The AI Fix

In episode 100 of The AI Fix, Mark is joined by Corey Noles for a milestone episode devoted to the future of AI, how it will change our lives, and whether it will keep us as pets or use us as batteries. Also in this episode, another tech companies fires a bunch of staff; OpenAI and Anthropic announce mega Wall Street joint ventures within minutes of each other; Anthropic rents Elon's GPUs; and an imaginary fridge takes a gun to a grocery store.

In episode 99 of The AI Fix, guest host Lianne Potter explores the disturbing dark side of AI companions, while Mark meets Talkie, a chatbot trapped in 1930. Also in this episode: Mark takes photos at the end of the world; Lianne builds an incel detector; a bizarre sneaker startup pivot; too much talk about kettles; and Elon Musk and Sam Altman argue over custody of the dog. Episode links: Shoe company Allbirds pivots to AI compute in sign of a totally normal and healthy economy.

In episode 98 of The AI Fix, guest host Nik Roberts explains the cognitive debt you're racking up every time you let ChatGPT do your thinking, and Mark explains the new eval that's got even the very best AI models completely stumped.

In episode 97 of The AI Fix, Mark is joined by Ethan Ding, one of the sharpest contrarian voices in AI, to explore why almost half of America's announced data centres aren't being built, and why AI job losses are not what they seem.

In episode 96 of The AI Fix, Mark uncovers new research that shows AIs will lie and scheme to save each other, and Mike Fey, CEO of episode sponsor Island, drops in to talk about the future of enterprise work. Also in this episode, Claude learns to make skills that make skills that make skills; Gemini wants to rummage through your digital life; OpenAI quietly turns ChatGPT into a $100 million advertising juggernaut; and a Waymo robotaxi takes a wrong turn through a school zone.

In episode 95 of The AI Fix, Mark is joined by Dr. Tamara Nall to explore the rise of human–AI relationships and why an estimated 2% of adults in the US are now romantically involved with AI. They dive into what this means for AI rights, consciousness, and a world where our closest relationships may no longer be fully human.

In episode 94 of The AI Fix, Mark digs into what really scares people about AI and is surprised to learn it isn't robot dogs with flamethrowers, while guest host Alfred Nutile shares his three steps to being less terrified of AI. Also in this episode, Mark has a bath with his Mac; Yann LeCun gets a billion dollars to prove the entire AI industry wrong; Atlassian fires 1,600 people to fund its AI pivot; and somebody finds a way to make money from Spotify, and then promptly gets arrested for it.

In episode 93 of The AI Fix, guest host David Ruiz joins Mark to unpack what happened when scientists created a digital copy of a fruit fly's brain, and Mark discovers an Alibaba AI that started a cryptomining side hustle.

In episode 92 of The AI Fix, Mark explains why the AI that ushers in the apocalypse might be more drunk toddler than evil genius, and guest host Corey Noles offers moral support as his pet AI starts to replicate itself. Also this week: Jack Dorsey slashes jobs at Block and blames AI; Reddit sets a trap for Perplexity AI; OpenAI raises enough money to rival a small nation; and a new benchmark asks a simple question: is AI full of crap?

In episode 91 of The AI Fix, guest host Lianne Potter unearths a forgotten pioneer of digital anthropology, while Mark discovers a simple question about a car wash that's got almost every AI stumped. Also in this episode, why have one AI when you can have 19; Lianne proves that she isn't Darth Vader; a satirical gym advert reveals humanity's grim future; and a war game simulation shows that AI would rather nuke everyone than negotiate. Episode links: Introducing Perplexity Computer.