750: Douchebag Ping Pong
Episode 750 arrives with a simple reminder: the bullshit never sleeps. This week Jason and Brian dive headfirst into a game of Douchebag Ping Pong featuring OpenAI, Anthropic, Elon Musk, and the rest of the AI industrial complex. OpenAI is preparing to go public while simultaneously transforming ChatGPT into an everything app, Anthropic wants the world to slow down AI development before Skynet shows up for work, and then immediately releases a more powerful model because apparently self-awareness only goes so far. Meanwhile, Sam Altman’s eyeball-scanning side hustle is laying people off, proving that convincing humans to hand over their biometric data remains a surprisingly difficult sales pitch.
The AI arms race gets even weirder as SpaceX unveils plans for orbital data centers the size of flying football fields while Google and Anthropic shovel billions into Elon’s compute empire just to keep their models fed. On Earth, Seattle is trying to ban new AI data centers before they drink the city dry, Meta is planting AI infrastructure in India, Google is slashing Gemini prices, and a Mississippi judge discovers that lawyers on both sides of a case used AI to invent legal citations, resulting in the rare spectacle of artificial stupidity arguing against itself. Thankfully, AI also manages to do something useful, helping researchers develop a promising universal vaccine and reminding us that not every machine-learning story ends with humanity getting harvested for electricity.
Elsewhere, crypto continues its transformation into performance art as Sam Bankman-Fried seeks a presidential pardon while reports suggest the Trump family made billions from crypto projects that left investors holding the bag. Meta gets caught quietly experimenting with face recognition in smart glasses, lawmakers scramble to require recording indicators, and Snapchat tightens protections for younger users. The guys also celebrate Apple's shockingly competent Sports app, a rare piece of software that simply does the thing it's supposed to do without trying to become your therapist, financial advisor, or AI life coach. Plus: Ghostbusters returns, Devil May Cry gets another season, Bill Burr takes on Facebook in The Social Reckoning, and a look at why Silicon Valley's newest luxury service appears to be paying actual humans for conversation.
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Show notes at https://gog.show/750
Watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/w8POIp_Dts0
SHOW NOTES
OpenAI files SEC paperwork to go public
Anthropic proposes a global slowdown of AI development
OpenAI Joins Anthropic in Call for International AI Watchdog
OpenAI reportedly has a major ChatGPT overhaul in store
Sam Altman's Eyeball Scanning Company Now Laying Off Workers
Google will pay SpaceX $920 million a month to use xAI's data centers
Seattle is close to approving a year-long ban on large data centers
Meta signs first AI data center deal in India with Reliance
Google cuts the price of its AI Plus plan and doubles the storage
Judge Learns Lawyers on Both Sides of Case Used AI, Cancels Trial, Kicks Everyone Off the Case
The University of Cambridge says it successfully tested a vaccine with an AI-designed antigen
Kalshi will require employment info for some bets as an insider trading precaution
Sam Bankman-Fried applies for a pardon from Trump
The Nerdy Escorts Cashing In On Silicon Valley’s AI Boom
Apple Made a Sports App That Does Almost Nothing. It’s Incredible.
Meta Removes Face-Recognition System From Its Smart Glasses, Is Mad About it
Smart Glasses Would Legally Require a Recording Light Under Proposed Law
Snap will no longer allow younger teens' Spotlight videos to be publicly viewable
The iOS 27 beta pretty much confirms that an Apple foldable is happening
Thinking Sideways: How to Think Like a Chess Player and Win at Life by Jennifer Shahade
Thinking Fast, Slow, Artificially: AI and Your Brain
Downton Abbey: The Motion Picture
The New ‘Ghostbusters’ Cartoon Gets a Title and Release Date
Devil May Cry Season 2 on Netflix
THE SOCIAL RECKONING – Official Teaser Trailer (HD)
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