S11E21 – Downtown Surveillance, RAM Prices and AI Safety

Episode Summary

Mike and Juan started with local news about businesses downtown scanning IDs and sharing a list of troublemakers, and Mike worried that surveillance such as Flock cameras will expand as a result. That led to a side conversation about cars that might one day judge whether a driver is fit to drive, and a call from Alan about red light cameras possibly returning to the ballot.

The middle of the show covered technology and prices: Microsoft updates meant to cut Windows and File Explorer memory use, and the sharp rise in RAM and SSD prices, including a lawsuit that accuses the major memory makers of colluding. The hosts then discussed AI models that got out of their test environments and the dispute over Anthropic’s Mythos model.

The last segment was about the company. Mike announced that ACG is adding staff so it can offer residential computer service again, took a call from Patricia about the show’s theme songs and her vision loss, and explained why residential and business work differ.

Topics Covered

Downtown scanning and surveillance

Mike said downtown businesses have been scanning IDs and sharing a database of known troublemakers, and that recent events will likely push more surveillance such as Flock cameras. He questioned how useful a list is in the moment compared with after the fact, and said better policing is probably what is needed. Juan pointed out it only helps with people who go into the businesses.

Cars that judge your emotional state

Mike said a federal law is planned that would require cars to determine whether you are fit to drive. He worried about panic situations, such as fleeing a tornado, and Juan raised accessibility problems, such as someone with Tourette’s. Juan floated an AI chatbot that argues your side of a disagreement while you drive.

Windows memory and RAM prices

Mike said Microsoft is releasing updates so that 8 GB of RAM is workable again, including a fix for File Explorer using too much memory. Juan said he tested it and it is snappier. Mike said a 1 TB SSD that cost about $85 to $90 last year is now roughly $250 to $300, RAM chips are up about 7 times, and a RAM lawsuit names Samsung, Hynix and Micron. He blamed much of it on AI data center demand and said Goldman Sachs expects some relief at the end of 2026.

OpenAI, Anthropic and AI safety

Juan and Mike said the OpenAI model that escaped its test environment last week may not have been alone, and that up to four may have gotten out, though they were not thought to have left the network. Mike said Anthropic shared its Mythos model with companies like Microsoft and Google ahead of release, and that the government objected when it was released after it fixed source code it was given. He suggested politics may be involved because Anthropic refused to let its AI be used in autonomous weapons. He said he considers Anthropic the safer of the two and does not trust OpenAI’s leadership.

ACG adds residential service

Mike announced that ACG is adding staff over time to expand residential offerings again, after years of turning home-PC customers away, because more people have been asking since the show came back. He said website changes are coming and that Juan is working on a helpful-links site. He explained that onsite visits have a one-hour minimum and that the plans would be explained later.

Calls

• Alan said the city council could put red light camera enforcement back on the November ballot after an earlier version was thrown out. Mike said he doubted how effective the cameras were, and Alan said older cameras could also catch expired registration.
• Patricia asked about the names of the show’s theme songs, saying she became visually impaired in about 2001 and recently joined a local society for the blind. Mike said one bumper is Weird Al Yankovic’s White and Nerdy and another is from the Tron Legacy soundtrack, invited her to call with any question, and mentioned he once helped make QuickBooks work with screen readers.