The Best One Yet - BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024

Starting point is 00:00:00 This is Nick. This is Jack. And today's artificially intelligent pod is the best one yet. It's a T-boy. The top three AI stories you need to know today. Jack, you are glowing over there because Yetis, we're on vacation right now, but we still whipped up a week of bonus episodes for you. And today, it's the best of AI.

Starting point is 00:00:20 Yes, it is. Our best stories of the year on artificial intelligence. So Yetis, send this episode to your techiest buddies. Or better yet, send it to your buddy who isn't techie. Yeah. But wants to understand. what's going on with AI? Or send it to a robot.

Starting point is 00:00:33 Before they send it to us. We're going to send it to Sam Altman because he keeps texting us and we're like, Sam, fine. We'll make an AI show. All right. He's a listener of the show. But Jack, three stories for today's bonus pod. What do we got? For our first story, we're going back to July 1st.

Starting point is 00:00:47 When every dating app stock was down except for one. Grindr. Grindr. Grindr was up because Wall Street was already falling in love with Grindr's AI wingman. For our second story, we're going to May 22nd. Scarlett Johansson was lawyering up after Open AI tried to rip off her voice for their latest chatbot. Because in AI, it's move fast and break things all over again. And our third and final story is from September 20th. We found a social network with zero humans, but billions of bots.

Starting point is 00:01:18 Billions on social AI, you have one million followers. None of them are real people. But that's okay. That's okay. Is it okay? It's okay. It's okay. But yeties, before we hit that wonderful mix of story, Fantastic mix of AI stories, Jack.

Starting point is 00:01:32 Love, it's easy to say, but hard to describe. AI, also easy to say, also hard to describe. That's why all year long, our goal has been to find headlines, stories, examples, and analogies, plus some fantastic takeaways to help us all understand AI. Because the way we see it, AI can be an adversary or AI can be an asset. Although ultimately, we think AI will be like electricity, because AI will be in everything. Like how earlier this year, Spotify launched AI podcast to summarize your Spotify wrapped. We won't take it personally, even though we're podcast us.

Starting point is 00:02:11 And McDonald's launched an AI drive-thru. AI, it put extra pickles onto my paddy jack. This summer, we even watched the first ever AI Olympics. That Al Michael's water polo commentary? Yeah, that was an AI Al. And then finally, Apple showed up to AI. Finally. The latest iOS includes what we're calling Super Siri.

Starting point is 00:02:29 And the phone of the future, it isn't a smartphone. It'll be an Intelophone. But here's the key. All that AI required massive compute. Which is why in San Francisco, they turned compute from a verb into a noun. Yes, they did. And compute is why Nvidia became the most valuable company on Earth. Invidia.

Starting point is 00:02:48 It's basically the Sixth Kardashian. And it all led to the first ever R-O-Y on AI. An R-O-A-I. Because ultimately, 2024 proof that AI can be like corporate ozempic. Corporate ozempic. Because AI cuts costs while boosting productivity

Starting point is 00:03:06 like the ultimate weight loss drug for business. So, Yetis, this is human Nick. And this is human Jack. And these are our three best AI stories from 2024. Let's hit him. What sec, Jack? Sam, Sam, Sam, we're doing the show.

Starting point is 00:03:21 We told you, we'll do the AI pod. Sam again. I'm hanging up on this. Scott. It's a positive story about Grindr. And guess what? Grindr's stock is up 42% since the day this story was published. This story still looks fantastic. So Jack, let's jump right on into it. Scarlett Johansson just lawyered up after OpenAI tried to rip off her voice for their new chatbot. But it turns out there was way more to the story than Scarlett Johansson, ChatsyPT, and the drama that you already know.

Starting point is 00:04:30 All right, Jack, is this another headline that wasn't on our 2024 bingo card or what, man? Yesterday we mentioned an awkward situation at the end of our pod. Yeah, Scarjo versus ChatGPT. OpenAI's chat bot sounds just like her. Her, as in her, the 2013 movie starring Joaquin Phoenix, a physical human who falls in love with an AI girlfriend. That AI girlfriend is voiced by Scarlett Johansson. You never see her because she's an artificial intelligence bot in the movie.

Starting point is 00:04:59 Well, 11 years after Jack and I scarily saw that movie in theaters, just last week, OpenAI. announced a new version of their chatbot. And it included a new voice for their chatbot that sounded more human-like than any of the previous ones. Now, the name of this new chatbot is Sky, but it happens to sound a lot like a voice that we've heard before, right, Jack? It sounds like Scarlett Johansson's AI from the movie Her. Let's go to the videotape so you can compare yourself. Hi. How you doing?

Starting point is 00:05:29 Now here's Sky's voice in last week's Open AI demo. Me? The announcement is about me. Jack, we're not judging jury, but what are you thinking over there? They're eerily similar. Now, yeties, we should point out, Sam Altman of OpenAI, says this about their new chatbot's voice. The voice of Sky is not Scarlett Johansansans,

Starting point is 00:05:48 and it was never intended to resemble her voice. But again, Scarlett Johansson says otherwise. In fact, on Monday, Scarlett Johansson revealed new details about chat GPT that are worthy of the front page of TMZ, magazine. And they go back a full year. Apparently, back in September of last year, Sam Altman asked Scarlett Johansson if they could use her voice for their chatbots in the future. Allegedly, he said to Scarjo, uh, your voice would be comforting to people just like in your movie. But Scarlett Johansson declined. She didn't want her voice to be the voice of the chat bot that we all

Starting point is 00:06:26 use in the future. Yeah, she didn't want to Siri herself, is what we're saying. But then last year, Sam Altman gave a speech. And he referenced. the movie Her. He couldn't stop thinking about the voice from the movie Her. He said that voice from the movie Her was the inspiration for ChatGPT products. And then last week, Sam Altman tweeted one word during the Open AI demonstration that we all saw. And what was that word, Jack? Her. And now we just met Sky, the new voice of Chat ChAPT, who sounds just like Scarlet Johansson. Exhibit A, the defense rests their case, Jack.

Starting point is 00:06:57 It seems like Sam Altman is obsessed with the movie Her, obsessed with the voice of the AI in the movie Her, and just launched a chatbot that sounds just like the voice in the movie her, which belongs to Scarlett Johansson. So, besties, let's just put aside the problem with always selecting female voices for voice assistance for a moment. Alexa and Siri, you know what we're talking about. Now Scarjo is considering suing Open AI for an attempt to impersonate her voice without her permission. As if Hollywood needed another reason not to trust AI. Colin Joust, weekend update, your turn.

Starting point is 00:07:31 So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at OpenAI? The AI industry is making tech's biggest mistake again, moving fast and breaking things. Ladies, quick reminder here. But one year ago, Jack and I did a pod on how thousands of scientists asked AI leaders to pause AI. They asked to pause the development of AI because AI could inadvertently take over human beings. They wrote that it was an existential threat to mankind in the future. All right, well, Jack, it's been one year since then, and what does the situation look like right now, man? Well, Sam Altman is the leader of AI, and he's done the opposite of pausing.

Starting point is 00:08:09 Yeah, he's instead of pausing AI, it appears Sam Altman has moved really fast and seems to be breaking a bunch of things along the way. One example, Open AI was sued by the New York Times and other publishers for digesting and regurgitating their paywall journalism without their consent. Well, just like Zuck, Sam Ollman is breaking rules and norms to stay ahead of the market. And just like Zuck a decade ago, he doesn't mind if he breaks things along the way. In fact, Open AI just disbanded the entire internal team that was focused on ethics and safety at OpenAI. And the new details on Scarlett Johansson's voice chat bot, this just adds to the perception of Open AI moving fast and breaking things. So, Basties, when it comes to AI, tech is moving fast and breaking things. The same mistake again.

Starting point is 00:08:53 Yeties, our second story is from May 22nd, 2024. Remember they tried to kick Sam Alton out of Open AI, Nick? I was wild, insane. The reason was not consistently candid in his communications? Well, Jack and I think this story about Scarlett Johansson, it reminds us why. Let's get into it. There's only one dating app surging right now, and that dating app is Grindr. Grindr, the gay and bisexual dating app is the perfect case study on how we're all going to use AI.

Starting point is 00:09:23 How's that, Jack? We'll have an artificial wingman. You're going to have a wingman. But yeah, it is, let's be real for a second. It's just us. Nick and Jack, we want to chat with you. 2024, it was the end of a relationship. You probably broke up with your dating app this year.

Starting point is 00:09:37 Yeah, it's gotten so rough out there. You've been finding love on LinkedIn. We hear you. It's happening. It's the rise of the alt dating apps. People are finding love in the DMs of LinkedIn, Strava, even Yelp. And that's why Jack and I said this a few months ago. Dating apps, they need a long-term relationship with a new business.

Starting point is 00:09:53 this model. The stock of Match and Bumble, they are both at all time lows. Financially, they're given the ick. It's not pretty. But this is why Jack and I wanted to cover this story. There is one dating app that is doing the opposite of every other dating app. Grindr. Grindr. Grindr. They drop the E. It's just D.R. But the end there. Grindr, the hookup dating app for gay, buy, trans, and queer people. Grindr stock is up 42% this year because they just raised their revenue projections. Get this. Grindrinder, expects to grow their revenue by at least 20% every single year through 2027. What? Oh, Grindr, it's gone Queer Eye for the stock buy.

Starting point is 00:10:33 Yes, it has. How is Grindr so bullish? That's the question Nick and I were asking at the beginning of this story. So, we jumped in T-boy style, and this is what we discovered. Grindr has found a use case for AI that's actually pretty practical. They think AI can be your wingman within their dating app. They're going full Tom Cruise. on this thing. Yet he's the top challenge

Starting point is 00:10:55 in the dating app experience. Isn't the swiping? It's the flirting. So Grindr is launching an AI wingman this year to support you in your DMing in the app. Not in the discovery of who to date, but really like how you engage with who to date. Here's how you're going to use it. Let's say you need a

Starting point is 00:11:11 good conversation starting message. Grinders wingman is going to drop a fun kickoff line. Okay, let's say you need a witty response to his response? Grindrinder's wingman is going to drop a non-offensive lawyer joke to really get the conversation. going, Jack. Now, let's say things are going well in the DMs, and you need an impressive first-date location to propose. Then Grinders Wingman is going to suggest a trendy spot in the West Village

Starting point is 00:11:33 where you can get a reservation for two this Friday to get that relationship IRL. Grinders AI wingman will review that cute guy's profile. They'll review the interests and the picks of that cute guy and offer thoughtful message advice throughout the whole interaction. And now Jack and I should point out, Grinders AI Wingman hasn't launched yet. They're testing. it through the end of this year. Clearly, Wall Street's already into it. Oh, they're so into it. In fact, it's not just Wall Street and it's not just Grindr. Tinder and Bumble are both working on their own wingman and wing women too. Artificial wingman, natural chemistry. They're real and they're fantastic. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in dating apps? Actually, for all of us.

Starting point is 00:12:18 Today, AI is talking to humans. In a year, AI will be talking to AI. Yet he's the future of AI. Isn't humans engaging with AI? It's AI engaging with each other. First, Nick and I want to point out an issue we see with this Grindr AI wingman. It is good. This is true. It could result in just a bunch of fake conversations.

Starting point is 00:12:37 All right, here's what we're thinking. If both sides are using their AI wingman, when they finally meet the person, it's kind of going to be disappointing, right, Jack? They're going to be like, oh, wow. This dinner conversation was super lame. Are neither of us witty? Where are the fun lawyer jokes he used to DM me? I thought those were great.

Starting point is 00:12:53 Oh, it was all just the AI we were both using. But besties, in other instances, AI talking to other AI will actually be hugely efficient. Airlines are already using AI to handle their customer support phone calls. So wouldn't it be nice if your AI assistant could talk to Delta instead of you? Your AI and Delta's AI could work out the problem together. Together. So your personal AI will be having a conversation with United's AI. AI to AI, boom, problem solved.

Starting point is 00:13:21 And no human being was involved. That's a pretty near future that we expect, and we think it'll scale across industries. Because the future of AI is AI to AI. Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final AI story, we're going back to September 20th, 2024. This one's a bit more philosophical. It's deep. What's more important to us, being liked by people or simply getting our posts liked?

Starting point is 00:13:51 I like where you're going with this, Jack. Let's jump on into it. We just discovered the wildest social media app we have ever seen. Because on social AI, bots are not banned, but humans are. Yeties, let's start with some context here. Facebook has 3 billion users. Almost half of the humans on this planet use Facebook every day. TikTok has 1.5 billion users, and LinkedIn has 1 billion users.

Starting point is 00:14:22 But maybe a 10th of those users that the company's report are actually bots. So basically 10% of the users who like your post aren't a Robert, they're a robot. So we got curious when a new social media app raised $3 million, but 99.9% of their users are bots. Social AI has banned human beings from using their social media app, and yet it's for humans. Because on this social media network, all the accounts are real humans, but all the followers are bots. It's like when you sign up for social AI, you instantly have an audience of 10 million followers, but zero percent of them are people. We went through the customer experience. When you sign up, you choose what type of bot followers you want following your account.

Starting point is 00:15:09 Yeah, drama queens, debaters, dreamers, doomers, you can choose nerdy followers, skeptical, funny, sarcastic cheerleaders. You pick like a mix of personalities that you want replying to your posts. And then you start posting your thoughts on social AI about anything just like. you would tweet about anything. But unlike in reality, your post is racking up likes and comments in the hundreds and the thousands immediately. And we're looking at these comments and thereby people with pictures and names that look real commenting on your post. It's a wild experience. Yeah, the comments are like, you're so right, Jack, you got an awesome idea right there. Or like, I can't believe you, Jack, wore that shirt. It looks great on you, man. But it's not just all

Starting point is 00:15:53 cheerleading posts. Some of the comments will be like, interesting thought, Jack. I have a critique for you, though. And if you're looking to like have a little spicy time, you can choose to have trolls and haters in your follow-o mix who will throw a little shade at you. They're like classic jackposts, all cookie, no crisp. So you, the human being, get the experience of being a big influencer personality with all these followers, getting all these engagements and comments, but all those engagements and comments are the bots. Interesting use case for this app. If you have an idea for a tweet, but you're not sure about it, you could tweet it on this app, see how the AI bots respond, and if you like the response, tweet it in real life.

Starting point is 00:16:33 So Social AI has created a social media app for human beings that's 99.9% bots. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Social AI? This is the ultimate social experiment. So Jack and I jumped in T-boy style and fooled around with this product a bit, And frankly, we got a pretty satisfying feeling. Getting a thousand comments and a million likes on a tweet, it feels powerful. Yeah, it is more viral than any of our posts have ever gone ever in history. But was that powerful, satisfied feeling kind of hollow, given that all the comments were not real human beings?

Starting point is 00:17:11 Or was the satisfaction real? Because on social media, it's about the numbers. It doesn't matter about the authenticity. The long-term success of SocietiaI will answer that question. Do we use social networks to connect with followers or to count followers? In answering that question, social AI may be the ultimate social experiment. Yeties, those are the best AI stories of 2024. But now it's time for the best fact yet on AI for 2024.

Starting point is 00:17:41 This is an important one. AI actually requires 10 times more electricity than regular internet use. All right, Jack, could you sprinkle on some context? What's another way we could translate that? Asking an AI chat bot a question requires 10 times more computing than asking Google a question. Ten times more. Besties, that is why the AI boom is also an energy boom. It's because Chad GPT is an electricity hog. It's an electricity hoarder. Open AI has a gigantic electricity bill.

Starting point is 00:18:11 So a surprising side effect of AI is that it's actually made nuclear energy hot again. Because these tech companies want at least carbon-free energy if they're going to do AI. They are literally reopening the three-mile island nuclear power plant for AI. Microsoft is doing that, or as they call it, three-mile island.a-I. Because Bestie's AI, it requires 10 times more electricity than regular internet use. Yeah, it is. You look fantastic over there for our first bonus pod of the 2024 holidays. Jack, you're looking great, too.

Starting point is 00:18:43 Thank you, dude. I wore my Santa hat for the occasion. So, Bessie, here's what we'd love you to do. Send this episode to your buddy who works in AI. Send it to your buddy who works in tech, but they're not that techie. Or send it to your buddy who doesn't work in tech, doesn't work in AI. And so they should hear all of these stories, too. It applies to everyone.

Starting point is 00:18:59 Or take the link to this episode and send it to Chatchip-T and see what they do with it. I didn't see what does. See what happens. Tell Chat Cheap-T-B-L-Y. It means, have you had the best on yet? In the meantime, Jack and I will see you for tomorrow's bonus pod. Oh, wait, Jack, I'm getting a call. Sam!

Starting point is 00:19:16 Yeah. Jack, it's Sam. Sam. Sam Altman loved the episode. He said this was the best one he said. Did he? You did? It's great. One sec.

Starting point is 00:19:24 He wants to do dinner. I'll tell him we're on. We're back in a couple weeks. All right. We'll see you in tomorrow's bonus five. We're back in a couple weeks.

The Best One Yet - BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024

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