Best Emily Laird Podcasts (2025)

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10 Gigawatts and a Dream: OpenAI, NVIDIA, and the $100B Compute Flex 7:54

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20h ago7:54

7:54

What do you get when OpenAI and NVIDIA throw $100 billion at the problem of thinking machines? A digital superhighway powered by 10 gigawatts of GPU-fueled fury, and maybe the early blueprints for artificial general intelligence. In this episode, Emily Laird breaks down why compute is the new oil, what the hell “Vera Rubin” has to do with your favo…

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Meta’s AR Glow-Up 11:06

2d ago11:06

11:06

Meta’s back on your face and this time, it’s not just a privacy nightmare in disguise. In this episode, Emily Laird breaks down Meta’s latest smart glasses lineup: the Ray-Ban Display (complete with a mini screen in your eyeball), the Oakley Vanguard (for outdoorsy cyborgs), and the Ray-Ban Gen 2 (TikTok-ready, dystopia-lite). We talk wrist-reading…

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Donald Rumsfeld in the Movies with William Cooper 59:26

7d ago59:26

59:26

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 375) — Donald Rumsfeld served as the U.S. Secretary of Defense twice in his career, including during the 9/11 attacks. Today, we'll learn how the movies "Vice", "W." bring a fictional portrayal of Rumsfeld. We'll also look into the accuracy of the documentary "The Unknown Known" which interviews Rumsfeld himself. ⁠G…

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Fact-Check or Fail: How to Keep Your AI From Making Stuff Up 11:08

7d ago11:08

11:08

In this episode, host Emily Laird teaches you how to keep your AI from bluffing like your cousin Chad at Thanksgiving. No code. No blood moon rituals. Just smarter prompts and better fact-checking. Emily breaks down how to get AI to cough up citations, quote sources, and admit when it doesn’t know jack. Whether you’re working with PDFs, web tools, …

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OpenAI, Oracle, and the 4.5 Gigawatt Hunger Games 9:31

8d ago9:31

9:31

Title: a16z 5th Edition Pt. 4: No-Code, Just Vibes & the Top of the Class OpenAI’s rumored $300 billion cloud pact with Oracle isn’t just another tech headline, it’s a sci-fi-sized bet on the future of AI. Host Emily Laird is talking 4.5 gigawatts of data center capacity (that’s two Hoover Dams of electricity), millions of GPUs, and enough water to…

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The FTC Enters the Chat (And It’s Not Flirting) 9:28

9d ago9:28

9:28

The FTC just knocked on the doors of seven AI giants, including OpenAI, Meta, and Snap (amongst many others) with legally binding orders, and they’re not here for small talk. In this episode, host Emily Laird breaks down why regulators suddenly care if your teenager is whispering secrets to an anime chatbot at 2 a.m., what the investigation means f…

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a16z 5th Edition Pt. 4: No-Code, Just Vibes & the Top of the Class 10:54

12d ago10:54

10:54

Forget Python. The new software builders are riding high on vibes, drag, drop, done. In this episode, host Emily Laird breaks down “vibe coding,” the sticky magic of user retention, and the AI All‑Stars dominating the charts like it’s 2001 TRL. From ChatGPT to Cutout Pro, and yes, even JanitorAI (don’t ask), these are the tools you’ll be using even…

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37: Daily Routines: What to Add and What to Take Away to Find a Better Family Flow 24:30

14d ago24:30

24:30

Season Two begins with this episode! Jen Bluske shares practical strategies to help families establish and fine tune daily routines as the school year gets underway. She discusses ways to create both open space and structure to support children’s regulation and family flow. Beyond The Screens Course: https://www.thrivingparentscollective.com/course…

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a16z 5th Edition Pt.3: China's AI Multiverse 9:22

14d ago9:22

9:22

China’s not just building AI, it’s building a whole other version of the internet to run it on. In this episode, host Emily Laird take a sneaking step past the Great Firewall to explore China’s booming generative AI scene, where Quark, Doubao, and Kimi (not a band, but they should be) dominate with tools that make Western platforms look slow and sl…

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a16z 5th Edition Pt.2: Googlezilla 10:40

15d ago10:40

10:40

The AI hype machine is cooling off, fewer shiny new toys, more serious contenders. In this episode, hostess with the mostest (of something) Emily Laird breaks down the latest a16z rankings, why the product flood slowed down, and how Google’s been quietly building an AI empire under everyone’s nose. Gemini’s rising, Grok’s flirting in anime, and Met…

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The Nerd Billboard 100: a16z’s AI Hit Parade 11:45

16d ago11:45

11:45

Venture capital powerhouse Andreessen Horowitz, aka a16z, because vowels are apparently optional in Silicon Valley, has been quietly shaping the generative AI boom with its biannual “Top 100” ranking of AI-first apps. In this episode, host Emily Laird breaks down how a16z went from a $300 million moonshot to a $46 billion kingmaker, why they’re tra…

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Young Guns II with Josh from The Wild West Extravaganza 1:27:15

23d ago1:27:15

1:27:15

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 374) — Today we'll rejoin Billy the Kid's outlaw gang as they continue their attempts to escape the law following the events in Young Guns (BOATS EP. 146). Was Brushy Bill Roberts a real person? Was he Billy the Kid? What other creative liberties did the filmmakers take in telling the true story of Billy the Kid? Wh…

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The Go Series Pt. 4: Your Move, Human 9:31

28d ago9:31

9:31

AlphaGo didn’t just beat a Go champion, it rewrote the rules of competition. In this episode, host Emily Laird discusses Lee Sedol’s post-match arc, the rise of AlphaZero (a machine so next level it mastered three games in a day), and how that same AI playbook is coming for your office job. From coders and lawyers to journalists and teachers, the A…

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The Go Series Pt. 3: Humanity's Last Flex 6:44

30d ago6:44

6:44

AlphaGo may have crushed Lee Sedol, but the aftermath wasn’t just about losing, it was about what humans still bring to the table. In this episode, host Emily Laird traces Sedol’s pivot from humiliation to adaptation, the birth of AlphaZero (the algorithm that mastered Go, Chess, and Shogi in a day), and how that same playbook is rewriting your wor…

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The Go Series Pt. 2: Move 37 & the God Move 9:11

1M ago9:11

9:11

AlphaGo vs. Lee Sedol wasn’t just a board game, it was humanity staring down its algorithmic doppelgänger and wondering who gets the last laugh. In this episode, host Emily Laird continues her exploration of the 2016 Go showdown that shocked pros, spawned memes, and gave us two immortal moves: AlphaGo’s eerie, alien “Move 37” and Sedol’s legendary …

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The Go Series, Pt. 1: The Game That Broke the Board 7:42

1M ago7:42

7:42

Go isn’t just old, it’s ancient, intimidating, and smarter than it looks. For decades, it stood as the Everest of board games, the one thing AI couldn’t conquer without looking like a confused intern at a philosophy lecture. That is, until Google's DeepMind came along with AlphaGo, a Frankenstein of neural nets, reinforcement learning, and sheer di…

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Amelia with Chris Williamson 1:11:31

1M ago1:11:31

1:11:31

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 373) — Learn about legendary aviator Amelia Earhart as she was portrayed onscreen by Hilary Swank in the 2009 biopic. To uncover the true story, today we'll talk with author, documentarian, and host of Chasing Earhart , the only podcast dedicated entirely to Amelia Earhart: Chris Williamson. Where to watch Amelia Ge…

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Mixture of Experts: The Wu-Tang Clang of AI 9:02

1M ago9:02

9:02

What do trivia night, jazz bands, and IKEA furniture have in common? They all make more sense once you understand Mixture of Experts. In this episode, host Emily Laird breaks down how LLMs are using conditional computation to get smarter and cheaper, without frying your GPU like a budget toaster. We’re talking expert networks, gating systems, and w…

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ChatGPT's Study Mode: Homework’s Plot Twist 7:26

1M ago7:26

7:26

Is ChatGPT here to help you ace the test or just do your homework for you? In this episode, host Emily Laird unpacks OpenAI’s new Study Mode, a feature that turns the AI from vending-machine answer bot into a never-tired tutor who actually makes you think. From math problems that fight back to privacy concerns and its big debut in schools via Canva…

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What’s the Difference Between AGI and Superintelligence? 11:02

1M ago11:02

11:02

AGI can do anything you can, write, reason, crack jokes, without being told how. Superintelligence can do all that and make you look like a potato with Wi-Fi. In this episode, host Emily Laird breaks down the real meaning of these two buzzwords, why even the experts can’t agree, and how the biggest AI players, OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Anthropic, Me…

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The One About ChatGPT-5 9:44

1M ago9:44

9:44

OpenAI’s GPT-5 isn’t just an upgrade, it’s a whole crew of AIs working together. One’s fast, one’s a deep thinker, and a couple work the cheap shifts, all coordinated by a smart “router” that picks the right brain for the job. It’s breaking records in math, coding, and reasoning, slashing hallucinations, and even scheduling your meetings. The Pro v…

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Google DeepMind: A Mini Origin Story 9:22

2M ago9:22

9:22

What do you get when you mix a chess prodigy, a neuroscience detour, and a borderline obsession with solving intelligence? Google DeepMind. In this episode, host Emily Laird goes into the mind (and muscles) behind modern AI, aka Demis Hassabis. From teaching AIs to dominate in Go and StarCraft to solving protein folding and launching the Gemini mod…

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Kimi K2 & the Continuation of the Great AI Arms Race 8:26

2M ago8:26

8:26

Meet Kimi K2! Join host Emily Laird as she explores the trillion-parameter powerhouse from Shanghai-based Moonshot AI that's throwing elbows at GPT-4.1, Gemini, and Claude 4. With a Mixture-of-Experts brain, a freakishly long memory (128K tokens), and the power to write code, run commands, and basically do your job better than you, this isn’t your …

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Trail of Vengeance with Rob Hilliard 1:33:51

2M ago1:33:51

1:33:51

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 372) — Travel back to the Old West for a tale of revenge, Pinkerton agents, and frontier justice in the wake of the Civil War. One of those former Pinkerton agents in the movie is John Scobell (Gbenga Akinnagbe), making 2025's Trail of Vengeance the first movie to feature John Scobell as one of its main characters. …

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Perplexity's Comet Browser & the Rise of AI Browsers 8:46

2M ago8:46

8:46

Chrome is toast (ok, probably not). Or at least, it might be if Perplexity’s Comet Browser has anything to say about it. In this episode, host Emily Laird breaks down how Comet is trying to outsmart your current browser by acting like a hyper-organized, AI-powered sidekick that shops for you, books your flights, and maybe even watches The Bachelor.…

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Meta's Billion Dollar UpScale 6:34

2M ago6:34

6:34

Meta just dropped $14.3 billion to buy half of Scale AI and hired their CEO like it was a fantasy football draft. In this episode, host Emily Laird unpacks why Mark Zuckerberg raided Scale AI’s pantry for top talent, including Alexandr Wang and Nat Friedman, and what it means for Meta’s new Superintelligence Lab. It’s part billion-dollar power play…

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Zuck to the Future: Meta's Superintelligence Lab 8:16

2M ago8:16

8:16

Meta just rage-quit its own AI strategy and rolled out the Superintelligence Lab, because nothing says "totally under control" like consolidating teams under Zuck himself. In this episode, host Emily Laird breaks down Meta’s big bet on AGI, its new Avengers-style AI dream team (including Alexandr Wang and Nat Friedman), and the Manhattan-sized data…

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OpenAI’s Agent: What It Is, What It Does, and Why It’s a Big Deal 11:26

2M ago11:26

11:26

OpenAI’s Agent isn’t here to make small talk. It’s here to get stuff done, like your caffeinated intern who never sleeps, never eats, but still can’t log into your Gmail. In this episode, host Emily Laird breaks down what the Agent actually is, how it turns ChatGPT into a hands-on digital assistant, and why Sam Altman is calling this “the feel of A…

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36: When Your Kids Leave the Nest: A Message to My Younger Parenting Self 16:57

2M ago16:57

16:57

Jen Bluske wraps up the season with a personal reflection on parenting through the transition of children launching into adulthood. Jen shares what she wishes she could tell her younger parenting self and what she encourages listeners to focus on early in their parenting experience. Episodes will resume in September after this personal transition f…

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AI: The Ozempic of Corporate America 9:06

2M ago9:06

9:06

Corporate America’s on Ozempic, and the side effect is mass layoffs. In this episode, host Emily Laird slices into the juicy mess of the AI-powered corporate slim-down brought to you by a fantastic article by the WSJ. Turns out your boss doesn’t hate you, he just read a memo that said a chatbot is cheaper. From Amazon’s Andy Jassy preaching lean te…

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Andy Jassy & the AI Workforce Purge 9:30

2M ago9:30

9:30

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy just dropped a memo that’s equal parts pep talk and pink slip warning: AI is amazing, and it’s coming for your job. In this episode, host Emily Laird breaks down how Amazon is unleashing AI agents like digital Avengers to automate the mundane, boost efficiency, and quietly make some roles...disappear. We unpack what it means t…

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Classic: Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story with Matthew Polly 54:39

2M ago54:39

54:39

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 371) — How well do you know about the real Bruce Lee? There are a lot of myths that came out of the movie "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story" so today we'll pull another classic episode from the Based on a True Story vault. Where to watch Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story ⁠Get Matthew's book⁠ Matthew Polly authored "Bruce Lee: …

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The AI Job Market Has Entered the Chat 10:50

2M ago10:50

10:50

Forget robot overlords. For now, AI still needs us to clean up its messes, cast its voices, and make sure it doesn’t accidentally go full Bond villain. In this episode, Emily breaks down the New York Times article on 22 new jobs AI could give you instead of just taking yours. From AI ethicists who play moral compass to personality directors decidin…

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Titanic with Mark B. Perry 1:27:43

3M ago1:27:43

1:27:43

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 370) — Twentieth Century-Fox's "Titanic" starring Barbara Stanwyck and Clifton Webb claims to draw facts from 1912 congressional inquiries, so how well does it do when we compare it to history? Where to watch Titanic (1953) ⁠Get Mark's book Mark B. Perry is the author of the novel "And Introducing Dexter Gaines: A N…

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AI Pro Tips Series: Prompt Like a Pro 8:24

3M ago8:24

8:24

Sick of AI giving you answers with all the flavor of corporate hold music? In this episode of our AI Pro Tips series, Emily Laird cracks open the secret sauce of prompting: ruthless specificity. Forget vague instructions! Think of AI like a rookie line cook: you want steak and fries, not leftovers from the walk-in. From prepping your prompts with c…

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AI Pro Tips Series: Assumptions & Stakeholders 7:26

3M ago7:26

7:26

Think you’ve got all your project bases covered? Think again. In this episode, Emily Laird calls out the hidden holes in your plans that even your espresso-fueled brain misses. Forget the coddling, AI is here to serve up brutal honesty and a reality check, sniffing out the overlooked people, missing voices, and embarrassing assumptions tucked into …

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AI Pro Tips Series: Anthropomorphism 6:34

3M ago6:34

6:34

Think giving your chatbot a name is just for weirdos and sci-fi fans? Think again. In this episode, Emily Laird tosses out the dry tips and goes full Cast Away, explaining why talking to your AI like it’s a grumpy old professor (or a pirate, or Jeffrey the Roomba) isn’t just quirky, it’s the secret to getting answers that don’t suck. Discover why a…

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OpenAI's June 2025 Disrupting Malicious Use of AI: Part Deux 7:27

4M ago7:27

7:27

AI isn’t just doing your homework anymore, it’s helping build malware, write fake job offers, and launch cyberattacks faster than you can say “Ctrl+Alt+Delete.” In this episode, host Emily Laird breaks down how generative AI is giving cybercriminals a glow-up, from malware-for-hire and espionage squads to scams slicker than a used car salesman in t…

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OpenAI's June 2025 Disrupting Malicious Use of AI Report 5:13

4M ago5:13

5:13

Generative AI has a dark side, and it’s not just stealing jobs, it’s applying for them. In this episode, host Emily Laird goes underground with OpenAI’s new report on how generative models are powering fake résumés, propaganda machines, and influencer chaos. From North Korean hackers catfishing HR departments to AI-crafted love letters to authorita…

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Miami-Dade County & the Rise of the GenAI Natives 6:22

4M ago6:22

6:22

AI isn’t just crashing Miami’s pool parties anymore, it’s moving into the classroom, and no, it’s not just helping kids cheat better. In this episode, hot Emily Laird's hitting the hot, humid hallways of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, where over 100,000 students will be getting cozy with Google’s Gemini chatbot. We’re talking AI-powered tutors, …

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35: Setting Boundaries with Children without Losing Connection 23:50

4M ago23:50

23:50

Jen discusses setting boundaries in parenting while maintaining connection with children. Jen explains what a boundary is offers tangible ways to set effective boundaries with children. **Submit questions for Jen to answer on the podcast AT THIS LINK. Host: Jen Bluske Producers: Jamie Gale and Jen Bluske Contact Jen Bluske: Clinic Website Thriving …

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AI & Jobs: On Amodei, Huang, & Roose 8:09

4M ago8:09

8:09

Grab your ergonomic chair and emotional support coffee, this one’s about your job, and whether AI already has it. In this episode of Generative AI 101, Emily Laird breaks down why Dario Amodei (Anthropic), Jensen Huang (Nvidia), and Kevin Roose (NYT) are all sounding the alarm—each in their own way—on the AI-job apocalypse. From entry-level extinct…

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Google's Veo 3 Part 2: Use Cases 7:50

4M ago7:50

7:50

Lights, camera, algorithm! This week, host Emily Laird hands the director’s chair to Google’s Veo 3, an AI video model that spits out 4K cinematic clips on command, complete with synced sound, consistent characters, and more drama than a Zoom call with your CEO. From TikTok teasers that don’t look like last-minute Canva projects, to cat-produced Su…

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Google's Veo 3 Part 1 9:50

4M ago9:50

9:50

Google DeepMind just dropped Veo 3, and it's basically Final Cut Pro with a soul—or at least a solid camera sense. This episode, we're breaking down why this new generative video model isn’t just impressive—it’s unsettlingly good. Think 4K video made from text, audio that doesn’t sound like a Speak & Spell, and cinematic vibes so on point it could …

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Classic: Saving Private Ryan with Marty Morgan 2:03:31

4M ago2:03:31

2:03:31

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 369) — This Friday marks the 81st anniversary of the D-Day landings. Arguably the most popular movie depicting the fighting on the beaches of Normandy is 1998's Saving Private Ryan. Where to watch Saving Private RyanIn this remastered edition of Based on a True Story, we'll compare the movie with what really happene…

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Return of the Ive: OpenAI’s $6.5B Minimalist Makeover 7:32

4M ago7:32

7:32

What happens when OpenAI gives $6.5 billion to the man who made your iPhone hot and your MacBook sleek? You get a screenless, AI-native gadget designed by Jony Ive, aka the guy who convinced us that buttons are for peasants. In this episode, host Emily Laird digs into why OpenAI bought hardware startup io (yes, lowercase), what a “third core device…

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34: Failure as a Tool to Help Kids Build Autonomy 28:46

4M ago28:46

28:46

Jen Bluske discusses allowing children to fail as an important tool for supporting their increased resilience and autonomy. She explores the developmental context of growing autonomy and discuss strategies parents and teachers can use in order to support children during their times of frustration and failure. **Submit questions for Jen to answer on…

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AI & Copyright: The USCO's 3rd AI Report... The Spicy One. 9:19

4M ago9:19

9:19

Let's break down the U.S. Copyright Office’s spicy third report on AI, ya know, the one that's throwing elbows and reportedly got Perlmutter canned. From training on copyrighted data to market dilution (aka the Merlot of legal arguments), Emily Laird dissects the legal drama that could decide the future of generative models. We’re talking fair use,…

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AI & Copyright: The USCO Trilogy 7:51

4M ago7:51

7:51

AI-generated Tom Cruise? Button-mashing cyberpunk operas? Welcome to the legal circus. In this episode, Emily Laird breaks down the U.S. Copyright Office’s spicy three-part report series on generative AI: from deepfakes and who actually owns AI-made content, to the billion-dollar question, can your model legally chow down on copyrighted books witho…

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AI & Copyright: Pipe Dreams & Legal Screams 7:31

4M ago7:31

7:31

So you typed “a cat smoking a pipe in Van Gogh’s style” into your favorite AI tool, cool flex, but don’t try to copyright it. In this episode, host Emily Laird is slicing into the meat of the AI copyright mess: who owns AI-generated content, what the U.S. Copyright Office actually said about it, and why your clever prompt won’t get you a ribbon (or…