#225: GPT-5.6, ChatGPT Work, Enterprise Agents, AI 2040 & Apple Sues OpenAI
OpenAI shipped GPT-5.6, ChatGPT Work, and GPT-Live this week, and the real story is the move from chat to computer-use agents. Paul and Mike break down what changed, then get into enterprise AI agents and the "reverse information paradox," the AI 2040 report, Apple's trade-secret suit against OpenAI, Illinois's new AI safety law, the AI Safety Index, a cheating scandal at Brown, and foreign influence around data centers. AI-Pulse Survey: Fill out this week’s AI-Pulse Survey here. Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here Timestamps: 00:00:00 — Intro 00:05:45 — GPT-5.6, ChatGPT Work, and GPT-Live (Plus GPT-6 Rumors) 00:31:30 — Advice on AI Agents in the Enterprise 00:46:39 — AI 2040 00:59:17 — Apple Sues OpenAI for Trade Secret Theft 01:06:14 — Illinois Signs Nation-Leading AI Safety Law 01:09:59 — AI Safety Index: Nobody Gets an A 01:13:11 — The AI Cheating Scandal at Brown 01:17:44 — China and Russia Stoke US Public Opinion on Data Centers 01:20:57 — AI Use Case Spotlight 01:26:19 — AI Product and Funding Updates This week’s episode is brought to you by SiteImprove. AI search is changing what it means to be discoverable. Siteimprove is the Agentic Content Intelligence Platform marketing teams use to track, optimize, and prove performance across both traditional and AI-driven search. From AEO visibility to content quality, Siteimprove helps you stay ahead of the shift. Start with a free AEO check at siteimprove.com/aipod. Visit our website Receive our weekly newsletter Join our community: Slack Community LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube Looking for content and resources? Register for a free webinar Come to our next Marketing AI Conference Enroll in our AI Academy
#224: Fable 5 Is Back, Palantir CEO’s Explosive Interview, the Pillars of Business AI Transformation & OpenAI Offers 5% of Company to US Government
Are enterprises blindly surrendering their competitive edge to frontier AI labs? In Episode 224, hosts Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput dissect the urgent power shift between AI developers, regulators, and the businesses that rely on them. We unpack the return of Claude Fable 5, Palantir CEO Alex Karp’s fiery warning on data ownership, and a new 8-pillar framework to safeguard your company's AI transformation. Finally, we cover OpenAI's massive new government pitch, Meta's internal struggles, and the harsh realities of AI's impact on the job market. Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here AI-Pulse Survey: Fill out this week’s AI-Pulse Survey here. Timestamps: 00:00:00 — Intro 00:05:44 — US Government Lifts Export Controls on Fable 00:21:32 — Palantir CEO on AI Sovereignty 00:37:32 — The Pillars of Business AI Transformation 00:51:48 — OpenAI Offers the US Government a 5% Stake 00:56:03 — OpenAI’s Inference Breakthrough 01:00:03 — AI Jobs Data Whiplash 01:09:35 — Meta's AI Reality Check 01:13:10 — AI Use Case Spotlight 01:23:02 — AI Product and Funding Updates This week’s episode is brought to you by SiteImprove. AI search is changing what it means to be discoverable. Siteimprove is the Agentic Content Intelligence Platform marketing teams use to track, optimize, and prove performance across both traditional and AI-driven search. From AEO visibility to content quality, Siteimprove helps you stay ahead of the shift. Start with a free AEO check at siteimprove.com/aipod. Visit our website Receive our weekly newsletter Join our community: Slack Community LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube Looking for content and resources? Register for a free webinar Come to our next Marketing AI Conference Enroll in our AI Academy
#223: AI Answers - AI Washing, Flatter Org Charts, Advice for Students, Agent Security & the AI Writing Gap
The questions people ask about AI have changed. A year ago, they wanted to know what ChatGPT was; now they're asking how to redesign workflows around agents and whether a model can be trained the way a person is. In this AI Answers episode, Paul Roetzer and Cathy McPhillips take on fifteen of them, straight from our Intro to AI classes. From choosing two or three models on a tight budget to building an AI virtual twin without sacrificing authenticity, it's a snapshot of where practitioners' thinking actually is right now. 00:00:00 — Intro 00:5:59 How do you balance bottom-up experimentation with CEO-level strategy? 00:9:49 How do you move from restricting AI to enabling it? 00:11:36 How do you pick two or three models on a budget? 00:14:30 How do you evaluate vendors amid AI washing? 00:17:13 Frontier models, small models, or edge AI? 00:20:52 What are the security risks of autonomous agents? 00:25:02 Do AI models really behave like people? 00:30:25 How do you prove AI value with only basic tools? 00:32:02 How do you build a 24/7 AI virtual twin? 00:37:17 How do you close the human vs. AI writing gap? 00:40:26 Which skills gain value as AI takes over workflows? 00:42:57 Automate, augment, or keep it human? 00:47:20 Why flatten management instead of upskilling it? 00:50:51 Who's responsible for AI's economic fallout? 00:53:05 What advice would you give a college student? Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here This episode is brought to you by AI for Business Bootcamp by SmarterX — a single-day event in Columbus, Ohio on July 16th, built for professionals and leaders ready to accelerate AI adoption and value creation. The day moves from a state-of-AI keynote into two hands-on workshops on AI productivity and AI innovation, and you'll leave with an actionable plan for yourself and your team. AI Academy members and groups get discounted pricing. Use code POD100 for $100 off your ticket. Learn more at SmarterX.ai/events. Visit our website Receive our weekly newsletter Join our community: Slack Community LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube Looking for content and resources? Register for a free webinar Come to our next Marketing AI Conference Enroll in our AI Academy
#222: GPT-5.6, Government Staggers AI Model Releases, Agents Are Transforming Work & Growing Data Center Backlash
OpenAI just previewed GPT-5.6, but for the first time, the U.S. government is deciding who gets access to a frontier AI model. Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput break down what they're calling the soft nationalization of artificial intelligence: a staggered, government-approved release, the Dean Ball essay responding to it, and what it means when Washington, not the labs, controls the most powerful models. Plus: OpenAI's new Codex research on agents at work, the looming question of Chinese models, and the data center backlash uniting both parties. Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here AI-Pulse Survey: Fill out this week’s AI-Pulse Survey here. Timestamps: 00:00:00 — Intro 00:04:54 — GPT-5.6 Begins Controlled Release 00:25:12 — Dean Ball Releases Essay on Critical Safety Actions 00:43:36 — How Agents Are Transforming Work: OpenAI's New Research 00:53:01 — Will the US Government Restrict Chinese Models? 00:59:54 — The Growing Data Center Backlash 01:05:09 — The $27M Proxy War Over Alex Bores 01:08:16 — More Google DeepMind Talent Woes 01:10:38 — The EU Act and Digital Sovereignty 01:13:56 — AI Use Case Spotlight 01:20:05 — AI Product and Funding Updates This week’s episode is brought to you by SiteImprove. AI search is changing what it means to be discoverable. Siteimprove is the Agentic Content Intelligence Platform marketing teams use to track, optimize, and prove performance across both traditional and AI-driven search. From AEO visibility to content quality, Siteimprove helps you stay ahead of the shift. Start with a free AEO check at siteimprove.com/aipod. Visit our website Receive our weekly newsletter Join our community: Slack Community LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube Looking for content and resources? Register for a free webinar Come to our next Marketing AI Conference Enroll in our AI Academy
#221: Anthropic vs. the White House, Microsoft CEO on the Future of Firms & AI’s Token Crisis
Anthropic's most powerful models are still offline, and the U.S. government now wants a guarantee no lab can give. Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput unpack the ongoing export-control standoff, the Lutnick letter, and what it means for the models expected this week, then turn to Satya Nadella's "future of the firm" essay, the unsolved mess of AI pricing and usage limits, a wave of lab talent shakeups including Noam Shazeer's move to OpenAI, the G7 AI summit, Midjourney's leap into medical scanning, and research showing AI can out-persuade expert humans. Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here AI-Pulse Survey: Fill out this week’s AI-Pulse Survey here. Timestamps: 00:00:00 — Intro 00:04:44 — Anthropic vs. the White House 00:22:37 — Microsoft CEO on the Future of the Firm 00:34:37 — AI Pricing and Usage Strategy 00:56:04 — Noam Shazeer Joins OpenAI (and Other Major AI Hiring Updates) 01:04:57 — Trump's G7 AI Push 01:09:33 — Midjourney Launches a Medical Division 01:12:59 — AI Can Now Out-Persuade Expert Humans 01:17:00 — AI Use Case Spotlight 01:22:12 — AI Product and Funding Updates This week’s episode is brought to you by SiteImprove. AI search is changing what it means to be discoverable. Siteimprove is the Agentic Content Intelligence Platform marketing teams use to track, optimize, and prove performance across both traditional and AI-driven search. From AEO visibility to content quality, Siteimprove helps you stay ahead of the shift. Start with a free AEO check at siteimprove.com/aipod. Visit our website Receive our weekly newsletter Join our community: Slack Community LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube Looking for content and resources? Register for a free webinar Come to our next Marketing AI Conference Enroll in our AI Academy