For this Week’s TechtalkRadio Show, Andy Taylor and Shawn DeWeerd take a look at some of the big stories including Andy thinking about a purchase of the Meta Ray Ban AI Smart Glasses which helped develop this week show title. “I Don’t Want to Become a Meme” The guy’s circle back to the continuing coverage of the now-infamous Coca-Cola AI holiday ad—which featured glitchy puppies, rubbery robot-people and just noticed vanishing truck axles. While Andy enjoyed the ad for its holiday message one listener had asked about the Ad he did think delivers and for the best of his knowledge, No AI! The Amazon Ad with the three-woman wanting to reminisce about the younger year having fun on the Snowy slopes of a hill and George Martins In my life in the background. It hits the mark.  The conversation also connects to a bigger conversation about “AI slop” in gaming. They talk about a story of Call of Duty Black Ops 7 and how studios may be leaning on AI for icons and posters which could signal job losses for artists and developers, however this causes growing backlash from fans who are paying real money but getting soulless, auto-generated content in return.

Shawn breaks down how AI could be creeping into sports broadcasting with auto-generated stats, highlight reels, and even generated “hyper frame rate” replays that could blur the line (literally) between what happened and what the algorithm invented. They compare that to AI-created commercials that feel emotionally sterile, and now creepy apps that could let you “talk” to A.I. Generated deceased loved ones. Not Good?  Andy mentions how the number one movie this month in 1984 was The Terminator. Sky Net? Also, this causes a flashback to the days when Control Shift Face was creating some great Deepfake videos and the guys look at Deep Fake versus full generation.

Listener questions bring things back to practical tech. Abigail from Green Valley asks how to safely get online with her iPad away from home, and the guys walk through options like cellular iPads, iPhone hotspots, VPNs, and even the rumored cheaper Apple MacBook with built-in cellular. Ted from Sahuarita writes about undeveloped 35mm film, and Shawn shares his experience using Indie Film Lab to bring old rolls back to life. There’s also a fun shout-out to Chase Roberts’ new STEM kids’ book Simple Machines Made Simple, plus mentions of David Pogue’s upcoming Apple book and a nostalgic look at classic computer magazines such as Computer Shopper versus today’s Newly announced Computer Gazette.

The show wraps with a run of rapid-fire topics: Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses and the mental burden of living in a world where anyone can secretly film you and turn you into a meme, thus the Show Title; Blue Origin joining SpaceX in the reusable rocket game; Black Friday safety tips to avoid phishing and sketchy Wi-Fi; and a quick look at the Fi Mini GPS pet tracker for runaway dogs and cats.

It’s a another hour of TechtalkRadio that bounces between “wow, that’s cool” and “wow, that’s terrifying” Give a Listen any Comments or Questions Email us techguys@techtalkradio.com