Tech Talk

In this episode, Matt Armitage and Richard Bradbury dive headfirst into the chaotic world of AI and tech in 2025. From Elon Musk’s launch of the Grok AI app to growing concerns over censorship on X (formerly Twitter), the conversation takes a dark turn with the shocking story of a domestic terrorist using AI to plan a deadly attack. They unpack how extremists are exploiting AI tools, the troubling rise of far-right networks like Terrorgram, and the ethical minefield of moderating AI-generated content.

The hosts also explore the existential risks of AI, featuring Geoffrey Hinton’s chilling prediction about humanity’s future, and OpenAI’s shift toward profit with its new Public Benefit Corporation. Is AI innovation spiraling out of control? Can tech companies balance growth with responsibility?

2025. It’s all AI, all of the time. Unfortunately.

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Richard Bradbury and Matt Armitage dive headfirst into the chaos of the new year, exploring the decidedly non-sleepy shifts in tech, politics, and society. From the explosive rise of Bitcoin hitting $100k and the ripple effects of Trump's crypto-friendly stance, to Elon Musk's DOGE department and the memecoin degeneracy that's reshaping financial narratives, it's anything but a slow start to 2025.

With the unfolding scandal surrounding the PayPal owned browser extension Honey, they examine the phenomenon of affiliate link hijacking and selective discounting and wonder: Is it a breach of trust or just business as usual?

Meta’s plans to streamline its factchecking operation get a literal short shrift before the pair reflects on the emerging “Clean Slate" trend in newsrooms. A right to forget movement in the U.S., it offers the chance for people to remove the records of minor crimes from digital archives. Should the internet be allowed to forget? Join them as they weigh the ethical, social, and technological implications of this contentious issue.

It’s the Mattsplained version of a Happy New Year to all.

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Malaysia’s palm oil sector faces rising costs, labour dependency, and sustainability challenges. AIREI, steps up with the first AI-driven smart palm oil mill. It integrates advanced sensors, AI-powered CCTV, and predictive maintenance to tackle inefficiencies and cut carbon emissions. On Tech Talk today, Surendran Kuranadan, Founder and CEO of AIREI, shares how this innovation is redefining efficiency, sustainability, and Malaysia’s role in the global agriculture industry.

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Staring the apocalypse in the eye, Richard Bradbury and Matt Armitage dissect the highs and lows technology, science and culture in 2024. There’s the obligatory explosion of AI, NVIDIA's trillion-dollar triumph, and the cyber-insecurity chaos that has plagued the year.

There are upsides too, as they memorialize mind-blowing scientific discoveries, like how humans age in bursts and the surprising versatility of new medications. They revisit to head-scratching world of DNA computing, the benefits of stranding astronauts and the strange rise of prebunking.

It's a Happy New Year from MattSplained and a ‘see you in the wreckage’ of 2025.

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Artificial intelligence is revolutionising the financial services industry, but with great innovation comes great responsibility. On this episode of Tech Talk, we explore the challenges and opportunities of implementing ethical AI in a sector where trust and transparency are paramount.

We examine the complexities of AI governance, discussing how financial institutions can tackle bias, ensure transparency, and build frameworks that keep pace with evolving regulations. We’ll also look at how public-private collaborations can strengthen AI ecosystems, balance innovation with security, and embed sustainability into AI initiatives.

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Rich Bradbury and Matt Armitage take a much-needed break from doom-scrolling to celebrate some of the best things technology has ever done.

As befitting a pair of uber geeks, there’s a love letter to the Internet, a passionate defense of spectacles, and Rich’s solo swim in the waters of gaming.

They also dissect their biggest tech disappointments, from the unfulfilled promises of space travel to the stagnation of smartphones. And the need for temperature-regulating clothing!

Lastly, they gaze into their crystal balls (or maybe just their smartphone screens) and give Cyber Santa a wish list that includes talking to animals, 15-minute cities, personalized health care and, of course, Matt as a Battle Bot.

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On this episode of Tech Talk, we’re joined by Khalil Nooh, Co-Founder and CEO of Mesolitica, a Malaysian startup at the forefront of developing large language models (LLMs), who have recently built MaLLaM, a generative AI LLM specifically designed to understand and process local linguistic nuances like slangs, colloquialisms, and diverse dialects. The LLM is focused on Bahasa Malaysia and 16 other regional languages which is said to transform industries across the country.

We’ll dive into the technical intricacies behind MaLLaM, which has been trained on nearly 200 billion tokens from 197 datasets of Malay-specific content. Khalil will also discuss how this powerful LLM is already revolutionizing AI applications in customer service, content generation, and data analysis. Plus, we’ll explore the challenges of embedding cultural relevance into AI systems, and Mesolitica’s exciting plans for the future as they continue to enhance MaLLaM.

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This week Rich Bradbury and Matt Armitage explore one of the latest developments in disaster relief: the cyborg cockroach army. Fitted with electrodes, antennae and battery packs, semi-autonomous insect cyborgs could help to reach people under buildings and structures flattened by natural disasters.

Those same insects are on the menu as the pair journeys to Mars to uncover what could be new forms of life under the planet’s surface. And discuss the possibility of humans becoming Martians too, as they debate the challenges of surviving on the Red Planet. From toxic soil and cosmic radiation to the psychological impact of living in a confined habitat, what would the reality of living in Elon Musk’s mooted Marstopian paradise be like?

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We spotlight Dr. Kong Xin Ying, the only Malaysian honoured with the 2024 MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 (TR35) Asia Pacific Award. Dr. Kong’s groundbreaking work in sustainable energy and environmental remediation has turned heads globally, as she pioneers methods to upcycle plastic waste into valuable chemicals and fuels within a single day.

We explore how her research, which combines cutting-edge catalysts and photocatalytic upcycling techniques, is addressing plastic pollution and advancing sustainable energy solutions. Dr. Kong also shares insights into her journey as a scientist, her recent recognition as one of the World’s Top 2% Scientists, and her upcoming collaboration with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

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Matt Armitage and Richard Bradbury dive into the chaotic world of modern music and content creation. From the staggering rise of independent artists to the murky waters of copyright theft, they explore how technology is reshaping creativity—and the challenges that come with it.

From cheap music-making tools to AI that literally places your voice in some of the world’s biggest hits, there are now more than 75 million independent music creators around the world.

But as we enter the Brolocene, an age of aggression and contemptuous content theft, a new breed of scammer is emerging. One that pilfers, reuses and monetizes the work of content creators with large enough audiences to steal from, but who they gamble are too small to fight back.

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