This Week in Tech 1082: Hanging by a Thread

Big Tech is pouring hundreds of billions into AI, but with rising signs of an industry bubble and some real-world fallout, this week's episode digs into who actually wins, who stands to lose, and whether Apple's patient strategy may outsmart the hype.

• Big Tech firms beat earnings expectations amid AI spending questions • RIP the $599 Mac Mini, you were too beautiful for this world • Microsoft lifts 2026 AI spend by $25 billion to cover component price rises • Microsoft speeds up in Big Tech's data center spend-off • Crosswording the Situation • Meta's historic loss in court could cost a lot more than $375 million • Utah first state to hold websites liable for users who mask their location with VPNs — law goes into effect, designed to prevent bypassing age checks • Australia unveils a 2.25% levy on Meta, Google, and TikTok • Meta found in breach of EU law for failing to keep children off Facebook and Instagram • Meta inks deal for solar power at night, beamed from space • Musk v. Altman week 1: Elon Musk says he was duped, warns AI could kill us all, and admits that xAI distills OpenAI's models • OpenAI-backed 1X opens California factory targeting 10,000 home humanoid robots in year one • Sam Altman asked GPT-5.5 to plan its own launch party. Its requests were 'beautiful' but 'strange.' • Sam Altman says Elon Musk can come to his GPT 5.5 party: 'World needs more love' • The US Senate unanimously passed a rule barring senators from trading on prediction markets like • Kalshi and Polymarket, amid rising concern over insider trading • 'We Know You Live Right Here': No Secrets in America's New Surveillance Dragnet • California to begin ticketing driverless cars that violate traffic laws • China Suspends New Autonomous Driving Permits After Baidu Outage • China has decided that firing a worker because an AI can do their job is illegal. No Western country has done the same. • Maryland Is First to Ban A.I.-Driven Price Increases in Grocery Stores • The most severe Linux threat to surface in years catches the world flat-footed • Hackers are actively exploiting a bug in cPanel, used by millions of websites • The Hottest Anti-AI Gadget Is a Cyberdeck • Jack Dorsey-backed Vine reboot Divine launches to the public • GameStop eyes eBay takeover in audacious $46 billion bet on Ryan Cohen's e-commerce vision • AI-generated actors and scripts are now ineligible for Oscars • Ukraine says it's training drone pilots in 'Grand Theft Auto V' • This free website is like Wikipedia meets the CIA • Light Phone III Is a Delightfully Minimalist Smartphone Alternative • Valve Steam Controller is here, it's a gamepad in search of a console • Bluetooth Connected - The Voices Behind the Connection • Spirit Airlines shuts down after Trump's war on Iran doubled jet fuel prices • Ask.com has shut down, marking the official farewell to the Internet's favorite butler • Pioneering geneticist and decoder of the human genome J. Craig Venter dies at age 79

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Nicholas De Leon, Devindra Hardawar, and Mikah Sargent

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:

helixsleep.com/twit canary.tools/twit - use code: TWIT Melissa.com/twit expressvpn.com/twit box.com/AI