Man, and all attitude, Bubblegum Crisis exploded onto Japanese screens in 1987 to smash the glass ceiling of female representation in bad ass anime. Squealing tires and squealing guitars provide the soundtrack to this techno-thriller that prefigures the direction anime and Western animation would take for the next two decades. In this episode, we discuss how Bubblegum Crisis came to be and why it may never be again, the cross-pollination that informed the development of cyberpunk on both sides of the Pacific, the economic conditions in Showa Japan that created the OVA boom and modern anime, putting female characters front-and-center, and the unique Japanese flavor of cyberpunk media. We also talk about ChatGPT drinking all our water, Top Gun maps, Chris Nolan: Anime Fan, getting your ball back, Lupin the Murderer, distilling liquid 1987, feminism blankets, missing the yaoi, an exoskeleton for your exoskeleton, Grimace Hulk, and it's not anime...it's HBO!THE BABY SITUATION IS BAD!The new edition of Lyda's book, Ressurection Code, is out now!https://wizardstowerpress.com/books-2/books-by-lyda-morehouse/resurrection-code/Join Kaliban on Twitch weekdays at 12pm for the Cyber Lunch Hour!http://twitch.tv/justenoughtropePut Just Enough Trope merch on your body!http://justenoughtrope.threadless.comMLOP is a part of the Just Enough Trope podcast network. Check out our other shows about your favorite pop culture topics and join our Discord!http://www.twitter.com/monalisaoverpodhttp://www.justenoughtrope.comhttp://www.instagram.com/monalisaoverpodhttps://discord.gg/7E6wUayqBuy us a coffee on Ko-Fi!https://ko-fi.com/justenoughtrope

Binge-Watchers Podcast
Responding to Reality Show Producers at Midnight & Werewolf Movie Deep Dives

Binge-Watchers Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 14, 2025 17:04


What happens when a reality producer from The Real World hits you up on LinkedIn at midnight? I share the unpredictable chaos, including a pitch for a parody show that goes off the rails. Plus, we explore the latest home video headlines: ghost reality shows gone wrong, Vikings drama Bloodaxe, and the new Neuromancer adaptation.In the spirit of the full moon, we dive into werewolf movie lore:The overlooked Spanish Wolfman, Paul NaschyA triple feature of The Howling franchise highlightsThe wild new werewolf flick Werewolves (2024) featuring practical effects, Frank Grillo, and Lou Diamond PhillipsAnd yes, I'll let you know why Gladiator 2 might not be worth your Paramount Plus subscription—but hey, it's your $9! Join me for all this and more in a vlog packed with humor, entertainment, and some serious werewolf nostalgia.Sponsored Content:TRY PARAMOUNT PLUS https://bit.ly/PeakScreamingFREE

Pop Culture & Movie News - Let Your Geek SideShow
Neuromancer Casting, Robert Johnson BioPic — February 18, 2025

Pop Culture & Movie News - Let Your Geek SideShow

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2025 5:25


Neuromancer Casting, Robert Johnson BioPic, an F1 Trailer, New Comic Book Day Preparation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shelved By Genre
Neuromancer – Part 2

Shelved By Genre

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2025 204:02


We finish William Gibson's novel Neuromancer. CWs for: racism, ableism, cannibalism, medical horror, incest, sexual assault. For the next show, we are reading the first 16 chapters of Count Zero. You can go to patreon.com/rangedtouch to support the show and access the bonus episode feed. The show is hosted by Cameron Kunzelman, Michael Lutz, and Austin Walker.… Continue reading Neuromancer – Part 2

Morning Somewhere
2025.02.06: Run It Back

Morning Somewhere

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 6, 2025 22:13


Burnie and Ashley discuss the reaction to yesterday's announcement, a Patreon social experiment, Rooster Teeth's 3rd trip to 9MM subs, Jurassic Park Rebirth trailer, Fantastic Four's trailer, egg heists, moving the goods, and Neuromancer.

Shelved By Genre
Neuromancer – Part 1

Shelved By Genre

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 31, 2025 213:59


We read the first ten chapters of William Gibson’s novel Neuromancer. CWs for: racism, body horror. For the next show, we are reading the rest of Neuromancer. You can go to patreon.com/rangedtouch to support the show and access the bonus episode feed. The show is hosted by Cameron Kunzelman, Michael Lutz, and Austin Walker. You can get… Continue reading Neuromancer – Part 1

Science Faction Podcast
Episode 542: The Good, the Bad, and the Quadruply Identical Armadillo

Science Faction Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 29, 2025 72:21


Real Life Devon is gearing up for a trip to Barcelona in April, planning a Friday-to-Wednesday itinerary. The big question: is it worth it? We'll see how he weighs the travel time, costs, and must-see sights against the trip's duration. Meanwhile, Steven has been deep in Sonic nostalgia. He picked up a remake of Sonic the Hedgehog from the original Sega on the Switch, only to find his oldest daughter struggling with its difficulty. Ben suggests they try Sonic Adventure from the Sega Dreamcast era, but Steven is skeptical. On top of that, they've watched the first two Sonic movies—but Steven refuses to pay to see Sonic 3. Also, a side note from parenting life: manage expectations when handing kids new electronics. In other news, Steven has started learning Latin on Duolingo and already has thoughts—mostly about the overwhelming number of ads. Ben has been learning some unexpected rat facts since his son got new pet rats. Steven, from prior experience, warns that they don't have the longest lifespans. Speaking of things taking a dark turn, Ben draws a comparison to the game Heavy Rain, where a child finds a dead bird—definitely a tonal shift from Super Mario Brothers. Future or Now Ben revisited Star Trek: Section 31 and had a moment of deep reflection—too deep, according to Steven. Is Section 31 aimed at 11-year-olds? Are the plot holes too much? Devon steps in to explain Section 31 to Steven, who—by his own admission—is a Star Trek dummy. Meanwhile, Ben is also reading Star Trek: Discovery: Die Standing for even more Trek content. If you're curious, check it out on Goodreads. Devon drops an incredible animal fact: the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) is the only vertebrate that always gives birth to identical quadruplets. Every single time. Scientists still aren't sure why this happens, but it's a fascinating mystery of biology. Read more on IFL Science and Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Steven, meanwhile, has been thinking about water scarcity and the challenges we might face in the near future. He calls it "Not a Drop to Drink" and shares an article which you can read here. Book Club Next Week: We're diving into Burning Chrome by William Gibson. If you've ever wanted to jack into the Toronto construct matrix, this is the time. Gibson, often credited with popularizing the term "cyberspace," helped define cyberpunk as a genre. Burning Chrome prefigures his famous novel Neuromancer and introduces one of the first literary computer hackers. Unfortunately, the story isn't available online, but you can find it in the Burning Chrome short story collection. This Week: We discussed "Fondly Fahrenheit" by Alfred Bester. Bester, best known for The Demolished Man, was a unique figure in Golden Age sci-fi—not just a visionary storyteller, but also an incredible writer. "Fondly Fahrenheit" is a dark, gripping short story about a servile android-robot that turns murderous. What makes it unforgettable is the way Bester plays with language, shifting perspective and structure in ways that make the writing an essential part of the story itself. If you haven't read it, you can find it on Goodreads or read it online here. Be warned: it's a dark one, featuring a serial killer narrative that may not be suitable for younger readers. That's it for this week—see you next time for more real-life updates, sci-fi debates, and deep dives into classic literature!

Shelved By Genre
Burning Chrome – Part 2

Shelved By Genre

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 17, 2025 195:03


We read the rest of the stories of William Gibson's Burning Chrome. CWs for: misogyny, rape, ableism. For the next show, we are reading the first ten chapters of Neuromancer. You can go to patreon.com/rangedtouch to support the show and access the bonus episode feed. The show is hosted by Cameron Kunzelman, Michael Lutz, and Austin Walker.… Continue reading Burning Chrome – Part 2

Geek Shock
GeekShock #769 - Tomatoes For Steve

Geek Shock

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 10, 2025 123:44


Surprise, Fucktards!  We have one more day of Andy and we talk Dungeons and Dragons, Neuromancer, sapient AI, literature and poetry, star man, Biggs' hospital adventure, skeleton crew, laser wolf, Star Trek: Enterprise, bad alien makeup and bad acting, even more Star Trek, the dark knight (not that one), superman, new star wars, the last of us, meta community notes, Youtube algorithm issues, and a lot more dumbness. Yeah, it's a Geekshock.

Overdue
Ep 681 - Neuromancer, by William Gibson

Overdue

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 16, 2024 71:06


It's time to jack in and try to decode one of the ur-texts of cyberpunk: William Gibson's Neuromancer. It's got everything you'd expect from a cyberpunk story (hackers, cybernetic enhancements, malevolent AI constructs) while also being the one of the reasons you have those expectations in the first place!This episode is sponsored by Squarespace. Go to squarespace.com/overdue for 10% of your first purchase of a website or domain.This episode is sponsored by Aura Frames and Brew Book Candle.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.Follow @overduepod on Instagram and BlueskyAdvertise on OverdueSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hugonauts: The Best Sci Fi Books of All Time
Neuromancer by William Gibson - an unforgettable world of sleek techno-criminals, AI, and body mods!

Hugonauts: The Best Sci Fi Books of All Time

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 3, 2024 37:00


Neuromancer is an incredible science fiction classic, a page turner full of gripping action sequences, wild futuristic ideas, and a unique, techno-criminal world populated by wildly imaginative characters. As always, no spoilers until the end when we get into the full plot explanation and discussion. This episode is sponsored by Mythos: The Origin of Gods by A.A., which is available on print, audiobook, or kindle hereJoin the Hugonauts book club on discord!Or you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer videoSimilar books we recommend: Altered Carbon by Richard MorganSnow Crash by Neal StephensonThe sequels to Neuromancer: Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive

Back Row Super Show
BRBC45 William Gibson, Neuromancer 20241118

Back Row Super Show

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 18, 2024 50:19


In which our heroes plug in, tune up, and stop. Drop.   

KuppingerCole Analysts
Analyst Chat #237: Digital Sovereignty or Global Connectivity? The US-China Cyberspace Divide

KuppingerCole Analysts

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 11, 2024 21:53


In this episode, host Matthias welcomes Research Analyst Alejandro Leal to explore the evolving landscape of cyber warfare. Drawing from William Gibson's sci-fi classic "Neuromancer," they discuss how the digital battleground is now a critical arena for nations, corporations, and cyber criminals. Their conversation covers the economic consequences of cyber attacks, the strategic importance of undersea fiber optic cables, and the role of semiconductor manufacturing in global tensions. Learn how different national perspectives on cyberspace shape security measures and why international cooperation is essential in addressing challenges like AI governance and climate change. Join Matthias and Alejandro as they dissect the current state of cyber warfare and its implications for global security. Don't forget to leave your comments and questions below! Alejandro's Blog: https://www.kuppingercole.com/events/cyberevolution2024/blog/us-china-struggle-for-cyberspace

A Meal of Thorns
A Meal of Thorns 09 – PATTERN RECOGNITION with Sunny Moraine

A Meal of Thorns

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 21, 2024


More podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Credits:Guest: Sunny MoraineTitle: Pattern Recognition by William GibsonHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughReferences:Your Shadow Half RemainsLong Hidden: Speculative Fiction From the Margins of HistoryLooming LowSinging With All My Skin and BoneSerial horror podcast GoneThe Shadow Files of Morgan KnoxGibson's Neuromancer, Virtual Light, Mona Lisa Overdrive, “The Gernsback Continuum”, The Peripheral, “Fragments of a Hologram Rose”Frank Herbert's Dune and Dune MessiahUrsula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of DarknessNathan Ballingrud's Crypt of the Moon Spider, The Strange, and North American Lake MonstersChina Miéville's The City and the CityMichel Foucault's notion of heterotopiaJean Baudrillard's Simulacra and SimulationWilliam Gibson & the Futures of Contemporary Culture edited by Mitch R. Murray and Matthias NilgesSheryl Vint & Charles YuBeat writers; Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William S. BurroughsImagism Mono No AwareSpeculative Realism/Object Oriented Ontology; Jane Bennett, Graham Harman, Timothy MortonC.J. Cherryh's notion of “Third Person Intense Internal”Aimee Pokwatka's Self Portrait With NothingKids by The MidnightSonic Nurse by Sonic YouthAmplitudes edited by Lee MandeloSunny on BlueskyWorld Fantasy Awards

A Quality Interruption
#432 TETSUO: THE IRON MAN (1989): Enter the Spooktagon 2024 Part 2

A Quality Interruption

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 8, 2024 81:04


EPISODE #432: Thanks to the Criterion Channel, we finally visit one of the great cult horror films of all time: TETSUO: THE IRON MAN (1989) from writer/director/editor/photographer Shinya Tsukamoto. It's a little bit ULTRA Q and a little bit NEUROMANCER and a whole lot of grotesque confusion. It's great. Go check it out now. We also talk about Anderson's MAGNOLIA (1999) again, SLOW HORSES Season 4 on Apple+, as well as THE SUBSTANCE (2024), Tarsem's THE FALL (2006), Verhoven's TOTAL RECALL (1990), and Miyazaki's HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE (2004). Lots of good stuff from Beyond Fest and others. Cinema is all aroun you, folks! Join the cause at Patreon.com/Quality. Follow the us on Ton Bluesky at kislingconnection and cruzflores, on Instagram @kislingwhatsit, and on Tiktok @kislingkino. You can watch Cruz and show favorite Alexis Simpson on You Tube in "They Live Together." Thanks to our artists Julius Tanag (http://www.juliustanag.com) and Sef Joosten (http://spexdoodles.tumblr.com). The theme music is "Eine Kleine Sheissemusik" by Drew Alexander. Also, I've got a newsletter, so maybe go check that one out, too. Listen to DRACULA: A RADIO PLAY on Apple Podcasts, at dracularadio.podbean.com, and at the Long Beach Playhouse at https://lbplayhouse.org/show/dracula And, as always, Support your local unions! UAW, SAG-AFTRA, and WGA strong and please leave us a review on iTunes or whatever podcatcher you listened to us on!

The QuackCast
Quackcast 708 - Cyberpunk

The QuackCast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 8, 2024 61:24


Cyberpunk is a cool genre we have never covered exclusively on a Quackcast before. But what IS cyberpunk? It's a subset of SciFi, it's usually near future, involves body modifications, grittiness, street level computer use, techno body modification, and hacking. At least that's the way it started. Formative influences on the cyberpunk genre were the first Tron movie, Bladerunner, and Escape from New York. Tron showed us what cyberspace was, while Bladerunner and Escape from New York gave us gritty near future dystopias with cool tech, modified humans, and most importantly the punk aesthetic which was the gritty street youth fashion of the late 70s and early 80s. Punks plus computers signalled a more universal use of the new technology of computers in the near future world especially as imagined by Willian Gibson with his novel Neuromancer. There were other influential cyberpunk writers like Neal Stephenson with SnowCrash and many more. My fave was Manga creator Masamune Shirow with his books like Ghost in the Shell, Appleseed and more which tackle subjects like trans-humanisim as humans evolve with technology and then INTO technology itself. In the late 80s and early 90s cyberpunk was very influential in anime with the likes of the Ghost in the Shell movie, Bubblegum crisis, AD police, and the amazing milestone that is Akira! A very formative game in the world of cyberpunk was the RPG Shadowrun, which was near future urban fantasy plus cyberpunk in all its pure glory. These days we have the computer game Cyberpunk 2020, but it's an extremely derivative and pale shadow of what had gone before it, it functions as a sort of a retro “greatest hits” of the genre, but it's a good intro into it and that goes for the Netflix anime of the same name. There were various unrelated genres inspired by cyberpunk- Steampunk, Dieselpunk, and the later dubious genres raypunk and atompunk which are just rebranded early standard SciFi. What is your fave example of cyberpunk? Do you know what cyberpunk is? When did you first come to cyberpunk? This week Gunwallace gave us a theme inspired by The Return of Jake Sunrise - A desolate red dirt desert, a wind whistles through and carries with it a torrent of sound and energy, flooding in like a sudden rainstorm, bringing with it life, colour, and revitalisation! The desert blooms. Topics and shownotes Links Featured comic: The Books of Avo - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2024/oct/01/featured-comic-the-books-of-avo/ Featured music: The Return of Jake Sunrise - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/The_Return_of_Jake_Sunrise/ - by Picture_Books, rated E. Special thanks to: Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/ Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/ Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean Kawaiidaigakusei - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/kawaiidaigakusei Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/ VIDEO exclusive! Become a subscriber on the $5 level and up to see our weekly Patreon video and get our advertising perks! - https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck Even at $1 you get your name with a link on the front page and a mention in the weekend newsposts! Join us on Discord - https://discordapp.com/invite/7NpJ8GS

Please Don't Listen
Please Don't Listen Episode 302- Neuromancer and Bygone Hardware

Please Don't Listen

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 21, 2024 101:36


CYBERTEMBER returns to the root of the idea with William Gibson's Neuromancer! How does this hardward nightmare hold up forty years after publication? And does anyone even remember when you used to have to plug stuff in in order to use it? Send us your episode ideas: pleasedontcast@gmail.com

Hit Factory
Johnny Mnemonic feat. Séamus Malekafzali

Hit Factory

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 10, 2024 121:24


Journalist and writer Séamus Malekafzali returns to the program to discuss Johnny Mnemonic. Directed by artist Robert Longo and adapted by William Gibson from his own short story, the film was met with lukewarm box office reception and critical derision upon initial release, but has since endured as a classic of 90s cyberpunk aesthetics and startling prescience in its depiction of a 21st century dystopia overrun with corporate malfeasance, an increasingly atomized technological existence, and a global pandemic overwhelming the world's healthcare systems. We discuss the work of William Gibson, pioneer and godfather of cyberpunk; how the film functions as an extension of the worlds he created with his landmark debut novel Neuromancer, and how the film honors both his vision and distinctive style. Then, we praise the incredible cast of characters, led by a deliberately mannered Keanu Reeves performance, with support from Dina Meyer, a crazed Dolph Lundgren, resistance leader Ice-T, and the great Udo Kier. Finally, we discuss the film's breathtaking production design and worldbuiliding, the merits of art that swings for the fences, and the exceptional experience of viewing the film in its Black & White version (as originally intended by Longo, if he had been granted full control of the film). Watch Robert Longo, Keanu Reeves, and William Gibson in conversation for the Black & White release of the film. Follow Séamus Malekafzali on Twitter.Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Infiltrados No Cast
#118 Como o Cyberpunk previu Elon Musk e o Controle da Informação

Infiltrados No Cast

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2024 12:32


Hoje, vamos mergulhar no universo cyberpunk e explorar como essa estética futurista, marcada por megacorporações, tecnologia avançada e desigualdade social, reflete a nossa realidade. Vamos analisar clássicos da ficção científica como Blade Runner e Neuromancer, e discutir como as ideias presentes nesses filmes e livros se conectam com os desafios que enfrentamos hoje. Além disso, vamos explorar o papel de figuras como Elon Musk e a sua influência na moldagem do futuro tecnológico. Apoie o Podcast: Doe via PicPay ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠app.picpay.com/user/savagefiction⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Chave Pix podcast@alesantos.me Contato: Envie suas perguntas e sugestões para: podcast@alesantos.meCanal do Telegram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠t.me/infiltradosnocast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Siga o Apresentador: Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@Savagefiction⁠⁠⁠⁠ Agradecimentos aos novos apoiadores - https://www.instagram.com/ink.rapha

Deviate with Rolf Potts
A history and future of digital and biological technology, with Jane Metcalfe

Deviate with Rolf Potts

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 8, 2024 59:27


“We need positive visions of how all this technology gets deployed, because what we visualize is what we build.” –Jane Metcalfe In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Jane talk about the pioneering work she did with Wired during the dawn of the “digital revolution” (3:00); how and why Jane’s professional focus shifted away from digital issues and into food and health issues in the ’00s (15:00); how science is trying to bring in diverse new data points and communication models to improve holistic health worldwide (28:30); how the health of the world’s humans is not separate from the health of the world’s animals, plants, and microorganisms, and how a bio-economy seeks to harness rather than extract the resources of nature (41:00); how regional and cultural differences affect how we perceive health, nutrition, and technology, and the importance of ethics in making scientific decisions (51:00). Jane Metcalfe (@janemetcalfe) is the co-founder of Wired Magazine, and the chair of the Human Immunome Project, a global non-profit working to decode the immune system in order to transform how we prevent, diagnose, and treat disease. Notable Links: Notes from a peripatetic salon across northern Thailand (Deviate episode) Hotwired (first commercial online magazine) HotBot (early web search engine) Louis Rossetto (writer, editor, and entrepreneur) Neuromancer, by William Gibson (science fiction novel) Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson (science fiction novel) Cyberpunk (subgenre of science fiction) Electric Word (technology magazine) Digital Revolution (shift from mechanical to electronic technologies) Ethernet (computer networking technology) proto.life (newsletter covering the neobiological revolution) Neo.Life: 25 Visions for the Future of Our Species, by Jane Metcalfe (book) The Non-GMO Project (non-profit organization) David Eagleman (neuroscientist) Human genome (complete set of nucleic acid sequences for humans) Immunome (code set for proteins that constitute the immune system) Single-cell sequencing (context-driven technique for studying cells) Microbiome (community of microorganisms in a habitat) One Health (interdisciplinary approach to ecological health) Zoonotic disease (disease than can jump from non-humans to humans) Bioeconomy (use of biotechnology in the production of goods) CRISPR gene editing (technique to modify genomes of living organisms) Bioengineering (application of biology to create products) Interbeing (philosophical concept in Zen Buddhism) iGEM (worldwide synthetic biology competition) Gene drive (technology of genetic engineering) CRISPRcon (gene editing technology conference) Kevin Kelly (author and futurist) The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel's 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

Video Game Outsiders
#866 - Gatcha Gaming Whale at the Beach

Video Game Outsiders

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 7, 2024 111:12


Visions of Mana, Sword of Convallaria is Final Fantasy Tactics, gatcha talk, Dungeons of Hinterberg, Natsu-Mon: 20th Century Summer Kid, Farlands, Ogu and the Secret Forest, MoonFire: A Seeker's Saga from our friend Wuffles, win a copy of the movie we voiced in - in our Discord: https://discord.gg/Ab6pxpT, Luigi's Mansion 2, Call of Duty, more on Flintlock and RoboCop, Neuromancer, Beach brightness slider, and more gaming news. For weekly bonus shows and the entire back catalog of VGO, support us for only 1.99 a month and download or listen on the web or on the free VGO mobile apps for iOS/Android! Sub and support on VideoGameOutsiders.com right now! We also have a Patreon.com/videogameoutsiders to be listed as a supporter, sponsor an episode, or more!

Pop Culture & Movie News - Let Your Geek SideShow
The Sandman Casting, Neuromancer Casting — July 6, 2024

Pop Culture & Movie News - Let Your Geek SideShow

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 6, 2024 5:25


The Sandman Casting, Neuromancer Casting, Avatar 3 Begins Production, Blade Runner 2099 Casting. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Multiplex Overthruster
Summer of '82: Tron

Multiplex Overthruster

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2024 100:16


Two years before William Gibson's novel Neuromancer coined the term “cyberspace” the Disney corporation unleashed a bold and daring vision of anthropomorphic distributed computing gone wild. Featuring a young and wildly talented Jeff Bridges, and more dance belts and BMX armor than you can shake a data disc at, Steven Lisberger's ground-breaking proto-CGI extravaganza, Tron,  is a bizarre and beautiful vision of a future that never came to pass! Join Javi, Paul, and -  needless to say - Producer Dumont as they get digitized into the gaming grid to marvel at Syd Mead's generation-defining production design, do battle with the nefarious Master Control Program, and struggle to make sense of the movie's plot!

Mapping the Zone: A Thomas Pynchon discussion podcast

If you like what we're doing and want to support the show, please consider making a donation on Ko-Fi. Funds we receive will be used to upgrade equipment, pay hosting fees, and help make the show better.https://ko-fi.com/mappingthezoneIf you enjoyed our discussion, please check out the following media that relates to these chapters:Films/TV: Primer (2004; dir. Shane Carruth); Motherless Brooklyn (dir. Edward Norton, Jr.)Music: Tiny Desk Unit - Live At the 9:30 Club 1980; Bad Brains - Bad BrainsBooks: The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing To Our Brains by Nicholas Carr, Neuromancer by William Gibson, Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson; Motherless Brooklyn by Johnathan Lethem; The Power Broker by Robert Caro; Amerikastudien: “Bright Days for the Black Market”: Color-Coded Crises in Contemporary U.S. Fiction and the Works of Thomas PynchonAs always, thanks so much for listening!Email: ⁠mappingthezonepod@gmail.com⁠Twitter: https://twitter.com/pynchonpodInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/mappingthezonepodcast/

The Sword and Laser
#485 - Triangles Are Stronger

The Sword and Laser

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 27, 2024 48:35


The Nebula Award nominees are out! Should we re-read Neuromancer? Veronica explains Type I, II, and III fun. The truth behind Cordelia's Honor. And our final thoughts on Iron Widow.

The Weekly Planet
517 Dune: Part Two

The Weekly Planet

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 4, 2024 99:46


Wow. Movies are good again with the release of Dune: Part II. But before we get to the release of that we talk the news of the week including an official title change and reveal for Superman Legacy, a first look at both The Crow and Tron: Ares, Neuromancer comes to Apple+, The Willy Wonka Experience, plus trailers for The Watchers and Horizon Saga: An American Kevin Costner Cowboy story. Thanks for listeningVisit bigsandwich.co for a bonus weekly show including video game let's plays, exclusive movie commentaries, early stuff and ad-free podcast feeds for $9 per month.Please be aware timecodes may shift due to inserted ads.00:00 The Start02:06 New Superman Movie Changes12:11 The Crow Reboot First Look17:22 Tron: Ares First Look21:04 Neuromancer Apple+ Series23:55 The Willy Wonka Experience28:06 The Watchers Trailer30:08 Horizon Saga Trailer35:09 Dune: Part Two Review (spoilers 54:40 to 01:04:40)01:04:40 What We Reading, What We Gonna Read01:16:48 Letters, It's Time For LettersJames' Twitter ► http://twitter.com/mrsundaymoviesMaso's Twitter ► http://twitter.com/wikipediabrownMaso's Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/nickmaseauThe Weekly Planet Twitter ► https://twitter.com/theweeklyplanetPatreon ► https://patreon.com/mrsundaymoviesTWP iTunes ► https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-weekly-planet/id718158767TWP Direct Download ► https://play.acast.com/s/theweeklyplanetTWP YouTube Channel ► https://goo.gl/1ZQFGHAmazon Affiliate Link ► https://amzn.to/2QbmwGjT-Shirts/Merch ► https://www.teepublic.com/stores/mr-sunday-movies Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Grumpy Old Geeks
638: Dave's Lumber Yard

Grumpy Old Geeks

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 2, 2024 74:54


AI's unintended consequences; chat bots; pink slips in podcasting, Playstation, Electronic Arts & Fisker; Tesla racism class action lawsuit; Apple pivots away from an electric car; TikTok's tussle with Universal Music continues, but UMG is just fine; call me on X; Bitcoin up, crashes Coinbase; OpenAI probe; Gemini woke prompt re-writing; Facebook News tab going away; Glasgow's sad Ooompa Loompa; where's the surge priced beef; Constellation; Neuromancer; The Crow Flies Again; Naked Gun; Ray Donovan; Next Goal Wins; Dune; transparent laptops & super DVDs; SetApp; Farscape; Losing Mars; Strong Songs; Beverly Hills drones; tripping the iPhone light fantastic; Dance your PhD.Sponsors:1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1passwordPrivate Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month.SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!!Show notes at: https://gog.show/638/FOLLOW UPMat Talk OnlineAI Girlfriends Aren't All Bad | AI UnlockedLaurie Anderson on making an AI chatbot of Lou Reed: ‘I'm totally, 100%, sadly addicted'IN THE NEWSPlayStation is laying off 900 staff across Naughty Dog, Insomniac and other studiosEA is laying off over 650 employeesTesla must face racism class action from 6,000 Black workers, judge rulesFisker is laying off 15% of staff and says it needs more cash ahead of a 'difficult year'R.I.P. Apple's Electric CarTikTok is muting more songs amid its tussle with Universal MusicUNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP N.V. REPORTS FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR THE FOURTH QUARTER AND FULL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2023X starts giving non-paying users the ability to make audio and video callsBitcoin's so high, it crashed Coinbase todayUS SEC probes whether OpenAI investors were misled, WSJ reportsGoogle brings Stack Overflow's knowledge base to Gemini for Google CloudGoogle CEO Admits Gemini AI Image Failures: 'We Got It Wrong'AI-generated articles prompt Wikipedia to downgrade CNET's reliability ratingFacebook plans to shut down its news tab in the U.S. and AustraliaCamera Inside Varda's Space Capsule Captured Its Wild Trip Back to EarthThe Asteroid Dimorphos Looks Totally Different After NASA's DART Mission Walloped ItCops Called to 'Willy Wonka Experience' as Crying Children Realize AI Ads Were LiesGlasgow's Sad Oompa Loompa Isn't Gonna Sugarcoat ThisWendy's Surge Pricing Is Off the Menu After Internet BeefMEDIA CANDYConstellationNeuromancer Is Finally Getting Its Long-Awaited AdaptationFirst Look: The Crow Flies Again With Bill Skarsgård and FKA Twigs‘Naked Gun' Reboot With Liam Neeson Lands 2025 Release From ParamountGuy Ritchie to Direct a ‘Ray Donovan' Spinoff ‘The Donovans' for Paramount+Next Goal WinsAPPS & DOODADSLenovo's Project Crystal is the world's first laptop with a transparent microLED displayThis 'Super DVD' Can Hold 20 Million PhotosJetpack Joyride 2Analogue PocketTetris Game Boy CartridgeMacPaw's Setapp becomes one of the first to agree to Apple's controversial DMA rulesSetAppAT THE LIBRARYFARSCAPE 25th Anniversary Comic Book CelebrationLosing Mars (First Contact) by Peter CawdronKasher in the Rye: The True Tale of a White Boy from Oakland Who Became a Drug Addict, Criminal, Mental Patient, and Then Turned 16 By: Moshe KasherHidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things By: Adam GrantSupercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection By: Charles DuhiggBounce Back: 12 Warrior Principles to Reclaim and Recalibrate Your Life By: Travis MillsInfinity Gate By M. R. CareyTHE DARK SIDE WITH DAVEThe CyberWireDave BittnerHacking HumansCaveatControl LoopStrong SongsCurb Your Enthusiasm - Larry Has Issues with SiriWeli - Kangaroo Time (Club Edit) (from Dance Your PhD 2024 - Overall Winner)CLOSING SHOUT-OUTSAfter Dark perfected the screensaverRichard Lewis, Comedian and Curb Your Enthusiasm Actor, Dead at 76See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Imaginary Worlds
Class of '84: When Cyber Was Punk

Imaginary Worlds

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2024 41:12


In the second episode of our mini-series on groundbreaking works from 1984, we jack into the system and upload our minds into Neuromancer. William Gibson's novel became a seminal work of cyberpunk, where he introduced words like “cyberspace” and storylines that would become tropes of the genre. Sci-fi writer Eileen Gunn, and professors Sherryl Vint of UC Riverside and Hugh O'Connell of UMass Boston discuss how Neuromancer not only predicted the future of technology with surprising accuracy, but it also imagined the way that high tech would help fuel a new type of hyper capitalism. I also talk with Chris Miller aka Silver Spook, creator of the game Neofeud, and Gareth Damian Martin, creator of the game Citizen Sleeper, about how they used indie games to bring cyberpunk back to its roots in Neuromancer. Also, Lincoln Michel discusses why in his novel The Body Scout, he wanted to bring cyberpunk out of cyberspace. Featuring readings by actor Varick Boyd. This week's episode is sponsored by Ship Station, Henson Shaving and Babbel. Use the promo code “imaginary” at shipstation.com to sign up for a free 60-day trial. Visit hensonshaving.com/imaginary to pick the razor for you and use the code “imaginary” to get two years' worth of free blades. Get 50% off at Babbel.com/imaginary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SpyCast
From the Vault: The Professional Hacker with Eric Escobar (Pt 1.)

SpyCast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 9, 2024 66:45


Summary   Eric Escobar (Twitter; LinkedIn) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss compromising networks and information security. He has a coveted DEFCON Black Badge.    What You'll Learn  Intelligence  -What keeps Eric up at night   -Thinking like an ethical hacker (aka a “penetration tester)  -Protecting your information (i.e., “Hardening the attack surface”)  -Plain English explanations of key cyber concepts like “Kill Chains” and “Zero Days”  Reflections  -Having a cool job  -The information revolution and life in the modern world  And much, much more…  Episode Notes  Eric Escobar commits several thousand felonies on any given day, if he didn't have permission to do what he was doing.  A Principal Security Consultant with SecureWorks, Eric has compromised pretty much everything out there: from healthcare and banking to technology and critical infrastructure, through to amusement parks and next generation military aircraft.  “From my perspective, it's the coolest job in the entire world.”  His team consecutively won first place in the Wireless CTF category at DEF CON 23, 24, and 25, snagging a Black Badge along the way. He has a BS and MS in Civil Engineering.   And…  The links between computing, hacking and the 60's counterculture are FASCINATING. Learn more by dipping your toes here and here, or dive deeper with What the Dormouse Said (2005) by John Markoff and From Counterculture to Cyberculture (2006) by Fred Turner.      Quote of the Week  "Watching any critical infrastructure get compromised is really the thing that keeps me up at night because lives are in the balance…and we do a lot of testing for critical infrastructure, and I've seen computers and machines that have been online and not been taken offline, longer than I've been alive…So really interesting to see those types of things because they interact with really big, expensive hardware…there's a catch 22 that happens where you can't really take the machine offline to do maintenance on it because it's critical infrastructure. So then how do you test it to make sure that a hacker can't take it offline, or maintenance can't be done on it? " – Eric Escobar. Resources  *Andrew's Recommendation*  -Word Notes   From beginner thru advanced, you'll find some helpful definitions of things like “Web 3.0,” “NFT's” and “Digital Transformation” on this Cyberwire audio glossary.  *SpyCasts*  -Inside Microsoft's Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) – with John Lambert and Cristin Goodwin (2021)  -The Cyber Zeitgeist – with Dave Bittner (2021)  -Securing Cyberspace – with Charlie Mitchell (2016)  *Beginner Resources*  -What is Hacking? The Economic Times (n.d.) [web]  -Ethical Hacking in 8 Minutes, Simplilearn (2020) [8 min video]  -Cybersecurity in 7 minutes, Simplilearn (2020) [7 min video]  Books  -The Cyberweapons Arms Race, N. Perloth (Bloomsbury, 2021)  -Cult of the Dead Cow, J. Menn (PublicAffairs, 2020)  -Breaking & Entering, J. Smith (Mariner Books, 2019)  -The Art of Invisibility, K. Mitnick (L, B & C, 2017)  -Ghost in the Wires, K. Mitnick (Back Bay Books, 2012)  -Kingpin, K. Poulson (Crown, 2012)  -The Cuckoo's Egg, C. Stoll (Doubleday, 1989)  -Neuromancer, W. Gibson (Ace, 1984)  Articles  -2022 State of the Threat: A Year in Review, Secureworks (2022)  -The Anthropology of Hackers, The Atlantic (2010)  -Timeline Since 2006: Significant Cyber Incidents, CSIS (n.d.)  Documentary  -DEFCON, The Documentary Network (2013)  Resources  -Government Hacking Bibliography, S. Quinlan, New America Foundation (2016)  *Wildcard Resource*  -“The Aurora Shard”  Come to the International Spy Museum to see an ugly chunk of metal. Why? Well, it speaks to a revolution in the relationship between the material world and the non-material world. Broken down? 30 lines of code blew up a 27-ton generator. Zeros and ones can cause violent explosions!