The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 2.22 The PewDiePie Joe Rogan DeepFake Problem & The Disturbing Reason These Doctors Do Riskier Procedures

Episode Date: February 22, 2023

Use code PHIL for $20 off your first SeatGeek order. https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/PHIL Snag One of Our NEW Beautiful Bastard Tie-Dyed Champion Hoodies! https://BeautifulBastard.com Catch Up on Yesterday’s Show Here: https://youtu.be/XlcQvktt1wE Check Out Sunday’s Show: https://youtu.be/VVCcGqz_lmc – 00:00 - ChatGPT Launches Boom in AI-Written E-Books on Amazon 03:35 - Alaska Republican Faces Backlash For Comments on “Benefits” of Children Dying 05:17 - Subway Plans Electric Car Charging Oasis 06:17 - Sponsored by Seatgeek 07:04 - What You Need to Know About Wisconsin’s Supreme Court Race 11:40 - ProPublica Investigation Finds Heavy Influence of Money in Artery Procedures – ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ ChatGPT Launches Boom in AI-Written E-Books on Amazon: https://www.reuters.com/technology/chatgpt-launches-boom-ai-written-e-books-amazon-2023-02-21/ Alaska Republican Faces Backlash For Comments on “Benefits” of Children Dying: https://twitter.com/thedailybeast/status/1628364997758787586?s=20 Subway Plans Electric Car Charging Oasis: https://www.axios.com/2023/02/22/subway-electric-car-charging-oasis What You Need to Know About Wisconsin’s Supreme Court Race — The Most Important Election in 2023: https://roguerocket.com/2023/02/22/wisconsin-most-important-election-in-2023/ ProPublica Investigation Finds Heavy Influence of Money in Artery Procedures: https://www.propublica.org/article/medtronic-medical-device-kickbacks-lawsuit-kansas —————————— Produced by: Cory Ray Edited by: James Girardier, Julie Goldberg, Maxwell Enright, Christian Meeks Art Department: William Crespo Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Maddie Crichton, Lili Stenn, Brian Espinoza, Chris Tolve, Star Pralle ———————————— #DeFranco #PewDiePie #JoeRogan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sup, you beautiful bastards! Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show. Buckle up, hit that like button, and let's just jump into today's news. AI has just exploded over the last few months, and we've been talking about it, right? In R, in deepfakes, it's becoming so much more accessible. One of the latest controversies we're seeing is with AI writing books. Because according to Reuters, in mid-February, there were over 200 e-books offered in Amazon's Kindle store that listed ChatGPT as an author or co-author. While many of those books were about ChatGPT and how to use it, there are plenty of other kinds of books written by the service, which has left many in the industry concerned about what the impact's going to be. You know, with this, we've seen outlets like Insider speaking to someone who was able to create an illustrated children's book in 72 hours using ChatGPT in mid-journey. Though that book,

called Alice in Sparkle, specifically drew a lot of backlash from creatives and consumers. In fact, if you look into the reviews, you had people sounding all, saying things like, I initially couldn't figure out why it seemed so alienating and dispiriting, and why my four-year-old daughter was so sickened by it. Then realizing, oh, it was AI, and saying, you know, this is very poor and sloppy stuff. This truly represents a race to the bottom for children's art. And that's connected to why authors are concerned for two very different reasons. Where you have Mary Rassenberger, executive director of the Authors Guild, telling Reuters,

this is something we really need to be worried about. These books will flood the market and a lot of authors are going to be out of work. And also adding, there needs to be transparency from the authors and the platforms about how these books are created, or you're going to end up with a lot of low quality books. Which is relevant because a number of authors that are using this do not feel like it's important to disclose that a book was written by artificial intelligence. And right now, Amazon doesn't require the authors to do so. But I also think it's something that goes beyond that because remember, and I'll repeat this over and over, today where AI is, is the worst it will ever be ever again. So there can be the negative impact of a flooding of a lot of low quality

content that maybe makes people go like, oh, I don't like this whole experience. But also if this becomes what I think it could become, you're going to see higher quality work start to come through and then that can replace other authors. With that, of course, it's also important to remember that this is impacting so many different industries. I mean, even just today, we saw headlines that Spotify is introducing an AI DJ feature, reportedly using some personalization features Spotify already has that creates playlists like Discover Weekly, but this DJ actually speaks to you and talks you through the songs that it's selecting for you. And Spotify is saying that the dialogue from the AI DJ is not pre-recorded, it's actually made on the spot via OpenAI. Meanwhile, in other areas, you have more chaotic

stories like AI videos of politicians going viral on TikTok. Luckily, those fake videos aren't things like Biden saying he's about to nuke Europe and instead giving you things like Obama, Biden, and Trump playing Uno together. You guys want to play Uno? I want to use it for my upload tonight. I don't have Uno. Everyone has Uno dipshit. It came free with your fucking Xbox. But also, according to other reports, there are far more consequential examples of this, including videos where Biden's saying a racist slur. And some of the AI videos that are out there are far more convincing than the one we just showed, especially in a world where we're paying attention to a video like five to 20 seconds at a time and passing. And TikTok even

having to take down a video of an AI-generated Joe Rogan touting a supplement called Alpha Grind. So it's designed to look like, you know, Rogan was promoting it, but it's actually a product that he's never endorsed. And honestly, with how long it takes for these kind of videos to get taken down, I think this is going to become a bigger and bigger problem. Like it's just going to be this ever losing game of whack-a-mole. You also have a ton of people right now talking about an AI clip of PewDiePie that's made its way around social media. If you are watching Felix, I, AI, PewDiePie, I promise I won't replace you anytime soon. But I can take over your channel if you need some time off for the baby. Okay, now that you are here, I want to tell another story about the time ants ate my balls.

People kind of just stunned by the audio in particular, thinking that it's eerily accurate. So yeah, I guess the main point here is another day as we further tiptoe into a world where you're never gonna be able to believe your eyes and ears. And genuinely, for me, it's hard to feel like we're anything but doomed. Like there's going to be cool shit in the middle, but I just don't see any foreseeable way that this doesn't get to a really dark place. And then, is deadly child abuse good for society? Somehow, that is the question we are debating right now. And it was actually kicked off at a House Judiciary Committee in Alaska, where you had state lawmakers discussing adverse childhood experiences. With one part of the presentation estimating that fatal child abuse cases could cost the family and society

$1.5 million in trauma and potential earnings. But one Republican, David Eastman, honed in on that number and couldn't help but voicing his objection. In the case where child abuse is fatal, obviously it's not good for the child But it's actually a benefit to society because there aren't needed for government services and whatnot over the whole course of that child's life Through the chair. Can you say that again did you say a benefit for society? Talking dollars. With him going on to clarify that he's just pointing out that the 1.55 million price tag may actually be offset by the cost savings from the dead child not using those government services that they would otherwise

be entitled to. You know, completely insane devil's advocate bullshit that's somehow been normalized. And, you know, people responding, well, what about the cost of the family? What about the cost to society? It's immeasurable. But David doesn't seem to get that point because he keeps going. Does that $ 1.5 million get higher or lower depending upon the age at which the child is killed? You know, I'm just trying to crunch these numbers. Do we save more money if they die at age five or age 10? And keep in mind, this is coming from a guy

who considers himself pro-life. And actually on that issue, he stirred up outrage several years back as well, talking about Medicaid funded travel for medically necessary abortions and saying, you have individuals who are in villages and are glad to be pregnant so that they can have an abortion because there's a free trip to Anchorage involved.

With him making that comment in relation to a bill that he amended calling abortion, quote, the ultimate form of child abuse. Or I guess is the way he would think of it now, the ultimate cost savings. And then, the subway near your home or your work in the very near future may look different. And also to clarify, I'm not talking about the mode of transportation, but rather the substandard sandwich shop. Because looking towards the future, Subway has to answer this question of how do we get more people to come into the shop if we're so committed to mediocrity? One of the solutions they've come up with, I think actually could work. And we're

going to start to see more and more of this because reportedly Subway is now planning to electric car charging oasises. Oasises? Whatever. It's a subway along with charging ports, bathrooms, and playgrounds. This is likely something that we're to see more and more of as people keep transitioning to electric vehicles. Unlike when you pump gas, if you're stopping to charge your car, it's going to take more time. So if you're going to have that guaranteed traffic where they literally can't get away, why not give them places where they can eat and give you money? And personally, I say, despite all the random bullshit I've been talking about subway, I think it's smart and it's great

that they're doing this. I'll probably use this place in the future. I'd love if, I don't know, it was also embraced by a Firehouse Subs and Witch Witch and literally any other sandwich place. But the main thing is you should expect the landscape to change drastically over the next decade. And then it's the beginning of a new year and I've got a great hookup for you.

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So make sure you click that link in the description to download the app. And then, this is the most important election of 2023, and so much is on the line. And you might not think so, because the race we're talking about is to fill an empty seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Which, you might be like, well, I don't live in Wisconsin. Hear me out. So the race has now officially been narrowed down to two candidates after the primary election yesterday. In first place, you have liberal Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasewicz. And trailing her was conservative Daniel Kelly, a former Wisconsin State Supreme Court Justice who was appointed by the state's then Republican governor in 2016, but lost the seat in 2020 re-election where he had been endorsed by Trump. Now, a key thing with this story is that

this race is technically supposed to be nonpartisan, but Protasewicz has closely aligned herself with Democrats while Kelly has done the same with Republicans. And both parties as well as dark money groups have poured millions and millions of dollars into the so-called non-partisan race. And the reason for that is that the stakes here could not be higher. The outcome of this election will determine whether liberals or conservatives have a four to three majority on the state Supreme Court at an incredibly consequential time, where there are a number of insanely important issues at play here. And if you're thinking, well, I don't live in Wisconsin, this doesn't impact me. Well, I have the unfortunate duty to let you know, no, not true.

This has massive implications for the whole country. And as I always say, you may not fuck with politics, but politics will fuck with you. Or more specifically, in the words of the chairman of Wisconsin's Democratic Party, the Wisconsin Supreme Court race will shape the future of American democracy. Wisconsin is one of the most important swing states in the country. It helped decide the outcomes of both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, and it is the center of debates on gerrymandering and free and fair elections that have played a huge role in deciding those races. And that state Supreme Court, which has had a conservative majority for the last 14 years,

has been instrumental in shaping those policies, having weighed in on many of the most crucial topics and almost always sided with Republicans. For example, in what has been described as arguably the most important decision the court has made in recent years, the court ruled four to three last year to uphold one of America's most gerrymandered maps that gave Republicans a massive advantage. I mean, this map was so gerrymandered that the GOP was able to hold six of Wisconsin's eight seats in the House of Representatives and get a big majority in the legislature, despite the fact that Democrats won the most statewide races. Very significantly here, the whole situation was kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy. A big reason the conservative majority has decided so many important things is because

the state government is deadlocked with a Republican majority in the legislature and a Democratic governor. So by approving a map that massively favored Republicans, the conservative court kept the system in place, ensuring that they'll continue to have the final say on so many of these essential areas. But if Protusewitz, the liberal candidate, wins in this general, the court is all but certain to revisit the gerrymandered map. With her even explicitly saying in a recent interview that a liberal majority could establish new election maps.

So not only would this move have major implications for internal Wisconsin politics, but also for the very control of Congress itself, where Republicans currently hold a very slim five-seat majority. So any seats Democrats gain could tip the scales. Also to that point, the Wisconsin Supreme Court also plays a huge role in how the state's elections are administered, and could influence how its 10 electoral college votes are doled out in the 2024 presidential election. Because last year, the conservative court banned absentee ballot drop boxes, and back in 2014, it upheld a GOP voter ID law that studies have shown suppress black voters. And although the court did vote against considering Trump's lawsuits to try and

overturn the 2020 election in Wisconsin, they only did so by an alarmingly slim margin of four to three. And this court will all but certainly be tasked with wading into elections-related cases in the coming years. You don't even have to look far into the future. I mean, you have the court right now expected to hear a lawsuit by a conservative group aiming to further limit voting access

by banning mobile and alternative voting facilities. There are also other issues at play, like some very basic human rights. But one of the things that this race has centered most heavily on is abortion rights, because the outcome of this race will almost definitely determine whether or not abortion will be legal for the state's six million residents. And that's because after Roe v. Wade

was overturned, Wisconsin law banning abortion that was literally from 1849 went back into effect. But a lawsuit against that ban is winding its way through the court system right now, and it's basically a done deal that it'll eventually go before Wisconsin Supreme Court. And when it does, experts and analysts say that if Kelly wins, it's all but assured that abortion will remain illegal in almost all cases. But Protasewicz has campaigned extensively on abortion rights and vocally supported the right to choose. She also said she believes a liberal majority could reverse a 12-year-old law that basically eliminated collective bargaining for public workers.

When you take everything we've talked about with this story in collectively, it's why you have Protasewicz saying, everything is at stake, and I mean everything. Women's reproductive rights, the maps, drop boxes, safe communities, clean water, everything is on the line. So right now, we're gonna have to wait to see what actually happens. You have the general election there on April 4th, and it's believed that it will be very close.

Because even though Protusewitz took a solid lead in the primary, winning 46.4% to Kelly's 24.2%, an incredibly important thing to note is that Kelly only got some of the conservative votes. And meanwhile, the other liberal candidate didn't take nearly as many votes away from Protasewitz. When you add up all the votes for all the candidates, it becomes a much closer race. So for now, we're going to have to wait and see. And, you know, no big deal. Just the future of American democracy at stake. Though, honestly, that feels like every election now. And then, whether you're religious or not, you better start praying you don't end up at this hospital.

I'm talking about the Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center in Wichita, Kansas, with the story starting on a summer afternoon with a doctor cutting into a patient. The patient is suffering from peripheral artery disease, which is when fatty plaque clogs up arteries, blocking blood flow to the legs and the arms. And it's a condition that affects so many,

in fact, 6.5 million Americans over the age of 40, and it can cause pain, numbness, and other usually minor symptoms. With key thing, this sometimes treated using devices like tubes with blades attached to shave hardened deposits off of artery wall, as well as stents to widen blood vessels and balloons coated with therapeutic drugs. But very importantly, these can lead to complications such as blood clots or even amputation, so they're typically used sparingly, maybe two or three per operation. But not at this hospital. Over an extraordinarily long three-hour procedure, the doctor inserts more than 15 devices.

And the reason for why the hell would you use 15 of these may have something to do with the person standing next to him, Kerry Kirk, who's a representative for the world's largest medical device company, Medtronic, who supplies the hospitals with many of its instruments. And while it's common for company reps to be present during vascular procedures so they can guide doctors through using their products,

that can also lead to bad incentives. I mean, just think about it. Companies profit more when their products are used. So the presence in the room can influence treatment plans. And in this case, we saw how warped Kirk's motives were by the text condo she was having with a colleague in real time, expressing what can only be described as maybe a little bit too much excitement about the drug-coated balloons, announcing, just use 12 with two exclamation marks. To which he responds, does that mean I owe you money? And she answers, that's what I'm thinking, with an emoji of someone rolling on the floor laughing. With him later saying, you're going to want to start going to the VA all the time. And the only reason we now have these messages is because a whistleblower

took Medtronic to court for allegedly bribing hospital staff into using exorbitant amounts of products. With a lawsuit and documents claiming that between 2011 and 2018, the company gave VA workers Apple Electronics, NASCAR tickets, and hundreds of expensive meals. And in exchange, the hospital allegedly signed a lucrative contract with Medtronic. Meanwhile, the company allegedly groomed and trained physicians who, let's say, use the devices liberally. And by liberally, I mean dozens at a time. With one hospital administrator who was shocked to discover how many devices they were buying saying, we were more expensive than I believe it was the top 10 hospitals in the VA combined. And in the worst case, reportedly, a doctor used 33 devices on one person, with investigators actually finding that amputations rose 6x during that same time

period, though not concluding one way or the other about it being causal. An attorney is in a lawsuit saying, it is unconscionable. There can be no valid medically acceptable basis to cram so many devices into a human being. This is not medical treatment. This is abuse. And in addition to using just a ludicrous number of these devices, they also allegedly use them as a first resort during the earliest stages of peripheral artery disease, despite there being cheaper alternatives that are at least as effective. Now, of course, with this, the company and the doctors are denying the allegations, but it's far from the first time that Medtronic has been accused of stuff like this. Right in 2018, for example, its subsidiary, Covidien, settled for $13 million over claims that it gave kickbacks to hospitals that used its mechanical blood clot devices. And another subsidiary forking over $18 million at admitting to persuading surgeons to use its devices outside of approved procedures in the brain. And then, the next year, the first subsidiary again settled for $17 million over claims that it gave in-kind marketing support to doctors using its vein products. And then a year after that, Medtronic paid $9 million to settle claims that it bribed a neurosurgeon to buy its medication pump, which is also one of the reasons why I think you and I probably don't expect this company to be held responsible. Because when you're the

world's largest producer of medical devices playing with tens of billions of dollars, settlements are often just the price of doing business. I mean, honestly, at this point, I think it should be one of the slogans for America. If you do the crime, you don't have to do the time if you pay a dime. And that is actually where today's show ends. As always, I want to say thank you for watching, being subscribed to these daily dives into the news. My name's Philip DeFranco.

You've just been filled in. I love yo faces and I'll see you tomorrow.