March 15, 2026

This Week in Tech 1075: The Commonwealth Club

2 hours 55 minutes

From "gainfully employed robots" to AI that accidentally ruins lives, this week's conversation unpacks the real-world fallout of futuristic promises. Leo, JPT, Iain, and Richard tackle energy sources, social media effects, tech layoffs, and the algorithms quietly taking charge.

Meta is planning sweeping layoffs as AI costs mount

Meta Said to Push Back Launch of Avocado Model

Social media addiction trial: the plaintiff, Meta, and YouTube make closing arguments; jurors begin deliberations Friday on liability for harm to children

Trump administration will reportedly get $10 billion for brokering the TikTok deal

Bluesky CEO Jay Graber will step aside

Digg's open beta shuts down after just two months, blaming AI bot spam

X says it suspended 800 million accounts in 2024 over spam and manipulation

Fake AI Content About the Iran War Is All Over X

Musk admits xAI 'not built right' — weeks after Tesla invested $2 billion

Nvidia Is Planning to Launch an Open-Source AI Agent Platform

Amazon Wins Court Order To Block Perplexity's AI Shopping Bots

Social Security watchdog investigating claims that DOGE engineer copied its databases

DOGE Deposition Videos Taken Down After Judge Order and Widespread Mockery

U.S. State Bans on Lab-Grown Meats Challenged in Court

Easy-to-use solar panels are coming, but utilities are trying to delay them

EcoFlow brings its plug-in solar power plant to US homes (related to the plug-in solar story)

TerraPower gets permit to build reactor

Ex-Uber CEO Kalanick Debuts Plan for 'Gainfully Employed Robots'

Tennessee grandmother jailed after AI facial recognition error links her to fraud

Justice Department and Live Nation Reach Settlement Terms in Antitrust Case

Palantir CEO Makes Shocking Confession on Disrupting Democratic Power

Palantir's lethal AI weaponry deployed to find chairs for US government staff

How Pokémon Go is giving delivery robots an inch-perfect view of the world

'Flying Cars' Will Take Off in American Skies This Summer

YouTube surpasses Disney, Paramount, WBD in 2025 ad revenue

Ig Nobel Prize flees US for Switzerland after 35 years over safety concerns

Swiss e-voting can't count 2,048 ballots after USB keys fail to decrypt them

Tony Hoare, Turing Award-Winning Computer Scientist Behind QuickSort, Dies At 92

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Iain Thomson, Richard Campbell, and Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech

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View all episodes

By TWiT

3.6

1616 ratings

March 15, 2026

This Week in Tech 1075: The Commonwealth Club

2 hours 55 minutes

Meta is planning sweeping layoffs as AI costs mount

Meta Said to Push Back Launch of Avocado Model

Social media addiction trial: the plaintiff, Meta, and YouTube make closing arguments; jurors begin deliberations Friday on liability for harm to children

Trump administration will reportedly get $10 billion for brokering the TikTok deal

Bluesky CEO Jay Graber will step aside

Digg's open beta shuts down after just two months, blaming AI bot spam

X says it suspended 800 million accounts in 2024 over spam and manipulation

Fake AI Content About the Iran War Is All Over X

Musk admits xAI 'not built right' — weeks after Tesla invested $2 billion

Nvidia Is Planning to Launch an Open-Source AI Agent Platform

Amazon Wins Court Order To Block Perplexity's AI Shopping Bots

Social Security watchdog investigating claims that DOGE engineer copied its databases

DOGE Deposition Videos Taken Down After Judge Order and Widespread Mockery

U.S. State Bans on Lab-Grown Meats Challenged in Court

Easy-to-use solar panels are coming, but utilities are trying to delay them

EcoFlow brings its plug-in solar power plant to US homes (related to the plug-in solar story)

TerraPower gets permit to build reactor

Ex-Uber CEO Kalanick Debuts Plan for 'Gainfully Employed Robots'

Tennessee grandmother jailed after AI facial recognition error links her to fraud

Justice Department and Live Nation Reach Settlement Terms in Antitrust Case

Palantir CEO Makes Shocking Confession on Disrupting Democratic Power

Palantir's lethal AI weaponry deployed to find chairs for US government staff

How Pokémon Go is giving delivery robots an inch-perfect view of the world

'Flying Cars' Will Take Off in American Skies This Summer

YouTube surpasses Disney, Paramount, WBD in 2025 ad revenue

Ig Nobel Prize flees US for Switzerland after 35 years over safety concerns

Swiss e-voting can't count 2,048 ballots after USB keys fail to decrypt them

Tony Hoare, Turing Award-Winning Computer Scientist Behind QuickSort, Dies At 92

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Iain Thomson, Richard Campbell, and Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech

Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!

Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Sponsors:

expressvpn.com/twit

preview.modulate.ai

monarch.com with code TWIT

spaceship.com/twit

threatlocker.com/twit

...more

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