This Week in Tech with Jeanne Destro

The biggest story in tech this week, is also about what may well go down as one of the nation's biggest security breaches of all time.

Nvidia CEO, Jensen Huang resigned yesterday, after it was revealed he had an affair with a customer who  illegally diverted advanced microchips to China, and who was also likely a Chinese spy.

The fact that he also had an adulterous relationship with one of his employees was another nail in the career coffin of a US tech titan whose products not only power the development and operation of AI, but are also vital to the strength and stability of the US economy, and national security.

But there's more.

Huang was one of President Trump's closest tech allies, and reports surfaced this week that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Trump twice over the past year that Huang was having a fling with a spy, and not only did Trump brush it off; he actually took Huang on a trade mission to China, after he had been informed that the man was compromised.

Another big story we're following, is a wave of ongoing cyberattacks, likely sponsored by Iran, that have changed the temperature controls of internet-connected freezers at grocery stores in Europe, and even at military bases here in the US, causing millions of dollars of food to spoil, and go to waste.

This alarming attack on food supplies is causing enough concern, that both British and US authorities are urging citizens to stock up on at least 72 hours worth of emergency supplies, like non-perishable food, water, gasoline, and more.

Listen now for our report, featuring interviews with Dr. Karl Kaltenthaler, who Directs the University of Akron's Michael J. Morrell Center for Intelligence and Security Studies, as well as former Agent in Charge of the FBI's New York office, Richard Frankel.

The Blue "tsunami" that washed across America on Tuesday, sweeping Republicans out of office in even what had previously been considered "safe" strongholds, such as Texas, Kansas, South Carolina, and Ohio, led to a massive downturn in Tech stocks on Wall Street, yesterday.

While at first there had been some investor euphoria on Wednesday, on hopes that at least with a divided Congress–instead of one completely dominated by Republicans–there might be some hope for less regulation while the two sides bickered.

But, by yesterday; that hope apparently fizzled, and investors rushed to sell off tech stocks, on concerns that AI and data center regulation may indeed be on the way, now that Democrats will make up a majority in both houses of Congress, and many previously "red" state Governorships have also changed hands.

One of those states where the future of data centers is in question, is Ohio, where there are now over 200 of those types of facilities statewide, as a result of efforts over the past 15 years on the part of Republican state leaders who encouraged tech companies to locate here with both property and sales tax incentives.

Listen now, as we explore how data centers became one of the key issues that helped bring Democrat Sherrod Brown back to the US Senate, after beating Republican Jon Husted, who was one of the state officials most identified with trying to bring new jobs to Ohio, by making deals with big tech.

But of course, Ohio is not alone when it comes to those types of efforts, which is why furious voters nationwide pushed back in a big way on Tuesday.

You'll hear all about why they're upset, and what newly elected Democratic politicians in other parts of the country are saying they want to do about it.

As we celebrate Halloween this weekend; we're having some fun exploring spooky technology.

From AI that could one day kill us al, to the popular resurgence of "dead" media formats, like VHS, DVD, CD, and even cassettes; we've got tales from the tech crypt this week that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

We'll hear from ABC News about how Anthropic took the next step toward what is believed will be the biggest IPO in history, and also from Jonathan Carmichael, who is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Akron's non-profit Killer Video Museum.

So, sit back, grab your bucket of Halloween candy, (what, doesn't everybody have one?) and listen as we explore the good, the bad, and the just plain scary, on This Week in Tech with Jeanne Destro.

What makes us truly human?

Is it our superior intellect, our scientific discoveries, or our ability to create awe-inspiring works of art, literature, music, and poetry?

What if it is all of the above, but somehow; we no longer possess superior intellect, and our creative output has been surpassed by super-intelligent machines? What if, in the age of AI; we have become irrelevant, mundane, and nothing more than sweaty, profane, meat puppets dancing on marionette strings manipulated by tech titans in Silicon Valley and beyond?

What if our future is the dark sequel to this 1961 Twilight Zone episode, "The Obsolete Man"?

Well, we can't know "what if" today, but what we do know, is that creative human beings are pushing back against the AI overlords, and that's what we're talking about today.

Listen now, as we explore Spotify's new effort to remove AI-generated slop music from its platform, and find out how you can participate in an interesting gathering coming up November 12-14 at Kent State University, called "Poets For Science".

It aims to show the connection between what we perceive as the hard, cold, demonstrable truth of science, and the ethereal beauty of soul expressive poetry. It is, as our special guest, Professor David Hassler of Kent State's Wick Poetry Center tells us, "not either/or, but both/and".

Take a journey with us, as we explore what it is to be human in the age of AI.

David Hassler, Kent State

Biography
David Hassler directs the Wick Poetry Center at Kent State University. He is the author of two books of poems, including Red Kimono, Yellow Barn, for which he was awarded Ohio Poet of the Year 2006. He is co-editor of the forthcoming book Speak a Powerful Magic: Ten Years of the Traveling Stanzas Poetry Project, which will be published in March 2019 by the Kent State University Press. His play, May 4th Voices: Kent State, 1970, based on the Kent State Shootings Oral History Project, was published in 2013 by the Kent State University Press along with a Teacher’s Resource Book. A filmed version of the play that he co-produced received the 2014 Oral History Association’s Nonprint Format Award. With photographer Gary Harwood, he is the author of the documentary book titled Growing Season: The Life of a Migrant Community, which received the Ohioana Book Award and the Carter G. Woodson Honor Book Award, and was a finalist for the Great Lakes Book Award. With Maggie Anderson, he is co-editor of Learning by Heart: Contemporary American Poetry About School and After the Bell: Contemporary American Prose About School. He received a B.A. from Cornell University and an M.F.A. from Bowling Green State University. His TEDx talk, “The Conversation of Poetry,” conveys the power of poetry to strengthen communities.

Cybersecurity professionals are always facing new threats, and even with their best efforts; sometimes the bad guys win.

But now, the "bad guys" are not just...you know...actual "guys". Now, they are also AI agents, that according to some of their creators, have at least in some sense; a mind of their own.

Sure, we can quibble about anthropomorphizing AI; but since leaders at both Anthropic and Open AI have come out in the past few weeks admitting they don't have complete control over their models; what we do know is that cyber defense just got much more complicated, and potentially; impossible, without the right tools, and right people who know how to use them against these new "super intelligent" adversaries.

So, that's where today's special guest comes in.

Barrett Busch is a cybersecurity instructor at Stark State College, in North Canton, and we asked him how, in this rapidly changing threat environment; he's working to train students who will soon be our next line of defense.

Listen now.