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Why is the streaming ecosystem so complicated and hostile towards its customers? A WIRED narrator’s perspective on recent developments on Gadget Lab

The promise of streaming TV was that you could watch whatever you wanted, when you wanted. And for a while, that was mostly true. But recently, streaming services have started to dial back the nice-guy stuff and reel in the freebies. Companies across the stream-o-sphere are tweaking subscription tiers, raising prices, and canceling unprofitable shows. Netflix has introduced an ad-supported tier to its formerly ad-free service, and even started cracking down on people sharing account credentials. And corporate shake-ups at HBO Max have resulted in gobs of stuff being removed from that platform entirely.

This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED senior editor Angela Watercutter joins us to talk about why the streaming ecosystem has grown so complicated and hostile toward its customers.

Source: https://www.wired.com/story/gadget-lab-podcast-587/

From Bleak to Dark, a comedy comedy by Maron Watercutter and Boone Ashworth: Introducing GadgetLab to podcast Lab

The movie Cocaine Bear is recommended byAngela. From Bleak to Dark is a comedy special by Maron. The film EO is about a donkey.

Angela Watercutter can be found on Twitter @WaterSlicer. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. You should add the main hotline toGadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.

If you want to get all the episodes for free, you’ll need to subscribe to the show through the audio player on this page.

Just tap the link to open the Podcasts app on your iPhone or iPad. You can also download an app like Overcast or Pocket Casts, and search for Gadget Lab. If you’re a user of the app on the phones, you can find us. We are also on the same music streaming service. And in case you really need it, here’s the RSS feed.

Source: https://www.wired.com/story/gadget-lab-podcast-587/

Know It All: 1A and WIRED’s Guide to AI — A Conversation with Michael Calore, SJ Hadfield, Jonathan Stray, and Gillian Hadfield

Michael Calore is a person. I’d like to introduce myself to everyone. Before we start today’s show, we wanted to tell you about a special project between WIRED and the NPR show 1A. It’s called Know It All: 1A and WIRED’s Guide to AI. The four-part series is about how our lives are being changed by the sudden shift in artificial intelligence. Each episode is a conversation with 1A and WIRED reporters and the people who have either had a part in creating these AI models or are having their lives directly affected by them. IA’s website has more about the series. That’s “1” as is in the numeral one—the 1A.org/series. We will have a link in the show notes. I’m okay. This is the week’s episode. Lauren.

The modern internet is powered by recommendation algorithms. They’re everywhere from a search to a shopping website. The data that these systems have about your online activities can be used to suggest the next content for you to absorb. They want to keep users on their platform by presenting them with things they’ll spend more time doing. Users can sometimes find themselves taken down dark internet rabbit holes, or shown harmful content when they go through those link chains. Lawmakers, as well as researchers, have criticized recommendation systems in the past but they are under increased scrutiny now that search giant GOOGLE is going before the Supreme Court to defend their practices.

Read all about Section 230. On WIRED, there is a story about the engagement research conducted by Jonathan Stray and Gillian Hadfield. The two cases are before the US Supreme Court.

Source: https://www.wired.com/story/gadget-lab-podcast-588/

The Way Out, and Why We Shouldn’t Have to Afford To Eat It All Right: A Tutorial by Boone Ashworth

The Way Out is recommended by Jonathan. Jon Raymond’s novel Denial is recommended by Mike. Lauren recommends Matt Reynolds’ WIRED story about how you’ve been thinking about food all wrong, and also getting a bag to make nut milk.

Jonathan Stray uses the handle of “jonathanstray”. Lauren is called LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is a fighter. Do it at the main hotline atGadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.