Weird Things

The episode is largely a discussion of ChatGPT/GPT-4 and how the hosts are using it in practice. Brian describes a hands-on experience role-playing as Blaine the Mono in GPT-4 and being impressed by how well it stayed in character, while Andrew explains the progression from GPT to GPT-2, GPT-3.5, ChatGPT, and GPT-4, emphasizing reinforcement learning with human feedback, instruction following, and...

Bryce has an idea, but not much more than that? What can a F1 pickem league turn into and how do you plus it? Plus, ChatGPT and a pitch for a presidential TV show. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.”

The episode opens with a long discussion of the Department of Energy report and other government assessments about COVID origins. The hosts say they do not know where COVID came from, but argue that lab-leak possibilities should not have been dismissed, and they criticize the shutdown of discussion on social media and within parts of the scientific community. The conversation widens into concerns...

Rovio announced a surprising change to one of their flagship games: they’re trying to remove it! Value propositions and how difficult it is to change directions once your project is out. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” Picks: Justin: TV Funhouse – Disney Vault Brian: The Ur-Quan Masters Bryce: Schafpudel’s guide to Petz

The episode opens with a discussion of an Embraer patent application for an aircraft-seat system that scans passengers' faces, analyzes facial expressions, and may offer non-invasive transcranial stimulation. The hosts first frame it as a possible customer-satisfaction or unruly-passenger tool, then gradually settle on the idea that it could function as a passenger amenity for calming or helping p...

Adapting and adaptability. How do you balance quality and quantity while taking advantage of new spaces? Effort in a world where effort gets more and more efficient. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” Picks: Andrew: Super Mario Odyssey Brian: Cunk on Earth Bryce: Poker Face

The episode opens with Andrew talking about how his work at OpenAI makes him more cautious about commenting on outside stories, then moves into a run of stories about elaborate pranks and public misdirection. Andrew recounts two balloon-based stunts from his past: putting a motorcycle inside a balloon for an A&E segment and, earlier, faking a UFO over a Florida school field with a lit balloon, whi...

Health talk today! Apps we like and handling cravings. Diet and exercise stories from *not-professionals* about getting started and staying regular. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” Picks: Andrew: Apple Watch Ultra Bryce: JEFIT and Lose It!

The episode opens with a long discussion of Nothing Forever, the AI-generated Twitch stream that riffs on Seinfeld with continuous, blocky, machine-generated sitcom scenes. The hosts treat it as a proof-of-concept for generative entertainment, debating how Twitch, rough visual quality, and the novelty of endless content help the project work, while also speculating about future AI media that could...

A simple way to add some color to any to-do workflow and the thorny(?) side of the emoji-emoticon war. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” Picks: Andrew: Slow Horses Brian: You Have the Right to Remain Innocent from James Duane Bryce: Things app

The episode opens with casual banter and then moves into a long discussion of robots, starting with Transformers versus GoBots, the history of the toy lines, and what made Transformers feel more iconic. The hosts connect that idea to broader robot history, including Gundam, Robotech, the golem, and the origin of the word robot, while also joking about childhood fantasies of building robot companio...

How moving can affect the creative process. Brian and Justin talk about the newly-revealed topic of World’s Greatest Con season 3 and how they’ve got an exclusive new look at the story that’s never been told before. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” PICKS: Andrew: Coffeezilla on YouTube Justin: The Last of Us Brian: Marvel Snap Bryce: The Last of...

The episode centers on Andrew Mayne explaining his role at OpenAI and the sudden breakout of ChatGPT. He says he works on the communications team helping explain the company’s technology, and the panel discusses how ChatGPT started as a research preview, gained huge adoption quickly, and changed AI from a theoretical or magical idea into a practical tool people can try for themselves (L25, L69, L7...

Bryce opens with a short update episode covering a science story about male wasps: researchers at Kobe University found that males of a specific species can use spikes near their genitalia to defend themselves, even though they do not have stingers like female wasps. He compares survival rates in predator tests and notes that male wasps with removed genitalia did not survive, while pond frogs ate...

A new app has been making waves in the image generation space with “magic avatars.” We talk about the experience of a pay AI art bot and what we think it could do to impact human artists and art. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.”

The episode opens with a joke-heavy run of stories, including Bryce recounting a TikTok about Waffle House grill cooks earning shirts for hitting profit milestones, then a segment about Steve Jobs' pre-worn Birkenstock sandals selling at auction for about $218,750. The hosts riff on the sandals' smell, rarity, and the value of Steve Jobs memorabilia, and briefly detour into jokes about Steve Wozni...

We’re in holiday mode as we talk about roosters, the etymology of adages, and where we think the future of social networks will go. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.”

The episode opens with a long discussion of the Artemis launch. The hosts joke about the mission's cost, but also credit the engineers and acknowledge that the rocket successfully reached space. They criticize the program as a politically shaped, expensive system, while still treating the launch as an accomplishment for the people who built it. A major portion of the episode is devoted to Twitter...

The Modern Rogue and Scam Nation short-form video experiment continues on and to rousing success. What lessons have we learned from over a month of making Tiktoks and YouTube Shorts? Alphabet basically owns the internet, but is it being a good steward? Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” Picks: Brian: Twitter Bryce: Things app

The episode opens with a long discussion of the FTX collapse and broader crypto trust issues. The hosts talk about insolvency, Alameda/FTX entanglements, money disappearing overnight, regulation, and whether crypto behaves like a frontier market where scams and boom-bust cycles are common. They also compare crypto to other speculative or trust-based ecosystems and note the difficulty of evaluating...

A (final?) update on Structured and the benefits of hitting the hay punctually. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.”

The episode opens with Halloween talk: Bryce asks why roads in Wyandotte, Michigan were closed for trick-or-treating, and the hosts riff on teenagers cleaning out the candy. Justin explains his neighborhood plan to give out full-size bars, both to get the candy out of the house and to build a good reputation where they live (L21-L23, L41-L45, L49-L53, L59-L69, L83-L85, L95-L97). From there the con...

The binge watching trend: is it in danger becuse week-after-week is better? With Netflix relenting on offering an ad-supported plan, could binging be on the chopping block too? What do we like personally and creatively? What metrics do streamers and platforms consider for new programs? Do algorithms reflect viewer habits? Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After...

The episode opens with a visual-guessing segment built around a close-up image that the hosts initially mistake for AI-generated art or a grotesque creature. Andrew reveals it is actually a real macro photograph of an ant, and Bryce adds that it was part of the Nikon Small World photo contest, which leads to a look at the winning gecko-foot image and a discussion of how macro photography can make...

Bryce admits to a productivity solution that can’t be beat. Did you know your iPhone can do something an kinda expensive website can do? Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” Picks: Andrew: ScreenFlow and Google Colab Brian: Six Thinking Hats from Edward de Bono Bryce: Splice and Bryce on the Beyond the Playlist podcast