AI made your explosion

July 24, 2025

💣 AI made your explosion: In a “first ever” moment, Netflix used generative AI to create a building-collapse scene in The Eternaut, claiming it was 10x faster and cheaper than traditional video effects. CEO Ted Sarandos swears it wasn’t only a major budget break but a creative opportunity. Sure, if your idea of creativity is “Chat, make Argentina go boom.”

Tags: creativity, effects, Netflix, video

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Your pocket scientist is smarter than you think

Android Earthquake Alerts (AEA) system

I read a geeky article that I think you’ll also find amazing.

Google quietly used its Android operating system to turn billions of phones into the largest earthquake detection network in human history.

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95 billion

That’s how many hours Netflix had people glued to their couch in the first half of 2025. That’s over 10 million years of screen time, roughly twice the age of Homo sapiens. Netflix plans to double its ad revenue with pause ads and interactive pop-ups. Nothing says “immersive drama” like a toothpaste ad mid-tear.

Over 2,400 nautical miles

How far a father-son duo rowed from San Francisco to Hawaii in 48 days. The son is 18, and if verified, he’ll be the youngest person to complete the mid-Pacific route. The heartwarming part? They did it to raise awareness and funds for veterans living with PTSD. Total legends.

14 minutes and 8 seconds

That’s how long the average dog watches TV per day. Sure, they’ll perk up for a barking scene, but unless it’s a nature doc with squirrels, consider them emotionally unavailable. After that, they’re back to their real passion: licking themselves and judging your life choices.

1 billion

That’s how many people watch podcasts on YouTube each month. Yes, watching. Turns out we didn’t kill our attention spans, we just moved them to couches, desks and smart TVs. If you’re multitasking with video in the background, congrats: You’re in excellent company. Might I suggest adding my podcast to the rotation? It’s cheaper than therapy.

100,000+

That’s how many accounts Chess.com bans every month for cheating. Turns out a lot of people need engine assistance to lose with dignity. With 20 million games played daily (13,000 per minute!), the site’s 30-member Fair Play Team is part detective squad, part digital janitor and very busy. No rookies allowed.

402 Tbps

That’s the new internet speed record just set in Japan. It’s 4 million times faster than your Wi-Fi, and no, that’s not a typo. We’re talking entire Netflix libraries in seconds, on regular fiber. Somewhere, a Comcast exec just spit out their latte.

30TB

That’s the size of Seagate’s new monster hard drive, and yes, you can actually buy it. After 20 years of laser dreams, it’s finally here: 30TB for $600. In 2005, that cash got you 400GB, maybe. That’s 75x the space, same price and a lot fewer tangled cables.

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77%

The accuracy rate of EchoNext spotting structural heart disease, higher than 13 cardiologists combined. In a medical version of John Henry, AI went head-to-head with humans, and it won. EchoNext nailed diagnoses from ECGs more often than the docs’ 64%. It’s basically the Sherlock Holmes of heart scans, minus the Victorian outfit.

13

The number of autonomous vehicle companies Uber now has deals with. It currently counts companies like Waymo, Motional, Baidu, even delivery bots like Nuro, in its Infinity Gauntlet. Uber’s building the whole arena. Baidu alone ran 1.4 million robotaxi rides last quarter in China.