708: Spicy Mode
Grumpy Old Geeks
Jason DeFillippo & Brian Schulmeister with Dave Bittner
4.8 • 6.1K Ratings
🗓️ 8 August 2025
⏱️ 70 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Alright, buckle up, buttercups, because this week's "Spicy Mode" episode of Grumpy Old Geeks proves that while things change, they mostly stay the same—just with more AI and less common sense. First up in FOLLOW UP, some poor schmoe automaker actually got a federal exemption for automated vehicles. Because what could possibly go wrong when we let robots drive?
Then we dive headfirst into IN THE NEWS, a veritable dumpster fire of artificial intelligence. Illinois, bless their hearts, decided to ban AI therapists, probably because even they realized a chatbot won't fix your existential dread. But don't worry, older Americans are totally embracing these digital companions, like ElliQ, your friendly AI sidekick for "happier, healthier aging." Meanwhile, Perplexity is still allegedly scraping websites like it's 1999, and Apple's cooking up a "stripped-down" AI chatbot, probably because all their good AI talent bailed. Even Wells Fargo is deploying AI agents, so now your bank can deny you a loan with even less human empathy. And naturally, the US government is totally on board with OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic—because handing over the keys to Skynet to federal agencies sounds like a super solid plan. Oh, and of course, Grok now has a "spicy" NSFW mode, because what else would you expect? And just when you thought it couldn't get any dumber, Microsoft is "cautiously onboarding" Grok 4 after some minor Hitler concerns. Tesla, in a move that surprises absolutely no one, shut down Dojo, their AI training supercomputer. If you’re still using ChatGPT for your deepest, darkest secrets, be warned: a single poisoned document could leak all your data. Even the Swedish Prime Minister is apparently relying on ChatGPT for decision-making. In other news that doesn't involve robots taking over, Amazon split up Wondery and laid off a bunch of folks, and Microsoft's Windows XP Crocs are an actual thing. Yes, really.
For MEDIA CANDY, prepare for a dose of nostalgia and existential dread. We're talking Rogue One, Nate Bargatze's stand-up specials (because sometimes you just need to laugh), Portlandia, Craig Ferguson, and the OG AI movie, Colossus: The Forbin Project. Netflix keeps canceling everything we love, including Fubar, but hey, The Sandman Season 2 and Wednesday are still here. And just to prove that Hollywood is still stuck in the past, Universal Pictures is threatening to sue Big Tech for stealing their movies for AI. Over in APPS & DOODADS, Google's smart home ecosystem is apparently crumbling, because who needs a cohesive system when you can have a dozen disconnected devices? But hey, OpenAI released a free GPT model you can run on your laptop, so now you can build your own personal AI overlord right at home. And finally, THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE brings us Gravity Falls books and a new Star Wars movie with Matt Smith and Ryan Gosling. Oh, and Weird Science is on Netflix, because sometimes you just need to relive the 80s and pretend AI hasn't completely taken over. So grab your flannel, cue up some Oingo Boingo, and enjoy the show, you analog dinosaurs.
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Show notes at https://gog.show/708
FOLLOW UP
First U.S. automaker gets federal automated vehicle exemption
IN THE NEWS
Illinois is the first state to ban AI therapists
Older Americans turning to AI-powered chatbots for companionship
Meet ElliQ - Your AI sidekick for happier, healthier aging
Perplexity is allegedly scraping websites it's not supposed to, again
Apple reportedly has a 'stripped-down' AI chatbot to compete with ChatGPT in the works
Apple's Real AI Crisis Isn't Siri, But the Talent It's Losing to Rivals
Wells Fargo Deploys AI Agents Business-Wide
US adds OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic to list of approved AI vendors for federal agencies
ElevenLabs launches its own royalty-free AI music service
Surprising no one, Grok's image and video generator now has an NSFW 'spicy' mode
Microsoft is cautiously onboarding Grok 4 following Hitler concerns
A Single Poisoned Document Could Leak ‘Secret’ Data Via ChatGPT
Prime Minister of Sweden Dragged for Admitting He Uses ChatGPT to Help Him Make Decisions
Amazon splits up the Wondery podcast network and lays off about 110 employees
Microsoft’s Windows XP Crocs are no joke
MEDIA CANDY
Nate Bargatze: The Greatest Average American
Nate Bargatze: The Tennessee Kid
"I'm So Happy" | Craig Ferguson (Full Stand-up Special)
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Season 1 Comic-Con Teaser
‘Fubar’ Canceled By Netflix After 2 Seasons
Universal Pictures to Big Tech: We’ll Sue If You Steal Our Movies For AI
APPS & DOODADS
Google’s Smart Home Ecosystem Is Crumbling
OpenAI releases a free GPT model that can run on your laptop
How to set up and run OpenAI's 'gpt-oss-20b' open weight model locally on your Mac
AT THE LIBRARY
Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama: A Memoir by Bob Odenkirk
Spotify's premium audiobook feature launches in the US
THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE
Gravity Falls: The Book of Bill
‘Star Wars: Starfighter’: Matt Smith Lands Villain Role In New Lucasfilm Pic Starring Ryan Gosling
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | At Matalan, the big summer sale is on. |
| 0:03.4 | Get up to 50% off across women's men's and kid styles, plus homeware too. |
| 0:08.5 | It's the perfect time to fill your basket with this season's favourites. |
| 0:12.9 | Head to your nearest store today or shop the sale online at matelan.com.uk. |
| 0:18.7 | Teas and Cs apply. |
| 0:22.6 | Grumpy old geeks, a weekly talk show hosted by Brian Schulmeister and Jason DeFilippo discussing |
| 0:28.0 | the finer points of what went wrong on the internet and who's to blame. |
| 0:36.4 | Welcome to Grumpy Old Geeks. I'm Jason DePhilippo. |
| 0:39.0 | And I'm Brian Schoemister. I am back in Toronto, Jason. |
| 0:42.6 | Ooh, joy. |
| 0:43.9 | It smells of smoke, but not fascism. |
| 0:46.8 | Okay. You have escaped the Tird Reich. |
| 0:51.8 | Yeah. I mean, it was weird. I talked about it a bit because, you know, obviously I did two shows from Los Angeles. Well, from Anaheim. I would like to remind all my friends that aren't listening to this podcast that I do not live in Santa Monica anymore when I visit. I am down in Anaheim. And that is far. So when you tell me, oh, hey, what's you doing? I'm going to be around in 15 minutes. I want to meet me? I can't do that. Nope. So, yeah. So, you know, I talked a bit about my experience being there and how it felt a little bit weird and it was in the middle of, you know, ice and all that activity. And it felt strange. |
| 1:29.2 | And obviously, you're just inundated with the news and it's depressing. And so I did three weeks |
| 1:33.3 | there and, you know, just basically helped my mom out for the majority of the time, got to see some |
| 1:37.9 | friends. Tech support. Yeah, tech support. And I mean, just handyman support, changing light bulbs, |
| 1:42.6 | all that sort of stuff. And then we went off to Seattle with some friends of ours that we COVID bubbled with. |
| 1:50.1 | You know, my son and their daughter went to daycare together and we've known them forever. |
| 1:54.8 | So we took off and went to Seattle. |
| 1:56.8 | It was a strange choice, but, you know, whatever. |
| 1:59.5 | Had some fun. |
| 2:00.9 | It's a very blue city, very blue, which is good, you know, because so am I, but too blue even for me. |
... |
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