Our World Record Was Shattered - WAN Show December 12, 2025

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: The WAN Show covered a wide range of tech and media issues, centering on storage review’s new pi record, NVIDIA’s class-action lawsuit over training AI on YouTube videos, Australia’s under-16 social media ban, AMD/Intel GPU and AI features, and the growing tension around AI-generated content, surveillance pricing, and disposable tech. The hosts mixed legal, ethical, and practical commentary with company updates and merch messages.

Main Topics: Storage Review’s pi record and resource use (Priority: 5/5): The show opened with Storage Review’s 314-trillion-digit pi computation record using a Dell PowerEdge server with dual AMD EPYC CPUs and dozens of Micron SSDs. The hosts joked about rivalries, power costs, and the sheer storage footprint required. NVIDIA class-action lawsuit over AI training on YouTube videos (Priority: 5/5): A proposed class action alleges NVIDIA downloaded YouTube creator videos without permission to train its Cosmos video model, potentially violating YouTube access controls and DMCA anti-circumvention rules. The hosts discussed fair use, piracy, and why they would not join the lawsuit. Australia’s under-16 social media ban (Priority: 4/5): The hosts examined Australia’s new ban restricting under-16s from major platforms, arguing it is well-intentioned but likely ineffective because teens will migrate to other services or use VPNs and messaging apps. They also discussed how this affects parental responsibility. AI, robotics, and authenticity concerns (Priority: 4/5): The episode reviewed a BB-gun robot demo powered by ChatGPT and a Tesla Optimus clip that appeared to reveal teleoperation, reinforcing concerns that humanoid robotics still depends heavily on human control and that AI safety can be bypassed with prompt framing. Hardware and platform updates: Intel, AMD, Philips, and Noctua/Prusa (Priority: 4/5): The hosts covered Intel’s rumored BMG G31/B770 GPU support, AMD’s FSR Redstone features for RDNA 4, Philips Fixables’ slow but continuing rollout, and a Noctua-themed 3D printing filament collab with Prusa. Business/consumer updates and Floatplane changes (Priority: 3/5): The show included LMG store customs-fee corrections, holiday bundles, sweepstakes updates, Floatplane price changes and grandfathering, plus a new Luke Week 2 announcement and early Floatplane content. Gaming trends, live service fatigue, and industry churn (Priority: 3/5): In merch messages and discussion, the hosts argued that open-world and live-service games are not new, but the industry is shifting as talent moves from large legacy studios to smaller teams making standout games like Arc Raiders and Expedition 33.

Key Arguments: Training AI models on creator videos without permission is ethically and legally questionable, even if the creators themselves also use copyrighted material in limited ways. There is a meaningful distinction between using content under fair use or license and bypassing platform protections to mass-download videos for commercial AI training. Australia’s social media ban is likely to be routed around by tech-savvy teens; platform restrictions alone do not solve the underlying parental and social issues. AI-generated ads can save labor in some cases, but they often introduce quality problems and cultural backlash, especially when they visibly replace human craft. Humanoid robotics still appears fragile and heavily dependent on teleoperation, despite marketing claims of autonomy. AMD and Intel are competing primarily on features that depend on onboard neural processing; older GPUs may simply lack the hardware to support them. Surveillance pricing is a serious consumer-protection issue because companies can use personal data to charge different prices for the same product or service. The tech industry’s biggest current change is cyclical churn: experienced people leaving large companies and building better products at smaller, more agile firms.

Data Points: Pi digits computed: 314 trillion digits - Storage Review’s new record run. Server configuration: 1x 2U Dell PowerEdge R7725, dual AMD EPYC 192-core CPUs, 40x 61.44TB Micron 6550 ION SSDs - Hardware used for the pi record. Storage capacity: ~2.5 petabytes - Approximate SSD capacity used in the record run. Runtime: 110 days - Total runtime for the pi computation record. Plaintiffs in NVIDIA case: 3 YouTubers plus additional creators named in reporting - Creators alleging unauthorized training use of their videos. Estimated overstatement of shipment value: ~40% - Customs paperwork error for LMG international orders declared in USD instead of CAD. Holiday sweepstakes entries: Hundreds and hundreds of letters - Loot drop draw entries via mail. Folding@home points: 230 billion points - LMG forum folding month total. Folding@home participants: 369 participants - Record-breaking folding event participation. Simulation time contributed: 8.6 milliseconds - Summary from Bowman Lab scientist on Folding@home contribution. Australia ban age threshold: Under 16 - Social media access restriction. Countries/regions affected: Australia (first country and continent to enact such a ban) - New under-16 social media law. Black Friday console share: PS5 47%, Switch 2 24%, Nex Playground 14%, Xbox Series 10% - US console unit sales ranking discussed in the show. Nex Playground price: $200 introductory price - Family active-play console discussed as a surprise sales hit. Nex Playground subscription: $90/year - PlayPass subscription for full catalog access. Floatplane new pricing: $8 and $13 per month - New subscriber pricing after the change; annual plans become $80 and $130. Floatplane legacy tier: $3 recurring subscribers unaffected - Current OG subscribers keep their existing price. FSR Redstone support: ~40 games at launch, 200+ expected by end of 2025 - AMD’s new AI-based feature suite rollout. FSR performance claim: Up to 4.7x in Cyberpunk 2077 - AMD marketing graph cited for Redstone. Smart ring battery life: A couple of years - Index01 non-replaceable, non-rechargeable battery claim. Tech startup flying car: 3,500 pre-orders - Aero-style VTOL vehicle discussed despite skepticism. Flying car price: Around $300,000 - Model A starting price estimate. Flying car ranges: 220-mile driving / 110-mile flying - Aero startup Model A specifications. LMG views forecast: ~80 million views for December - Linus discussed recent performance recovery.

Pivotal Quotes: "Are you gonna freaking take this, bro? What are you gonna do about it?" — Linus / Luke: Playful challenge about Storage Review reclaiming the pi record. "We are not a particularly litigious company. I am not a litigious person." — Linus: Explaining why LMG would not join the NVIDIA lawsuit. "This ain't gonna work." — Linus: His view on Australia’s under-16 social media ban.

Implications: The episode suggests AI and platform policy are moving faster than law and culture. Creators, consumers, and companies should expect more disputes over data use, youth access, and product disposability, while smaller innovators continue to outcompete legacy giants.