05-31-26 The Nigerian Prince Got A Robot Upgrade

AI didn’t just change productivity tools, it changed crime. One of the biggest mistakes we can make right now is assuming scams still look like scams. Today, Greg Rhodes and I, David Levitt from Refresh Computer Superstore, dig into the AI cybersecurity arms race and why major institutions are warning that AI-powered attacks are arriving faster than defenses can keep up.

We walk through what “AI as the weapon” looks like on the ground: phishing emails that read perfectly, scams built from scraped social media and public records, and deepfake voice or video calls that can imitate someone you trust. We also talk about why smaller banks and credit unions can be easier targets, and the simple rule that can save you in the moment: if the message is unexpected and asks for money or personal info, hang up and verify using a number you already know is real.

Then we flip to “AI as the shield” and explain how modern security tools use machine learning to monitor traffic, detect anomalies, and shrink the time window for zero-day threats. We get practical about your own setup too, including why an older computer with an unsupported operating system can become a security risk, what upgrades might be possible, and when it’s smarter to replace the machine.

We also weigh Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ proposed AI Bill of Rights, including protections for kids, limits on AI mental health “therapy” for minors, and questions around AI decisions for loans, jobs, housing, and insurance. Finally, we share search options beyond Google’s AI experience, with alternatives like DuckDuckGo, Brave Search, Startpage, and Bing with Copilot.

Subscribe for more Tech Talk on WDBO, share this with someone who needs a scam reality check, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show.

Transcript

Welcome And How To Reach Us

SPEAKER_01 0:08

Hey there and welcome to Tech Talk here on WDBO 1073FM and AM580, Orlando's News and Talk. I'm Greg Rhodes here with David Levitt, president and founder of Refresh Computer Superstore. You can contact the Refresh Computer Superstore by calling their free tech support hotline at 407-478-8200. Or if you have a comment during the show, go and use that open mic feature inside the WDBO app. You can also check out the website over at Refresh Computers.net or stopping at the Refresh Computer Superstore in Longwood at 820 East State Road 434, just three and a half miles east of I-4 in Longwood. Store hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. And now for the man himself, David Levitt.

SPEAKER_00 0:48

All right. Thanks, Greg, and thanks everybody for listening to a Sunday morning edition of Tech Talk with Refresh Computers. And if you want to recap anything we're going to talk about today, because it's a lot, or if you want to catch up on the show we did yesterday or any show that we've done in the last few years, you can go to refreshcomputers.net, click on that podcast link at the top of the page, and you can listen to the show in its entirety. And better yet, scroll down to the bottom of the page, type in your email address, click submit, and you'll be notified whenever a new show is ready to be listened to that we performed right here on WDBO.

AI Becomes The Top Cyber Threat

SPEAKER_00 1:27

So we are going to talk today about the AI cybersecurity arms race, and it's a big one. So we're going to talk about how AI is both the weapon and the shield. So we'll talk how AI is being used to attack and how AI is being used to defend, for example. And we'll also talk about a little later is your old computer a security risk and what you should possibly do and how refreshed computers can help with that. And then after that, we'll be talking about a new Bill of AI rights, an AI bill of rights that's being proposed by Governor DeSantis right now, and you know what that bill of rights might mean for you, the general public. And then we'll finish the show today with another Windows tip and also some options about doing searches besides using Google AI search. There's a lot of other options out there as you probably already know, but we'll talk about some that maybe you don't know about. Plus, we'll throw in a privacy tip to boot at the end of the show. So let's get into how AI is both the weapon and the shield these days. So the World Economic Forum just released a report saying AI is now the number one cyber disruptor in the world. That should really be of no surprise to most people. 94% of organizations surveyed says AI is the top driver of cyber risk in 2026. So at the same time, the European Central Bank is warning banks that AI-powered attacks are coming faster than most institutions can defend against them. The American banks aren't admitting to this right now that I can see, but it's happening to them too. So if it's a bank, these types of AI-powered attacks are infinitely faster than the old way. We'll get into that a little bit. And also so much faster than these institutions can even keep up with, right?

SPEAKER_01 3:36

So much more sophisticated as well.

SPEAKER_00 3:38

So it's not a future problem. This is something that's happening right now. And so all the all of these major institutions need to be aware of it and take the appropriate steps. And they're trying. Hijackers were mostly humans sitting in front of a computer seeing what they can do to get into somebody's system. They're manually typing things in keyboards or manually reading code, trying to find backdoors. Yeah, and manually accessing your systems, right? And but AI has changed that completely. Attacks can now be automated, personalized, and scaled so and and and happen so fast in the blink of an eye. You don't need the programmer in front of your computer. It could be one guy that knows AI and he can wreak havoc on a bank, he can wreak havoc on a municipality, he or she, I should say. And so we need to be aware this is happening right now. And one hacker, again, with AI tools, can do what it used to take 50 people to do. And but they can do it in a matter of minutes, what 50 people would take all day to do. So think about that. And the barrier to entry for cybercrime has dropped dramatically because of AI. It just has. So how AI is being used to attack

Smarter Phishing Through Data Scraping

SPEAKER_00 5:23

things, right? So phishing emails, right, that were perfectly written, no more dear-valued customer and typos, right? They give it away. Remember, you used to get an email, and you'd always tell it was a phishing email or a fake one, not always, but a lot of times tell because they had a typo. Or bad grammar.

SPEAKER_01 5:40

Super bad grammar. Right. All of these little different things about even like the image that was used and things like that. AI has adjusted so much of that.

SPEAKER_00 5:49

It it it fixes it for these criminals that are sending these excuse me, these uh phishing emails out. And and so you're not getting the phishing emails with that bad grammar anymore, right? It's just it's just not happening because they're using AI. And AI, they well, they what do they do with your social media? They scrape your social media, they scrape your LinkedIn, uh, public records, right? So there's a lot of information out you that's in the about you that's in the public domain. You go to your county website and go to the clerk of courts website, look up lawsuits, look up things and the the the put your name in all these search places that you can. Look at property records, yeah. Look up your property records and put your name in there, and you'll see all this stuff. That's all, if you can see it, they can see it. But they are seeing it a million times faster because they're using AI to just scrape that whole database. I mean, they're scraping it without breaking in because it's already there. And in a lot of cases, they are breaking in. But right now, they're able to scrape all that data in microseconds compared to you know, programmers sitting there, you know, the 50 people in a room scenario all hacking away at their keyboard. That's not happening anymore.

Deepfakes That Can Call You

SPEAKER_00 7:03

So, deep fake voice and video calls. So, this is something that has started probably a year or two ago using AI, and it's just getting more and more prevalent today, right? So, criminals can now clone someone's voice with just a few seconds of audio, and they can do it so well. So, you have to be on the constant lookout for that. It's a shame we always have to be on our guard for for these kinds of things. But with with all the benefits that that AI is bringing us, you know, we it's taking its toll on a lot of things that people hold near and dear, and that's their safety and security. And you have to be more on your toes now than ever before about emails, about websites that you that you click on, about text messages that you get. You have to make darn sure these are things that are coming from legitimate sources. And if you're not sure, if there's something, if you're just like, man, I'm not sure if this is real or not, we have a free tech support hotline and we answer every one of those questions for you free. We we don't mind doing it at all. It's a service we provide to the community, and I'm happy to provide it. And that's 407-478-8200. That's also our main store phone number. But if you call that number 407-478-8200, and explain what you're seeing in your text, explain what you're seeing in your email or on your website that you're visiting, or what's popping up on your computer, we can tell you pretty much right away what's going on and if it's a scam or not. And I can tell you, most of the times when we get those phone calls, it is a scam.

SPEAKER_01 8:40

Unfortunately, most of the time, a scam. You mentioned a part a portion in that deep fake conversation, voice and video calls, right? That's where we progress to now is these video calls that are actually utilizing your pictures, like you mentioned, that are available on your social media to develop these AI versions of a conversation for a video call.

SPEAKER_00 9:00

In video format. And you know, you look at all the fun tools you get now with these, you know, one of the things that that started making these AI tools like Claude, Chat GPT, Grok, all these popular is the fact, oh, oh, look, I put a photo of myself and I made a video out of it. I made a 20-second video. Well, you know what? These cyber criminals can do the same thing, but they can make it longer than 10 or 20 seconds. The limitation that you're going to get using a lot of these tools, they can make it a lot longer. And they and it's progressed to the point, Greg, where they can literally have conversations with you in a video chat.

SPEAKER_01 9:34

Yeah. Terrifying.

SPEAKER_00 9:36

So it's scary. And and yes, it is happening. So it is true. So you you just have to be on the lookout for that kind of stuff. So, you know, and AI creates, you know, the another thing they do is they create fake but very convincing identities to open up accounts and take out loans and things like that with banks. They're getting away with this kind of stuff. And this is why banks are scared. You know, the European Central Bank specifically warned that AI can now identify weaknesses and outdated banking infrastructure. You know, and again, you know, that's the that's a European central bank, but uh the American banks, it's the same thing. It's happening with them. They just may not be openly admitting it. And and they are, I know they are open, they are working on rectifying some things as much as possible, but like I said earlier, this is happening 10 times faster than they can react to, or a hundred times faster. I mean, it's just so much faster. So, and think of the small banks and credit unions. They don't they don't have the resources the big banks do, and you know, they're having an even tougher time because and they are also an easier target because of it. Because they that you know, the cyber criminals know, oh, I can go after this credit union that only has 20 branches or two branches or 10 branches, because the the chances of me getting through to somebody's information or accounts in that smaller bank is infinitely larger than the chance of doing it in something a larger institution, because the banks, the smaller banks just don't have those resources built in yet. So again, it's not just a European problem, US banks face the same threats. And JP Morgan, for example, Chase Bank, right? They're spending millions of dollars on AI cybersecurity. But again, your local credit union may not be. So that's how these new AI tools are being used to attack things, you institutions.

AI Defense And Zero-Day Detection

SPEAKER_00 11:40

And so on the flip side, it's also being used to defend a lot of these kinds of issues. So security tools, AI security tools can monitor your network traffic 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and it spots unusual activity instantly, instantly, and can react to them. And the automated threat detection can catch an intrusion in seconds now instead of days. You know, we talked about the zero-day threats that that were happening, zero-day viruses or or or malware going into systems where you know it was hard for the the institutions that were attacked to react in time, and it was usually by the time they reacted, it's already started to measure intrusion, right? Right. Well, now with AI, it's going to help eliminate and reduce that time frame where the zero-day attacks can actually take hold.

SPEAKER_01 12:33

Well, we've actually even seen cases where it's been able to prevent those zero day attacks because it's able to go in and find those issues before it becomes an actual issue, right?

SPEAKER_00 12:41

Right. We had an anthropic story just a few weeks ago where AI found thousands of hidden security flaws. Some of them were 30 years old. Wow. Security flaws that were 30 years old. And the the anthropic, who who makes Claude, they found these security flaws and were able to rectify them before hackers could exploit them. And so cybersecurity hiring is surging. So companies need people who understand both AI and security. So we talked about in another previous show. You know, you want to you want to hit your wagon to the to a future star? Hit your wagon to AI. Learn all about it. Learn as much as you can. Learn about all the tools and things that you can do, and keep on top of it because you're going to the tech field these days.

SPEAKER_01 13:29

We've seen we've seen companies laying off employees in the tech industry right now, but it's because they're hiring people with more specialties in the artificial intelligence realm. That's right.

Simple Habits That Block Scams

SPEAKER_00 13:39

So, you know, you remember the Nigerian prince scam, right? Oh, yeah. You get an email for my million dollars. You get an email. I'm a prince from Nigeria and I have all this money. I just need you to send me some money that, you know, I mean, that that those those kinds of scams that those are dead now. I mean, that's just not happening anymore because the modern scams are sophisticated and very, very targeted. So again, if you get an unexpected call, a text, an email asking for money or personal information, just hang up. So and just you only call back numbers that you know are real. Don't don't don't call them back either. Because you now now you've you've even you know exposed yourself even more by calling them back. Use two-factor authorization on everything that you can. And just your emails, your bank accounts, social media, use password managers, right? And just make sure you change all your passwords on your make sure that you're not using the same password on all your accounts, these types of things. So, anyhow, again, if you have any questions or need any help with any of this, we have the free tech support hotline at 407-478-8200. You can give us a call.

SPEAKER_01 14:52

On top of all this, your own computer at home may be a security risk all into itself. We'll talk about that coming up next here on Tech Talk on WDBO 1073FM and AM580. Hey there, and welcome back to Tech Talk here on WDBO 1073 FM and AM580, Orlando's news and talk. I'm Greg Rhodes here with David Levitt, president and founder of Refresh Computer Superstore. And you can contact the Refresh Computer Superstore by calling that free tech support hotline at 407-478-8200. Or if you have a comment during the show, we'd love to hear it. Use that open mic feature inside the WDBO app.

SPEAKER_00 15:41

And now back to David. All right. Thanks, Greg, and thanks everybody for listening to Tech Talk with Refresh Computers. We had a very interesting first topic. And if you missed any of that and would like to catch up, you can go to refreshcomputers.net and click on that podcast link in the upper right hand corner, and you'll be able to listen to that segment and this entire show without any commercial interruption whatsoever. Better yet, scroll down to the bottom of the page, put in your email address down there and click submit. That's all we need. And you will be notified via email of this broadcast and every other broadcast in the future once it's published and ready for you to listen

When An Old PC Becomes Risky

SPEAKER_00 16:20

to. So in this segment, we want to talk about your computer. Is your old computer a security risk? So, if so, we can help. Refresh computers can help you. So, cybersecurity starts with your hardware, right? So, all the AI power security tips in the world won't help. And we just went through some of them in the previous uh segment. They won't help if your computer is running an outdated operating system. So, what's an outdated operating system? Windows 10. It was end of life in October of 2025. And if you're still on it, you're running without security updates.

SPEAKER_01 17:01

Important security updates. They've been in the world. Very important since October.

SPEAKER_00 17:05

And we get people in the store all the time, Greg, that come in, they have they've been hacked. We turn on their computer, it's Windows 10. And so we have to explain that it's no longer getting updates. All the hackers in the world know Windows 10 computers are vulnerable now. So it's okay to use a computer on Windows 10. Just don't connect it to the internet. Just don't. If you're connecting it to the internet and you're accessing your bank, you are you are you are taking a risk that that's the biggest risk that you can possibly take when it comes to cybercrime, because these criminals will and eventually catch up with you. So you gotta stop, you gotta you know upgrade that computer. You know, a lot of computers are still upgradable to Windows 11. So you wouldn't might not even have to buy another computer, but you're still running on Windows 10. And that would be kind of unusual, but we're still seeing it, Greg, because you know you're prompted all the time. Your computer should be updated to Windows 11. The Microsoft is telling you that. And if you're just skipping over it, that's pretty much what you have to do on a Windows 10 computer that's capable of running Windows 11. A lot of them aren't. But if it's capable of running Windows 11, you need to upgrade it to Windows 11. If you need help, we're here. We're here for you. We can help you get that thing upgraded to Windows 11.

SPEAKER_01 18:24

And even just like your security that you have on your PC, you think that your antivirus is going to save you? Probably not at this point, right?

SPEAKER_00 18:31

No, because the the again, using AI, these these cyber attackers out there are finding ways to get around all that stuff and Windows computers that are still running Windows 10.

SPEAKER_01 18:42

And those antiviruses probably haven't been updated since October either, since the end of life. That's right. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 18:48

So, you know, what can refresh computers do to help you? So bring your machine in if you're not sure. We'll run a free diagnostic and we'll tell you honestly what's going on, right? We'll let you know if you can upgrade to Windows 11, if you have a virus or not. And if you do, we can clean it for you. And if you are not able to upgrade it, maybe take advantage of our new trade-in program that we have right now. If it's you know, if it meets certain specifications, you can trade it in to upgrade your computer right there at refresh computer. So, and if it's fixable, I mean maybe it is a Windows 11 machine. And it's just running slow, which is another sign that it you that you could have a virus, by the way. If your machine is suddenly running slow, we can check again, we can check to see if it does have a virus and get rid of that virus for you. If it's still a little bit slow, maybe you need a RAM upgrade, or maybe your Solid State drive is slowing, slowing it down because you know those end up, those go bad over time also, and that can slow down your computer. So we can do a solid state drive swap out for you. If we have every size up to four terabyte uh solid state drives there at refresh computers, and we can do that affordably. And again, you know, if it's time to move on, we have certified refurbished machines starting at prices that won't break the bank. So very, very reasonably priced machines, mostly business class machines. It's going to last you as long as a computer that you bought brand new would last you. I promise you that. Every machine that we sell comes with Windows 11 installed and ready to go. No setup headaches.

SPEAKER_01 20:22

We've been talking a lot about AI in today's show, but what is the government doing to help protect you? We'll talk a little bit about that AI Bill of Rights that's going through the Florida legislature coming up next here on Tech Talk on WDBO 1073FM and AM580. You can contact the Refresh Computer Superstore by calling their free tech support hotline at 407-478-8200. Or if you have a comment during the show, go and use that open mic feature inside the WDBO app. You can also check out the website over at Refresh Computers.net or stop it at the Refresh Computer Superstore in Longwood at 820 East State Road 434, just three and a half miles east of I-4 in Longwood. Store hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. And now for the man himself, David Levitt.

SPEAKER_00 21:29

All right. Thanks, Greg, and thanks everybody for listening to this edition of Tech Talk with Refresh Computers. If you'd like to recap anything that we spoke about today, you can go to refreshcomputers.net, click on that podcast link in the upper right hand corner, and you can listen to the show in its entirety. We talked a lot about cybersecurity. We talked about cybercrime. We talked about how AI is involved now and how AI is actually speeding up the process of getting information from you that you don't want it to have. Have and also how AI is being used to defend that those kinds of attacks. We talked in detail about that, a pretty interesting segment, so you might want to catch

Florida AI Bill Of Rights Debate

SPEAKER_00 22:10

that. Now, uh Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, he's pushing his AI Bill of Rights, right, through the Florida legislature, this time in a special session. I don't know, is that the same special session that they're doing the property tax?

SPEAKER_01 22:26

My understanding is it's gonna be talked about. I don't know if it's gonna be something that they're gonna push for legislation at this time, but it's gonna be revisited for certain here coming up on this property tax special session.

SPEAKER_00 22:36

Trevor Burrus Well, and here's my my concern over an AI Bill of Rights done in the state of Florida is I I you know I would hate for Florida to become the California of state laws that that the whole country seems to have to be able to adapt to. Trevor Burrus, Jr. Right.

SPEAKER_01 22:55

You have to dance around what this one state has done to adjust your program.

SPEAKER_00 23:00

You look at a lot of the vehicle safety laws that California passes, the consumer labeling laws that California passes, and how many things have you looked at that says if you live in California?

SPEAKER_01 23:12

This causes cancer only in California, right? The five-foot tag on the end of your mattress, those kinds of things.

SPEAKER_00 23:17

Right. And my concern is this this kind of legislation kind of pushes Florida towards that kind of direction. I'm not totally against a nationwide AI bill of rights, right? That all the states would have to abide by. There's some important things that I think we we should we should legislate. I mean, after all, one of the purposes of government is to help, you know, is to protect us. But doing it state by state to me is kind of not the right direction to go. Trevor Burrus, Jr. It's convoluted, right?

SPEAKER_01 23:50

You get so many different states that have different things that are okay and not okay. I agree. I think it's something that needs to be a little bit more of a national standard, but it's got to start somewhere. And I think Florida is kind of trying to lead maybe a larger conversation on the topic, right? Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_00 24:03

And maybe this will this will do it. You know, I don't know. You know, I think about daylight savings time.

unknown 24:09

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 24:09

Florida passed a law, but you know what? It doesn't go in effect until the government says it goes in effect, which is if the federal government does. And uh hopefully, actually, hopefully Trump can get that thing passed to. Jeez. There's been some funny talk about that recently, too. Yes, there has been. So any any anyway, so what's in this new AI bill of rights that DeSantis is proposing? It's one one of the big things is parental controls, right? So protections for children interacting with AI systems, because you know, let's face it, as dangerous as it is for adults to interact with AI systems sometimes, your kids get a hold of this and they start learning the you know how AI works, and I'm sure it's already happening. It's a scary proposition, you know. So especially when it comes to like therapy, you know, the therapy chat, you know, banning AI from acting as a mental health therapist for minors is another thing that's in this legislation.

SPEAKER_01 25:04

We've actually seen a few lawsuits come out of the state of Florida based around that exact action from some of these chat bots that are available.

SPEAKER_00 25:11

Yeah, and and probably well rightfully so. I mean, there should be some protections in there. So and protections against AI being used to make major decisions about you, like loans and jobs and housing without human review. That one, uh I'm kind of iffy on about that particular bullet point, but that's in the AI Bill of Rights that that is being proposed by DeSantis for the state of Florida. So yeah, this isn't the first time there's been something like this introduced to the Florida legislature. So it it died the first time around. And the reason is the Florida House rejected all the sweeping AI restrictions. They just rejected it outright because it was, I think, too soon, or not just too soon, but they probably had the same mindset. Wait, this needs to be a national thing, not a Florida thing, right?

SPEAKER_01 26:01

The tech industry lobbyists argued it would hurt innovation and make Florida less competitive, which is always a concern, like you mentioned, restricting innovation and you want to be the state that kind of encourages that. We've always we were always talking about the free state of Florida when you hear a lot of those conversations come up. That would be a major restriction on tech development right now.

SPEAKER_00 26:19

Well, yeah. And some lawmakers felt it was too broad and would create compliance nightmares, right, for businesses. So, which, you know, it could. It could. I mean, so it's just not a thing. I think it's not a thing. I my preference would be to see it on a nationwide level, not a state level. So why is he bringing this AI bill of rights back? Well, a lot of it has to do with growing public pressure. A lot of people are are increasingly worried about AI in their daily lives, and like what happens in a whole bunch of other scenarios, even with I mean, without AI, even, is when there's a big fear, public fear of something, they're looking for the government to take care of them. And this is not one of those cases to I think back at COVID, you know, and and the cov the government messed up big time, way overstepping boundaries during the COVID era. And because of public pressure. Public pressure saying, hey, you have to do something, you're the government. Well, no, not not about everything. And so that's that's a big big thing right now, is it's that's providing this pressure from the general public. I'm not saying that's providing the pressure from the majority of the general public, because I don't know. Right. But I would guess not.

SPEAKER_01 27:35

It's also got to be a little bit political when it comes to Ron DeSantis, too, right? He's coming up on the end of his term as governor. Yeah. You know he's looking at a possible presidential run. This would be another box to check on a resume for a for a potential presidential run, right?

SPEAKER_00 27:48

Yeah, because it's high profile, right? So it's a high profile thing that everybody's talking about, and it's something else that he can bring out in the forefront to get on the news, quite frankly. And that might be another reason why it's being reintroduced. And he's ramping up the pressure on the Florida House, I can tell you that. So and then we talked about states at the state level, there's other states also doing something similar. California, of course, Colorado and New York. They're all passing their own AI laws right now.

SPEAKER_01 28:19

Not usually a list that Florida would find itself on tied to those states. So definitely, like you mentioned, it'll maybe a little bit interesting that Florida's taking this route.

SPEAKER_00 28:27

It is, but I think you hit the nail on the head, it's a popularity thing. Yeah. For a governor who's ending his term and the presidential aspect looking for something else. Yeah. So, you know, and again, uh, you know, a patchwork of state laws, uh it's just not right. It's creating pressure for some kind of federal standards. I'm hoping maybe that's the would be the outcome of something like this. So, and you know, the on the debate side, you know, let's let's look at both sides. Both sides have valid points, right? So the pro-regulation side, people deserve to know when they're talking to AI. I agree with that. Pretty much so, yeah. You know, you need but you also need to know if you're using a computer today, they're pretty much talking to AI now. Right. And just about every single case, because just about every platform has adopted it. If they haven't, they're behind the times. So, you know, I I will say, you know, know that you are talking to AI already if you're using a computer. So I don't know how they would regulate that part, right? AI is already being used to deny loans, for example, also. So that's a biggie. It's being used to screen job applicants. It's also being used to set insurance rates with no human oversight. So that could be an issue. I mean, that's a that's a pro-regulation thing, right? So it's like, you know, maybe I don't want AI to set my how much I'm gonna pay for my automobile insurance or my home insurance. Right. Maybe there needs to be intervention there, but maybe but even if there is, Greg, the companies are still using it.

SPEAKER_01 30:01

Right. And I was gonna say, who is gonna be on the let's say I'm an insurance adjuster? Am I gonna go against the AI recommendation? Probably not. Probably not because it's all the data that I've already put into the system at that point.

SPEAKER_00 30:11

Exactly. So so that's you know, that's these kinds of things, you know, that's why I'm kind of on the fence about it, because it's like they're saying that they they they need it to make sure that you know that AI is being used for denying your loan. But just know AI is being used to deny your loan anyway. I mean, it just is. And so when that happens, so but you know, the biggest thing for me uh on the pro side of why we would need legislation is for the children, right? Because they're uh especially vulnerable to any kind of AI manipulation. And you know, we talked uh about in a previous show about not, you know, holding off on letting your kids hold an iPhone or an iPad or a tablet or you know, as long as possible. Don't use it as a babysitting tool and all that kind of stuff. But that's multiplied immensely now that AI is involved, and letting your kids get a hold of a a tablet with Claude on it or with Chat GPT and your kids interacting with that now, and they're four years old or five years old, or say, you know, they these kids are smart, they know how to attach a photo with something. You know, they may not be able to read, but they can attach a photo inside one of these AI tools, so you got to be really careful about that kind of thing. And and and kids are curious, and they're just naturally curious. And if it's you have an AI tool on an iPad that your child has access to, just consider the fact that your child, no matter how young it is, might figure out how to get to that tool and start using it for things you don't want them using it for or even being exposed to, right?

SPEAKER_01 31:51

And we talk a lot about scams too. It goes the other way too. So from the younger generation to the older generation where you're concerned about all these AI scams as well. That's another portion of where this legislation could be very impactful.

SPEAKER_00 32:03

Yeah, yeah, it is. And so I don't know. I mean, just for the kids alone, I think it's important to have some kind of legislation out there. But I just still go back, revert back to that. I prefer it on the national level. Uh and also on the pro side, you know, Florida has a very large elderly population, and a lot of these folks are successful to these scams more so than, you know, people that are younger, and they just are. And that so maybe there's some kind of legislation in there that help with that. So we just, you know, on the anti-regulation side, like the side I tend to lean towards, surprise, surprise. Overly strict rules could push tech companies out of Florida. Tech companies would just say, well, geez, you know, I maybe I don't want to move there where you're gonna put all those restrictions on me.

SPEAKER_01 32:51

And do you really want to risk that with the space boom that we've talked about here in Central Florida Space Coast, the technology space boom that we're in the middle of? In the middle of. And really, Cape Canaveral is ground zero for a lot of this.

SPEAKER_00 33:03

So do you want to risk that development? You don't. I mean, because let's face it, I mean, technology moves much faster than legislation. Yep. Right? So they can legislate something today, and tomorrow technology changed. So that you know how they set these boundaries is is going to be very important. So, you know, laws written today may be obsolete in two years. And so, and my last point about on the anti-regulation side, as far as the state of Florida is concerned, is I think the federal government should be the one to set a national standard and just and it'll be good for all 50 states. So whatever they decide to put in it. I may not agree with all the things they put in it, but especially when it comes to the children and maybe the elderly. There's some important things that we can pass to help protect people. But did you know that Florida already has one AI law? It's already been passed. So it's it's SB 484 is now law, and that law says all AI data centers must pay for their own utilities and cannot shift costs to customers. Well, I think that's a pretty good law. I think that's pretty important for the state of Florida to to to get. It's not regulating how you use AI, it's regulating that data centers need to just pay for their own utilities.

SPEAKER_01 34:15

They need to pay their own way. We talked a little bit back when the pat when we had the freezes here over the over the winter and how the power companies were sending out notices to individuals to, hey, reduce your power consumption because we have to make sure these data centers stay on. So you couldn't heat your house because they wanted to make sure that the data centers were properly were properly taken care of. So that's uh I think that's going to be a major sticking point moving forward, especially as you see more of these data centers popping up in central Florida. Two more still planned here in Maitland and Apopka to be built soon in your own backyard.

SPEAKER_00 34:48

Yeah, yeah. When actually the one in Maitland actually was a was a data center being constructed before AI dentist data centers are being constructed. Ostheim is the company. And you know, that's got a lot of people nervous right now. But, you know, they've they've had one issue after another getting that building open. And now with the push of AI, they may have had to change a lot of things in their, you know, in midstream too uh to build that building. I'm not sure, but I know that they've had some they've had some issues to get open.

SPEAKER_01 35:17

So what do you think? Do you think that these AI data centers and these AI Bill of Rights laws should pass here in the state of Florida, or do you think it's a national thing? Let us know. Use that open mic feature inside the WDB app. We'd love to hear your reactions to our topic here today. But coming up, we'll have more of your Windows updates as they continue our weekly update program here on Tech Talk on 1073 FM and AM580. Hey there, and welcome to Tech Talk here on WDBO, 1073 FM and AM580, Orlando's news and talk. I'm Greg Rhodes here with David Levitt, president and founder of Refresh Computer Superstore. You can contact the Refresh Computer Superstore by calling their free tech support hotline at 407-478-8200. You can also check out their website at refreshcomputers.net.

SPEAKER_00 36:17

And now back to David. All right. Thanks, Greg, and thanks everybody for listening to Tech Talk with Refresh Computers. This is David Levitt, the owner and founder of Refresh Computers. I want to remind everybody, as you're listening to all the topics we're talking about, is that we have this free tech support hotline. If you have a question on anything that we talked about on the show, if you think your computer or laptop is at risk or maybe has been compromised, call that free tech support hotline, 407-478-8200, and we're there to help you. You can also send us an email, by the way. Our store email address is longwood at refreshcomputers.net. So it's easy to remember. Longwood at refreshcomputers.net. It also helps you to remember where we're located in Longwood. So, but we service all of Central Florida. Great. We have people coming from Jacksonville, from Tampa, Kissimmee, all Coco, all over the place to refresh computers because we've been there 26 years and you know, and people have learned that you know they can always get a good deal and a fair shake at our computer store, and always very helpful people there at Refresh Computers. I'm very proud of the people that we have working there at Refresh Computers because, well, quite frankly, they're what that's what makes our our business good.

SPEAKER_01 37:32

It says so much about your reputation that so many people from across the state seek you out for that. So it's a kudos to you guys and your team.

Search Options Beyond Google AI

SPEAKER_00 37:40

So we're going to talk a little bit right now about Google's AI search. And you know, it's is a bit you know pitiful, you know, in my opinion, that you know, and Google has, you know, they they took them a little while. I mean, if you if you take more than a few months to to catch up to what everybody else is doing in the tech world, you know, you've fallen far behind. And Google certainly has done that. I mean, because you look with you know the standard Google search. I I when we talked about AI chat GPT coming out a couple years ago, we had a radio show about that. I said this is the end of the Google search. Yep. You will see it. And and this is when hardly anybody was using Chat GPT yet, because it was just coming out. And and I even had people tell me, you know, Google's king, it'll always be king. No, no, it's not. It's not going to be anymore, and it's not. So, you know, there are some things that Google are is doing now with their AI-generated search that are still kind of, you know, I mean, disappointing, actually. So, you know, it's geared towards, of course, a lot of uh it's geared towards advertising at Google because companies pay to have prevalence on Google, they're paying Google less and less and less. And I wonder what that has to do with Google's bottom line, it has to be being destroyed right now with as far as their Google search revenue is concerned, because people, you know, there's billions of dollars spent on that at Google. And so they're not the benefactor of that kind of spending anymore. And if you're still a company out there spending money for Google searches, uh, you might be looking at look, you know what? Go to Claude, go to Anthropics Claude or go to ChatGPT or go to Grok and put in your website and ask it, give me a search engine optimization plan for my website. That's pretty much all you got to do. Yep. And guess what? It's gonna come back with a very comprehensive list of things for you to do and some things you may not know how to do, but you might have to pay somebody to do. But so what? I would suggest doing that because that beats paying for Google ads every day now. Every day. So as a matter of fact, there's an organization called TechCrunch, and I and I and I love these these folks. They they literally publish an article this week. It's called Six Engines, Six Search Engines worth trying now, now that Google isn't really Google anymore. And so your alternatives basically are duck duck go. They've gotten they've getting 30% more usage. DuckDuckGo is just recently here. The surge in activity there because they're using a lot of AI tools without the the advertising, you know, interrupting things. Brave search is called. Uh, start page is another one. Bing with co-pilot is actually a really good place right now to use because Microsoft's version is actually quite good and more transparent than Google's.

SPEAKER_01 40:38

So I will say that I found that copilot's data seems to be more outdated than a lot of the other ones. I think so.

SPEAKER_00 40:45

More more outdated, um, but it is it's it's not lean towards uh Bing ads, right? Uh like Google ads are.

Final Hotline Reminder And Wrap

SPEAKER_00 40:54

So, folks, that's all we're gonna have time for in this edition of Tech Talk with Refresh Computers. I'm David Levitt, the owner and founder of Refresh Computers. That free tech support hotline again is 407 478 8200. Call us about anything tech.