This Week in Tech 1075: The Commonwealth Club

Mar 16, 2026

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From "gainfully employed robots" to AI that accidentally ruins lives, this week's conversation unpacks the real-world fallout of futuristic promises. Leo, JPT, Iain, and Richard tackle energy sources, social media effects, tech layoffs, and the algorithms quietly taking charge.

Meta is planning sweeping layoffs as AI costs mount
Meta Said to Push Back Launch of Avocado Model
Social media addiction trial: the plaintiff, Meta, and YouTube make closing arguments; jurors begin deliberations Friday on liability for harm to children
Trump administration will reportedly get $10 billion for brokering the TikTok deal
Bluesky CEO Jay Graber will step aside
Digg's open beta shuts down after just two months, blaming AI bot spam
X says it suspended 800 million accounts in 2024 over spam and manipulation
Fake AI Content About the Iran War Is All Over X
Musk admits xAI 'not built right' — weeks after Tesla invested $2 billion
Nvidia Is Planning to Launch an Open-Source AI Agent Platform
Amazon Wins Court Order To Block Perplexity's AI Shopping Bots
Social Security watchdog investigating claims that DOGE engineer copied its databases
DOGE Deposition Videos Taken Down After Judge Order and Widespread Mockery
U.S. State Bans on Lab-Grown Meats Challenged in Court
Easy-to-use solar panels are coming, but utilities are trying to delay them
EcoFlow brings its plug-in solar power plant to US homes (related to the plug-in solar story)
TerraPower gets permit to build reactor
Ex-Uber CEO Kalanick Debuts Plan for 'Gainfully Employed Robots'
Tennessee grandmother jailed after AI facial recognition error links her to fraud
Justice Department and Live Nation Reach Settlement Terms in Antitrust Case
Palantir CEO Makes Shocking Confession on Disrupting Democratic Power
Palantir's lethal AI weaponry deployed to find chairs for US government staff
How Pokémon Go is giving delivery robots an inch-perfect view of the world
'Flying Cars' Will Take Off in American Skies This Summer
YouTube surpasses Disney, Paramount, WBD in 2025 ad revenue
Ig Nobel Prize flees US for Switzerland after 35 years over safety concerns
Swiss e-voting can't count 2,048 ballots after USB keys fail to decrypt them
Tony Hoare, Turing Award-Winning Computer Scientist Behind QuickSort, Dies At 92

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Iain Thomson, Richard Campbell, and Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

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