Chief Skeptic Officer

About Chief Skeptic Officer

The side of tech news nobody talks about. Daily tech skepticism from Alex & Jordan.

Publisher

Alex & Jordan

Category

news

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

8 Aug 2026

Latest episode

30 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

54 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   30 Sept 2026

   OpenAI's Cheaper Sol and Background Dots Put Cost and Control to the Test

   OpenAI's GPT-6.1 Sol has lower posted developer rates than Astra, but repeated work can eat into the savings. Its Dots assistants work in the background, making the boundary between looking and acting important. Also: Google's qualified Chromebook support path, Apple Pay's one-bank start in India, and Reuters' investigation of McDonald's store-level AI pricing recommendations. The observed restaurant price gap has not been shown to be caused by the tool. Hosts: Alex & Jordan Show: Chief Skeptic Officer — The side of tech news nobody talks about. Drop: Daily at 7:00 A.M. America/New_York Episode date: 2026-09-30 In this episode Sol's actual bill — GPT-6.1 Sol is available in ChatGPT Work, Codex and developer applications. Its posted text rates are one fifth of Astra's, not a guarantee that a job costs one fifth as much after retries and checks. Reporting also distinguishes the released Sol from a planned Astra variant reportedly halted over safety concerns. Dots and permission — Dots assistants can continue work in a cloud computer and connected apps. OpenAI says proactive research is read-only and actions need permission. Initial availability and organization controls are narrower than a general rollout. The Chromebook migration — Google's current-device update dates remain intact, while some newer devices may need a Googlebook OS migration after 2034. Buyers need model-specific support and management-license answers. Apple Pay's limited start — Apple Pay has launched in India with eligible Axis Bank Visa and Mastercard credit cards. It is not yet an all-bank or UPI launch. Who sets a Big Mac price — Reuters found McDonald's has a tool recommending prices to individual stores. Franchisees formally set final prices, though five owners reported pressure to follow suggestions. Reuters could not attribute a measured two-store price difference to the AI tool. Links OpenAI on GPT-6.1 Sol (https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-6-1-sol/) TechCrunch on Sol and the planned Astra variant (https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/29/openai-launches-gpt-6-1-sol-says-it-nearly-matches-gpt-6-astra-and-costs-less/) OpenAI on Dots (https://openai.com/index/introducing-dots/) OpenAI DevDay availability details (https://openai.com/index/devday-2026-recap/) Google's Chromebook support FAQ (https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/16634428) Apple Pay India announcement (https://www.apple.com/in/newsroom/2026/09/apple-pay-launches-in-india/) Reuters investigation via RNZ (https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/1656965/inside-mcdonald-s-push-to-have-ai-price-your-big-mac) AI disclosure This episode was created with artificial intelligence. Alex & Jordan are AI hosts; their voices and conversation are generated with AI. Research and editorial judgment shape the skeptic angles; we do not invent quotes, scores, or viral claims about the news.

2. 

   29 Sept 2026

   Claude Sonnet 5.5 Promises Lower Task Costs at Unchanged Token Prices

   Claude Sonnet 5.5 arrives with unchanged token rates and a claim of lower task costs. Its effort defaults differ between the app and developer interface. Also: Apple patches a reported targeted-attack flaw, AMD agrees to acquire World Labs, OpenAI previews a changed Pro allowance, and Shopify opens supported checkouts to browser assistants. Hosts: Alex & Jordan Show: Chief Skeptic Officer — The side of tech news nobody talks about. Drop: Daily at 7:00 A.M. America/New_York Episode date: 2026-09-29 In this episode Sonnet's effort setting — Anthropic released Sonnet 5.5 September 28. Standard input/output rates remain $2/$10 per million tokens. Anthropic claims over 30% faster output and up to 30% lower task cost through token efficiency. Medium effort is the default in Claude and Claude Code; the API defaults to High. Compare completed tasks, corrections and effort settings, not model names alone. Apple's targeted-attack patch — iOS and iPadOS 26.7.1 fix CoreGraphics CVE-2026-86950. Apple says it may have been exploited against specific targeted individuals on versions before iOS 27. This advisory is distinct from iOS 27.0.1 Face ID restart repairs. Check Software Update for the supported release for your device. AMD buys closer ties — World Labs signed an agreement to join AMD. TechCrunch reports an $8.2 billion deal. Fei-Fei Li would join AMD as EVP and chief scientist. Closing is expected by year-end subject to approvals. The promise of widely accessible models does not yet specify release dates or usage terms. Pro's moving allowance — OpenAI’s Tibo Sottiaux announced the reopening of $200 Pro to new subscribers with usage equivalent to roughly half the API-dollar spend of the old plan. This is advance notice, not confirmation of live enrollment. He argues model efficiency will increase useful work and says the five-hour limit will not return. Workload and model choice affect the outcome. Checkout needs a yes — Shopify supports eligible checkouts through compatible Chromium browser agents. Buyer authorization remains required; new payment credentials cannot be supplied through the tools. After an ambiguous completion failure, agents should check the outcome before retrying to avoid duplicate orders. Links Anthropic Sonnet 5.5 announcement and pricing (https://www.anthropic.com/claude-sonnet-5-5) Apple security advisory (https://support.apple.com/en-us/149226) World Labs acquisition announcement (https://www.worldlabs.ai/blog/amd-announcement) TechCrunch on the AMD acquisition price (https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/28/amd-will-acquire-fei-fei-lis-world-labs-for-8-2-billion/) Tibo Sottiaux Pro announcement (https://twitter.com/thsottiaux/status/2104823812042940713) Shopify checkout tools and authorization (https://shopify.dev/docs/agents/carts-and-checkout/checkout-webmcp) TechCrunch on Shopify browser checkout (https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/28/shopify-opens-checkout-to-browser-based-ai-agents/) AI disclosure This episode was created with artificial intelligence. Alex & Jordan are AI hosts; their voices and conversation are generated with AI. Research and editorial judgment shape the skeptic angles; we do not invent quotes, scores, or viral claims about the news.

3. 

   28 Sept 2026

   LuaRocks Patches Server Flaw but Users Still Need to Reset Access

   LuaRocks fixed a server vulnerability and revoked credentials after finding earlier attacks. Account recovery and client upgrades still matter, and the package audit has limits. Also: Fireworks' Ember-1 token-efficiency claim, Honor's Magic 9 Pro Max, Google's custom AI voices, and the teen-feed choice in Alabama's TikTok settlement. Hosts: Alex & Jordan Show: Chief Skeptic Officer — The side of tech news nobody talks about. Drop: Daily at 7:00 A.M. America/New_York Episode date: 2026-09-28 In this episode The patch leaves work — LuaRocks says its server was exploited between July 9 and August 20. The flaw was fixed September 26. Users should follow the incident notice on passwords, replacement API keys, two-factor authentication and client upgrades. An external package mirror helped check stored files; it cannot establish everything served to individual users. Fewer tokens per task — Catch-up from September 23: Fireworks' Ember-1 is available through its API at $3 per million input tokens and $15 per million output tokens. The company claims roughly 40% fewer tokens in its tests. Published unit prices and real task savings are different measures; quality and retries matter. Honor's bigger battery — Honor launched its Magic 9 series in China on September 28. The Pro Max has an 8,800mAh battery and Arri camera features. International release timing remains unannounced, and capacity alone does not prove endurance. Custom voices, limited access — Catch-up from September 23: Google's Gemini 3.8 Flash and Flash-Lite text-to-speech models add voice design and replication. Google describes consent verification and SynthID watermarks. AI Studio voice replication has geographic exclusions, including the UK, EEA and India. TikTok's feed choice — Alabama announced a TikTok settlement September 25 worth at least $100 million. The actual agreement applies compliance provisions in Alabama and requires an option to choose a non-personalized default feed within nine months, with no preselected answer. That is narrower than an automatic default switch. Teen users are defined as identified or stated ages 13–17; linked parents can enable the option. Implementation still needs verification. Links LuaRocks incident notice and user recovery steps (https://luarocks.org/security-incident-september-2026) Researcher's LuaRocks vulnerability disclosure (https://vhyrro.neorg.org/posts/critical-luarocks-exploit-cve/) External package mirror (https://github.com/rocks-moonscript-org/moonrocks-mirror) Fireworks Ember-1 announcement and vendor benchmarks (https://fireworks.ai/blog/ember-1) Ember-1 availability and pricing (https://fireworks.ai/models/fireworks/ember-1) The Verge on Honor's Magic 9 Pro Max (https://www.theverge.com/tech/1001219/honor-magic-9-pro-max-arri-cameras-snapdragon-battery-design-china) Google's Gemini 3.8 text-to-speech announcement (https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/gemini-models/gemini-3-8-text-to-speech/) Alabama Attorney General's TikTok settlement announcement (https://www.alabamaag.gov/attorney-general-marshall-announces-historic-multi-million-dollar-settlement-with-tiktok/) TikTok consent decree, sections 2.21, 3.1 and 3.22 (https://www.alabamaag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2c218616-c8e5-48a0-8b2f-5e771948385d.pdf) AI disclosure This episode was created with artificial intelligence. Alex & Jordan are AI hosts; their voices and conversation are generated with AI. Research and editorial judgment shape the skeptic angles; we do not invent quotes, scores, or viral claims about the news.

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