Episode #25: AI companions (plus live demo), Apple Card savings, and birthday vibes

Rick and Shaun discuss the growing trend of AI companions in this 1st anniversary episode of the podcast. Plus: Apple’s gangster move with Savings, 3D crowns, AI chatbot Pi, & a clunky Strava.

May 15, 2023

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🎙️ Listen to Episode #25 on Spotify

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00:00 Preamble

Your favourite technology podcast is a year old 🎉 Shaun doesn't need an excuse to eat cake, but a birthday episode is a good reason nonetheless. Rick’s big bike ride is coming up, and he is thankfully taking his phone with him. He and his mates will be using Strava to map and measure the route, despite its clunkiness.

03:55 Tempting Tech

Rick's tech of the week is Apple’s Savings account, which is offering an interest rate of 4.14%. That's a healthy rate! Rick thinks Apple is making serious headway into banking that may appeal to anyone with an iPhone who wants to build a nest egg. The Apple Card is still US-only for the time being.
Shaun was impressed with the interactive website the BBC produced for the king's coronation. There's a fair bit of history on display, as well as the 3D crown.

08:55 Tech News

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority said no to Microsoft’s presumptive purchase of Activision Blizzard. This follows a similar stance by the US Federal Trade Commission, which last December sued to block the takeover over similar competition concerns.
Amazon has stopped selling its three Halo products and plans to lay off portions of the Halo team. The Halo bands monitor fitness and sleep, and are in the same market as the Fitbit and Apple Watch.
Sonos and Google are in court over an intellectual property dispute. Sonos says Google infringed two patents related to multi-room wireless audio.
Google users can now log in to their accounts with passkeys instead of passwords. Rick and I discussed passkeys in episode four, so check that out if you’re interested.

Also … A Russian court fines Wikipedia for an article about war in Ukraine, Britain sets out plans to crack down on problem gambling for betting online and on smartphones.

09:47 Can AI companions express empathy and compassion?

In recent years, the field of artificial intelligence has made significant progress in developing machines that can interact with humans in increasingly sophisticated ways. One of the most exciting areas of development in this field is the creation of AI companions – digital assistants designed to provide emotional support, companionship, and even friendship.

In this episode, we'll explore the growing trend of AI companions, including their potential benefits and drawbacks, and whether these digital companions can truly provide the emotional connection that humans crave.

We kick off our discussion by acknowledging that AI companions can only simulate compassion, not be truly compassionate. Does it matter if all we as humans need to hear is the right response to predictable behaviours?

Includes:

A live demo of Pi, which stands for ‘personal AI’. Pi is young. What alternatives are there, and how connected to AI companions can (or should) we become?

35:04 The AI quiz fail

Rick tries unsuccessfully to prompt a decent 80s music quiz out of ChatGPT, much to Shaun's disappointment. It may be able to describe an atomic formula, but it seems to know nothing about Atomic by Blondie 😄

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