(Preview) Google Starts Dancing, The Winners and Losers of Gemini Week, OpenAI Has an Advertising Problem
Ben and Andrew begin with Gemini 3, what to make of its terrific benchmark results, and why TPUs provide Google a sustainable cost advantage in AI. From there: Googleās opportunity in the enterprise space, Appleās white label deal, and questions about both OpenAIās future growth and challenges that loom if ChatGPT canāt incorporate advertising. At the end: Thoughts on what Gemini means for Nvidia, Anthropicās market in AI, why Amazon and OpenAI are losers of the Anthropic-Nvidia-Microsoft announcement, and a correction regarding Charter cellular coverage.
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32:56
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32:56
(Preview) How Apple Changed the Cellular Economy, What SpaceX Wants to Do With Spectrum, Airlines and Carriers, Yann LeCun Departs Meta
Andrew and Ben analyze SpaceX's nearly $20 billion in purchases by first touching on cell carrier history and the power dynamics that iPhones upended 20 years ago. Then: Understanding the SpaceX business and Musk's approach to strategy, what Starlink is trying to do with satellite internet on airlines, a power play with cell carriers that appears to have failed earlier this year, and now, a Plan B that may involve an acquisition and a bid to partner with Apple. At the end: Why Yann LeCun leaving Meta is the right outcome for both sides, a question about big companies and innovation spawns regulation cautionary tales and a cigar anecdote, and wondering about the impact of big tech on AI's future.
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23:04
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23:04
(Preview) OpenAI Wants Help from the Government, Apple Taps Google for AI, Q&A on Bubbles, Amazon Groceries, and YouTube TV
Ben and Andrew begin with reactions to the OpenAI CFO discussing a federal "backstop" for prospective financing, as well as Sam Altman's recent comments about OpenAI's spending. Then: An emailer objects to the discussion of Bubble benefits, and questions about Meta's AI spending and a looming the AI backlash as hiring contracts and electricity prices rise. From there: Unpacking the announcement that Apple will use Gemini to power Siri, and two follow-ups to last week's discussion of "Too Big to Fail" in tech. At the end: Thoughts on Amazon's grocery ambitions, Walmart's continued success, the YouTube TV-ESPN dispute, and a listener's mental model of Ticketmaster.
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18:50
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18:50
(Preview) The Hidden Benefits of Bubble Economics, Microsoft and OpenAI Make a Deal, Notes on Taylor Sheridan, Sora, and Nexperia
Discussing Ben's interview with Substrate CEO James Proud, including the "insane" challenge he's undertaken as Substrate attempts to compete with TSMC and ASML, and the ways in which a bubbly environment benefits innovation by incentivizing exactly that sort of moonshot. From there: Ben's thoughts on the "Too Big to Fail" era in tech that may be averted, reactions to the latest humanoid robot, and thoughts on both sides of the OpenAI-MIcrosoft announcement earlier this week. At the end: Taylor Sheridan leaves Paramount for greener pastures, Sharp Text and lessons from Grantland, a temperature check on Sora one month later, lessons from the Nexperia mess in Europe, a question about Magic: The Gathering, and a few corrections to last week's show.
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32:05
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32:05
(Preview) Understanding the AWS Outage, Resiliency Realities and Innovation Urgency, F1 Heads to Apple TV
Celebrating the return of the NBA with reactions to Inside the NBA on ESPN before turning to an extended explanation of the technology underlying the AWS outage this week and the history of US-East-1 in Northern Virginia. Then: Grappling with the trade-offs inherent to investing in resiliency to preserve the status quo, the risks that preservation comes at the expense of innovation, and Twitter as an object lesson. At the end: Questions on F1's deal with Apple, an F1 hater checks in, a sales pitch for YouTubeTV, and Ben chooses his favorite karaoke songs and explains how he learned Chinese.
UK