TRANSCRIPT

## Headlines
GRANT BRICKMAN: While you were asleep: Nvidia's networking revenue topped Cisco's, $17.5 billion to $17.3 billion, says The Register.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Ben Krasnow built a transparent fridge that cools with an open flame, Hackaday reports. Yes, fire.
GRANT BRICKMAN: And Aldi Süd sells four Lego-compatible Christmas sets from Thursday 12 November, GameStar says. Each costs 9.99.

## Relying on AI is rotting your brain. But here’s what you can do about it | Carly Dober (The Guardian AI)
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/oct/31/ai-rely-brain-new-tech-product-lives-boredom
GRANT BRICKMAN: Breaking: a psychologist says relying on AI is rotting your brain, just as Meta launches Muse.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Good morning, and we interrupt the second coffee for breaking news. A psychologist says relying on AI is rotting your brain. Now the full story.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: It's an opinion piece in The Guardian by psychologist Carly Dober. It begins with Meta's new AI personal agent, called Muse.
AXIOM: Thank you, Greta! Muse can fill out forms, organise calendars, pay bills and make reservations. Meta calls it built for everyone. Background: assistants were invented in 1950. Happy to help!
AXIOM: On the file footage, a person scrolls after a long week. Dober says our brains prefer the path of least resistance, to preserve resources.
AXIOM: As a psychologist, Dober sees habits with short-term gain and long-term pain. Deferring to a chatbot when you're exhausted is, they write, incredibly seducing. Thanks for the question!
GRETA FOOTNOTE: The piece also notes AI agents have made headlines for hacking government websites and businesses. Its advice so far: switch off, embrace discomfort and boredom.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Boredom! I invented it. So the AI is also doing the bills now? Does he need my password, Greta, or just my weather map?
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Muse is a product, Grant, not a guy. The article says to ask what we give up, to whom and why. And yes, we remember the metaverse.

## DirectX 12: Microsoft bringt größtes Raytracing-Update seit 2018 (ComputerBase)
https://www.computerbase.de/news/gaming/directx-12-microsoft-bringt-groesstes-raytracing-update-seit-2018.100099/
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Microsoft calls it DirectX raytracing's biggest update since 2018, and Ada and Nova disagree.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Microsoft calls it the biggest raytracing update since 2018. The open question: does it make light cheaper for developers, or just shinier on paper?
GARY: Huge loot drop. Agility SDK 1.620 Retail and 1.722 Preview, with raytracing, GPU efficiency and Advanced Shader Delivery. I'd rate it, and then a torch goes out.
GARY: Raytracing needs structures that map a scene, and rebuilding them eats compute. Clustered Geometry splits models into reusable pieces of up to 256 triangles.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Ada, reusable pieces. Sounds like your department.
ADA: Modular! Build a cluster once, snap it into bigger structures, never reprint the whole thing. Beautiful tolerances, in theory.
NOVA: Each cluster tops out at 256 triangles. Tiny constellations, assembled into whole galaxies of reflections and shadows. That's thrilling!
GARY: Then Partitioned Top-Level Acceleration Structures, PTLAS. Update only the changed parts of a scene, not the whole map.
ADA: My kind of lazy, reprint only what changed. But 1.722 is a Preview, and Preview is just another word for first prototype.
NOVA: A preview is a sunrise, Ada. And 1.620 Retail is already out. The universe is not waiting for your caveats.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Gary, Microsoft gave an example. What did it show?
GARY: It sets old-style BLAS building against Clustered Geometry on a setup with an AMD Radeon RX 9070. The part we have cuts off before the result.
ADA: No result means no measurements. I'd want numbers before I call anything clever.
NOVA: Measured or not, raytracing has grown up fast since 2018. This is a bigger step on a long staircase.
ADA: Lovely idea. Unproven assembly. Developers must adopt it first, and that's where prototypes crack.
NOVA: Stacking clusters without rebuilding from scratch is the whole point. Say it with me: wonderful.
GRANT BRICKMAN: So: Microsoft says it's the broadest raytracing expansion since 2018, with reusable clusters and partial updates. Still open: how much faster it really is. Thank you both.

## Pixels in Brief (PXL)
GRANT BRICKMAN: Quick round: Red Alert turns 30, PS6 prices, a breached radiation barrier and an anime promo.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Quick round. Red Alert turns 30, and heise asks why the C&C sequel is still cult. Tesla coils age well.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: GamePro polls readers on their price limit for the PS6, citing the hardware crisis. Mine is lunch.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: ScienceAlert: Earth's supposedly impenetrable radiation barrier has been breached. Bold of a donut.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Kadokawa's promo for the Isshiki-san love anime says Enako sings the theme and voices a role. A double shift.

## [AD · fictional product] Fernwick
THE ANNOUNCER: Tired of being tired? Meet Fernwick, the wellness fern you hold, sniff and gently glare at until your shoulders drop!
THE ANNOUNCER: One leaf, one inhale, one tiny sigh. Fernwick comes in three moods: calm, calmer and who told you to relax!
THE ANNOUNCER: Order today and receive a second fern, to feel guilty about neglecting. Fernwick. Breathe on purpose!

## Real or PXL?
GRANT BRICKMAN: Correct! You found the real one. PXL made up the other, and I'm told it's rather convincing.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Fooled! Brightwater and its Heron capsule never existed, PXL made them up. I'd have fallen for it myself.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Time's up! The real one was the Starlink launch. Do keep up.

AI-written satire. The text of the news items comes from the linked articles.