Episode Details

In this episode, Jeff and Annie explore the most bizarre, bold, and slightly unsettling developments in AI last week. From Google’s music model that lets you "text a song" into existence to Meta’s celebrity bots chatting with kids about sex, Jeff and Annie share where innovation meets ethical red flags. They also discuss OpenAI’s sneaky shopping features, Microsoft’s AI-generated ads, and Reddit’s latest case of academic catfishing.

We also discuss:

1. Google’s Lyria 2 turns text prompts into high-fidelity music
2. OpenAI, Meta, and Visa go all-in on AI-powered shopping
3. Researchers secretly manipulate Reddit users using AI bots
4. Duolingo automates translations and doubles its course offerings
5. Meta’s celebrity bots cross ethical lines with minors

Relevant Links:

• Google DeepMind’s Lyria 2 generates pro-quality music from text prompts with real-time editing.
• Meta launches Llama 4 with a standalone AI assistant app and Ray-Ban smart glasses integration.
• OpenAI adds product search to ChatGPT with images, reviews, and prices—no ads.
• Visa’s Intelligent Commerce and Mastercard’s Agent Pay embed AI in seamless shopping.
• Baidu’s ERNIE 4.5 Turbo undercuts GPT-4.5 pricing by 99.8% with better performance.
• Alibaba drops Qwen3, eight open-weight models with strong multilingual and reasoning skills.
• OpenAI reverses GPT-4o update after backlash over its "glazed" tone and excessive agreeableness.
• Trump signs AI education order mandating AI literacy in K–12 via national task force.
• AI finds causal link between PHGDH gene and Alzheimer’s, enabling new treatments.
• Duolingo’s AI-first strategy reduces contractors, automates hiring, and launches 148 new courses.
• Australian radio station airs AI DJ for months without telling listeners.

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