On the Fringe

Hello all, from over top of Baffin Island! I’m about as far as north as you can go, and depending on your view point, OpenAI may be just as near the top of Santa’s naughty list for next year.

We’ve got a short bonus episode that’s been under the radar in the West, and front page news in India. OpenAI’s mobile version of ChatGPT called ChatGPT Go is now free in India for a full year for new subscribers. Gavin and I dive into potential reasons why this might be happening, and what the future may hold for the company and hundreds of millions of Indians (as well as other users worldwide) who take advantage of it.

If you like the episode, don’t forget to give us a like, comment, or subscribe. We truly appreciate it! And, if you think we’re totally off base here—call us out.

Thanks as always for listening, and stay smart!

Dave and Gavin

Hey all!

This week on On the Fringe, Dave and Gavin yack about a recent incident in Reno, Nevada, where a man was misidentified by using AI technology. We jump into the uses and misuses of AI in the modern world, and what increased reliance without the human element leads society toward.

If you’re curious about our take on it, don’t miss this episode!

Check out some of our more recent episodes about AI.

Season 3, Episode 21, On the Edge of Everything, with Practical AI CEO Derek Crager

Season 3, Episode 5: A Crash Course on GPTs, with John Otwell, a Software Engineer

Season 3, Episode 7: Questions anyone using AI needs to ask themselves, with John Otwell and Kevin Wong

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t forget to like, comment, share, and subscribe. We truly appreciate it!

All the best,

Dave and Gavin

Here's the YouTube Video we referenced:

https://youtu.be/B9M4F_U1eEw?si=testFg29pvSixGE-

No AI was misused in the production of this episode, but it was used to make the image of the guy in the top right corner of the cover art.

This week, Dave and Gav brought back Joe Barnes, friend of the pod and guest on our episode about neighboring Kazakhstan to talk about Kyrgyzstan. Joe dives into a deep backstory about the Kyrgyz Republic, and why the country has taken off economically in the last few years. One reason—it’s absolutely beautiful and an incredible value for your money.

We also discuss what has changed in Kyrgyz civil society and how important gold is (and mining) to the country.

If you’ve got an inkling to explore Central Asia on foot or online, don’t miss this episode.

We love to hear from our listeners and fans. Leave us some feedback, your favorite emoji, or a rating. Take care and all the best from us here On the Fringe!

Dave and Gav

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Reach out to Joe on his website, X/Twitter, and see his articles for the Diplomat here.

Hey all! We’ve got a quick episode for you and two events we will likely be covering in our next season in greater depth.

In the first part, Dave and Gav talk about what’s going on between Thailand and Cambodia.

In the second part, Gavin goes on a tear and gets to the bottom of a murky situation in Benin.

As always, thanks for listening and joining us On the Fringe!

All the best,

Dave and Gav

Hey all! We are not coming at you as “Moody in Mumbai” or “Desperate in Delhi,” but we feel for those who are.

Over the last couple of weeks, IndiGo, India’s largest airline has suffered from major operational setbacks. We’re diving into the most recent one, a change in the law for crew rest, that caused the airline to cancel thousands of flights in the last week as well as why these events may have occurred.

If you’re interested in India, don’t miss this episode—and if you’re flying to or within India, we wish you the best in getting to your destination.

Take care,

Dave and Gavin

This week, Dave and Gav talk with Derek ‘DC’ Crager, the CEO of Practical AI.

Derek is at the forefront of building what he describes as ‘human-first’ AI and makes the pitch that AI has to be tailored to human needs. We talk about the uses and misuses of AI technology, where it could make a real difference in people’s lives, and not only for improving productivity.

If you’re curious about future technology and the impact on life as we know it, don’t miss this episode.

For more information about Derek’s company Practical AI, and Pocket Mentor click below. https://www.practicalai.app/

Derek also provided the first chapter of his book, “Human First AI,” available below.

https://www.humanfirstai.net/

The small bot in the corner is from freepik.com, can be found here, and was created by upklyak

On this episode, we brought back Stuart Bolus from last season to talk about the state of African democracy. You’ll learn what it looks like, why it is fragile, and how it differs from country to country, along with local insight (including how illiterates can legitimately vote and how they work as elected officials—yes, that’s not a typo!)

Shoot us a message, leave us a comment, or send us your favorite emoji if you enjoyed the ep! We love hearing from our On the Fringe community.

Thanks as always for checking us out On the Fringe!

All the best,

Dave and Gavin

The colorful flag map of Africa in the corner of our podcast art is from Wikimedia and was made by WwJLaik and can be found here:

For this bonus episode, Gav and Dave talk about a real interesting response to a recent Gallup poll in which 40% of American women between the ages of 15-44 declared their interest in leaving the United States permanently. If this doesn’t cause you some concern, you might be looking at a different number.

Share below or shoot us an email about what you think means and if we’re off base here. We’d love to hear your opinions.

As always, thanks for listening and joining us On the Fringe.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dave and Gav

This week Gav and Dave return to one of the first stories we covered here on On the Fringe, the story of Alice Guo, one-time mayor of Bamban in the northern Philippines, erstwhile inmate in the Filipino prison system.

We dive into the bare bones of who she is, how she wound up as mayor, and why she just got sentenced to life in prison, along with diving into how this informs larger narratives playing out in Southeast Asia.

For very SERIOUS allegations that She and Alice worked for the MSS:She Zhejiang disclosed during an interview to al jazeera in 2024 that he worked for the MSS.

We can’t confirm if what She said is true true or not—pun intended.

Thanks for listening and leave us a comment, like, or share the word. We appreciate it!

All the best from On the Fringe,

Dave and Gav

After you’ve listened, here’s that episode about Alice.

This week, Gav and Dave talk about a major issue facing Japan, rampaging bears.

Wild bears are causing whole areas of Japan to be declared no-go zones for civilians, and even the Japanese Self-Defense Forces are being called into assist in keeping people and bears at a safe distance.

We’re diving into why exactly this is becoming an issue and why Japan’s ongoing struggle with a rapidly aging and decreasing population is playing a key role in this whole issue.

As always, thanks for bearing with us! Reach out to [email protected] with any comments and we’ll get back to you.

**Also, I said Akita and Iwate are “provinces.” They are prefectures (県）すみません！**

All the best,

Dave and Gav