TechGrumps

Techgrumps 3.36

• Mozilla, Firefox and AI
  • https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/17/mozillas-new-ceo-says-ai-is-coming-to-firefox-but-will-remain-a-choice/
• The return of smart glasses and wearables
  • https://www.theverge.com/column/797938/optimizer-newsletter-wearable-hell-smart-glasses-smart-rings-ai-hardware
  • https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx23ke7rm7go
• Now at the "Get The F*** Off X/Twitter" stage
  • https://www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safety/illegal-and-harmful-content/ofcom-launches-investigation-into-x-over-grok-sexualised-imagery
• Paper about fake parts of real videos:
  • https://arxiv.org/pdf/2508.21052s
  • https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwygqqll9k2o
• Tony Blair wants to be a Tech Bro, building AI tools to rival Palantir
  • https://democracyforsale.substack.com/p/blair-bids-to-build-own-ai-tools-rival-palantir-tbi
• AOB
  • The AI summary in which a police officer turned into a frog (or in discussion of The Owl Who Was God)
    • https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-police-report-frog
  • Making the familiar strange podcast
    • https://redcircle.com/shows/95190f06-ba12-47ae-9267-4aaa656f4e93
  • Feed in to the future of the BBC
    • https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz94q0v4kq2o
  • FOSDEM 2026!
    • https://fosdem.org/
  • Scanners can tell you that you used a QR code not the barcode

Techgrumps 3.3.5 (Special holiday special)

• Hannah: is grumpy about marketers using "GEO" or "Generative Engine Optimisation"
  • https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/dec/10/is-retail-ready-for-ai-shaking-up-how-we-shop?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
• Ian is grumpy about how social is eroding relationships, causing loneliness and exhaustion
  • https://www.npr.org/2025/12/02/nx-s1-5627156/social-media-digital-detox-depression-anxiety
  • https://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/articles/2025-06-social-media-change-issues-problems-report
  • https://www.noemamag.com/the-last-days-of-social-media/
• Ryan is grumpy about de Reverse Centaur
  • https://pluralistic.net/2025/12/05/pop-that-bubble/#u-washington
  • https://www.reddit.com/r/gifs/comments/1fkf65/this_scene_from_superman_iii_haunted_me_as_a_child/
• Andy is grumpy about lessons learned form Sleep dealer
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wR2XoNshl4&t=527s
  • https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/sleep-dealer-2008-movie-retrospective
  • https://medium.com/nerd-for-tech/are-llms-getting-devious-and-smart-enough-to-trick-you-on-their-own-65c83061e661
• AOB
  • Familiar strangers (not lovegrumps) podcast coming soon
  • FOSDEM 2026
    • https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/
  • Player Me
    • https://readyplayer.me/

Techgrumps 3.34

• Local council cyberattacks
  • https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252526106/Annual-costs-of-Hackney-ransomware-attack-exceed-12m
  • https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y2w43ry5lo
• Planes patches
  • https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gp9d28p74o
• The iOS of Android and the problems
  • https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/11/google-will-let-android-power-users-bypass-upcoming-sideloading-restrictions/
  • https://keepandroidopen.org/
• GraphineOS blocked in France?
  • https://proton.me/blog/grapheneos-france
• The Rise of ChatGPT as an AI Dating Coach in 2025
  • https://www.elle.com/life-love/sex-relationships/a68999668/chatgpt-ai-dating-coach-trend-interview-2025/
• AOBs
  • Look out for a new podcast with Ian & Jess
  • Notes on being a man by Scott Galloway
    • https://bookwyrm.social/book/2149836/s/notes-on-being-a-man
  • Drift Zero DJ - DJ hackday in 2026?
    • https://driftdj.com/
  • NEO's new $20,000 robot servant that has to be operated by a remote human
    • https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2025/10/29/this-20000-neo-robot-will-clean-your-home-but-theres-a-catch-and-its-kind-of-terrifying/

Techgrumps 3.33

• AI browsers, WTF?
  • https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2025/10/31/the-gated-web/
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fountains_of_Paradise
• Amazon goes down, what next?
  • https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2025/10/24/its-always-dns/
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c5y8k7k6v1rt
• Python software foundation rejects DEI strings
  • https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/27/python_foundation_abandons_15m_nsf/
• AOB
  • Mozilla Festival 2025
    • https://www.mozillafestival.org/
  • Enshittification (the book)
    • https://bookwyrm.social/book/1886312/s/enshittification
  • QED
    • https://qedcon.org/
  • Ian talks AI to the health insurances
    • https://amii.org.uk/events/
  • Sir Tim's book - https://bookwyrm.social/book/2087203/s/this-is-for-everyone
  • Is Solid like Zandando? - https://fil.org/ecosystem-explorer/anytype

Techgrums 3.32

• UK Digital ID
  • https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2025/09/26/the-absurdity-card/
• Christie’s has quietly shuttered its digital art department
  • https://news.artnet.com/market/christies-scraps-digital-art-department-2685784
• Age verification and online safety
  • https://www.wired.com/story/vpn-use-spike-age-verification-laws-uk/
• Meshtastic and different networks
  • https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/08/jack_dorsey_debuts_bitchat/https://www.wired.com/story/youre-not-ready-for-phone-dead-zones/
• AOB
  • Digital legacy - https://machinereadablewishes.cc/
  • Fediforum 2025 - https://fediforum.org/ - October 7-8th
  • Ian's digital dating manifesto - https://datingmanifesto.cc/

Techgrumps 3.31

• My wearable says please stand-up
  • https://www.politico.com/newsletters/future-pulse/2025/06/24/rfk-jr-wants-a-wearable-on-your-wrist-00419190
• Switzerland releases a public LLM
  • https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/770646/switzerland-ai-model-llm-open-apertus
• AI is a 4 year trying to impress you with stupid moves
  • https://www.wired.com/story/google-gemini-calendar-invite-hijack-smart-home/
  • https://cubicgarden.com/2025/08/17/a-lesson-in-separation-of-concerns-googles-gemini-hijacked/
  • https://www.extremetech.com/internet/researchers-find-hackers-can-hide-ai-prompt-attacks-in-compressed-images?utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A%20Trending%20Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook
• Hannah meets the Fediverse
  • https://videos.elenarossini.com/w/64VuNCccZNrP4u9MfgbhkN
  • https://youtu.be/p9c2f63pIag?si=UZJWGfsNCfZr6Eq_&t=209
• AOB
  • Fediforum is back for October 7-8
    • https://fediforum.org/
  • Fediforum Europe at SFcon
    • https://www.sfscon.it/programs/2025/
  • Supremacy (AI, ChatGPT, and the Race That Will Change the World) by Parmy Olson
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxL41ew53CE
  • The AI karma
    • https://futurism.com/godfather-ai-ex-broke-up-chatgpt
  • Nvidia CEO says American technology should be the world's technology stack
    • https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nvidia-ceo-jensen-huang-says-us-tech-stack-should-be-global-standard-companies-are-built-on--including-china-003308243.html

• Techgrumps 3.30
  • UK's online safety act requires users to verify their age for adult content
    • VPN usage massively up! - https://mashable.com/article/proton-vpn-uk-age-verification-signups
    • The gated internet - https://reason.com/2025/07/28/the-age-gated-internet-is-here/
    • https://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/the-great-british-firewall-age-verification-has-failed/
  • What happened to hobbies?
    • https://youtu.be/OLQkNUjQPUo?si=M3b4wArK8ztUN3bu
  • Any other business
    • Empires of AI - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_of_AI
    • John Oliver on AI Slop - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWpg1RmzAbc
    • Silicon Valley's sudden embrace of Christianity - https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/christianity-was-borderline-illegal-in-silicon-valley-now-its-the-new-religion
    • Open rights group hits 20 years! - https://www.openrightsgroup.org/events/org-at-20-cory-doctorow-in-conversation-with-maria-farrell/
    • Derailed: The Story of HS2 - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002fv8b
      • Kate Lamble investigates the extraordinary inside story of Britain's most ambitious and controversial rail project.

Techgrumps 3.29

• The Fediverse and Bluesky
  • https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2025/06/27/revival/
• World Orb launches in the UK
  • https://eandt.theiet.org/2025/06/09/sam-altmans-eyeball-scanning-device-designed-tell-humans-bots-arrives-uk
  • https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-66128111
• AI Boyfriends
  • https://www.forbes.com/sites/cathyhackl/2025/06/23/confessions-of-a-futurist-i-dated-four-a
  • https://shows.acast.com/metaverse-marketing/episodes/dating-ai-loving-human-exploring-ai-relationships-metas-new
• AOBs
  • Titan: the OceanGate Disaster = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35628853/
  • Mountain Head - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35396529/
  • BBC R&D's Social research - https://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/articles/2025-06-social-media-change-issues-problems-report
  • The Bookworm and the Fireflies has launched - https://thebookwormandthefireflies.com/

Techgrumps 3.28

• AI chatbots lie saying they are licensed therapists
• Open letter to Keir Starmer about technological sovereignty
• Self-hosting is Sovereignty?
  • AOB
    • Andor
    • Dr Who
    • F You Very Much: Understanding the Culture of Rudeness
    • Fediforum 2025
    • PublicSpaces conference 2025
    • ToS for Starlink

Techgrumps

• Can't remove the Meta AI button from WhatsApp
• NAS DRM on hard drives?
• The Vatican guide to AI
• Digital Legacy and victim sentencing
• GDS playbook for AI
• Ryans Enshittification corner
  • Duolingo flys too close to the sun
  • Discord looking to IPO
• AOB (any other business)
  • Surveillance tips for protesters
  • So you want to be a dissident
  • EFF tips
  • RFKjr wants to test vaccines against a placebo.
  • Mozilla Festival 2025
  • Republica 2025 - Six feet under the data centre
  • Dungeon Crawler Carl, Project Hail Mary, and Murderbot