Down Round

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#67 - GPT-4: This time it’s personal Mar 23, 2023

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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit downround.substack.com

Every time we think we’re done with AI episodes, they release something else. Can we catch a break?

Last week, OpenAI dropped GPT-4, the latest version of the large language model which powers ChatGPT. It’s now more creativ and less frequently wrong, and it’s caused another minor freakout online.

Is it all that? We discuss.

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#66 - Apple: Do you smell what Cook is cooking? Mar 21, 2023

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Recent reports have indicated Apple is gearing up to announce its mixed-reality headset, which the company wants to be the next iPhone. CEO Tim Cook reportedly wants it to be his product legacy.

So, we thought it was a good time to take a look at Apple in 2023. At the precipice. What are they up to? And are we ready to put big clunky headsets on and enter the Cookverse?

Links

- Tim Cook bets on Apple’s mixed-reality headset to secure his legacy – Financial Times

- Inside the Tech Powering Apple’s Envelope-Pushing, Risky Mixed Reality Headset - The Information

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe

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#65 - Atlassian: Jira lovers unite! Mar 16, 2023

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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit downround.substack.com

Down Round listeners who don’t work in software development or associated fields are always asking us about Atlassian. What the hell do Atlassian do? Why do devs complain about Jira all the time? Why do I have to see Mike Cannon-Brookes on TV?

Well, we’re here to answer your questions, and slightly more. If you know nothing about Atlassian, you’ll walk o…

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#64 - Silicon Valley Bank: Listen to this while sprinting to your local bank branch Mar 13, 2023

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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit downround.substack.com

Silicon Valley Bank imploded last week, becoming the second-largest bank collapse in US history. This led to an insane meltdown within the tech industry and beyond.

In this ep, we explain what happened, what it means, and offer 1-2 prolonged rants along the way.

This was recorded on Monday March 13, so if anything insane happens after that which doesn’t vindicate our predictions, please give us the benefit of the doubt and assume we were right anyway.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

#63 - AI Doom, Pt. 2: Hot enough for ya? Mar 09, 2023

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This is part two of a two part episode, for subscribers only.

In the second part of our AI doom episode, for subscribers only, we dive into the nitty gritty. What are people actually saying when they claim AI is going to kill us all? (They can be pretty vague on the specifics, after all.) Are they right? Is ChatGPT going to end your life?

Let us answer these questions, and perhaps a little more.

Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.

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#62 - AI Doom, Pt. 1: It's unfortunately time to die Mar 09, 2023

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This is part one of a two part episode.

With the end of a long AI winter and the rise of large language models and platforms like ChatGPT, we’re experiencing a renaissance of AI doomerism, and people making wild and bold predictions of the incoming robot apocalypse.

It’s almost quaint, in a way. Charming. This week, we’re looking at the AI doomer movement, who predict we’ll all be dead at the hands of ultrasmart computers in a few short years. In part one, we chart a course of its history, and the unusual places it developed over the past couple of decades.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe

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#61 - The news: Breaking! Extra! Exclusive! Mar 02, 2023

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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit downround.substack.com

For hundreds of years, newspapers had a pretty good business model: you’d buy the paper, and it would have ads in it. Not bad!

Unfortunately, computers occurred. Now, our friends in the lying news media have been forced to adapt. In today’s episode, we dig into the uneasy marriage of news publishers and the internet.

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#60 - Dating apps: Raph Super Liked you! Feb 28, 2023

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Over the past decade, we’ve successfully outsourced romance and human reproduction to a series of apps, most of which are owned by Match Group. Pretty cool!

But it’s starting to look like Tinder and its many clones have lost their spark. What does the future hold? This week: a dive into the sick, sordid world of dating apps.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

#59 - The Accountability Episode: Correcting the record Feb 23, 2023

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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit downround.substack.com

Unlike other tech podcasts – who we won’t name – Down Round is ruthlessly committed to accountability and self-critique.

On today’s ep, we revisit a handful of topics we’ve covered over the last six or so months and evaluate whether we got it right or wrong. And we have a few laughs along the way. This is exactly what you pay for.

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#58 - Gaming: Gamers rise up, you have nothing to lose but your chains Feb 21, 2023

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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit downround.substack.com

Gaming, which was considered a nasty little hobby for maladjusted dweebs as recently as 2018, is now as important to the global economy as healthcare and the natural resources industry.

OK, maybe that’s not true. But anyway. Gaming is big business, and it’s become deeply intertwined with the rest of the tech industry. This week, we’re talking about how t…

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