What is the uncanny valley? What causes that feeling of uneasiness we get when we see certain robots or CGI characters? What makes them creepy?

What is the uncanny valley? What causes that feeling of uneasiness we get when we see certain robots or CGI characters? What makes them creepy?

TechStuff is getting a system update. Everything you love about Tech Stuff now twice the bandwidth with new hosts, Oz Woloshyn (Sleepwalkers) and Karah Preiss (Sleepwalkers). 

Oz and Karah bring humour and wit to the table as they break down what's happening in tech...and what it says about us. 

TechStuff is the podcast where technology meets culture. 

We speak to the folks building the future to understand what tomorrow will look like and how our technology is changing us: how we live, how we love, how we work and even how we die. With a healthy dose of drama, too, as tech titans clash over their interstellar ambitions. 

Get in touch here: techstuffpodcast@gmail.com

TechStuff is getting a system update. Everything you love about Tech Stuff now twice the bandwidth with new hosts, Oz Woloshyn (Sleepwalkers) and Karah Preiss (Sleepwalkers).&nbsp;
Oz and Karah bring humour and wit to the table as they break down what's happening in tech...and what it says about us.&nbsp;
TechStuff is the podcast where technology meets culture.&nbsp;
We speak to the folks building the future to understand what tomorrow will look like and how our technology is changing us: how we live, how we love, how we work and even how we die. With a healthy dose of drama, too, as tech titans clash over their interstellar ambitions.&nbsp;
Get in touch here:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:techstuffpodcast@gmail.com" data-stringify-link="mailto:techstuffpodcast@gmail.com" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-haspopup="menu">techstuffpodcast@gmail.com</a>

TechStuff

TechStuff is getting a system update. Everything you love about TechStuff now twice the bandwidth with new hosts, Oz Woloshyn (Sleepwalkers) and Karah Preiss (Sleepwalkers) 

Oz and Karah bring humour and wit to the table as they break down what's happening in tech...and what it says about us. 

TechStuff is the podcast where technology meets culture. 

We speak to the folks building the future to understand what tomorrow will look like and how our technology is changing us: how we live, how we love, how we work and even how we die. With a healthy dose of drama, too, as tech titans clash over their interstellar ambitions. 

 

TechStuff is getting a system update. Everything you love about TechStuff now twice the bandwidth with new hosts, Oz Woloshyn (Sleepwalkers) and Karah Preiss (Sleepwalkers)&nbsp;
Oz and Karah bring humour and wit to the table as they break down what's happening in tech...and what it says about us.&nbsp;
TechStuff is the podcast where technology meets culture.&nbsp;
We speak to the folks building the future to understand what tomorrow will look like and how our technology is changing us: how we live, how we love, how we work and even how we die. With a healthy dose of drama, too, as tech titans clash over their interstellar ambitions.&nbsp;
&nbsp;

TechStuff Tidbits: Exploring the Uncanny Valley

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/3f4a01bb-0c3d-4d03-9d89-af3a013ff634/transcript

Should LLMs monitor crime? This week, Oz tells us why the US pharmaceutical industry may have competition… and why we’ve yet to see a flood of new products from AI drug discovery companies. Then, Karah explains how a telecommunications company is feeding recordings of inmate phone calls into LLMs that can then monitor future calls for planned crimes. Also, the UK government wants to cross-reference CCTV footage with the passport photo database, there’s a new self-made female billionaire in town — the youngest yet — and the newest billion dollar company sells blueberries the size of golf balls. And then, on Chat and Me, a deep fake interview has international consequences. 

ADDITIONAL READING: 
Art Basel show by Beeple has realistic Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg robot dogs pooping NFTs | Page Six  
Why is AI struggling to discover new drugs? | Financial Times 
Will the next blockbuster drug come from China? | Financial Times 
An AI model trained on prison phone calls now looks for planned crimes in those calls | MIT Technology Review 
Live facial recognition cameras planned for every town centre | Telegraph
Kalshi’s Cofounder Is Now World’s Youngest Self-Made Woman Billionaire | Forbes 
Ray Dalio is backing a $1 billion blueberry unicorn that sells berries nearly the size of golf balls | Fortune

Should LLMs monitor crime? This week, Oz tells us why the US pharmaceutical industry may have competition&hellip; and why we&rsquo;ve yet to see a flood of new products from AI drug discovery companies. Then, Karah explains how a telecommunications company is feeding recordings of inmate phone calls into LLMs that can then monitor future calls for planned crimes. Also, the UK government wants to cross-reference CCTV footage with the passport photo database, there&rsquo;s a new self-made female billionaire in town &mdash; the youngest yet &mdash; and the newest billion dollar company sells blueberries the size of golf balls. And then, on Chat and Me, a deep fake interview has international consequences.&nbsp;
ADDITIONAL READING:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://pagesix.com/2025/12/03/society/beeples-regular-animals-has-billionaire-robots-at-basel/">Art Basel show by Beeple has realistic Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg robot dogs pooping NFTs | Page Six</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/9a8aee4e-9cf6-4bb3-b7ea-d95ddd0d5e79">Why is AI struggling to discover new drugs? | Financial Times</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/3bfe96d3-593c-498a-9da4-0c1ed359ff74?accessToken=zwAGRToLVsqokc87_pbTWTxJitOdpAwe01n_dA.MEYCIQDIJ14mrs5RV2stI85Y8udA5NhUKryXTCDkE_9oxV92kwIhANsT-GDnKpfCv6d0c1qQb-BMODluZGOIgoRGyOlb0T1v&amp;sharetype=gift&amp;token=7ee383e8-31b0-4444-90b9-39c40ad70a12">Will the next blockbuster drug come from China? | Financial Times</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/01/1128591/an-ai-model-trained-on-prison-phone-calls-is-now-being-used-to-surveil-inmates/?utm_source=Iterable&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter-20251204">An AI model trained on prison phone calls now looks for planned crimes in those calls | MIT Technology Review</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/12/04/live-facial-recognition-cameras-planned-for-every-town-cent/">Live facial recognition cameras planned for every town centre | Telegraph</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/aliciapark/2025/12/02/how-kalshis-luana-lopes-lara-cofounder-went-from-professional-ballerina-to-worlds-youngest-self-made-woman-billionaire/">Kalshi&rsquo;s Cofounder Is Now World&rsquo;s Youngest Self-Made Woman Billionaire | Forbes</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li><a href="https://fortune.com/2025/11/04/ray-dalio-fruitist-steve-magami-caleb-williams-investing-giant-blueberries/">Ray Dalio is backing a $1 billion blueberry unicorn that sells berries nearly the size of golf balls | Fortune</a></li>
</ul>

Week In Tech: Would You Rather Live in a World with No Privacy or No Crime?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/9d9860d9-70e2-4108-ba37-b3b10020b212/transcript

What does the death of restaurants look like? Ellen Cushing, staff writer for The Atlantic, joins Karah to talk about the rise of delivery apps and the fall of the in-person dining experience. They discuss how delivery apps became part of the millennial lifestyle subsidy, how they reshaped what’s on the menu, and why this feels all too similar to what’s happening to movie theaters. 

What does the death of restaurants look like? Ellen Cushing, staff writer for The Atlantic, joins Karah to talk about the rise of delivery apps and the fall of the in-person dining experience. They discuss how delivery apps became part of the millennial lifestyle subsidy, how they reshaped what&rsquo;s on the menu, and why this feels all too similar to what&rsquo;s happening to movie theaters.&nbsp;

The Story: The Death of Dining In

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/d6ab41f5-4ab3-4d1a-8630-b3af0030fef9/transcript

Is unplugging from your phone the ultimate luxury? This week, Oz introduces us to the businesses that specialize in “dimming the sun” and Karah introduces us to “LinkedIn Face.” Polymarket’s bets lead to disinformation about Russia’s war with Ukraine. 23andMe reveals secret families — and secret inheritances. And Oz and Karah almost cry over the latest invention from Japan: a human washing machine. Finally, we celebrate ChatGPT’s 3rd birthday (and possible decline) with Axios technology reporter, Megan Morrone. 

If you’ve used a chatbot in an unusual or surprising way, send us a 1–2 minute voice note at techstuffpodcast@gmail.com.

Additional Reading: 
Being hot is now a job requirement - Business Insider 
Climate Geoengineering: Dimming the Sun Is a Terrifying New Industry COP30 - Bloomberg  
What Really Happened in the Storm Clouds Over Dubai? - Bloomberg 
How Unplugging Became Luxury’s Most Valuable Currency - Vogue Business
'Unauthorized' Edit to Ukraine's Frontline Maps Point to Polymarket's War Betting - 404 Media 
Japan Launches Human Washing Machine For Public Use After Expo Success -NDTV
They Found Relatives on 23andMe and Asked For A Cut of the Inheritance - WSJ

Is unplugging from your phone the ultimate luxury? This week, Oz introduces us to the businesses that specialize in &ldquo;dimming the sun&rdquo; and Karah introduces us to &ldquo;LinkedIn Face.&rdquo; Polymarket&rsquo;s bets lead to disinformation about Russia&rsquo;s war with Ukraine. 23andMe reveals secret families &mdash; and secret inheritances. And Oz and Karah almost cry over the latest invention from Japan: a human washing machine. Finally, we celebrate ChatGPT&rsquo;s 3rd birthday (and possible decline) with Axios technology reporter, Megan Morrone.&nbsp;
If you&rsquo;ve used a chatbot in an unusual or surprising way, send us a 1&ndash;2 minute voice note at <a href="mailto:techstuffpodcast@gmail.com">techstuffpodcast@gmail.com</a>.
Additional Reading:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/getting-hot-job-requirement-ozempic-botox-looksmaxxing-2025-11">Being hot is now a job requirement - Business Insider</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2025-11-20/climate-geoengineering-dimming-the-sun-is-a-terrifying-new-industry-cop30">Climate Geoengineering: Dimming the Sun Is a Terrifying New Industry COP30 - Bloomberg</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2025-dubai-storm-floods-cloud-seeding-geoengineering/">What Really Happened in the Storm Clouds Over Dubai? - Bloomberg</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/how-unplugging-became-luxurys-most-valuable-currency?_sp=7eaa5855-aa4a-4c41-a149-4b1e2b869e27.1764617395808">How Unplugging Became Luxury&rsquo;s Most Valuable Currency - Vogue Business</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.404media.co/unauthorized-edit-to-ukraines-frontline-maps-point-to-polymarkets-war-betting/">'Unauthorized' Edit to Ukraine's Frontline Maps Point to Polymarket's War Betting - 404 Media</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/japan-launches-human-washing-machine-for-public-use-after-expo-success-9721446/amp/1?utm_source=join1440&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_placement=newsletter&amp;user_id=66c4c251600ae150758f3b88">Japan Launches Human Washing Machine For Public Use After Expo Success -NDTV</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/they-found-relatives-on-23andmeand-asked-for-a-cut-of-the-inheritance-251e5f4c?st=G62Ejw&amp;reflink=article_copyURL_share">They Found Relatives on 23andMe and Asked For A Cut of the Inheritance - WSJ</a></li>
</ul>

Week in Tech: Should Tech Bros Dim the Sun?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/cabd8f62-05c6-4d94-a62a-b3aa00356e8c/transcript

TechStuff Tidbits: Exploring the Uncanny Valley

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