Carly Rector

Fast & Broken

Society EN ↓ 32 episodes

Two friends from the internet try to make sense of what startup culture is doing to the world. Carly Rector is a software engineer and startup founder. Each week, she discusses current events with Teresa Kramer, TTRPG product manager and semi-professional voice actor. Their shared history lets them bridge the gap between online creative communities and the tech world with an empathetic but critical perspective.

Author

Carly Rector

Episodes

AI Slop Pile: Jimmy Kimmel, Vibes & Sora, UBI studies 06.10.2025 1:01:14

This week, we talk about the saga of Jimmy Kimmel's suspension and reinstatement and what it means for the state of media, OpenAI and Meta's new AI video feeds, and proof universal basic income won't mean people stop working and what it could really mean for society. Show Notes: Kimmel's ratings: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/business/media/jimmy-kimmel-ratings.html Kimmel's return monologue...

Problem Solving: Art & Technology, the TikTok Deal, Sora's Training Data 29.09.2025 39:19

This week, we discuss takeaways from Christie's Art x Technology panel event, the motivations behind the TikTok divesture, and a recent Washington Post article about OpenAI's video generator, Sora. Show notes: Christie's event: https://www.christies.com/en/events/art-tech-summit-seattle-2025/programme Articles on the TikTok deal: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2025-09-18/tiktok-deal-do...

Mandatory Human School: Podcasts and Youtube, AI Efficiency Gains, AI in Humanities Education 22.09.2025 1:04:11

This week we discuss YouTube product announcements, what it's like making a podcast, disillusioning results in AI efficiency gains, and what humanities education will look like in the AI-powered future. Show notes: Made on Youtube announcements: https://blog.google/products/youtube/made-on-youtube-2025/ Study on AI developer efficiency: https://metr.org/blog/2025-07-10-early-2025-ai-experienced-os...

Prediction Markets, More on AI Copyright, Factions of AI Discourse 15.09.2025 1:06:18

In this episode, we give an overview of prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket and discuss insider trading and skewed incentives, give an update on Anthropic's copyright settlement and some new suits filed, and give a basic overview of AI skeptics, boomers and doomers. Show notes: The Taylor Swift Wedding Trade: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/newsletters/2025-08-27/the-taylor-swift-weddi...

Meta's Romantic RP Bots, AI-Enhanced Youtube Shorts, The Cult of Anthropic 30.08.2025 1:03:33

This week we discuss Meta's dubious chatbot content standards, YouTube altering creators' shorts with AI, a beginner's primer on Anthropic, and perspectives on copyright in AI training. Show Notes: Reuters report on Meta's internal standards doc YouTube's AI "upscaling" The Information - The Cult of Anthropic Anthropic's copyright lawsuit settlement -- Support Carly's work by subscribing on Substa...

VO for AI, Tea App Hacks, AI Psychosis 30.08.2025 51:46

This week, we discuss voice actors selling their careers to train AI, the history of "Are We Dating the Same Guy?" and the Tea App, and the new phenomenon of "AI psychosis." Show Notes: 404 Media on the Faustian Bargain for voice actors AI protections within the SAG-AFTRA agreement 404 Media reporting on the Tea App breaches and the broader history of the app Psychology Today on AI psychosis Resea...

Woke AI, Cloudflare vs Perplexity, Online Age Verification 30.08.2025 54:29

In this inaugural episode, we jump right in and discuss Woke AI and the related Trump executive order, the conflict between Cloudflare and Perplexity over web crawling, and the UK Online Safety Act and age verification online more broadly. Show Notes: Read the executive order Grok's Mecha-Hitler episode Meta hires Robby Starbuck Peter Thiel on Woke AI Cloudflare's accusation blog Perplexity's resp...