AI that feels conscious is coming faster than society is ready for…

In Episode 164 of The Artificial Intelligence Show, Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput unpack the viral MIT study, the brutal reality of companies forcing AI adoption, and Mustafa Suleyman’s warning about “seemingly conscious AI.” Alongside these deep dives, our rapid-fire section gives updates on Meta’s AI reorg, Otter.ai’s legal troubles, Google and Apple’s AI strategies, and the environmental impact of AI usage.

Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here

Timestamps: 

00:00:00 — Intro

00:05:52 — MIT Report on Gen AI Pilots

00:16:26 — AI’s Evolving Impact on Jobs

00:25:00 — AI and Consciousness

00:35:48 — Meta’s AI Reorg and Vision

00:40:59 — Otter.ai Legal Troubles

00:46:30 — Sam Altman on GPT-6 

00:51:14 — Google Gemini and Pixel 10

00:56:20 — Apple May Use Gemini for Siri 

00:59:49 — Lex Fridman Interviews Sundar Pichai 

01:05:38 — AI Environmental Impact

01:10:37 — AI Funding and Product Updates

This week’s episode is brought to you by MAICON, our 6th annual Marketing AI Conference, happening in Cleveland, Oct. 14-16. The code POD100 saves $100 on all pass types.

For more information on MAICON and to register for this year’s conference, visit www.MAICON.ai.

This week’s episode is also brought to you by our AI Literacy project events.  We have several upcoming events and announcements that are worth putting on your radar:

All new courses and certificates are now live in AI Academy. 

Sept 18: [Webinar] Intro to AI presented by Google Cloud

Sept. 24: [Webinar] 5 Essential Steps to Scaling AI presented by Google Cloud

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From the environmental costs of data centers to the cultural biases baked into today’s models, Paul Roetzer and Cathy McPhillips answer your questions from our 50th Intro to AI class. Throughout the episode, they unpack the gray areas of AI-generated content, debate what the rise of agents means for work, and consider how creatives can stay ahead with AI.

Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here

Timestamps:

00:00:00 — Intro

00:05:13 — Question #1: Which environmental concern feels most urgent for the AI industry to solve?

00:07:58 — Question #2: How well do AI models reflect diverse languages and cultures? 

00:10:25 — Question #3: What risks and ownership issues come with AI-generated video and images in marketing? 

00:15:26 — Question #4: What are the best ways to start experimenting with AI agents?

00:18:22 — Question #5: Is there value in using multiple AI platforms to cross-check results?

00:22:06 — Question #6: How should businesses weigh built-in AI assistants versus standalone tools like ChatGPT? 

00:24:30 — Question #7: Are we moving toward a standardized way for websites to guide how AI systems interact with their content?

00:29:27 — Question #8: How do you see different search engines being used or leveraged by AI companies?

00:32:24 — Question #9: How do you choose the right AI model for marketing, HR, and sales tasks? 

00:34:56 — Question #10: What role do you see AI playing in building and managing communities? 

00:38:31 — Question #11: What frameworks should teams use when integrating AI into CRM or workflow automation to keep systems scalable and secure?

00:40:51 — Question #12: What are the most common mistakes companies make when trying to ‘force-fit’ AI into a workflow?

00:42:23 — Question #13: Which AI tooling is best suited to develop and monitor a marketing communications strategy at SME vs. enterprise scale?

00:45:11 — Question #14: Do you think AI fluency will become a baseline requirement for executives?00:46:55 — Question #15: What should creatives in fields like graphic design or UX/UI be thinking about as AI continues to evolve? 

00:52:29 — Question #16: How do you see coding and technical skills as careers in a world where today’s kids will grow up with AI?00:55:35 — Question #17: What’s the best way to handle situations when AI gets things wrong, and how do you approach fact-checking? 

00:58:39 — Question #18: If you had to narrow it down to just one ethical principle that matters most right now, which would it be and why?

01:00:48 — Question #19: How should companies address internal concerns around data privacy, compliance, and governance? 

01:01:53 — Question #20: Which AI applications do you expect to break through sooner than people think?

This episode is brought to you by Google Cloud: 

Google Cloud is the new way to the cloud, providing AI, infrastructure, developer, data, security, and collaboration tools built for today and tomorrow. Google Cloud offers a powerful, fully integrated and optimized AI stack with its own planet-scale infrastructure, custom-built chips, generative AI models and development platform, as well as AI-powered applications, to help organizations transform. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted technology partner.

Learn more about Google Cloud here: https://cloud.google.com/  

This episode is brought to you by AI Academy by SmarterX.

AI Academy is your gateway to personalized AI learning for professionals and teams. Discover our new on-demand courses, live classes, certifications, and a smarter way to master AI. Learn more here.

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The aftershocks of GPT-5’s chaotic rollout continue as OpenAI scrambles to address user backlash, confusing model choices, and shifting product strategies.

In this episode, Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput also explore the fallout from a leaked Meta AI policy document that raises major ethical concerns, share insights from Demis Hassabis on the path to AGI, and cover the latest AI power plays: Sam Altman’s trillion-dollar ambitions, his public feud with Elon Musk, an xAI leadership shake-up, chip geopolitics, Apple’s surprising AI comeback, and more.

Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here

Timestamps: 

00:00:00 — Intro

00:06:00 — GPT-5’s Continued Chaotic Rollout

00:16:03 — Meta’s Controversial AI Policies

00:28:27 — Demis Hassabis on AI’s Future

00:40:55 — What’s Next for OpenAI After GPT-5?

00:46:41 — Altman / Musk Drama

00:50:55 — xAI Leadership Shake-Up

00:55:55 — Perplexity’s Audacious Play for Google Chrome

00:58:32 — Chip Geopolitics

01:01:43 — Anthropic and AI in Government

01:05:17 — Apple’s AI Turnaround 

01:08:09 — Cohere Raises $500M for Enterprise AI 

01:10:57 — AI in Education

This episode is brought to you by our Academy 3.0 Launch Event.

Join Paul Roetzer and the SmarterX team on August 19 at 12pm ET for the launch of AI Academy 3.0 by SmarterX —your gateway to personalized AI learning for professionals and teams. Discover our new on-demand courses, live classes, certifications, and a smarter way to master AI. Register here.

This week’s episode is brought to you by MAICON, our 6th annual Marketing AI Conference, happening in Cleveland, Oct. 14-16. The code POD100 saves $100 on all pass types.

For more information on MAICON and to register for this year’s conference, visit www.MAICON.ai.

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GPT-5 finally landed, and the hype was matched with backlash. In this episode, Paul and Mike share their takeaways from the new model, provide insights into the gravity of DeepMind’s photorealistic Genie 3 world-model, unravel Perplexity’s stealth crawling controversy, touch on OpenAI’s open-weight release and rumored $500 billion valuation, and more in our rapid-fire section. 

Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here

Timestamps: 

00:00:00 — Intro

00:04:57 — GPT-5 Launch and First Reactions

00:25:29 — DeepMind’s Genie 3 World Model

00:32:20 — Perplexity vs. Cloudflare Crawling Dispute

00:37:37 — OpenAI Returns to Open Weights

00:41:21 — OpenAI $500B Secondary Talks

00:44:26 — Anthropic Claude Opus 4.1 and System Prompt Update

00:49:57 — AI and the Future of Work 

00:56:02 — OpenAI “universal verifiers”

01:00:42 — OpenAI Offers ChatGPT to the Federal Workforce

01:02:59 — ElevenLabs Launches AI Music

01:05:32 — Meta Buys AI Audio Startup

01:09:46 — Google AI Pro for Students

This episode is brought to you by our Academy 3.0 Launch Event.

Join Paul Roetzer and the SmarterX team on August 19 at 12pm ET for the launch of AI Academy 3.0 by SmarterX —your gateway to personalized AI learning for professionals and teams. Discover our new on-demand courses, live classes, certifications, and a smarter way to master AI. Register here.

This week’s episode is also brought to you by Intro to AI, our free, virtual monthly class, streaming live on Aug. 14 at 12 p.m. ET. Reserve your seat AND attend for a chance to win a 12-month AI Mastery Membership. 

For more information on Intro to AI and to register for this month’s class, visit www.marketingaiinstitute.com/intro-to-ai.

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This episode may just be the calm before the GPT-5 storm…

We’re back with another rapid-fire episode—there was just too much AI news to cover any other way. In this episode of The Artificial Intelligence Show, Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput dig into the possible release of GPT-5, unveil what’s coming in our reimagined AI Academy 3.0, and examine how AI is transforming job markets, consulting, and enterprise strategy. They also break down key updates from OpenAI, Microsoft, Meta, Apple, and Google—and what listeners need to know as AI’s impact accelerates across business and education.

Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here

Timestamps: 

00:00 — Intro

10:27 — OpenAI’s Explosive Growth

16:52 — Microsoft and OpenAI Near Contract Agreement

23:23 — ChatGPT Study Mode

28:42 — How We Talk About AI’s Impact on Jobs

36:16 — Microsoft Paper on AI Jobs Impact

41:24 — AI’s Impact on the Consulting Industry

47:01 — Apple AI Acquisition Speculation

51:26 — Earnings Reports

58:16 — Gemini 2.5 Deep Think

01:04:29 — Meta’s Vision for Superintelligence

01:12:46 — ChatGPT Shared Links Indexed by Google

01:15:05 — AI Product and Funding Updates

This week’s episode is brought to you by MAICON, our 6th annual Marketing AI Conference, happening in Cleveland, Oct. 14-16. The code POD100 saves $100 on all pass types.

For more information on MAICON and to register for this year’s conference, visit www.MAICON.ai.

This episode is also brought to you by our Academy 3.0 Launch Event.

Join Paul Roetzer and the SmarterX team on August 19 at 12pm ET for the launch of AI Academy 3.0 by SmarterX —your gateway to personalized AI learning for professionals and teams. Discover our new on-demand courses, live classes, certifications, and a smarter way to master AI. Register here.

Visit our website

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Join our community:

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What if the U.S. built its future on AI factories? And what if AGI shows up just in time to run them?

Join Paul and Mike as they break down the White House’s aggressive three-part Action Plan, including its call to build more data centers and ban “woke” AI. They unpack what Google's staggering token usage tells us about the pace of AI development—and how that connects to the rumored, unified GPT-5 model that could reshape everything. Then it’s rapid fire: Nvidia CEO’s advice for college students, the first AI for therapy, AI’s impact on tech jobs and more. 

Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here

Timestamps: 

00:00:00 — Intro

00:06:23 — White House AI Action Plan

00:31:55 — How AI Could Upend the World Economy

00:39:37 — GPT-5 Rumors

00:47:52 — AI Is Impacting Tech Jobs

00:53:08 — Advice for College Students

00:59:44 — Instacart CEO About to Take Reins of Big Chunk of OpenAI

01:08:32 — The First AI for Therapy

01:12:31 — AI’s Environmental Impact

01:17:04 — AI Search Summaries Result in Fewer Clicks

01:19:45 — AI Product and Funding Updates

This week’s episode is brought to you by MAICON, our 6th annual Marketing AI Conference, happening in Cleveland, Oct. 14-16. The code POD100 saves $100 on all pass types.

For more information on MAICON and to register for this year’s conference, visit www.MAICON.ai.

This episode is also brought to you by our Academy 3.0 Launch Event.

Join Paul Roetzer and the SmarterX team on August 19 at 12pm ET for the launch of AI Academy 3.0 by SmarterX —your gateway to personalized AI learning for professionals and teams. Discover our new on-demand courses, live classes, certifications, and a smarter way to master AI. Register here.

Visit our website

Receive our weekly newsletter

Join our community:

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LinkedIn

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Facebook

Looking for content and resources?

Register for a free webinar

Come to our next Marketing AI Conference

Enroll in our AI Academy

AI salaries are outpacing NBA MVPs. Grok is turning heads, and stirring controversy, as competition among top AI labs heats up.

This week, Mike and Paul unpack OpenAI’s massive update that turns ChatGPT into a full-blown digital assistant, Meta’s $200M+ AI talent raids, and the spiraling drama at Grok. They break down Microsoft’s AI-driven layoffs, AI browser competition, Apple’s quiet AI pivot, and what it really means when superintelligence becomes cheap and everywhere.

Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here

Timestamps: 

00:00:00 — Intro

00:05:47 — ChatGPT Agent

00:14:17 — Grok 4

00:17:46 — Grok Controversy

00:32:07 — Meta Superintelligence Labs

00:35:16 — Windsurf Drama

00:37:28 — Kimi 2

00:42:35 — AI Browsers

00:47:05 — Microsoft’s Layoffs and AI

00:52:27 — More Meta Updates

00:55:53 — More OpenAI Updates

01:03:13 — Google Updates

01:07:57 — Apple Might Use Anthropic or OpenAI for Siri

01:10:59 — AI Product and Funding Updates

This week’s episode is brought to you by MAICON, our 6th annual Marketing AI Conference, happening in Cleveland, Oct. 14-16. The code POD100 saves $100 on all pass types.

For more information on MAICON and to register for this year’s conference, visit www.MAICON.ai.

This episode is also brought to you by our 50th Intro to AI session happening on August 14.

You'll learn what AI is, why it matters, and how to find real use cases and trusted tools for your work. Go to www.marketingaiinstitute/com/intro-to-ai to register.

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AI is reshaping hiring, law, and business strategy.

Join Mike and Paul as they unpack Anthropic’s major legal win over authors suing for AI training data use, explore the tsunami of AI-generated resumes flooding recruiters, and analyze why OpenAI is now doing high-ticket consulting. They also weigh Salesforce’s claim that AI does half its work, Meta’s billion-dollar talent raids, and OpenAI’s mysterious hardware rebrand drama. 

Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here

Timestamps: 

00:00:00 — Intro

00:05:00 — Anthropic Wins Key Lawsuit Against Authors

00:19:37 — AI’s Impact on Hiring and HR

00:31:34 — OpenAI is Now Doing Consulting

00:39:28 — OpenAI - Jony Ive Drama

00:43:08 — OpenAI’s Microsoft Office Rival

00:47:53 — Intel Outsources Marketing to Accenture and AI

00:53:31 — Salesforce CEO: 30% of Internal Work Done by AI

01:01:53 — More Meta AI Recruitment Efforts

01:07:15 — AI First Book Release

01:12:20 — AI Product and Funding Updates

This week’s episode is brought to you by MAICON, our 6th annual Marketing AI Conference, happening in Cleveland, Oct. 14-16. The code POD100 saves $100 on all pass types.

For more information on MAICON and to register for this year’s conference, visit www.MAICON.ai.

This episode is also brought to you by our upcoming AI Literacy webinars.

As part of the AI Literacy Project, we’re offering free resources and learning experiences to help you stay ahead. We’ve got two live sessions coming up in June—check them out here.

Visit our website

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Data integrity, executive skepticism, and turning AI-driven time savings into real gains—Paul Roetzer and Cathy McPhillips answer your questions from our latest Scaling AI class and offer informative, candid answers.

Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here

Timestamps:

00:00:00 — Intro

00:04:51 — Question #1: How do we ensure data integrity, security, and privacy when we scale AI?

00:07:24 — Question #2: What exactly is an AI roadmap?

00:12:30 — Question #3: How can we maintain meaningful human oversight when AI systems operate at a speed that exceeds human comprehension?00:14:47 —  Question #4: How do you feel about the impact of AI on highly regulated industries where adoption has been slower?

00:16:50 — Question #5: How does change management need to evolve in response to the rapid development of AI tools?

00:18:54 — Question #6: Changes are happening so quickly. How can professionals keep up? Are there trusted resources that stay current with innovations?

00:23:11 — Question #7: Do you have any tips for creating a tailored AI learning curriculum versus a “one-size-fits-all” approach?

00:24:51 —  Question #8: For someone passionate about AI but not in a leadership position, how can i initiate change at an individual level?

00:28:42 — Question #9: How can you address resistance to change and skepticism toward AI, especially when the tools are available, but usage lags?

00:30:47 —  Question #10: What’s your advice for someone leading a lean team who needs to pitch AI to executives with no time or interest in experimentation?

00:31:41 — Question #11: If a large organization has rolled out something like Copilot but no one is talking about AI or expanding beyond it, what are some tactical next steps to drive broader AI engagement?

00:34:21 — Question #12: As a director in higher ed, how can I motivate leadership to pursue something like Ohio State’s “AI Fluency” initiative?

00:38:00 — Question #13: Which AI tools do you like the best, and do certain ones work better for specific industries? How do you personally evaluate and select them?

00:40:49 — Question #14: How can startups or innovators best use Problems GPT, especially for category creation? Could you walk through an example? 

00:45:54 — Question #15: What excites you most about AI’s potential for startups right now?

00:49:29 — Question #16: Have you seen companies using AI-generated efficiency gains to reinvest in people, like offering shorter workweeks or well-being benefits?

This week’s episode is brought to you by MAICON, our 6th annual Marketing AI Conference, happening in Cleveland, Oct. 14-16. The code POD100 saves $100 on all pass types.

For more information on MAICON and to register for this year’s conference, visit www.MAICON.ai.

Visit our website

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Join our community:

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This week, Paul and Mike unpack the New York Times’ list of 22 upcoming roles (from “AI auditors” to “personality directors”), weigh Andy Jassy’s memo that generative AI will mean leaner teams, and dissect the viral MIT study about what ChatGPT might be doing to your brain. Rapid-fire hits include Meta’s billion-dollar talent raid, Apple’s rumored Perplexity bid, and fresh OpenAI-Microsoft friction.

Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here

Timestamps: 

00:00:00 — Intro

00:05:41 — The New Jobs AI Could Create

00:26:11 — Amazon CEO on AI Job Disruption and AI Underemployment

00:39:28 — Your Brain on ChatGPT

00:52:22 — Fallout from the Meta / Scale AI Deal

00:55:27 — Meta and Apple AI Talent and Acquisition Search

01:05:59 — The OpenAI / Microsoft Relationship Is Getting Tense

01:08:53 — Veo 3’s IP Issues

01:12:09 — HubSpot CEO Weighs In on AI’s SEO Impact

01:15:29 — The Pope Takes on AI

01:18:39 — AI Product and Funding Updates

This week’s episode is brought to you by MAICON, our 6th annual Marketing AI Conference, happening in Cleveland, Oct. 14-16. The code POD100 saves $100 on all pass types.

For more information on MAICON and to register for this year’s conference, visit www.MAICON.ai.

This episode is also brought to you by our upcoming AI Literacy webinars.

As part of the AI Literacy Project, we’re offering free resources and learning experiences to help you stay ahead. We’ve got two live sessions coming up in June—check them out here.

Visit our website

Receive our weekly newsletter

Join our community:

Slack

LinkedIn

Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

Looking for content and resources?

Register for a free webinar

Come to our next Marketing AI Conference

Enroll in our AI Academy