The Vergecast

Ring's adorable surveillance hellscape


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Did you see Ring's Super Bowl ad and see happy puppies reunited with their owners? Or did you see the seeds of a complete, always-on surveillance nightmare coming for us all? David and Nilay discuss which is the right answer, why so many people don't want to trust tech companies, and why Ring might not care much about the difference. After that, the hosts discuss the ads coming to ChatGPT, the surprising number of AI executives quitting their jobs and issuing dire warnings on the way out, and the fake ad for OpenAI gadgets. In the lightning round, it's time for an extra long Brendan Carr is a Dummy, the latest Ferrari EV, the future of Siri, and more.


Further reading:

  • Jeffrey Epstein’s digital cleanup crew 
    • Jeffrey Epstein might not have created /pol/, but he helped carry out its mission
      • Amazon Ring’s lost dog ad sparks backlash amid fears of mass surveillance 
        • Wyze is sticking it to Ring
          • Sen. Markey calls on Amazon to “discontinue” Ring monitoring features
            • Ring’s new Search Party feature is on by default; should you opt out?
              • Ring launches upgraded cameras with Retinal Vision 4K recording
                • What the Guthrie case reveals about your ‘deleted’ doorbell footage 
                  • FBI releases recovered footage from Nancy Guthrie’s Nest cam 
                    • OpenAI’s first hardware slips to 2027
                      • OpenAI’s supposedly ‘leaked’ Super Bowl ad with ear buds and a shiny orb was a hoax 
                        • Two more xAI co-founders are among those leaving after the SpaceX merger 
                          • OpenAI reportedly disbanded its Mission Alignment team
                            • OpenAI fired exec who opposed ‘adult mode’ 
                              • Read an Anthropic AI safety lead's exit letter: 'The world is in peril'
                                • Opinion | I Left My Job at OpenAI. Putting Ads on ChatGPT Was the Last Straw.
                                  •  What Is Claude? Anthropic Doesn’t Know, Either
                                    • ChatGPT’s cheapest options now show you ads 
                                      • Here are the brands bringing ads to ChatGPT 
                                        • Claude gets more free features to capitalize on ChatGPT ads
                                          • Ex-OpenAI researcher has “deep reservations” about its approach to ads
                                            • Brendan Carr is a Dummy theme submitted by Michiel Vanhoudt on BlueSky
                                              • FTC says it’s ‘not the speech police’ in letter warning Apple News about its alleged promotion of left-leaning outlets
                                                • Ferrari’s first EV will have an interior designed by Jony Ive 
                                                  • Here’s what the Ferrari Luce’s buttons, switches, and knobs sound like.
                                                    • The early reviews of the Rivian R2 are starting to roll in
                                                      • Live Nation’s monopoly trial is reportedly fracturing Trump’s Justice Department 
                                                        • YouTube is coming to the Apple Vision Pro
                                                          • Apple keeps hitting bumps with its overhauled Siri 
                                                            • The iPhone 17e could launch soon with MagSafe and an A19 chip 
                                                              • Apple might let you use ChatGPT from CarPlay 
                                                                • Paramount ups its offer for Warner Bros. Discovery, again
                                                                • Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11.

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