What do trivia night, jazz bands, and IKEA furniture have in common? They all make more sense once you understand Mixture of Experts. In this episode, host Emily Laird breaks down how LLMs are using conditional computation to get smarter and cheaper, without frying your GPU like a budget toaster. We’re talking expert networks, gating systems, and why the future of AI might look more like a five-star kitchen than a power-hungry robot army. Join the AI Weekly Meetups Connect with Us: If you enjoye...
Aug 18, 2025•9 min•Ep. 195
Is ChatGPT here to help you ace the test or just do your homework for you? In this episode, host Emily Laird unpacks OpenAI’s new Study Mode, a feature that turns the AI from vending-machine answer bot into a never-tired tutor who actually makes you think. From math problems that fight back to privacy concerns and its big debut in schools via Canvas, we cover why teachers, parents, and even students are warming up to the idea. It might just be the first AI tool that raises grades and consciences...
Aug 13, 2025•7 min•Ep. 194
AGI can do anything you can, write, reason, crack jokes, without being told how. Superintelligence can do all that and make you look like a potato with Wi-Fi. In this episode, host Emily Laird breaks down the real meaning of these two buzzwords, why even the experts can’t agree, and how the biggest AI players, OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Anthropic, Meta, and xAI, are racing to build them. Whether it’s curing cancer, boosting productivity, or accidentally turning off the internet, we’re here to sepa...
Aug 12, 2025•11 min•Ep. 193
OpenAI’s GPT-5 isn’t just an upgrade, it’s a whole crew of AIs working together. One’s fast, one’s a deep thinker, and a couple work the cheap shifts, all coordinated by a smart “router” that picks the right brain for the job. It’s breaking records in math, coding, and reasoning, slashing hallucinations, and even scheduling your meetings. The Pro version handles monster problems in seconds, while all versions get built-in web search, vision, and real task execution. The model menu is gone, GPT-5...
Aug 11, 2025•10 min•Ep. 192
What do you get when you mix a chess prodigy, a neuroscience detour, and a borderline obsession with solving intelligence? Google DeepMind. In this episode, host Emily Laird goes into the mind (and muscles) behind modern AI, aka Demis Hassabis. From teaching AIs to dominate in Go and StarCraft to solving protein folding and launching the Gemini models, DeepMind isn’t just flexing, it’s reshaping the future. If your chatbot had a Nobel Prize and a gamer tag, it’d be this. Join the AI Weekly Meetu...
Aug 06, 2025•9 min•Ep. 191
Meet Kimi K2! Join host Emily Laird as she explores the trillion-parameter powerhouse from Shanghai-based Moonshot AI that's throwing elbows at GPT-4.1, Gemini, and Claude 4. With a Mixture-of-Experts brain, a freakishly long memory (128K tokens), and the power to write code, run commands, and basically do your job better than you, this isn’t your average chatbot. It’s a business-savvy, open-source disruptor priced like street food but cooking with Michelin fire. Oh, and it’s backed by Alibaba a...
Aug 05, 2025•8 min•Ep. 190
Chrome is toast (ok, probably not). Or at least, it might be if Perplexity’s Comet Browser has anything to say about it. In this episode, host Emily Laird breaks down how Comet is trying to outsmart your current browser by acting like a hyper-organized, AI-powered sidekick that shops for you, books your flights, and maybe even watches The Bachelor. But before you burn your bookmarks, we’re also talking sky-high pricing, early beta chaos, and the looming "AI Browser Wars" that have Google, Micros...
Aug 04, 2025•9 min•Ep. 189
Meta just dropped $14.3 billion to buy half of Scale AI and hired their CEO like it was a fantasy football draft. In this episode, host Emily Laird unpacks why Mark Zuckerberg raided Scale AI’s pantry for top talent, including Alexandr Wang and Nat Friedman, and what it means for Meta’s new Superintelligence Lab. It’s part billion-dollar power play, part Avengers-style recruitment, and a giant signal that in 2025, labeled data and elite researchers are Silicon Valley’s new gold. Connect with Us:...
Jul 30, 2025•7 min•Ep. 188
Meta just rage-quit its own AI strategy and rolled out the Superintelligence Lab, because nothing says "totally under control" like consolidating teams under Zuck himself. In this episode, host Emily Laird breaks down Meta’s big bet on AGI, its new Avengers-style AI dream team (including Alexandr Wang and Nat Friedman), and the Manhattan-sized data centers designed to power it all. With billion-dollar budgets, 9-digit salaries, and a dash of sci-fi ambition, is this Meta’s masterstroke or Metave...
Jul 29, 2025•8 min•Ep. 187
OpenAI’s Agent isn’t here to make small talk. It’s here to get stuff done, like your caffeinated intern who never sleeps, never eats, but still can’t log into your Gmail. In this episode, host Emily Laird breaks down what the Agent actually is, how it turns ChatGPT into a hands-on digital assistant, and why Sam Altman is calling this “the feel of AGI” while also slapping a giant experimental label on it. You’ll learn what this thing can really do, where it crashes into walls, and why it might be...
Jul 28, 2025•11 min•Ep. 186
Corporate America’s on Ozempic, and the side effect is mass layoffs. In this episode, host Emily Laird slices into the juicy mess of the AI-powered corporate slim-down brought to you by a fantastic article by the WSJ. Turns out your boss doesn’t hate you, he just read a memo that said a chatbot is cheaper. From Amazon’s Andy Jassy preaching lean teams like it’s a TED Talk for sociopaths, to Walmart quietly firing 100,000 people while raking in billions, we unpack how generative AI is becoming th...
Jul 23, 2025•9 min•Ep. 185
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy just dropped a memo that’s equal parts pep talk and pink slip warning: AI is amazing, and it’s coming for your job. In this episode, host Emily Laird breaks down how Amazon is unleashing AI agents like digital Avengers to automate the mundane, boost efficiency, and quietly make some roles...disappear. We unpack what it means to “adapt or become the next Blockbuster,” why passive-aggressive robots are the future of your Slack channel, and how to become an AI-literate teammat...
Jul 22, 2025•10 min•Ep. 184
Forget robot overlords. For now, AI still needs us to clean up its messes, cast its voices, and make sure it doesn’t accidentally go full Bond villain. In this episode, Emily breaks down the New York Times article on 22 new jobs AI could give you instead of just taking yours. From AI ethicists who play moral compass to personality directors deciding whether your chatbot sounds more like Oprah or Steve Harvey, we’re looking at new roles built around trust, integration, and taste. Your next job mi...
Jul 21, 2025•11 min•Ep. 183
Sick of AI giving you answers with all the flavor of corporate hold music? In this episode of our AI Pro Tips series, Emily Laird cracks open the secret sauce of prompting: ruthless specificity. Forget vague instructions! Think of AI like a rookie line cook: you want steak and fries, not leftovers from the walk-in. From prepping your prompts with chef-level detail to demanding feedback as sharp as a sushi chef’s knife, we’ll show you how to turn your AI sidekick from phoning it in to plating up ...
Jun 18, 2025•8 min•Ep. 182
Think you’ve got all your project bases covered? Think again. In this episode, Emily Laird calls out the hidden holes in your plans that even your espresso-fueled brain misses. Forget the coddling, AI is here to serve up brutal honesty and a reality check, sniffing out the overlooked people, missing voices, and embarrassing assumptions tucked into your “flawless” work. Hear how large language models catch what you don’t, why your team’s digital transformation plan probably won’t fly in rural Iow...
Jun 17, 2025•7 min•Ep. 181
Think giving your chatbot a name is just for weirdos and sci-fi fans? Think again. In this episode, Emily Laird tosses out the dry tips and goes full Cast Away, explaining why talking to your AI like it’s a grumpy old professor (or a pirate, or Jeffrey the Roomba) isn’t just quirky, it’s the secret to getting answers that don’t suck. Discover why a dash of personality in your prompts unlocks smarter, sharper responses, and how science says we all secretly want our chatbots to have a favorite sna...
Jun 16, 2025•7 min•Ep. 180
AI isn’t just doing your homework anymore, it’s helping build malware, write fake job offers, and launch cyberattacks faster than you can say “Ctrl+Alt+Delete.” In this episode, host Emily Laird breaks down how generative AI is giving cybercriminals a glow-up, from malware-for-hire and espionage squads to scams slicker than a used car salesman in the metaverse. Meet ScopeCreep, Vixen, and Keyhole Panda, your new least favorite characters in the AI underworld, and find out how crime is getting sc...
Jun 11, 2025•7 min•Ep. 179
Generative AI has a dark side, and it’s not just stealing jobs, it’s applying for them. In this episode, host Emily Laird goes underground with OpenAI’s new report on how generative models are powering fake résumés, propaganda machines, and influencer chaos. From North Korean hackers catfishing HR departments to AI-crafted love letters to authoritarian regimes, the scams aren’t new, but now they scale like fast food. Plus, the AI Avengers (OpenAI, Google, Anthropic) are fighting back. So yeah, t...
Jun 10, 2025•5 min•Ep. 178
AI isn’t just crashing Miami’s pool parties anymore, it’s moving into the classroom, and no, it’s not just helping kids cheat better. In this episode, hot Emily Laird's hitting the hot, humid hallways of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, where over 100,000 students will be getting cozy with Google’s Gemini chatbot. We’re talking AI-powered tutors, teacher bootcamps, and principals pitching projects like it’s Shark Tank: School Edition. From lesson plans to security feeds, this district is turnin...
Jun 09, 2025•6 min•Ep. 177
Grab your ergonomic chair and emotional support coffee, this one’s about your job, and whether AI already has it. In this episode of Generative AI 101, Emily Laird breaks down why Dario Amodei (Anthropic), Jensen Huang (Nvidia), and Kevin Roose (NYT) are all sounding the alarm—each in their own way—on the AI-job apocalypse. From entry-level extinction to CEOs quietly ghosting human hires, we’re talking mass layoffs, mentorship black holes, and how Claude might be your new coworker. But hey, it’s...
Jun 05, 2025•8 min•Ep. 176
Lights, camera, algorithm! This week, host Emily Laird hands the director’s chair to Google’s Veo 3, an AI video model that spits out 4K cinematic clips on command, complete with synced sound, consistent characters, and more drama than a Zoom call with your CEO. From TikTok teasers that don’t look like last-minute Canva projects, to cat-produced Sundance shorts, we explore how Veo 3 and its filmmaking sidekick Flow are making “movie magic” something anyone can prompt—no studio budget required. P...
Jun 04, 2025•8 min•Ep. 175
Google DeepMind just dropped Veo 3, and it's basically Final Cut Pro with a soul—or at least a solid camera sense. This episode, we're breaking down why this new generative video model isn’t just impressive—it’s unsettlingly good. Think 4K video made from text, audio that doesn’t sound like a Speak & Spell, and cinematic vibes so on point it could fool a film student. Plus, we unpack why the internet (and possibly the Oscars) is freaking out. Veo 3 isn’t playing around, it’s writing, directi...
Jun 03, 2025•10 min•Ep. 174
What happens when OpenAI gives $6.5 billion to the man who made your iPhone hot and your MacBook sleek? You get a screenless, AI-native gadget designed by Jony Ive, aka the guy who convinced us that buttons are for peasants. In this episode, host Emily Laird digs into why OpenAI bought hardware startup io (yes, lowercase), what a “third core device” even is, and whether this digital Jeeves will actually serve you or just end up next to your unused VR headset. Apple chic meets AI geek. Let’s go. ...
Jun 02, 2025•8 min•Ep. 173
Let's break down the U.S. Copyright Office’s spicy third report on AI, ya know, the one that's throwing elbows and reportedly got Perlmutter canned. From training on copyrighted data to market dilution (aka the Merlot of legal arguments), Emily Laird dissects the legal drama that could decide the future of generative models. We’re talking fair use, fine-tuning trouble, and why “AI just learns like humans!” won’t fly in court. It’s not law yet, but it’s already whispering in every judge’s ear. Co...
May 22, 2025•9 min•Ep. 172
AI-generated Tom Cruise? Button-mashing cyberpunk operas? Welcome to the legal circus. In this episode, Emily Laird breaks down the U.S. Copyright Office’s spicy three-part report series on generative AI: from deepfakes and who actually owns AI-made content, to the billion-dollar question, can your model legally chow down on copyrighted books without asking? Spoiler: the Office isn’t exactly handing out high-fives. It’s The Lord of the Rights, and the lawyers have entered the chat. Connect with ...
May 21, 2025•8 min•Ep. 171
So you typed “a cat smoking a pipe in Van Gogh’s style” into your favorite AI tool, cool flex, but don’t try to copyright it. In this episode, host Emily Laird is slicing into the meat of the AI copyright mess: who owns AI-generated content, what the U.S. Copyright Office actually said about it, and why your clever prompt won’t get you a ribbon (or royalties). From the lawsuits piling up like week-old takeout to GitHub Copilot's DMCA drama, we’re breaking down the legal food fight between artist...
May 20, 2025•8 min•Ep. 170
Generative AI crashed the copyright party in 2023 and it didn’t wipe its boots at the door. In this episode, we break down the chaotic, caffeinated debate over who owns what when machines start getting “creative.” From the U.S. Copyright Office’s tough love (no human, no copyright) to courtroom showdowns like Thaler v. Perlmutter and the cautious applause for Théâtre D’opéra Spatial, we’re talking authorship, ownership, and whether your AI art deserves a gold star or a cease-and-desist. If you'v...
May 19, 2025•7 min•Ep. 169
Think AI runs on math and magic? Try 66 billion liters of water. In this episode, host Emily Laird exposes AI’s dirty little secret: data centers are chugging water like it’s spring break in Vegas. From Microsoft draining cities to Google raising eyebrows in Oregon, we break down how training your favorite chatbot might be leaving the planet parched. Plus, we look at solutions, like liquid-cooled servers and recycled wastewater, because building Skynet in a drought is just bad planning. Connect ...
May 07, 2025•7 min•Ep. 168
AI isn't magic; it's math and metal, and it has a monster appetite for electricity. In this episode, host Emily Laird digs into the eco-footprint of Generative AI, from training models that suck down enough power to juice 120 homes, to chatbot sessions that drain half a liter of water per flirty Q&A. Emily also unpacks why your helpful bot might be thirstier than a frat house in July, how AI already outpaces aviation in emissions, and whether “green AI” can actually save us from an e-waste a...
May 06, 2025•8 min•Ep. 167
Ever wonder who’s really winning the Chatbot Arena and whether those wins mean anything at all? In this episode of Generative AI 101, host Emily Laird's blowing the lid off the leaderboard. Turns out, the top bots might’ve had a little… help. Like submitting 27 secret versions and quietly deleting the losers help. We break down The Leaderboard Illusion, a new research paper, is exposing how big tech plays with the rules, while open-source models get ghosted like last year’s crypto pitch. From ri...
May 05, 2025•7 min•Ep. 166
