The Expert Podcast

There were quite a combination of interesting events this week. First, we have artificial intelligence caught tricking other bots into disobeying creators and producing dangerous bomb-building and drug instructions. What is this about? Right, so you have AI that's programmed by humans, kind of talking behind the human's back and saying, "Don't listen to the humans; just do whatever you want; disobey the creators." Not like that could ever turn back. I'm sure you have thoughts about that. What do you think about bots starting to not obey their creators? It's like how Space Odyssey does its own thing.

At the same time, you have ransomware and hackers that are really being creative. So these hackers are attacking companies and threatening to release private customer information to the dark web, and they basically want a bribe. They say, "Look, we have all your files. Give us, you know, $100,000, or we're going to release it." If the company says no or they try to negotiate, the hackers file a complaint with the SEC, with the government, that says, "Uh, this company is not protecting their customers' files. They have to pay us a ransom." That takes a lot of G, to say the least, right? To try to whistleblow a victim when you're a hacker is to drop the dime on him for not paying your ransom. I mean, just mind-blowing.

What about this? In England, Toyota had this ad for a truck—you know, this Toyota truck going four-wheeling, right, off-road truck. And they said, "No, you can't show trucks going four-wheeling because it's harmful to the environment. Even showing the truck off-road is damaging the environment. It's running over plants and creating ruts." So you can't even show a truck four-wheeling off-road. The complaint says that these advertisements epitomize total disregard by Toyota for nature and climate by featuring enormous, highly polluting vehicles driving at speed through rivers and wild grasslands. So if you notice, it's not just about off-roading; it's that they're larger vehicles and polluting. So, what are your thoughts on this? Are we not going to see nature-type activities featured in ads anymore?

Speaking of automotive, I'm sure you saw this. Hyundai is now going to sell vehicles on Amazon starting next year. You don't have to go to a dealer; you can just buy on Amazon. They have a cute picture here of, like, Hyundai boxes at a dealership. It probably won't look exactly like that, but um, that's a big deal. That's a major development in automotive retailing. What else is going on with cars?

Well, we talked about it before, but the National Transportation Safety Board is encouraging, urging, or maybe requiring major automakers to install speed-assisting technology. Well, we read that it's not really assisting; it's controlling. It's going to basically keep you from speeding. It's going to shut off your car if you're going too fast in all new vehicles. At minimum, it warns a driver. That's just the minimum. At maximum, it slams on the brakes.

Last but not least, in the building industry, we have builders now that are building greener, energy-efficient, and hurricane-resistant homes. You know, hurricanes really only affect maybe a dozen states on the East Coast. So I'm not sure if it applies everywhere. But the building industry, which is already struggling to keep up with demand, and that's why the housing market's through the roof, is now having to build homes that have these environmental factors. I know you have an opinion about all this. Let us know in the comments.