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SED News: Apple’s AI Problem, The Real Business Model of AI, and Token Cost Reckoning

SED News: Apple’s AI Problem, The Real Business Model of AI, and Token Cost Reckoning

Author: Software Engineering Daily June 9, 2026 Duration: 51:09
Software Engineering Daily
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SED News is a monthly podcast from Software Engineering Daily where hosts Gregor Vand and Sean Falconer unpack the biggest stories shaping software engineering, Silicon Valley, and the broader tech industry.

In this episode, they cover Apple‘s uncertain path beyond the iPhone. They also discuss Google‘s agentic pivot at Google I/O, a surge in DuckDuckGo traffic following Google’s default switch to AI mode, and payroll platform Remote surpassing 300 million in ARR with flat headcount.

Gregor and Sean also dig into why consumer subscriptions don’t seem to correspond to actual costs, how enterprise is quietly subsidizing the AI economy, why the true moat has shifted from model quality to context management and agentic harness, and what the coming wave of token cost optimization might look like as companies start scrutinizing their AI bills.

Finally, they highlight standout threads from Hacker News including Doom running on a travel router touchscreen, a viral post asking whether AI productivity gains should translate to a day off, YouTube‘s move to automatically label AI-generated content, and SimCity 3000 running in 4K.

Gregor Vand is a security-focused technologist, having previously been a CTO across cybersecurity, cyber insurance and general software engineering companies. He is based in Singapore and can be found via his profile at vand.hk or on LinkedIn.

Sean’s been an academic, startup founder, and Googler. He has published works covering a wide range of topics from AI to quantum computing. Currently, Sean is an AI Entrepreneur in Residence at Confluent where he works on AI strategy and thought leadership. You can connect with Sean on LinkedIn.

Please click here to see the transcript of this episode.

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The post SED News: Apple’s AI Problem, The Real Business Model of AI, and Token Cost Reckoning appeared first on Software Engineering Daily.


Dive deep into the conversations that shape how we build and understand complex systems with Data Archives-Software Engineering Daily. This podcast pulls from a rich library of technical discussions, each one a focused exploration into the specific tools, architectures, and challenges that define modern software engineering. Rather than surface-level news, these episodes offer sustained, thoughtful dialogues with the engineers and thinkers who are working on the front lines of data infrastructure, distributed systems, and emerging technologies. You'll hear detailed breakdowns of real-world problems and the nuanced solutions teams are implementing, providing a practical sense of how theoretical concepts translate into production code and resilient platforms. The archive serves as an enduring resource, whether you're looking to grasp the fundamentals of a new database or understand the intricate trade-offs in a system design. Tune in for a consistently substantive listen that treats software engineering with the depth and seriousness it deserves, all through the unfiltered lens of expert conversation.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

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