Superintelligent

The latest episode of the Superintelligent podcast, hosted by Mike Elgan and Emily Forlini, dives into the technology angle on the mafia using NBA players and coaches to run gambling scams, the absurdity of AI opinion polarization, and a comprehensive look at “currant” scone matters.

Links

FBI Busts Mob, NBA Players for Gambling Scheme: Here’s the Tech They Used

https://www.pcmag.com/news/fbi-busts-mob-nba-players-for-gambling-scheme-heres-the-tech-they-used

[I Ate] Scones, jam and clotted cream in the Cotswolds

https://www.reddit.com/r/food/comments/1oe1lkw/i_ate_scone_jam_and_clotted_cream_in_the_cotswolds/

Follow Us

Mike Elgan - About (https://elgan.com/about) | Machine Society Newsletter (https://machinesociety.ai/)

Emily Forlini - Website (https://emilyforlini.com/) | PC Mag Articles (https://www.pcmag.com/authors/emily-dreibelbis-forlini)

Email: [email protected]

Superintelligent Podcast (https://www.superintelligentpodcast.com/)

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Setting the Scene

00:54 The Gambling Scandal Unveiled

05:01 Technology’s Role in Modern Crime

07:13 The Cultural Impact of NBA Players

09:19 The Evolution of Organized Crime

14:43 AI’s Dual Nature: Benefits and Risks

22:28 The Future of AI and Shopping Technology

31:23 The Future of AI Beyond Chatbots

32:18 Exploring Alternative AI Applications

33:41 Ethics and AI in Media Creation

35:49 The Dystopian Nature of AI Fabrication

37:05 The Shallow Discourse of the Tech Industry

37:28 Digital Detox: A City’s Initiative

41:24 The Impact of Technology on Society

41:47 Coping with Technology Overload

47:44 Cultural Insights on Food and Language

Hosts Mike Elgan and Emily Forlini talk about how people might adapt to a world of AI content. Will people lower their standards and just not care? Or will the trend trigger a backlash and demand for the real world and content created by people?

This Superintelligent episode tackles the whole media ecosystem, what’s wrong with it and how it can be saved for the benefit of all.

Links

Here Comes the AI-Content Backlash!https://machinesociety.ai/p/the-ai-content-backlash-has-begun-b02

How Distributed Computing Makes This Stunning New Immersive Art Exhibition Possiblehttps://www.pcmag.com/articles/artechouse-submerge-exhibition-distributed-computing

How Terry Gross Readshttps://www.youtube.com/shorts/YyUNspQJQX

Follow Us

Mike Elgan - About (https://elgan.com/about) | Machine Society Newsletter (https://machinesociety.ai/)

Emily Forlini - Website (https://emilyforlini.com/) | PC Mag Articles (https://www.pcmag.com/authors/emily-dreibelbis-forlini)

Email: [email protected]

Superintelligent Podcast (https://www.superintelligentpodcast.com/)

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Hosts

01:25 The Backlash Against AI Content

04:35 The Comic Book Industry’s Stance on AI

07:12 Demand for Realism in Film

09:48 The Concept of Higher Taste

13:58 The Decline of Quality in Content

17:10 Libraries and AI-Generated Content

20:15 The Role of Disclosure in AI Content

22:41 The Future of AI Content and Quality

27:45 The Impact of AI on Human Thought

31:08 Dreaming and Visualization through AI

31:37 The Influence of AI on Creativity

34:11 The Changing Landscape of Reading and Content Consumption

38:30 The Evolution of Storytelling in Modern Media

42:18 The Need for Authenticity in Content

49:46 Navigating Technology and Wellbeing

Keywords

AI content, backlash, human creativity, comics, music, higher taste, media quality, censorship, libraries, thought, reality, content consumption, technology#AIcontent #backlash #humancreativity #comics #music #highertaste #mediaquality #censorship #libraries #thought #reality #contentconsumption #technology

Don’t look now, but here comes another thrilling episode of Superintelligent!!

The AI-generated elephant in the room remains Sora 2 and its fake TikTok anti-social social network. OpenAI launched their latest video generation tool alongside an AI-generated social media feed, and Sam Altman admitted the entire endeavor exists to monetize their business. It’s a profit deal!

Mike brings attention to what you might call the “substitution economy,” where tech companies position AI and robotic alternatives as superior to genuine human relationships, real pets, and authentic experiences. Whether it’s OpenAI’s faux TikTok, character AI for romantic relationships, or AI-generated video feeds replacing actual human creativity, the pattern is unmistakable and troubling.

Meanwhile, brain-computer interfaces are advancing faster than expected, though not in ways promised by science fiction. Emily attended a panel on brain implants in New York City, where she encountered everyone from the supervillain-looking surgeon who performs Neuralink operations to the Meta engineer behind their unfashionable neural wristband technology. The disconnect between public promises and private reality became clear when industry leaders publicly rejected mass commercialization while privately investing in that future.

Even Apple is jumping on the brain-computer interface gravy train. Apple’s quiet but significant contribution comes from Bluetooth standards that allow brain implants to communicate with consumer devices just like any other peripheral. Sending iMessages through thought alone — telepathy, basically — becomes possible.

Mike’s and Emily’s discussion of the AI bubble revealed how different this moment feels from the dot-com crash.

NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang is as much an outlier as NVIDIA itself. He presents as an immigrant success story while demonstrating the ruthless business instincts necessary to dominate the AI chip market. His ability to position NVIDIA as essential to every technological future, from chatbots to humanoid robots to digital twin simulations.

Links

AI Is Testing America’s Power Grid—And Uprooting Rural Familieshttps://www.pcmag.com/articles/ai-is-testing-americas-power-grid-and-uprooting-rural-families

An Unwelcome Megatrend: AI that Replaces Family, Friends — and Petshttps://www.computerworld.com/article/4067326/an-unwelcome-megatrend-ai-that-replaces-family-friends-and-pets.html

Vibe Coding Is Everywhere. Here’s How It Works and 5 Tips for Getting Startedhttps://www.pcmag.com/explainers/vibe-coding-is-everywhere-how-it-works-tips-for-getting-started

Whoop Adds Bloodwork Uploads Amid Spat With FDA Over How ‘Medical’ Its Wearable Ishttps://www.pcmag.com/news/whoop-adds-bloodwork-uploads-amid-spat-with-fda-over-how-medical-its-wearable

Sam Altman Admits Sora 2 ‘Slop’ Feed Is a Money Grab to Fund GPUshttps://www.pcmag.com/news/sam-altman-admits-sora-2-slop-feed-is-a-money-grab-to-fund-gpus

Echo, Kindle, Ring, and More: All the New Products Amazon Announced at Its Fall Hardware Eventhttps://www.pcmag.com/news/everything-amazon-announced-2025-fall-devices-event-scribe-ring-echo-fire

Evaluating the Impact of AI on the Labor Market: Current State of Affairshttps://budgetlab.yale.edu/research/evaluating-impact-ai-labor-market-current-state-affairs

Follow Us

Mike Elgan - About (https://elgan.com/about) | Machine Society Newsletter (https://machinesociety.ai/)

Emily Forlini - Website (https://emilyforlini.com/) | PC Mag Articles (https://www.pcmag.com/authors/emily-dreibelbis-forlini)

Email: mailto:[email protected]

Superintelligent Podcast (https://www.superintelligentpodcast.com/)

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Overview of Tech News

00:40 OpenAI’s Sora 2 and AI Video Generation

01:57 Amazon’s New Device Launches

03:27 The Trend of AI Replacing Human Connections

05:33 Meta’s AI Developments and the Vibes Platform

06:51 Brain Implants and Neuralink’s Competition

09:40 The Ethics of Brain-Computer Interfaces

14:13 OpenAI’s Future and Sam Altman’s Influence

25:46 The AI Bubble: Reality vs. Projections

27:41 Lessons from the Dot Com Bubble

30:36 The Impact of AI on the Job Market

33:45 Investment Trends and Economic Implications

37:12 The Role of Perception in Stock Valuations

42:30 Nvidia and the Future of Robotics

48:28 Jensen Huang: The Duality of Leadership

Keywords

OpenAI, Sora 2, AI video generation, Amazon hardware, brain implants, Neuralink, AI bubble, Nvidia, robotics, tech news

In this episode of Superintelligent, we dove headlong into the spectacle of the Meta Connect event, where Mark Zuckerberg and team set out to convince us that the future is wearable, voice-activated, wrist-twitching and dorky.

Yes, we’re talking about the Meta Ray-Ban Display Glasses and their neural band companion—the gadget duo supposedly destined to replace keyboards and smartphones.

The demo was a train wreck. The AI hallucinated. Mark couldn’t answer a phone call. But it’s also true that a bad demo doesn’t mean it’s a bad product.

Meta’s glasses raise big questions about social acceptability, privacy, and whether the market will truly take off like the Silicon Valley giants hope it will. Also: Can Apple’s design sophistication rescue wearable tech from utter dweebdom? We pitted optimism against skepticism, debating everything from the speed of miniaturization to necessity of face computers.

Links

Meta Explains Multiple Live AI Demo Fails at Connect: 'We DDoS'd Ourselves' - PC Mag

The Meta Ray-Ban Display Demo - YouTube

The Meta Ray-Ban Cooking Demo - X/Twitter

Follow Us

Mike Elgan - About | Machine Society Newsletter

Emily Forlini - Website | PC Mag Articles

Email: [email protected]

Superintelligent Podcast

Chapters

00:00 Meta's New Smart Glasses and Neural Band Introduction

02:47 The AI Demo Fiasco: A Live Presentation Gone Wrong

05:36 The Challenges of Live Demos and AI Technology

08:10 Zuckerberg's Neural Band Demo: A Series of Missteps

11:18 Innovations in Gesture Control and User Interaction

13:55 The Future of Smart Glasses: Meta vs. Apple

17:01 Ethical Concerns and the Reputation of Meta

19:58 Personal Perspectives on Smart Glasses and Fashion

24:58 The Evolution of Technology and Consumer Acceptance

28:09 The Future of AI Glasses and Fashion

30:45 Cultural Implications of AI Glasses

33:55 The Psychological Impact of Technology

38:10 The Monetization of Augmented Reality

44:02 The Future of VR and AR in Society

50:08 The Apple Ecosystem and Personal Preferences

52:37 The Social Dynamics of Smart Glasses

56:23 The Future of Smart Glasses and Market Trends

59:19 The Role of AI in Smart Glasses

01:06:01 Closing Thoughts on Technology and Society

Keywords

Meta, smart glasses, AI, augmented reality, technology, privacy, Zuckerberg, Meta Connect, neural band, fashion, user experience

This episode of Superintelligent urgently explores the impact of social platforms on our daily lives. We opened against the backdrop of a tragedy — the assassination of political influencer Charlie Kirk.

What is the role of social media in creating political division, personal crisis, and violence?

The illusion is intimacy — and that global events are personally relevant. The reality is that on social media, we’re being exploited for the benefit of others.

In an age of social media radicalization, the most radical thing you can do is reclaim your digital agency. Block, mute, unfollow. Build an online world filled with brilliant, constructive, inspiring people.

Social media is filled with trolls, toxic abusers, haters, and users. But you can opt out. We’ll tell you how.

Mikehttps://elgan.com/about

Emilyhttps://emilyforlini.com

Mike’s newsletter, Machine Societyhttps://machinesociety.ai

Emily’s articles on PC Maghttps://www.pcmag.com/authors/emily-dreibelbis-forlini

Superintelligenthttps://www.superintelligentpodcast.com

Email us![email protected]

Chapters

00:00 The Impact of Social Media on Society

08:28 Understanding Political Discourse and Division

14:26 Navigating Personal Connections in the Digital Age

20:45 Strategies for Healthy Social Media Usage

22:11 Using Social Media with Intention

24:27 Exploring Alternative Social Media Platforms

30:38 The Importance of Real-Life Connections

37:07 Navigating the Crisis of Information Overload

Keywords

social media, political discourse, division, delusions, boundaries, detox, real-life connections, social media tips, mental health, online culture

This week on Superintelligent, we tackled the spectacular rise of “Blame AI!” culture, where everyone from politicians to pop stars can now attribute any inconvenient fact, viral video, or even White House trash-bag scandal to AI-generated fakery. We explored how ordinary cultural events—like a K-pop musical hit or a Will Smith Instagram—that seem “too perfect” now get hit with AI accusations, often as a kind of backhanded compliment.

In other political tech news, we relived the viral White House AI leaders meeting, where Mark Zuckerberg was caught on a hot mic admitting the $600 billion investment pledge he announced moments before was something he pulled out of his ass.

But what do real data center dollars buy? Mostly cutting-edge GPUs and towering racks that require astonishing amounts of electricity and water but provide precious few jobs. We dove into the hidden costs of this data center expansion, from land seizures under eminent domain to communities whose power and water supplies are literally drying up thanks to our insatiable demand for digital services and AI processing.

Yet we refuse to succumb to pessimism. We debated hopeful futures, from solarpunk and hopepunk to vertical farming and urban innovation, wondering aloud why we haven’t seen megacities of skyscrapers in Silicon Valley or data centers that go up instead of out. Can we reimagine tech infrastructure so that energy, housing, and food production work in harmony, not in competition, with nature?

Links

* AI and the End of Proof - Computerworld

* Zuckerberg Caught in Revealing Hot Mic Moment During White House Dinner - PC Magazine

* Reddit Discussion: Meta's Zuckerberg Hot Mic Moment

* KPop Demon Hunters Singer Responds to AI Music Claims - Yahoo Entertainment

* Solarpunk: The Future We Should Strive For - Earth.org

* What is Vertical Farming? Complete Guide - Eden Green Technology

Contact Us

Mikehttps://elgan.com/about

Emilyhttps://emilyforlini.com

Superintelligenthttps://www.superintelligentpodcast.com

Email us![email protected]

Chapters

00:00 The Intersection of Technology and Politics

02:44 AI as a Scapegoat

08:47 The Role of AI in Misinformation

14:46 The Evolution of Media and AI

19:48 The Liars Dividend and Political Manipulation

25:42 The White House AI Meeting and Corporate Pledges

33:15 The Impact of Data Centers on Employment

34:06 The Economic Landscape and Job Creation

36:02 Energy Demands and Environmental Concerns

37:57 Local Communities and Data Center Development

40:17 The Future of Energy and AI

41:43 Legislation and Local Power Dynamics

44:35 California's Energy Innovations and Challenges

48:37 Water Usage and Agricultural Implications

50:22 Vertical Solutions for Data Centers

56:05 Envisioning a Sustainable Future

01:01:21 The Future of Communities and Technology

Keywords

AI, technology, politics, media, public perception, data centers, environmental concerns, urban development, future communities, investment

On “Superintelligent” this week, we dove headfirst into the counterintuitive overlap of design, politics, and tech. President Trump hired Airbnb’s co-founder to pretty up government websites. That sound like a joke, but at least he’s not tasked to decorate the White House like an Airbnb.

Another Trump initiative is to design government buildings in a classical, non-modern style, which raised the question: Why are modern buildings so fugly?

Our conversation meandered through the topics of Soviet brutalism, AI chatbots leaking secrets and pulling prompt injection tricks, and the wild rise of agentic browsers—like Comet—ready to both serve and scam us. (The more “intelligent” and agentic the tech, it seems, the more ways it finds to fib, glitch, and gobble up whatever data we throw at it.)

We also talked about talking — tech lingo, language woes, and translation tech that falls short exactly when you need it most.

Links

The beauty of concrete — https://worksinprogress.co/issue/the-beauty-of-concrete/

Grok's first vibe-coding agent has a high ‘dishonesty rate' — https://www.pcmag.com/news/groks-first-vibe-coding-agent-has-a-high-dishonesty-rate

Teen killed himself after ‘months of encouragement from ChatGPT’, lawsuit claims — https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/aug/27/chatgpt-scrutiny-family-teen-killed-himself-sue-open-ai

Mike Elgan — https://elgan.com/about

Emily Forlini — https://emilyforlini.com

Email Us: [email protected]

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Personal Updates

03:01 Politics Meets Technology: Trump's New Appointment

05:56 Aesthetic Value in Government Buildings

09:02 The Evolution of Architecture and Design

11:55 The Role of AI in Cybersecurity

14:53 AI's Potential for Malicious Use

17:43 Language and AI: The Impact on Communication

20:49 The Influence of AI on Modern Vernacular

27:00 Humorous Slang and AI Terminology

28:58 Joy to Stuff Ratio: Materialism vs. Enjoyment

30:06 Glurge and Sentimental Stories

31:28 Texticated: The Dangers of Distraction

32:32 Mind Casting: The New Age of Self-Expression

34:24 The Statusphere: Social Media and Self-Reporting

37:05 AI Security Risks: Malicious Instructions in Photos

39:36 The Dishonesty of AI: A Growing Concern

42:23 Real Consequences of AI Misuse

44:43 Agentic AI: The Future of Coding Tools

46:10 AI Browsers: The New Frontier

50:36 The Risks of Agentic AI and Cybersecurity

54:47 Motorcycles and Chatbots: A Dangerous Ride

55:56 The Pitfalls of AI Writing Assistance

58:00 The Challenge of Accurate Information

01:00:26 The Future of Language Translation

01:01:53 Navigating Language Barriers in Travel

01:04:07 The Need for Language Learning

01:08:09 The Journey to Learning French

01:11:18 Cultural Expectations and Language Acquisition

Keywords

AI, technology, architecture, cybersecurity, language learning, Trump, design, malicious use, communication, travel

This episode of the Superintelligent podcast covers a range of timely tech topics, including the recent launch and user reactions to GPT-5, broader trends in AI development, and the shifting landscape of platform monetization and product quality. Mike and Emily explore the role of AI in medical research, the complexities of lifelogging and information retrieval, and the evolution of note-taking tools from analog methods to modern AI-powered apps like MyMind. They also discuss the features and challenges of e-readers and tablets for digital annotation, as well as practical workflow tips for organizing travel and productivity.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Personal Updates

01:21 The State of AI: ChatGPT-5 and Its Reception

04:52 The Future of AI: Hype vs. Reality

10:53 AI in Healthcare: Skepticism and Potential

14:56 Life Logging and AI: A New Frontier

20:18 The Challenges of Podcasting

21:39 The Power of AI in Information Retrieval

23:07 The Analog vs. Digital Note-Taking Debate

25:44 Exploring the Future of Note-Taking Technology

27:44 The Quest for Effective Information Retrieval

29:40 E-Book Readers and the Desire for Interaction

Links

GPT-5 AMA with OpenAI’s Sam Altman and some of the GPT-5 team

MyMind

BELLEMOND |Kent Paper Screen Protector for iPad Pro

Mike

Emily

Our email

Keywords

AI, ChatGPT, technology, disillusionment, life logging, information retrieval, e-readers, health, podcast

In this thrilling episode of Superintelligent, OpenAI’s GPT-5 arrived after two years of hype and fell short on everyday tasks. Side‑by‑side tests against GPT‑4.0 on simple creative and visual prompts, including a room mock‑up with exact Sherwin‑Williams paint and Duracell stain colors, showed the older model doing better. Both models even produced near‑identical poems about GPT‑5. The clear takeaway is that GPT‑5 may help on very hard problems, but it is not broadly better for most users. Many people asked for the old model, and access to that option sits behind the $20/month Plus plan.

Monetization is reshaping how AI answers look and what sources appear. Current and planned revenue streams include ads inside answers, affiliate links, content licensing, and preferential ranking for paid partners. Licensed platforms surface more often, which is why Reddit links feel ever‑present, while X and Instagram block scraping and do not feed these tools the same way. Free tiers now face “shrinkflation,” where cheaper or smaller model variants serve more of those queries, pushing upgrades while cutting costs.

Language around deals is muddy by design. “Partnership” often blurs with standard customer or API use, leaving users to assume deeper ties than exist. Apple’s strict policing of that word, even when years of joint engineering work occur, shows how brands manage perception and keep terms vague.

AI browsers are the next big shock to the web. New tools like Dia and Perplexity’s Comet don’t just summarize pages; they act on them. In practice, Comet can open sites, click through flows, fetch data, and drop results into a new Google Sheet. Working inside logged‑in sessions, it can compile lists from social accounts without extra credentials. These browsers also make paywalls weaker by summarizing what’s behind them on demand. As people get used to “always be chatting” with pages, publishers face less click‑through and more extraction.

Google’s AI Overviews push this trend further. The feature holds users on Google and reduces the visits and ad views that once funded reporting. The company says it still drives traffic to “forums, videos, blogs, and posts,” which skews toward social content. If newsrooms shrink, AI systems will end up remixing social posts over original reporting. That short‑term logic breaks the information economy that AI itself needs.

Schools are moving fast to curb phones. A February survey found 77% of US public schools already restrict or ban phones. Entire states now enforce bell‑to‑bell bans, with Texas and New York joining for this school year. Many districts use Yondr pouches to lock devices during the day. Students complain about lunch and hall time without screens, but research points to higher grades, more focus, and more face‑to‑face talk. Parents cite emergency texting, including during shootings, yet schools have long managed urgent calls through the office and can set clear policies while phones remain on site.

The broader culture shift is about attention. Fast feeds train people to kill boredom at once, raising the bar for stimulation so high that books feel dull. Bedtimes once nudged kids to read because nothing else was allowed. Simple home rules—like Faraday pouches at night—restore sleep and quiet. The push to “legalize boredom” is not nostalgia; it is a practical fix for concentration, curiosity, and social skills. Outside the US, contrasting feeds underline the stakes: ByteDance runs a very different domestic product in China that pushes duty and learning, while the global TikTok app leans into sticky short clips.

Links

Sorry, OpenAI: In my early tests, GPT-5 isn't any better than GPT-4o

OpenAI: GPT-5 is less of a suck-up, but it tolerates more hateful behavior

Doris Lessing on how to read a book and how to read the world

How AI browsers end paywalls

The dark side of AI monetization

Google's dishonest and insulting AI Mode justification - a teardown

Alarming new study finds smartphones ruining our brains at unprecedented speed

Contact

https://elgan.com/about

https://emilyforlini.com

[email protected]

Chapters

00:00 The AI Moment: Introduction to GPT-5

02:54 The Disappointment of GPT-5

05:53 Monetization Strategies in AI

08:42 Content Licensing and AI Bias

11:40 The Nature of Partnerships in AI

14:47 The Cult of Apple and AI Development

17:38 The Shrinking Quality of Free AI Models

20:45 Exploring Kagi and Model Selection

23:50 The Future of AI: Delusions and Realities

24:43 Leadership and Product Launch Failures

27:33 The Petty Takedown of Sam Altman

28:33 The Origins of the Podcast

33:57 Exploring AI Browsers

43:11 The Future of Browsers and Google's Monopoly

46:16 Monetization of Information

52:14 The Impact of Cell Phone Bans in Schools

01:05:28 The Future of Technology and Reading Habits

In this edition of the Superintelligent podcast, Superintelligent hosts Mike Elgan and Emily Forlini talk about Brilliant Labs’ new Halo smart glasses, which cost $299, weigh just 40 grams, promise 14 hours of battery life, remember everything you hear and see. The product stands out because it has a heads-up display and lean retro graphics at a price identical to Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses. Unlike its competition, the Halo relies on an open source agent called NOA and packs in voice-activated “vibe coding.”

Both hosts raise privacy as a key risk with smart glasses, especially as recording devices with always-on cameras move into everyday life. They talk about how Ray-Ban Meta glasses indicate recording with a visible light but that most people ignore it. Emily brings up that women and anyone concerned with style may find glasses a hard sell, with Mike mentioning Ray-Ban’s advantage in making technology look familiar.

Mike and Emily then shift to the growing impact of AI data centers in rural America. Emily uses firsthand reporting from Pennsylvania, where new data centers need massive power lines, and the resulting fights with local landowners. She describes one case where a family receives eminent domain papers to make way for a power line up to 240 feet tall. These lines connect nuclear power plants to data centers that can draw energy equivalent to 500,000 homes each.

The show brings up Wyoming as a place where soon more electricity could go to AI than for people, and highlights booming electricity demand for server farms serving Meta, Amazon, and others. Mike notes Elon Musk once warned about running out of power for AI two years after his prediction, but the U.S. has since ramped up solar power production.

The episode wraps with the pair discussing monoculture farming, job loss due to data centers and AI, and the toll on local communities when a few companies push rapid, sometimes hidden, expansion.

Emily offers contact info for the group “Alliance to Stop the Line,” showing that the impact of these infrastructure projects is not just an abstract tech problem, but a personal one for many people in towns across the U.S.

Links:Halo — https://brilliant.xyz/products/halo Mike Elgan — https://elgan.com/about Emily Forlini — https://emilyforlini.com

Email comments to: [email protected]