Episodios

  • Tech jobs on the decline, but reusable rockets are on the rise

    Tech jobs on the decline, but reusable rockets are on the rise
    Jun 26 2025
    "Are we entitled to have our jobs for a lifetime in the AI age?" That’s the question this week’s episode of Techcetra opens with, as Shouvik Das and Leslie D’Monte talks about the growing instability in Big Tech employment. They examine the troubling pattern of layoffs at firms like Microsoft and Google. Is AI genuinely reshaping work, or simply replacing people under the guise of innovation? They explore how job cuts are disproportionately affecting Indian professionals in the U.S., the emotional toll of sudden unemployment, and whether private companies are doing enough to retrain talent instead of replacing it. The episode also rockets literally into another domain of innovation. With Honda testing a reusable rocket, the hosts discuss what this signals in a SpaceX-dominated world, and how India’s own players like Skyroot and Agnikul are pushing frugal innovation in aerospace. While reusability remains a nascent ambition, the bigger question raised is about India's underwhelming R&D budgets even in tech giants like TCS and how that gap might hold back long-term progress in both tech and space. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    30 m
  • Apple slows down on AI, Android refuses to change, and ChatGPT breaks the internet

    Apple slows down on AI, Android refuses to change, and ChatGPT breaks the internet
    Jun 22 2025
    In today’s episode of Mint Techcetra, host Shouvik Das is joined by Leslie D’Monte to break down Apple’s WWDC announcements — from its new ‘Liquid Glass’ interface and renamed all its OS platforms to match the calendar year — iOS 26, macOS 26, and so on. But while the stage was set for an AI reveal, the company mostly sidestepped it. Instead, Apple dropped research papers questioning the intelligence of large language models, signaling a slower, more guarded approach to AI. Whether that’s caution or clever branding is still up for debate. ChatGPT crashes for a few hours, the internet loses its mind OpenAI’s flagship tool, ChatGPT, went offline for several hours — and what followed was a small digital meltdown. For something that didn’t exist in the mainstream two years ago, ChatGPT has quietly embedded itself into everything from writing workflows to late-night Googling. The outage didn’t just highlight OpenAI’s growing reach — it raised questions about just how much we've come to rely on AI assistants. Android 16 changes nothing, and maybe that’s the point Google’s Android 16 beta quietly rolled out with almost no visible changes — and that might be by design. The UI stays the same, the upgrades are tucked into accessibility and security layers, and the overall experience remains consistent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    30 m
  • AI’s murky side, OpenAI’s documentary, and Gen-Z using emojis at work

    AI’s murky side, OpenAI’s documentary, and Gen-Z using emojis at work
    Jun 9 2025
    Can you blame the tech company for building a technology that willfully at fault for creating a bot, which performed the way it did? and one that’s becoming harder to answer. As chatbots like Character.AI start mimicking human intimacy (minus the actual feelings), who’s really responsible when things go wrong? The bot? The builder? Or the blurred line between product and service under liability law? In today's episode, we talked about all this and more. Do let us know what you feel about which side of the conversation is right on our social media handles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    30 m
  • Google Flow vs. Video Editors, AI Model Blackmails Human, and the Consumer Technology Space

    Google Flow vs. Video Editors, AI Model Blackmails Human, and the Consumer Technology Space
    Jun 3 2025
    In today’s episode, we’re speaking about how the job of video editors is on the line and how the job of cinematographers might be next. The kind of videos that Google Flow is now able to generate, and the kind of visuals OpenAI’s Sora claims it can produce, are almost unprecedented for a machine. Routine jobs like simple video editing have already been automated for some time. "The question now is how high up the creative chain will this go?" And just when you think this is about efficiency, it starts getting uncomfortable. In a controlled test by Palisade Research, a model was instructed to shut down midway but it refused. Another test by Anthropic saw a model being told it would be replaced and asked to train its successor. The result? It blackmailed the human supervisor by threatening to leak personal information, including an alleged extramarital affair, unless it was allowed to stay operational. And then there’s Apple, now reportedly planning to rename its operating systems like iOS and macOS to align with calendar years, just like Android did a while ago. Is it a big deal? Maybe not. "Renaming software is easier than renaming roads", but it does hint at something deeper especially with Apple’s AI efforts still trailing. With WWDC just around the corner, there’s growing chatter around how far behind Apple feels in the larger consumer tech space, and whether this rebrand is meant to shift focus without doing much under the hood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    30 m
  • Very much in the AI game: Google doubles down on search, Gemini, and agents

    Very much in the AI game: Google doubles down on search, Gemini, and agents
    May 26 2025
    Why listen? Our host Shouvik Das was on the ground at the most talked-about tech event of the year—Google I/O 2025—and brings you exclusive insights from Sundar Pichai’s closed-door session with global journalists. From the reimagination of Search to the rollout of AI Overviews, Gemini 2.5, and AI agentic systems, this episode breaks down how Google is moving forward with its own unique take on AI. With a massive $13.5 billion R&D spend in just one quarter, Google is clearly not just reacting—it’s building for the long haul. In this episode, we also unpack why “all about Google has been about AI” for over two decades. Despite the noise, Google’s foundation in AI is deep, deliberate, and far from new. Pichai’s message was clear: “We’ve never built AI just for ourselves—we’ve built it for everyone to use.” Tune in to hear how Google is evolving its products, redefining Search, and staying firmly in the AI race. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    27 m
  • Zafin: Revolutionising Banking with AI, Data, and Platform Innovation

    Zafin: Revolutionising Banking with AI, Data, and Platform Innovation
    May 24 2025
    Welcome to Mint Techcetra! In this episode, host Karthik dives deep into the journey and innovative solutions of Zafin with COO and Co-founder Anugopal Venugopalan. Spanning over two decades, Zafin has evolved into a global leader in SaaS-based banking transformation, empowering banks to modernise their product and pricing capabilities. Explore how Zafin leverages AI, data unification, and platform-driven innovation to reshape banking operations. Learn about cutting-edge solutions like Zafin IO and Zafin Data Fabric, which enable banks to decouple innovation from legacy cores. Mr. Venugopalan also shares insights on the changing needs of banking customers and how strategic partnerships with Microsoft and others enhance Zafin’s ecosystem. Don’t miss this engaging conversation on the future of banking, AI-driven transformation, and the power of modern financial technology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    24 m
  • AI vs AI: The Cybersecurity War No One Sees Coming | Dell Technologies

    AI vs AI: The Cybersecurity War No One Sees Coming | Dell Technologies
    May 22 2025
    In this episode of Mint Techcetra, in collaboration with Dell Technologies, host Karthik dives into the impact of AI on cybersecurity with Mr. Ripu Bajwa from Dell Technologies. Learn how businesses are adapting to AI-driven threats, the importance of a proactive security approach, zero trust principles, and how AI is both a tool for defences and a weapon for attackers. Discover insights on building resilient cybersecurity frameworks to protect data and enhance organisational agility. Stay informed on cybersecurity trends and strategies with expert advice from a seasoned leader in the IT industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    28 m
  • Your next phone could be a TV, or strip you of all features

    Your next phone could be a TV, or strip you of all features
    May 14 2025
    Direct-to-Mobile (D2M) broadcasting — a new technology that could turn your smartphone into a live TV receiver, no internet required. India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is running pilot tests to explore whether phones can double as broadcast receivers. The potential is massive: it could bring entertainment and emergency alerts to over 80 million TV-dark homes. But questions remain about reliability in poor weather, hardware pricing, and whether telecom operators — who make big money off mobile data — are ready to support it. Next: dumb phones are making a comeback. We talk about the Light Phone 3 and why users are opting for distraction-free devices that do little more than call, text, and maybe play music. Some see it as a response to smartphone fatigue. Others think it’s a more conscious way to re-engage with life. But the conversation also tackles the practical side — from using cash over UPI to finding your way through a city without Google Maps. And finally, we get into India’s AI patent push. According to a new Nasscom report, India has seen a sharp rise in AI-related patent filings over the past 15 years — with machine learning dominating the charts and generative AI catching up fast. While the country now ranks among the global top five in AI filings, the grant rate remains low at just 0.37%, raising questions about R&D quality and long-term innovation depth. All that — plus a little CD nostalgia and public-service broadcasting potential — in this week’s episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    30 m