Future or hype?
AI, robotics and emerging inventions. What’s possible, what’s promising, and what’s just a good pitch.
For the endlessly curious ↗ · made in New Yorktech gets weird.
tech gets weird.
we explain it.
Emerging ideas, digital mysteries, inventions that make you look twice, and the quiet tech that watches back. Welcome to RandomTech.
Less scrolling past.
More “wait, what?”
is this ai real?
› npm run build
✓ compiled · ready▍
itwrotethewholeapp
inunderfiveminutes
sowecheckedthestream
@randomtechFollowLess scrolling past.
More “wait, what?”
What we cover: FUTURE TECH, HIDDEN STORIES, UNEXPECTED INVENTIONS, WHO’S WATCHING?, QUESTION EVERYTHING.
01 / Follow your curiosity
pick your rabbit hole.
Strange, ambitious and surprisingly real. Four series, one rule: explain it clearly, and check the evidence.
Digital mysteries.
Internet lore, strange technology and unanswered questions. We dig into the story behind the claim.
Wait. That exists?
Forgotten inventions and overlooked engineering. The clever stuff hiding in things you use every day.
After dark.
Tracking, data brokers and brain tech. The unsettling side of the things you use every day, told with receipts, never rumors.
INSIDE THE RABBIT HOLEBeyond the demo
future or hype?Future or hype?
AI, robotics and emerging inventions. What’s possible, what’s promising, and what’s just a good pitch.
Rabbit holes we keep falling into
- What would this change about an ordinary day?
- Who is it really for?
- Is this the start of something bigger?
- 01Can an AI agent really build an app live?Watch ↗: Can an AI agent really build an app live?
- 02Is the M5 leak a redesign or a speed bump?Watch ↗: Is the M5 leak a redesign or a speed bump?
- 03Robot helpers: the demo vs. your kitchenWatch ↗: Robot helpers: the demo vs. your kitchen
02 / After dark
some of it should keep you up at night.
The unsettling side of tech is real enough without making anything up. Tracking, data brokers, brain tech: every after-dark story comes with its receipts, and we tell you where the evidence stops.
› ad slot loading in a weather app
→ bid request out to 214 bidders
device phone · iOS 18
where 40.7411, −73.9897 ±12 m
when 23:47 · Tuesday
segments night owl · commuter · in-market: loans
← 37 bids back · top bid $0.0041
✓ ad shown · 112 ms after the page asked
747× a dayRECEIPT
How often the average US internet user’s online activity and location were broadcast through real-time bidding ad auctions, according to a 2022 estimate by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties.
Source: The Biggest Data Breach: ICCL report on the scale of Real-Time Bidding data broadcasts in the U.S. and Europe (May 2022) (Irish Council for Civil Liberties). iccl.ie ↗ (opens in a new tab)Dec 2024RECEIPT
The US Federal Trade Commission announced proposed orders to bar data brokers Gravy Analytics (and its Venntel unit) and Mobilewalla from selling sensitive location data, such as visits to health clinics and places of worship.
Source: FTC press releases on Gravy Analytics / Venntel and Mobilewalla (December 2024) (US Federal Trade Commission). ftc.gov ↗ (opens in a new tab)OverstatedWE CHECKED
“Your phone shouts its hardware address everywhere you walk.” Phones do send Wi-Fi probe requests while looking for networks, but iOS (since iOS 14) and Android (since Android 10) use randomized Wi-Fi addresses by default to limit this kind of tracking. The bigger leak is usually the apps.
Source: Apple Support: Use private Wi-Fi addresses · Android Open Source Project: MAC randomization (Apple and Google platform documentation). source.android.com ↗ (opens in a new tab)The receipts.
Every claim, its source. When something isn’t settled, we ask it as a question.
X-ModeRECEIPT
Data brokersIn January 2024 the FTC finalized an order against data broker X-Mode Social and its successor Outlogic barring it from selling sensitive location data. According to the FTC, it was the agency’s first such settlement with a data broker.
Source: FTC order prohibits data broker X-Mode Social and Outlogic from selling sensitive location data (January 2024) (US Federal Trade Commission). ftc.gov ↗ (opens in a new tab)InMarketRECEIPT
Data brokersDays later, the FTC announced an order banning InMarket Media from selling or licensing precise location data it had collected from people’s phones, according to the agency.
Source: FTC order will ban InMarket from selling precise consumer location data (January 2024) (US Federal Trade Commission). ftc.gov ↗ (opens in a new tab)StingraysRECEIPT
TrackingIMSI catchers, or cell-site simulators, pose as cell towers so nearby phones connect to them. The ACLU has documented dozens of US local, state and federal law enforcement agencies reported to own them.
Source: ACLU: Stingray tracking devices, who’s got them? (American Civil Liberties Union). aclu.org ↗ (opens in a new tab)Jan 2024RECEIPT
Brain techNeuralink reported implanting its brain-computer interface in a first human participant, in a clinical study the US FDA had cleared to begin in May 2023.
Source: Neuralink: PRIME Study updates (Neuralink). neuralink.com ↗ (opens in a new tab)No surgeryRECEIPT
Brain techDARPA’s Next-Generation Nonsurgical Neurotechnology (N3) program funded research teams to work toward high-performance brain-computer interfaces that don’t require surgery, for uses such as controlling devices.
Source: DARPA: Next-Generation Nonsurgical Neurotechnology (N3) program (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). darpa.mil ↗ (opens in a new tab)Mind reading?OPEN QUESTION
Brain techCan a headset read your thoughts? Published brain-computer interface research decodes specific signals, like intended movements or attempted speech, mostly with implants and lots of training. Whether consumer headsets will ever do more is an open question, and we treat it as one.
Source: DARPA N3 program overview (non-surgical interfaces) and Neuralink study updates (implanted interfaces) (DARPA · Neuralink). darpa.mil ↗ (opens in a new tab)Watch After dark ↗Unsettling, never made up. If it’s a rumor, we say so.
03 / The RandomTech mindset
curiosity required. tech degree optional.
Technology has exciting, unsettling and downright strange stories. We make room for all of them, with clear explanations and one habit we never drop: asking “how do we know?”
Stay curious. Go deeper.
- 01Question the hype.A launch video is a pitch. We ask what it does when nobody is filming.
- 02Keep facts and speculation separate.When we’re guessing, we say so. When it’s confirmed, we show where from.
- 03Make the complicated click.No jargon walls. If it takes a degree to follow, we haven’t explained it yet.
- 04Follow the random.The best stories are rarely the ones everyone’s covering. We chase the odd tangent, the forgotten patent and the weird corner of the internet, because that’s where tech gets interesting.
Stay curious. Go deeper.
04 / Latest clips
short takes. no fluff.
05 / Tune in
find us where you scroll.
Same curiosity on every platform. Short takes daily on TikTok, Shorts, Reels and X, longer deep dives on YouTube.
- TikTok@itsrandomtechDaily short takesFollow ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- YouTube@its_randomtechShorts and deep divesFollow ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Instagram@randomtechReelsFollow ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- X@itsrandomtechBreaking clipsFollow ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- FacebookitsrandomtechReels and videoFollow ↗ (opens in a new tab)
your next obsession might be random.
Big questions, unexpected connections and a whole world of tech to explore.
- AI & ROBOTICS
- INTERNET LORE
- STRANGE INVENTIONS
- TECH HISTORY
- WHO’S WATCHING
Work with us
[email protected] ↗got a launch, a demo or footage worth explaining?
We work with brands and creators who want their tech explained honestly. Your footage, our take, credit on screen, always.