The choices we make today shape our world tomorrow.
Author mpescePosted on AI models get ‘trained’ inside massive data centres, using some of the most powerful computers ever built. We’ve now learned how to make those models small enough to run on a laptop. Seventy years after it all kicked off, AI comes home.
Produced with the help of Myrtle and Pine.
Author mpescePosted on Pete Steinberger set the world on fire with OpenClaw, the first general-purpose agent – and one with a soul. We’ll look at how being in the right time and the right place with the right vibe fundamentally changed the public perception of AI.
Produced with the assistance of Myrtle and Pine.
Author mpescePosted on ChatGPT opened the door to artificial intelligence. Almost immediately, researchers built ‘agents‘ using it – but three years of hard yards passed before agents were ‘good enough‘ to be useful. In this episode trace the path from ‘bad’ to ‘good enough’ agents – and what it unlocked as we crossed ‘The Watershed’.
Lots more about The Watershed here.
Big thanks to Myrtle and Pine for their production assistance!
Author mpescePosted on On the 17th August 1956, artificial intelligence was born. The founders of the field reckoned they’d have thinking machines equivalent to humans in five year, perhaps ten at the most. What looked easy at the outset turned into a seven-decade struggle – across two “AI winters”, when the discipline nearly faded away – before we got to ChatGPT.
Big thanks to Myrtle and Pine for their assistance in this production.
Author mpescePosted on On RNZ’s “Nine to Noon” I gave host Kathryn Ryan an update on the US export controls on the “Fable 5” AI model – and how that’s causing them trouble with their allies, who had already integrated it into workflows. Then we’ll look at what happens when a security researcher goes rogue – threatening the world’s fourth most valuable company. We’ll conclude with the unpleasant story of how millions of Pokemon Go players unwittingly collected geospatial data now licensed to be used in military drones…
Big thanks to RNZ for letting us share this broadcast – and more big thanks to producers Ampel!
Author mpescePosted on On Friday 12 June, AI powerhouse Anthropic cut off all access to their latest-and-greatest “Fable 5” AI model. Based on the incredibly powerful Mythos, which has the capacity to hack into almost any computer, Fable had safeguards to block that sort of use – or so Anthropic believed. A hack to ‘jailbreak’ Fable 5 went viral just a day after it went live, and very quickly the White House got alarmed. Mark shares the whole tale with RNZ “Nine To Noon” host Kathryn Ryan.
Big thanks to RNZ for allowing us to share this broadcast, and more big thanks to producers Ampel!
Author mpescePosted on Host Kathryn Ryan in conversation with Mark, profiling the concerning capability of Anthropic’s Mythos AI model to hack into the most protected systems – now it seems other AI models are just as powerful. RAMageddon could be on the way – with a major shortage of RAM forcing prices higher and why does ChatGPT have a goblin problem?
Big thanks to RNZ for permission to use this.
Produced by Ampel.
Author mpescePosted on Leading AI firm Anthropic drew two red lines on their work with the newly renamed US ‘Department of War’: No mass surveillance of Americans, and no autonomous weapons. USA Secretary of Defense Pete Hesgeth threatened to declare Anthropic a ‘supply chain risk’ (basically, an enemy of the state) unless they erased those red lines by 5.01pm on Friday 27 February. Anthropic held fast – and that’s changed the politics of AI. Plus: Let the app know you’re not dead!
Produced with Ampel.
Author mpescePosted on Abby Bloom, Catherine Ball and I (along with Sally Dominguez) are heading back to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to see the latest innovations in ‘agetech’ – technologies that help restore ability and increase agency as we age. Is agetech “the” solution to the crisis in care, or is it, instead, kit that helps support us as we transition toward a culture where care is a central and valued activity?
Three great examples of agetech mentioned in the podcast:
Cadense – Grippy sneakers
Hapta – L’Oreal’s amazing tech that gives people with tremors the ability to apply makeup
The Skip – adds a spring in your step, literally!
Author mpescePosted on Could it be that the smartphone and social media brought us together only to make us completely intolerant? Research seems to be pointing that way – so what can we do? Also, fake receipts, fake voices and fake apologies – the more AI we use, the more we get faked out. Finally, ‘mind captioning’ – could bring a voice to those who can not use their own! Recorded live on Radio New Zealand’s “Nine To Noon” show on Thursday 20 November 2025 – with big thanks to host Kathryn Ryan!
Produced with Ampel.
Author mpescePosted on Can a big business transform its processes and workflows using AI? With very few successful examples to follow, how does the Big End of Town even get started? L’Oreal Groupe – the biggest beauty products firm on Earth – got started three years ago. We sit down with L’Oreal Groupe ANZ CEO Alex Davison to explore how they did it, why they did it – and how it’s changed their business. L’Oreal is rated by FORTUNE Magazine to be the #1 most innovative firm in the world – so maybe we can all learn something from them.
Recorded at SxSW Sydney 2025 in front of a live audience.
Author mpescePosted on There’s an elephant in the room along with artificial intelligence – its impact on the climate. Demand for electricity has skyrocketed as Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Google and Microsoft build vast new data centres to handle the anticipated global demand for AI products and services. Is that wise? In conversation with legendary entrepreneur and Climate Salad CEO Mick Liubinskas, we explore whether we’re approaching the age of AI with enough prudence.
Produced with AMPEL.
