Uncanny Valley | WIRED

Like a lot of tech solutions to complex problems, facial recognition algorithms aren't perfect. But when the technology is used to identify suspects in criminal cases, those flaws in the system can have catastrophic, life-changing consequences. People can get wrongly identified, arrested, and convicted, often without ever being told they were ID’d by a computer. It’s especially troubling when you consider false identifications disproportionately affect women, young people, and people with dark skin—basically everyone other than white men.This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED senior writer Khari Johnson joins us to talk about the limits of facial recognition tech, and what happens to the people who get misidentified.Show Notes: Read Khari’s stories about how facial recognition tech has led to wrongful arrests that derailed people’s lives. Here’s Lauren’s story about Garmin’s Fenix smartwatch. (And here’s WIRED’s review of the latest model.) Arielle’s story about the wave of shows about Silicon Valley tech founders is here.Recommendations: Khari recommends hoagies. Lauren recommends Garmin smartwatches. Mike recommends the show The Dropout on Hulu.Khari Johnson can be found on Twitter @kharijohnson. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Apple held its first product announcement event of the year on Tuesday. It showed off a bunch of new devices, including a new iPhone SE, a revamped iPad Air, and a big, beefy, expensive system called Mac Studio. But some of the most noticeable aspects of the show was what Apple didn't say. The company made no mention of the war in Ukraine, despite the fact that the company recently made the decision to stop selling its products in Russia. In a time of such worldwide turmoil, Apple's carefully crafted, deliberately self-focused showcase just felt … weird.This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED product writer Brenda Stolyar joins us to talk all about Apple's announcements this week. Then WIRED senior writer Kate Knibbs pops in for a very important update about her Apple Music experiment.Show Notes: Read Brenda’s story about the chonky new Mac Studio. Read Lauren’s story about the new iPad Air, aka the proto-MacPad. Her story about Apple halting device sales in Russia is here. Check out everything Apple announced this week.Recommendations: Brenda recommends the Netflix show Love is Blind. Mike recommends Lauren Smiley’s WIRED story “‘I’m the Operator’: The Aftermath of a Self-Driving Tragedy”. Lauren recommends the episode of the Ezra Klein Show podcast featuring guest Fareed Zakaria.Brenda Stolyar can be found on Twitter @BStoly. Kate Knibbs is @Knibbs. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Russia's armed invasion of Ukraine has already exacted a terrible human cost. Thousands of people are dead and over a million have been displaced. In condemning Russia's actions, other nations across the world have sought to hit the country with a broad array of economic sanctions. One of those sanctions targets several large Russian banks, and could have repercussions across the globe.This week on Gadget Lab, we talk with Rachel Rizzo, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, about the economic repercussions of kicking major Russian banks out of Swift. Then, WIRED staff writer Aarian Marshall joins us to talk about how the war has affected gig workers in Ukraine.Show Notes: Read Aarian’s story about gig workers in Ukraine.Recommendations: Aarian recommends going on a walk to clear your head. Lauren recommends the Maintenance Phase podcast, which tackles the worst aspects of the wellness movement. Mike recommends the podcast Our Struggle, which is all about the series of autobiographical novels by Karl Ove Knausgård.Rachel Rizzo can be found on Twitter @RachelRizzo. Aarian Marshall is @AarianMarshall Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Apple has been sprucing up its mobile operating system, bolstering privacy and safety features and sprinkling in some new emoji to boot. But while the company shores up iOS, it has also faced renewed criticism about privacy lapses in its AirTags trackers. Reports of the devices being used by stalkers to track others without their permission have raised questions about Apple's tracking tech. Why did it take so long for the company to introduce features that could alert or protect potential victims? And why didn't Apple anticipate these types of abuse would happen in the first place?This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED product writer Brenda Stolyar joins us to run through the new features on iOS and discuss where Apple went wrong with AirTags.Show Notes: Read more about the new features in iOS 15.4. Here’s the New York Times story about tracking people with AirTags. Read the Washington Post article, also about AirtTag stalking.Recommendations: Brenda recommends the podcast “Storytime With Seth Rogan.” Mike recommends Provecho, a vegan Mexican cuisine cookbook by Edgar Castrejón. Lauren recommends telling us your own recommendations for cool stuff by tweeting @GadgetLab. Brenda Stolyar can be found on Twitter @BStoly. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This week, Samsung held its Galaxy Unpacked event, its annual product spectacle the company uses to announce new mobile devices. In addition to its new Galaxy S22 line of phones, Samsung also introduced three new (and very expensive) tablets. The gadgets are part of a push to solidify Android tablets as "the future of computing," which is what Google recently called them. This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED reviews editor Julian Chokkattu joins us to dish about Samsung's new devices, and whether Android tablets are actually going to take off in a big way.Show Notes: Read more about everything Samsung announced at its Galaxy Unpacked event this week. Watch Julian’s explainer of all the models of Galaxy S22. He also has advice about how to preorder the Galaxy devices.Recommendations: Julian recommends the Manfrotto Move Quick release system for your camera setup. Lauren recommends the show Euphoria. Mike recommends Jonathan Blitzer’s New Yorker profile of the Brazilian musician Caetano Veloso.Julian Chokkattu can be found on Twitter @JulianChokkattu. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

You probably know Spotify as a streaming music juggernaut, but its business model has grown far beyond just music. Last year, the company paid a reported $100 million dollars for exclusive distribution rights to the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast. But now Rogan's penchant for interviewing controversial guests, some of whom propagate disinformation about Covid vaccines and climate science, has riled up Spotify users and artists alike. Prominent musicians like Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and India Arie said they would pull their music from the streaming service unless Spotify dumped Rogan. This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED senior writer Kate Knibbs joins us to talk about the big Spotify dust-up. We also offer some advice about how to manage your streaming music library across platforms … just in case you might want to take your playlists to another service.Show Notes: Read Kate’s story about the Spotify and Joe Rogan saga. Read Adam Speight’s story about how to move your Spotify playlists to Apple Music. Reece Rogers has advice about getting started on YouTube Music.Recommendations: Kate Knibbs recommends the novel The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan. (Read her review of it here.) Mike recommends the sci-fi show The Expanse. Lauren recommends an REI Nalgene water bottle with a small mouth. Kate can be found on Twitter @Knibbs. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

When the real world's a mess, the metaverse that Facebook (er, Meta) is pitching might seem like a welcome refuge. Just strap on a headset and play some VR games in a sprawling digital realm. Fun for the whole family! At least, that’s what WIRED senior associate editor Adrienne So has been turning to lately to keep her small kids occupied.But it's not all virtual puzzles and endless sunshine. Meta has a track record of privacy and ethical lapses in its business practices that may give people pause before they strap on a VR headset. And inevitably, this meta-space might be monetized through ads, the way the current internet is…though some technologists have better ideas than others around what that might look like, WIRED senior writer Gilad Edelman says. This week on Gadget Lab, Adrienne and Gilad join the podcast to talk about the weird ins and outs of bringing your family into the metaverse, and whether anyone will actually want to stay there.Show Notes: Read Adrienne’s story about how her family is trapped in the metaverse. Read Gilad’s Q&A with the creator of Second Life. Listen to our episode where Gilad and Kate Knibbs talk about NFTs.Recommendations: Adrienne recommends booking a tattoo appointment ASAP if you’re thinking of getting one, because lots of places are backed up right now. Gilad recommends mashed cauliflower. Lauren recommends the game Beat Saber.Adrienne So can be found on Twitter @adriennemso. Gilad Edelman is @GiladEdelman. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

For years, companies and techno-bros have been saying that self-driving cars are ready to roll. Now companies like the ride-hailing service Lyft are actually letting customers take rides in autonomous vehicles. And at CES this year, John Deere unveiled a self-driving tractor that lets farmers put the latest automation tech to work in the fields. But if the time for self-driving vehicles is finally nigh, what does that mean for the workers who make a living behind the wheel?This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED staff writer Aarian Marshall joins us to talk about the increasingly near future of autonomous vehicles. Then, a conversation with Jody Kelman, the head of Lyft’s autonomous driving division, and Aubrey Donnellan, a cofounder and the chief operating officer at the John Deere subsidiary Bear Flag Robotics.Show Notes: Read Aarain’s story about autonomous cars. Read Will Knight’s story about John Deere’s self-driving tractor. Watch all of the talks from WIRED HQ at CES.Recommendations: Aarian recommends the HoMedics TotalComfort Portable Ultrasonic Humidifier. Mike recommends the Substack newsletter The Signal from David Katznelson. Lauren recommends Brandon Taylor’s Substack Sweater Weather.Aarian Marshall can be found on Twitter @aarianmarshall. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.If you have feedback about the show, or just want to enter to win a $50 gift card, take our brief listener survey here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Many people are taking a break from alcohol this month, a cultural moment that’s come to be known as Dry January. Beyond trends fueled by new year’s resolutions, however, the de-alcoholized drink has been enjoying a boom. Beverage brands and fancy bartenders are crafting complex virgin cocktails and beers in an effort to tantalize the tastebuds of sober folks, temporary teetotalers, and the generally alcohol-averse. But how do they actually devise these drinks? And how well do they hold up to our cultural expectations of what “drinking” should be?This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED senior correspondent Adam Rogers joins us to talk about the science of booze and not-booze.Show Notes: Read Adam’s book Proof: The Science of Booze.Recommendations: Adam recommends bitters, indulging your hobbies, and subscribing to WIRED. Lauren recommends Letiz’s Eins Zwei Zero Sparkling Riesling non-alcoholic white wine. Mike recommends the free (and non-profit) streaming service Radio is a Foreign Country.Adam Rogers can be found on Twitter @jetjocko. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.If you have feedback about the show, or just want to enter to win a $50 gift card, take our brief listener survey here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

New year, new chaotic mega tech exhibition. CES was this week, complete with all of its usual glitzy gizmos and gaudy gadgets. It was a strange year for the tech conference. It was held in person and virtually, and multiple presenters pulled out at the last minute, citing Covid concerns. Still, many companies were undeterred, and the slew of tech announcements continued unabated.WIRED covered CES from afar, including a live taping of the Gadget Lab podcast. This week, WIRED senior associate reviews editor Adrienne So and WIRED reviews editor Julian Chokkattu join us to talk about all the best things we saw at CES, and which consumer technology trends will shape the coming year.Show Notes: You can watch this session and our other live CES coverage on the @WIRED Twitter account. Check out our chronicle of all the outlandish gadgets at CES. Read our list of the best of CES.Julian Chokkattu can be found on Twitter @JulianChokkattu. Adrienne So is @adriennemso. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). This special live episode was produced by Jane Garcia Buhks and Chris Cona. Our theme music is by Solar Keys.If you have feedback about the show, or just want to enter to win a $50 gift card, take our brief listener survey here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices