March 28, 2025

690: An Insult to Life Itself

This week on Grumpy Old Geeks: Dunning-Kruger takes the spotlight, Elon’s approval sinks, TikTok tries to stay patriotic, 23andMe files for bankruptcy, and Napster rises again. Plus, AI, security chaos, and more!

Show Notes

This week on Grumpy Old Geeks we kick off with a refreshing reminder that the Dunning-Kruger Effect is alive, well, and apparently running the show—especially when it comes to everyone’s least favorite tech overlord. Elon’s approval rating is cratering while experts warn he could blow a hole in federal spending; war plans are accidentally texted and top U.S. officials’ passwords are found online because security theater is now performance art; 23andMe files for bankruptcy as users rush to delete their genetic breadcrumbs; TikTok attempts a patriotic glow-up to stay alive in the U.S.; OpenAI admits trying to make chatbots honest only turns them into bigger liars, while MIT research shows lonely users are emotionally clinging to ChatGPT like it’s Wilson from Cast Away; Amazon wants the Consumer Product Safety Commission erased like a bad Yelp review; sanctions lift on Tornado Cash while Trump’s favorite crypto bank launches its own stablecoin; the Twitter bird sells for $34K and Tesla freezes its autopilot test in China; AMC screens a Swedish film “visually dubbed” by AI, while a director fights YouTube takedowns of TPB-AFK; hacker docs like Citizen Four, We Are Legion, and The Internet’s Own Boy dominate our discontented summer watchlist; gadgets include the AirFly Pro 2 for inflight headphone sanity and Consent-O-Matic for click fatigue relief; Napster rises from the grave for $207 million; and we wrap with John Scalzi, Cory Doctorow, Srdja Popovic, and the undead return of KISS—because retirement is just a suggestion.

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Show notes at https://gog.show/690

FOLLOW UP

Dunning-Kruger Effect

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IN THE NEWS

The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans

Private Data and Passwords of Senior U.S. Security Officials Found Online

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