Why You Hate AI and Won’t Stop Using It - DTNSB 5071

Plus, Apple slaps back at US antitrust claims, and are passkeys in a wallet insecure?

Starring Tom Merritt, Jenn Cutter, and Andy Beach.

TOM: This is the Daily Tech News for Wednesday, July 30, 2025. We tell you what you need to know, follow up on the context of those stories, and help each other understand.

JENN: Today, Andy Beach tells us how TV is using AI to change the tech they use to broadcast and why everyone says they hate AI but use it in record numbers.

I’m Tom Merritt

I’m Jenn Cutter

TOM: Let’s start with what you need to know with the big story.

[[BIG STORY]]
[[SOLO story of the day. Basic details, monitor commentary and sound when possible.]]

“ChatGPT gets ‘study mode’ to guide students without spoon‑feeding answers | PCWorld”
“Google AI Mode adding Search Live video, Canvas, & PDF upload”
“Google says it will sign EU's AI code of practice | TechCrunch”
“Gen AI apps doubled their revenue, grew to 1.7 B downloads in first half of 2025 | TechCrunch”

TOM: Many of you say you're tired of hearing about AI and you still insist that it's overblown and some of you even say it's just a fad. But the big players in AI keep adding features to their products.

OpenAI launched a “study mode” for ChatGPT. Students can use it if they want to brush up on topics without just getting told the answer.

Google added new features to AI mode in search. Soon, you can upload images and PDF files on the Web, with more file types on the way. It's also getting the Gemini app's Canvas feature for organizing info over multiple sessions for things like study sessions or the tired old example of trip planning. Search is also getting a Live tab so you can ask questions about what your camera sees. And AI mode is coming to Google Lens in Chrome so you can ask questions about the page that is open.

Meanwhile Google says it will sign the EU's AI code of practice, the voluntary framework that Meta has declined to sign. That means Google agrees to publicly document things about its AI products, not train on pirated data and respect requests not to train on certain data that is otherwise public.

All of this is set against the backdrop of massive user adoption. Sensor Tower says folks downloaded generative AI apps 1.7 billion times in the first half of 2025, compared to 1 billion in the second half of 2024. And revenue on the apps doubled in that period from $932 million to $1.87 billion.

Asia has the fastest adoption and market share thanks to China and India with an 80 % download growth rate. Europe grew 51 % and North America 39 %. North America has the highest market share for revenue though at 40 % and Latin America is the fastest growing for in‑app purchases.

ChatGPT leads in downloads everywhere but China and people spend the most time on it, with users averaging more than 12 days per month in the app. ChatGPT is followed by Character AI, PolyBuzz, DeepSeek and Perplexity in that order. People use ChatGPT as much as X and Reddit. Only Google has more average days per month.

Usage is rising. App types are expanding. Adding AI or LLM to a product or even just the name of a product boosts downloads.

Jenn, obviously, this is just a bunch of people being duped, right? … Right?

[[DISCUSS]]

JENN: DTNS is made possible by you the listener. Thanks to
Jony Hernandez
High Tech Okie
Kris Zaragoza
New Patrons: Horror video, 7eoehek, and Eric.

[[BREAK]]
[[PAUSE]]

TOM: There’s more we need to know today, let’s get to the briefs.

[[BRIEFS]]
[[3‑9 more solo reads with sound to complete the day in tech news. These are informational with minor commentary. They do not need to include stories that could be done another day in follow ups. Just the essentials of the day Should include sound where possible.]]

“Adobe releases Windows on Arm versions of Premiere Pro and After Effects | The Verge”

JENN: Adobe has released versions of Premiere Pro, After Effects, Audition and Media Encoder for Windows on Arm. All four are available in public beta, but are not yet feature complete and have some known issues. For example, Premiere Pro for Arm64 doesn't yet support third‑party extensions, raw video files, or export of H.264 and HEVC in MP4. There are similar format support issues and a lack of extension support on After Effects, Audition, and Media Encoder as well. Adobe says these missing features will arrive before the final release. But in the meantime, you can try these out on your Snapdragon‑powered Copilot+ PCs. You can use the emulated versions of the x86 apps, but they run into performance issues faster.

“Google Workspace working to counter cookie theft with passkeys”
“Flaw in Gemini CLI coding tool could allow hackers to run nasty commands ‑ Ars Technica”

TOM: A couple of pieces of Google security news here.

Google now offers new ways to combat cookie theft for Google Workspace users. Cookie theft is when attackers use malware on your machine to take authentication cookies from your machine and use them to log in as you. Google suggests adopting passkeys would help, but it also now offers Device Bound Session Credentials, which only let the original device use them. Google is also offering Shared Signal Framework, or SSF, which coordinates responses to security threats.

And Tracebit's security researchers have discovered a way to exploit the open source Gemini CLI coding agent to take sensitive data and send it to a server controlled by the attacker. The exploit buried a few dozen natural‑language sentences in a README file in an otherwise harmless package of code. If a target asked Gemini CLI to describe the package, those buried sentences acted as a prompt‑injection attack that connected to an attacker's server and passed off environmental variables, which could include account credentials.

“Google's Pixel 10 may get magnetic Qi2 charging after all”

JENN: The difference between a Qi2 phone like the iPhone and a Qi2‑ready phone like the Galaxy S, is that the Qi2‑ready phone doesn't have the magnets that attach the phone to the charger. That magnetic attachment also gives you the faster 15‑watt charging. You need an added case for that. A new image discovered by Evan Blass shows a Qi2 charger attached magnetically to the back of the forthcoming Pixel 10. This lends credence to the rumor that Google is developing magnetic accessories known as PixelSnap. We shall find out the truth of it all after the Made by Google event on August 20th.

“Apple slams DOJ lawsuit: ‘threatens the very principles that set iPhone apart’ ‑ 9to5Mac”
“Apple Responds to DOJ Antitrust Lawsuit ‑ Thurrott.com”

TOM: In March 2024, the US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Apple, saying that it abused its monopoly position in ways that reduce the capabilities of third‑party super apps, cloud streaming game services, messaging apps, smartwatches, and digital wallets. As the case has meandered along, we now reach the point where Apple has filed its full response to the suit. Apple says that if the DoJ were to win its case, it would “degrade the privacy and security benefits of iPhone.” Apple points out that the five points the DoJ cites are design choices “which are focused on optimizing customer experience and not destroying competitors or making it more difficult for customers to buy another smartphone if they so choose.” The case now moves into the discovery phase, where each side can collect evidence for the trial.

Thurrott.com has an excellent summary of what counts as a monopoly in the US: “It must have market power so significant and durable that it can indiscriminately raise prices or exclude competitors. And its dominant position in the market must be sustainable over time so that competitive forces or the introduction of new alternatives in this market would not force it to change its business practices.”

“YouTube rolls out age‑estimation tech to identify US teens and apply additional protections | TechCrunch”
“YouTube to be part of Australia's youth social media ban”
“YouTube loosens profanity rules for monetized videos | TechCrunch”
“YouTube’s best Premium feature is finally coming to the big screen”

JENN: Lots of YouTube news to mention today.

YouTube began rolling out age‑estimation tech in the US to identify teen users. The system uses a variety of signals (like activity and length of account among others beyond just the birthdate) to determine if it thinks you are younger than 18. If so, it will disable personalized advertising, limit repeat viewing of some content, and add screentime and bedtime reminders. If you are incorrectly identified, you may choose to verify your age with a credit card, government ID, or selfie.

Speaking of age restrictions, Australia says it will not exempt YouTube from its prohibition against social media sites working for those younger than 16. Details on the law were presented to parliament on Wednesday.

YouTube also changed its rules on profanity. Previously, videos where someone swore in the first 8‑15 seconds were limited for ad revenue. Now that will only happen if profanity is used in the thumbnail or title.

And finally, Android Authority's Mishaal Rahman reports that the Jump Ahead perk for premium subscribers that uses machine learning to determine the most interesting part of a video, is now available on the Nvidia Shield version of the app. YouTube support pages indicate it will come to more TV platforms as well.

“Chase Customers to Link Bank Accounts to Coinbase Wallets ‑ Bloomberg”
“Hong Kong fintech firm RD Technologies raises $40 million ahead of stablecoin licensing rollout | The Block”
“Bitcoin ETF Institutional Investors Will Now Be Able to Redeem Shares for BTC ‑ Decrypt”

TOM: A few cryptocurrency news bits for you. As more banks start reacting to the signing of the GENIUS Act in the US that clarifies the regulation of stablecoins, JPMorgan Chase signed a deal with Coinbase to let customers link bank accounts with their cryptocurrency wallets.

RD Technologies announced it will take part in a stablecoin licensing regime launched by Hong Kong's central bank, starting August 1st.

And the US SEC has approved the ability for investors in Exchange Traded Funds for cryptocurrencies to allow investors to change their shares in the ETF into the underlying cryptocurrency.

“Microsoft Authenticator is ending password autofill soon. How to set up a passkey before Aug. 1 | AP News”

JENN: A reminder that Microsoft Authenticator will stop working on August 1st, and Microsoft will delete all stored passwords in it as a security measure. If you don't want to lose them you'll need to install Microsoft Edge and log in to your Microsoft account to sync them to the Edge browser's password manager.

“Palo Alto Networks Agrees to Buy CyberArk to Expand Identity Security Tools ‑ Bloomberg”

TOM: Security company Palo Alto Networks has agreed to buy CyberArk Software. CyberArk makes a suite of identity security tools that can manage organizational access rights, something Palo Alto Networks did not yet offer. This will make it more competitive with Okta, Microsoft, Zscaler, and others.

“Opera takes its browser beef with Microsoft to Brazil in antitrust complaint”

JENN: Opera has filed an antitrust complaint against Microsoft in Brazil. Opera alleges that deals to make Microsoft Edge the only browser on Windows installs create an unfair competitive environment.

TOM: Those are the essentials for today. Let’s dive a little deeper.

[[IN DEPTH]]
[[Pre‑made packages, interviews, discussions. Each is 3‑10 mins, depending on the topic and what else is in the show that day. Can be dropped on some days.]]

[[SEGMENT A ‑ FROM SCHEDULE]]

JENN: You’ve heard about AI on screen — but what about behind it? Broadcasters are quietly using AI to rewire how the sausage gets made. Andy Beach explains how.

[TRT ‑ 6:56]

[[PROMO]]

TOM: We do live streams! Catch them by becoming a subscriber at youtube.com/dailytechnewsshow.

[[BREAK]]
[[PAUSE]]

[[HELPING EACH OTHER UNDERSTAND]]
[[This is the mailbag/ special contributions segments. Should be short missives from people with experience. Could be written email or pre‑recorded from the person.]]

JENN: We end every episode of DTNS with some shared wisdom. Today, Dan has a question I think a lot of people have.

Tom: Dan asks:
On
e thing I keep thinking about passkeys is that I believe if we keep them in an app like Bit Warden, then they’re no longer as secure?  Do I have that correct?  But is using passkeys with something like Bit Warden still better than passwords?

Just curious!

Thanks

Dan

[[DISCUSS]]

JENN: What are you thinking about? Got some insight into a story? Share it with us feedback@dailytechnewsshow.com

TOM: Thanks to Andy Beach and Dan for contributing to today’s show. And thank YOU for being along for Daily Tech News Show. You can keep us in business by becoming a patron, at Patreon.com/dtns