April 17, 2026

The 'AI is inevitable' trap

1 hour 32 minutes

The AI vibes continue to find all-time lows. David and Nilay open the show by talking through the absurd Allbirds pivot to AI, the attacks on Sam Altman, and the increasing divide between what AI companies say is inevitable and what people actually want. Then, the Hype Desk crew talks Coachella and RAMageddon, before David and Nilay catch up on the Live Nation-Ticketmaster monopoly suit and the increasing price of everything. In the lightning round, it's time for Brendan Carr is a dummy, satellite internet, brain-computer interfaces, and the Trump Phone.

Further reading:

Allbirds announced a switch from shoes to AI and its stock jumped 600 percent

The Allbirds pivot to… meme stock?

The attacks on Sam Altman are a warning for the AI world

Sam Altman reportedly targeted in second attack

Altman attack suspect proposed “Luigi’ing some tech CEOs.”

Stanford’s AI study

NYT: Half of Gen Z Uses AI, but Their Feelings Are Souring, Study Shows

Reese Witherspoon on Threads on AI

Ticketmaster is an illegal monopoly, jury finds

A jury is about to decide the fate of Ticketmaster

Microsoft counters the MacBook Neo with freebies for students

YouTube Premium is getting pricier

RAMageddon has come for Microsoft’s Surface Pro and Surface Laptop

Meta blames RAM shortage for $100 Quest 3 price hike

FCC’s Brendan Carr again blasts deals between NFL and streaming services

The FCC just saved Netgear from its router ban for no obvious reason

Netgear and the FCC have not responded to our emails.

Did Neuralink make the wrong bet?

Apple and Amazon are teaming up to challenge Starlink’s smartphone ambitions

Point, Musk.

Amazon’s Starlink competitor now has an airplane antenna.

Amazon’s Starlink competitor Leo gets a new date

The new Trump Phone design is here

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--EPISODE RUNDOWN--

(Timestamps are approximate.)

00:00:00 Allbirds Goes AI

00:06:00 From Shoes to Tech Hype

00:09:00 Altman Attacks and Backlash

00:13:00 Why AI Feels Threatening

00:18:00 Gen Z Polls and Trust Gap

00:29:00 Reese Witherspoon AI Pushback

00:35:00 Hype Desk Returns

00:36:00 RAM Apocalypse and Wikifeet

00:39:00 Coachella Livestream Era

00:43:00 Ticketmaster Monopoly Verdict