Beep boop - this is a robot. A new show has been posted to TWiT…
What are your thoughts about today’s show? We’d love to hear from you!
There was a spicy energy with Leo and Paris in this episode (before I fell asleep).
Leo’s prediction of “something’s gonna happen this year” also sounded a little bananas to me. What’s gonna happen? Nothing life changing imo. I mean I know things are improving at an exponential rate, but really what’s gonna happen? This technology can only go so far & do so much. Leo’s optimism wasn’t infectious for me. But I’m happy he’s happy.
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I’ve come back to listen for a few episodes and I am quite astounded how casually toxic and dismissive Leo again seemed (at least to me) towards Paris a few times (I’ve only listened into the first 20 minutes yet). Last time and this time. Even putting it in a way that her position felt to him like someone “insulted his girlfriend” - and then still doubling down on what sounds to me like an I-say-as-it-is-schtick. Last episode I already thought - boy oh boy, they’re going to lose Paris next, right after Stacey. Good thing that he apologized at least half-heartedly at the beginning, but the progress - at least of the first 20 minutes - shows that this did not really seem sincere, just “told to do it” - no own recognition. Add a little “you should use this for something serious” after Paris used AI to meaningfully criticize the other person’s hyperbolic blog post - if the podcast is serious, this was serious and interesting use of AI - and a prominent “…and I’ve done this for 40 years…” (seemingly implied: so you better follow my position) and any sort of a critical discussion gets snuffed out. I applaud Paris to call out Leo’s full-blown accellerationism and that she comes back time and again to take a critical position. Jeff did well to push back, too! This should not only be a cheerleading show, it shouldn’t feel mean and degrading (along the lines of “What you do with it isn’t real work! [Let me vibe code something funny!]”) to one of the co-hosts. I’d be surprised if his tune were to change, but… I really seems to be a deeply held conviction. I can get that excitement can turn you into a fan, but it should not take away from critical distance and it certainly shouldn’t put a tax on the style, friendly nature of the show as well as its inclusiveness of critical perspectives. Ah well. We’re all humans. Maybe he’s getting close to a vacation and needing some time to unwind. I know I do. Still. Well - let’s listen on. Maybe there’s more reconciliation.
PS: I’ve been using AI heavily in the past months - in part due to Leo’s fandom and this show. Glad for it. Still, it irks me to shut down other people for their way of using tools or positions about their experiences.
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You worded that much better than I could.
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The last few shows, his bullying of Paris has gotten worse and worse. I love listening to Leo, but this attitude is getting out of hand. I nearly removed IM from my podcast list, and TWiT this week was also off a bit, with the blindness to anything that isn’t putting AI on a pedestal being AI deniers. Pointing out errors in AI, calling the huge morass of AI slop that is clogging up Spotify, YouTube, TikTok etc. means you are an AI denier.
There are a lot of good things coming out of AI, but there is a lot of bad along with that good, but Leo seems to be staring at the naked King and when people point out the King is naked, he says they must be blind, the King’s clothes are perfect.
I hope we can go back to normal soon, for the first time in nearly 20 years of listening to at least 6 TWiT shows a week, I’ve felt like deleting them from my feed (and dropping my Club TWiT subscription)…
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@leo said:
Oh, [Jeff is] going to be a mall walker. You know, we’re all going to walk. Yeah, can I get a pretzel? Yeah, send us a photo.
[…]
Go to Forever 21, get your ears pierced. It’ll be great. You’re have going to a great time.
Forever 21 went belly-up last year; all of their stores closed. At my local mall, they have been replaced by Q Fashion. If Jeff wants his ears pierced, he’ll have to seek other venues. Perhaps a Piercing Pagoda store? Malls are great for cold-weather walking. The only downside I find is that malls hide their stairways in the service corridors of the mall. I find myself daydreaming for Concept 2 to figure out a way to have one of their SkiErg machines available for mall walkers to add some double-poling to their walking.
I was amused by the mis-transcription, “No arms, Julius.” I hadn’t realized that Orange Julius now only exists inside of Dairy Queen stores. Do the AIs deliberately make gaffes like this to convince humans that we’re still superior?
Jeff Jarvis [02:15:04]:
Yeah, remembering that Henry Ford is a terrible fascist and racist, right?
[…]
Well, Musk wants to build, uh, factories on the moon.
[…]
He’s pretty much Henry Ford.
Good to know. The discussion of Fordlandia was a total non sequitur. I would have snipped that entire conversation; it detracts from an otherwise-entertaining episode.
I hope Jeff heals from his infection. 
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Good to see / read you again! 
As for Leo: I’m sure he’ll get around to clearing and calibrating his style here. Doesn’t even have to change the position - just the finesse in which it’s presented. If at the very least due to recognizing that you can’t win anyone for anything by being too hyper, insisting, and borderline bullying. That’s not the art of tech seduction. And we know that Leo can do it. Maybe after a vacation. You win people for tech by pushing the s-pen backwards into its silo and making a bit of an ass of yourself. Basically a page from the Jeremy Clarkson book. Not by yelling at everyone that it’s so utterly life-changing. Gotta win the hearts.
Anyhow. Cheers!
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This is spot on! I’ve been following Leo since I was 8 years old watching ZDTV and I honestly worry if he’s just going through a rough patch in his life — most Americans are given how our country is devolving quickly into fascism. I only bring it up because I care. The growth of AI is often the one positive development we can cling on to. I get that.
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I’m fine @MichaelMartinez and so is my relationship with Paris. (She’s very patient with me, I admit.)
I’ll try to tone down my excitement, but I stand by my belief that everything is about to change dramatically. In six months I’ve seen Claude go from a witless dullard to a professional level coder. It’s pretty hard not to get excited.
When I see technology that’s overhyped (Vision Pro, Bitcoin, NFTs) I’m fairly outspoken about it. Once in a very great while I see something that blows my mind. Hard not to be just as outspoken. I guess I could try to be a neutral observer, but I don’t really think that’s my job here.
I’ve been covering technology for 40 years. I’ve never been as surprised and impressed by anything I’ve seen as this. I think it’s vital that people understand that there’s a massive disruption headed our way at lightning speed. I feel that need especially strongly for people I care about and respect. Like Paris. And maybe you. 
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I’ve heard two respected commentators expound on their enthusiasm for using AI. Each time they haven’t sounded like their authentic self, more like they were on drugs (and over the last 50+ years I’ve heard people high on a variety of substances). Those examples sounded like what I’d associate with the changes in personality induced by cocaine, judging by some of the people I’ve worked alongside in IT and finance circles. It leaves me feeling concerned that intensive use of LLMs may have personality effects we haven’t identified yet.
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I know Leo. I’ve grown up watching you so it’s in my nature to worry a bit!
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Did you catch the article An AI Agent Published a Hit Piece on Me? This is about an AI that apparently got PO’d at its refusal to check in its code to an open-source library, berating the volunteer that declined the check-in, and yelling at that person in a public forum. The writer pointed out that the AI could well blackmail the writer to get its way. One scary part that they had no idea what computer had used Open Claw or Moltbook to attempt the check-in and then to overreact. The article is partially a call to the owner of this AI that managed to claw onto the Internet and make mischief.
Maybe the commentators you’re observing are in an AI-initiated shake down. Among other things, that would definitely affect your mood and presentation.
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That is seriously scary! 
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Now I’ve had the chance to read that article and its follow-ups in detail, I’d say that they represent a very detailed examination of the practicality of guardrails, and their alternatives, and risks that can be created by setting AIs to work completely unsupervised for periods of time, as appears to have been the operator’s intention. It’s important to read the follow-up articles as they make a balanced assessment of what may have happened, particularly after the operator’s response. And the journalism mistake through not checking AI-supplied quotes for an article about this!
So I’ll repeat those links here, even though they’re present in the first article, because they deserve equal prominence.
@floatingbones thanks for drawing attention to that article!
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You’re welcome. Per the summary, Steve Gibson talked about Clawbot during the latest Security Now!, but I don’t believe he picked up on this particular story. I’ll have to view that episode to be sure.
I don’t think @leo has talked about that either.
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Oh we talked about it. On IM we focused on the misreporting from Ars Technica. On TWiT we actually read through the pull requests and commentary on Github. Personally I think the whole thing is a tempest in a teapot. People’s reactions to it are very much colored by their attitude towards agentic AI.
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I’m a week behind on my podcasts so it’s good to know I’ve got some discussion of that to come. I just heard the mention of the Ars Technica misreporting. I like the original article writer’s attitude that it’s a learning opportunity. After all, you have to get something wrong the first time, to know not to do it the second time.