S11E12 – Best Inventions, Self-Driving and Right to Repair

Episode Summary

Mike and co-host Howard spent most of this show on conversation rather than news. They started with the large rocket explosion that week, then asked each other what the best invention since the 1970s is, and the answers led into whether smartphones make people smarter or dumber.

The show then moved through flying cars, self-driving cars, and Mike’s robot vacuum, which turned into a long discussion of the right to repair and how Apple and Google lock down their hardware. One listener, Alan, called in late to agree about repairability and to tease Mike about his car. The show ended on Google’s planned AI glasses and Mike’s dislike of AI voices.

Topics Covered

Best invention since the 1970s

Howard picked GPS as a personal favorite, partly because it rescued him when he was lost at night in Las Vegas. Mike said that for his own career it is the personal computer, and that for most people the smartphone is probably the most useful. He added that GPS does more than directions, including accurate timekeeping.

Do smartphones make us dumber

Mike recalled a past argument with a friend over whether having all information in your pocket makes you smarter. Mike’s position was that people have lost the ability to absorb and retain knowledge, and he noted he can recall old phone numbers but few current ones. Howard framed it as knowledge versus wisdom.

Self-driving cars

Mike said he trusts his Tesla’s self-driving after many miles, and told of it moving out of the way of an accident developing behind him before he noticed. He said it feels much smoother than it did a year and a half ago. Howard said he cannot give up control, even in a car that parks itself, because he does not trust other drivers.

Right to repair

Mike said his robot vacuum had a failing motor and that QR codes inside it made finding the right $50 part easy, which more companies should copy. He criticized Google for refusing to connect his older Nest thermostats to a new account, which he called age-gating, and Apple for tying parts to a device so third-party repairs fail. He said he supports the right-to-repair advocacy of the right-to-repair YouTuber Louis Rossmann, and credited European rules with pushing USB-C onto iPhones.

AI glasses and AI voices

Mike said Google is working with Warby Parker to put its Gemini assistant into glasses, and compared it to the Meta glasses already on the market. He said he would rather have augmented-reality overlays such as navigation than an AI voice, and that he cannot stand cheap AI voices on YouTube.

Calls

• Alan called to agree that people should be able to repair what they buy and to question what can be fixed on Mike’s car. Mike said he had done a radiator fan repair himself and that brakes and shocks are easy, then the two joked about each other and agreed to catch up more often.