Today in Tech

Apple announced its augmented reality headset, the Vision Pro, at its Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC). But at $3,500, the heavy price tag limits a potential audience and use cases are hard to define beyond entertainment and gaming. Keith is joined by Ramon Llamas, research director at IDC; Michael Simon, editor of Macworld; and Jonny Evans, a Computerworld columnist who covers Apple, to discuss the Vision Pro and its features, along with other WWDC announcements. 

The dynamics between employees and employers continues to swing back and forth in the face of massive layoffs, hiring and staffing shortages, and return-to-office mandates. How can employers become better at creating an environment where employees feel engaged? Does technology solutions help or hurt with improving morale? We chat with Joe Mull, author of the book “Employalty: How to Ignite Commitment and Keep Top Talent in the New Age of Work” about these and other employee/employer issues.

Guest:

Joe Mull, the author of three books and the founder of the BossBetter Leadership Academy. His most recent book is titled “Employalty: How to Ignite Commitment and Keep Top Talent in the New Age of Work.” 

While companies like NVIDIA generate more products to accelerate the usage of artificial intelligence by other companies, AI scientists and other leaders continue to warn about the potential dangers of the technology. Also, why Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard centers around cloud gaming’s future and its most popular game, Call of Duty.

To help raise awareness about the types of tools hackers are using to eavesdrop or break into different systems, we chat with Etay Maor, an adjunct professor of cybersecurity at Boston College and an industry-recognized cybersecurity researcher. Knowing some of these tricks can help consumers and other professionals better secure their homes and offices. 

Guest:

Etay Maor, adjunct professor of cybersecurity at Boston College, and industry-recognized cybersecurity researcher. 

The European Union goes after Facebook parent Meta for its data transfer practices, while TikTok takes on Montana’s ban of the social media service. Keith and Chris also catch up on other technology news of recent weeks, including more AI image foolery.

At the Google I/O event, new artificial intelligence tools take center stage, along with some hardware updates for its phones and tablets. Also: electric vehicles get some good news about electric infrastructure (but are the numbers accurate?); and companies continue to struggle with office space vacancies.

Companies are discovering that technology platforms that supported work-from-home employees are now potentially hindering them as workers move to a hybrid or return-to-the-office environment. Keith chats with Lauren Izaks, COO of All Points PR, about how companies can navigate new workplace challenges with technologies (and which technology to avoid or reconsider). 

Artificial intelligence tools continue to disrupt different facets of life, and it could affect how TV shows and movies in the future are created (and paid for). Keith and Chris discuss the AI influence in the writer’s guild strike, as well as if it has already disrupted Apple’s augmented reality offering before it even was announced. 

New and interesting use cases continue to develop for ChatGPT and other generative AI tools, while one of the early pioneers of artificial intelligence comes out against the technology. Is this a case where future AI will be like the Jedi – having a light and dark side? Keith and Chris discuss the latest developments in AI, as well as other technology news topics.

Looking back at some big technology news in the past week, Keith and Chris discuss the impact of the U.K. rejecting Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, how space mishaps may affect future space exploration, and what GM’s decision to end production of the Chevy Bolt will mean for the EV market.