Episode 744 kicks off with new merch in the wild and the ongoing expansion of the “protect the children from the internet” playbook. Manitoba is floating a ban on social media and AI chatbots for kids with details still TBD, while the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee somehow managed unanimous approval on chatbot age-verification legislation. Utah, not to be outdone, passed SB 73 — a law that tries to pin age verification on VPN users and even bans sites from explaining what a VPN is, a move that will mostly degrade the internet without solving the problem it claims to address. Meanwhile, John Oliver finally unloaded on the AI industry, echoing long-standing criticisms: rushed products, acknowledged risks, and outsourced consequences.

In the news, a U.S. Army Special Forces master sergeant was arrested for allegedly turning classified intel about the Maduro capture into a $400K Polymarket win, then attempting to cover it up in ways that suggest poor operational planning. Meta cut more than 1,100 Kenyan content moderators after reports surfaced that they were exposed to explicit footage from smart glasses users, raising serious questions about labor practices in AI pipelines. Google signed a Pentagon AI deal despite internal backlash while posting massive revenue gains, underscoring where incentives actually land. OpenAI, meanwhile, is juggling missed targets, a shift away from Microsoft exclusivity, and continued reputational hits around Sam Altman — including a widely criticized apology tied to a mass shooting and a fabricated Bruno Mars tie-in for his World project. Add in a failed retrial bid from Sam Bankman-Fried, rising volumes of AI-generated web content, and political interference with the National Science Board, and the signal is clear: incentives are misaligned across the board.

On the lighter side, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds returns July 23rd for its penultimate season, and Ted Lasso is back August 5th, for better or worse. Jack Dorsey beat the inevitable Elon attempt to reboot Vine with Divine, reviving six-second loops with a decentralized backbone and anti-AI safeguards. Apple continues its slow AI rollout with new photo editing tools, while Google pushes further into data aggregation with wardrobe-level photo analysis. Hardware check: Logitech’s MX Keys S lands as a heavier, brighter $119 iteration. In books, Peter Clines delivers with God’s Junk Drawer, while Martha Wells signals that the Murderbot series may be nearing its end. The Dark Side with Dave ties it together with gun storage PSAs, Disneyland lore, Galaxy’s Edge playlists, and a conversational detour through Super Dave, Martin Short, and the ongoing quirks of instant replay in baseball.

Show notes at https://gog.show/744

Watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/P3NOSXlCs9E

FOLLOW UP

New Merch!

Canadian premier wants to ban social media and AI chatbots for kids in Manitoba

Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approves AI chatbot age verification

Utah’s New Law Targeting VPNs Goes Into Effect Next Week

John Oliver Just Took the AI Industry Behind a Shed and Beat It With a Pipe Wrench

IN THE NEWS

US soldier arrested for allegedly making over $400,000 on Polymarket with classified Maduro information

Meta in row after workers who say they saw smart glasses users having sex lose jobs

Google employees ask Sundar Pichai to say no to classified military AI use

Google Signs Pentagon AI Deal Despite Employee Backlash

Google Gives OpenAI 20 Billion Reasons To Worry

OpenAI's Sam Altman apologizes for not reporting ChatGPT account of Tumbler Ridge suspect to police

Sam Altman Caught in What May Be His Most Spectacular Lie Yet

OpenAI ends its exclusive partnership with Microsoft

‘Never Talk About Goblins’: OpenAI’s Instructions to Codex Have a Weirdly Emphatic No-Creatures Policy

Sam Bankman-Fried Seems to Annoy Judge and Lose Latest Motion for New Trial

Dead Internet Theory Is 17% of the Way to Becoming Reality, Study Finds

Matt Mullenweg thinks WordPress is in decline. He may be right

Trump has terminated several members of the independent National Science Board

APPS & DOODADS

Jack Dorsey Beats Elon Musk to the Punch With a Reboot of Vine

Jack Dorsey-backed Vine reboot Divine launches to the public

iOS 27 will reportedly come with new AI-powered photo editing tools

Google Photos Wardrobe will scan your pictures to compile a digital version of your closet

Logitech MX Keys S Keyboard

MEDIA CANDY

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds returns for its penultimate season on July 23

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | Season 4 Official Teaser | Paramount+

How the Combadge Became the Ultimate Wearable of the ‘Star Trek’ Universe

TED LASSO Season 4 | Official Teaser Trailer (2026)

AT THE LIBRARY

God's Junk Drawer by Peter Clines

Martha Wells Says the Murderbot Diaries May Be Reaching Its Final Chapter

THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE

Dave Bittner

The CyberWire

Hacking Humans

Caveat

Control Loop

Only Malware in the Building

Dave gets his Christmas Present

The Backside of Water

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge: Oga’s Cantina R3X’s Playlist #1

Marty, Life Is Short | Official Trailer | Netflix

Baseball and using instant replay to override the Umpire.

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