Samsung Galaxy Ring review, KOSA passes the Senate and another AI “Friend”

Samsung's Galaxy Ring is here, and honestly it's just a bit basic. This week, Cherlynn and Devindra dive into what does and doesn't work with Samsung's latest wearable. Also, we discuss Friend's new AI gadget, which listens to your conversations and sends text messages to help you feel less lonely. To get a better sense of the device, Devindra also talks to Friend's CEO, Avi Schiffmann, about why he's leaning away from the productivity side of AI helpers and more towards the vibes of friendly AI. (And yes, we also ask why he spent $1.8 million of Friend's $2.5 million funding just to buy the Friend.com domain.) In other news, we discuss the potential impact of KOSA (the Kids Online Safety Act) with India McKinney, the EFF’s Director of Federal Affairs. While lawmakers are uniformly positioning KOSA as a way to protect kids on the internet, it could also lead to draconian censorship and destroy free speech on the web as we know it. Cherlynn reviews the Samsung Galaxy Ring: Great sleep tracking, but needs more features – 2:13 Interview with Avi Schiffmann, founder of AI wearable company Friend – 27:27 KOSA passes the senate – we chat with EFF’s India McKinney about why it matters – 48:22 What we’ve learned since the massive 7/19 Crowdstrike outage – 1:12:07 Elon Musk shared an AI altered video of Kamala Harris without labeling, breaking the rules of his own site – 1:18:57 Apple Intelligence arrives in the iOS 18.1 developer beta – 1:21:57 Google makes peace with third-party cookies after years of mixed signals – 1:26:38 Around Engadget: Mat Smith’s Galaxy Flip 6 review – 1:29:36 Working on – 1:31:44 Pop culture picks – 1:32:22