This week in tech

What happens when AI bots get their own social network, Silicon Valley execs cozy up to power, and Apple takes a cut from creators? This week's panel calls out the bold, bizarre, and often problematic ways tech's biggest players are reshaping everything from AI assistants to your everyday privacy.

• There's a social network for AI agents, and it's getting weird
• Moltbook is the most interesting place on the internet right now
• Exposed Moltbook Database Let Anyone Take Control of Any AI Agent on the Site
• Pentagon clashes with Anthropic over military AI use, sources say
• Salesforce signs $5.6B deal to inject agentic AI into the US Army
• Angry Norfolk residents lose lawsuit to stop Flock license plate scanners
• SpaceX wants to put 1 million solar-powered data centers into orbit
• Elon Musk reportedly wants a June SpaceX IPO to align with his birthday, the planets
• Tesla hits a grim milestone: its second straight year of decline
• Tesla says production-ready Optimus robot is coming soon
• Microsoft reports strong cloud earnings in Q2 as gaming declines
• What We Learned From Meta, Microsoft and Tesla
• Apple tells Patreon to move creators to in-app purchase for subscriptions by November
• Apple CEO Tim Cook 'heartbroken' after repeated ICE killings in Minneapolis
• A rival smart glasses company is suing Meta over its Ray-Ban products
• TikTok, YouTube, and Meta are headed to court for a landmark trial over social media addiction
• The 'Social Media Addiction' Narrative May Be More Harmful Than Social Media Itself
• TikTok users freak out over app's 'immigration status' collection — here's what it means
• A Waymo hit a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica
• Autonomous cars, drones cheerfully obey prompt injection by road sign
• Samsung's TriFold phone will cost $2,899 in the US
• Groundhogs are bad at predicting weather, but they're valuable animal engineers\
• Satellites encased in wood are in the works
• Belkin reminds users that its Wemo smart home products are shutting down this week

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Gary Rivlin, Devindra Hardawar, and Victoria Song

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Microsoft quietly hands over BitLocker keys to the government, TikTok's new privacy terms spark a user panic, and Europe's secret tech backups reveal anxious prep for digital fallout. Plus, how gambling platforms are changing the future of news and sports.

• You can bet on how much snow will fall in New York City this weekend
• Europe Prepares for a Nightmare Scenario: The U.S. Blocking Access to Tech
• China, US sign off on TikTok US spinoff
• TikTok users freak out over app's 'immigration status' collection -- here's what it means
• Elon Musk's Grok A.I. Chatbot Made Millions of Sexualized Images, New Estimates Show
• Microsoft Gave FBI Keys To Unlock Encrypted Data, Exposing Major Privacy Flaw - Forbes
• House of Lords votes to ban social media for Brits under 16
• Overrun with AI slop, cURL scraps bug bounties to ensure "intact mental health"
• Route leak incident on January 22, 2026
• 149 Million Usernames and Passwords Exposed by Unsecured Database
• Millions of people imperiled through sign-in links sent by SMS
• Anthropic revises Claude's 'Constitution,' and hints at chatbot consciousness
• The new Siri chatbot may run on Google servers, not Apple's
• A Wikipedia Group Made a Guide to Detect AI Writing. Now a Plug-In Uses It to 'Humanize' Chatbots
• GitHub - anthropics/original_performance_takehome: Anthropic's original performance take-home, now open for you to try!
• Telly's "free" ad-based TVs make notable revenue—when they're actually delivered - Ars Technica
• Toilet Maker Toto's Shares Get Unlikely Boost From AI Rush - Slashdot
• Dr. Gladys West, whose mathematical models inspired GPS, dies at 95

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Alex Stamos, Doc Rock, and Patrick Beja

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Claude isn't just the hottest name in AI right now—it's quietly ushering in a wave of ultra-personalized, vibe-coded software that could transform how we build and use tech in 2026. Find out why coders and normies alike are obsessed and what's coming next.

• Claude Cowork Exfiltrates Files
• Behind the Curtain: The AI future has arrived
• Our Algorithmic Grey-Beige World
• Musk wants up to $134B in OpenAI lawsuit, despite $700B fortune
• Elon Musk's Grok 'Undressing' Problem Isn't Fixed
• I asked Grok's AI to undress me after X's new limits. It's still easy on the app.
• Senate passes Defiance Act for a second time to address Grok deepfakes
• Instagram says it fixed the issue that sent password reset emails
• Instagram AI Influencers Are Defaming Celebrities With Sex Scandals
• French Court Orders Popular VPNs to Block More Pirate Sites, Despite Opposition
• Nearly 5 Million Accounts Removed Under Australia's New Social Media Ban
• TikTok has quietly launched a new micro drama app called PineDrama as the category picks up steam in the US
• Creator income inequality is rising as top influencers rake in big paydays from brands
• Managers on alert for "launch fever" as pressure builds for NASA's Moon mission
• Senate passes minibus bill funding NASA, rejecting Trump's proposed cuts
• Pentagon Device Linked To Havana Syndrome
• Zuck#: A programming language for connecting the world. And harvesting it
• Amazon is buying copper harvested by bacteria for its data centers
• 'Are You Dead?' is now the top paid App Store app in China
• Danish dev delights kid by turning floppy drive into easy TV remote
• Cinemark will fill almost anything with popcorn this weekend—but there's a catch
• Happy Birthday, Wikipedia: We need you now more than ever
• Pluralistic: The world needs an Ireland for disenshittification (17 Jan 2026)

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Harper Reed and Abrar Al-Heeti

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Is putting a camera in your toilet the future of health, or have tech companies lost the plot? This episode's panel digs into what's truly innovative versus what's just over the top, as industry leaders spar over privacy concerns and the real impact of AI in everyday devices.

• We tried to get humanoid robots to do the laundry
• Boston Dynamics unveils production-ready version of Atlas robot at CES 2026
• Hair Drying Robot
• Jensen Huang Says Nvidia's New Vera Rubin Chips Are in 'Full Production'
• AMD's Ryzen AI 400 series includes the first Copilot+ desktop CPU — Team Red refreshes Zen 5 APUs and Strix Halo
• Meta's EMG wristband is moving beyond its AR glasses
• Lego's Smart Brick Gives the Iconic Analog Toy a New Digital Brain
• The Alexa Plus website is now available to everyone in early access
• Throne, from the co-founder of Whoop, uses computer vision to study your poop
• The Verge Awards at CES 2026
• These are the smart home gadgets that impressed me at CES 2026

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ, Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, and Jason Hiner

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