This week, AI split into three competing futures – and business leaders need to understand which path we are heading down.

Malcolm Werchota breaks down the biggest AI developments of the week: Anthropics Claude Sonnet 4.5, OpenAI’s Sora 2, Meta’s disastrous Vibes, the controversy around AI actress Tilly Norwood, Microsoft Excel turning 40 (and suddenly becoming cool with Copilot), and MIT’s CRESt platform that combines AI with robotics to invent real materials.

What you’ll learn in this episode

• Claude Sonnet 4.5 – Why Anthropic’s latest model is being called the best coding model in the world, with a 39% performance boost on complex business tasks, 30+ hours of contextual memory, and “undo on steroids.” And how GitHub Copilot integration makes it instantly accessible to millions of developers.
• Excel turns 40 – and gets Copilot. Why the most boring software on earth just became the biggest gateway for AI adoption in the enterprise. Millions of non-technical employees will now use AI daily without even realizing it.
• OpenAI Sora 2 – The breakthrough in AI video. 20-second photorealistic clips at 1080p, synchronized audio with lip accuracy, real physics, and the viral “Cameos” feature that lets anyone insert themselves into any video. Why this is not just a tool, but the foundation of a new social platform – and what OpenAI’s $500B valuation signals about their strategy.
• Meta Vibes – the failure. Meta tried to copy Sora with its own AI video feed. The result? Universal backlash. “AI Slop,” “brain rot,” and one of the fastest consumer rejections in recent history. What this teaches us about user expectations, trust, and the limits of generative content.
• Tilly Norwood – the AI actress. Introduced at the Zurich Film Festival, she’s already being scouted by agencies. SAG-AFTRA, Emily Blunt, and Whoopi Goldberg push back. What does this mean for synthetic identities, deepfake risks, and the future of creative labor?
• MIT’s CRESt Platform – Copilot for Real-World Experimental Scientists. A system that doesn’t just simulate, but actually runs robotic experiments in the lab. Over 3,500 experiments in a few months, discovering a palladium catalyst that improves performance per dollar in fuel cells by 9.3x. Why this matters for energy, science, and the geopolitics of innovation.

Episode Summary

This wasn’t just another incremental week in AI. It was the week we saw three distinct futures of AI:

• Attention AI – Sora 2, Tilly Norwood, Meta Vibes. Content that manipulates, entertains, and blurs reality.
• Productivity AI – Claude Sonnet 4.5, Excel Copilot. Tools that directly transform workflows and measurable output.
• Physical AI – MIT’s CRESt. AI that moves beyond digital outputs and creates real-world innovation.

The choice isn’t which of these will happen. They’re all happening. The real question is: which of these futures will define your business?

Mentioned Resources

• Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4.5 → claude.ai
• GitHub Copilot with Claude Integration
• OpenAI Sora 2 → openai.com/sora
• Meta AI “Vibes” (Meta AI App)
• Microsoft Excel Copilot → microsoft.com/excel
• MIT CRESt Platform (MIT Energy Initiative)
• Perplexity Comet Browser → perplexity.ai
• Werchota AI Consulting → werchota.ai
• AI Fit Academy → werchota.ai/ai-fit-academy

Connect with Malcolm Werchota

• LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/malcolmwerchota
• Website → werchota.ai
• YouTube → youtube.com/@werchota
• X (Twitter) → x.com/malcolmwerchota
• Facebook → AI Cookbook
• Instagram → @malcolmwerchotaai
• TikTok → @malcolmwerchota

📧 Contact: [email protected]

📧 Show requests & feedback: [email protected]

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