This week, the Seattle-based social gaming platform Rec Room, once valued at $3.5 billion, is set to close its doors, with Snap stepping in to acquire certain assets. Users expressed significant distress following the announcement, prompting Todd to share his experiences of receiving their calls.
John discussed the implications of Rec Room's closure in relation to the current virtual reality hype cycle and highlighted the lessons for those engaged in the AI sector. Additionally, the podcast features insights into Major League Baseball’s new automated ball-strike system, which has led to unexpected behaviors from players, including a notable instance of a player confidently walking to first base anticipating a robot-assisted decision.
Other topics covered include Todd’s evaluation of Amazon’s returns partnership with FedEx Office, OpenAI’s surprising acquisition of tech talk show TBPN, and a light-hearted segment where John fell for an April Fools’ prank. The episode also touches on WSU researchers studying the torpedo bat and concludes with a trivia question linking Apple’s 50th anniversary to Microsoft history.