This Day in AI Podcast

Michael Sharkey, Chris Sharkey

Join Michael and Chris Sharkey, two proudly average tech enthusiasts, as they stumble through the world of artificial intelligence with all the grace of a robot learning to dance. This (sometimes weekly*) podcast delivers an hour-long conversation about their thoroughly middle-of-the-road adventures with AI. No PhDs. No Silicon Valley insights. Just two guys with enough technical knowledge to be dangerous, sharing their unexceptional yet entertaining experiences with AI tools and technology. Subscribe now to hear: • Mediocre hot takes on AI developments • Stories of AI experiments gone adequately okay • The most average advice you'll ever need • Two Sharkeys trying their best to sound smart about algorithms • Childish AI prank calls that somehow fool everybody • Attempts at using AI for phishing attacks on their mother • "Chart-topping" AI songs according to the brothers Join our perfectly mediocre community where being average at AI is celebrated, questions are encouraged, and learning through mistakes is our specialty. Because let's face it - most of us are figuring this out as we go along. New episodes drop whenever we remember to record them. 🎙️ Proudly supported by Simtheory.ai

  1. Am I Even Needed Anymore? GLM-5, Agentic Loops & AI Productivity Psychosis - EP99.34

    4D AGO

    Am I Even Needed Anymore? GLM-5, Agentic Loops & AI Productivity Psychosis - EP99.34

    Join Simtheory: https://simtheory.ai Register for the STILL RELEVANT tour: https://simulationtheory.ai/16c0d1db-a8d0-4ac9-bae3-d25074589a80 GLM-5 just dropped and it's trained entirely on Huawei chips – zero US hardware dependency. Meanwhile, we're having existential crises about whether we're even needed anymore. In this episode, we break down China's new frontier model that's competing with Opus 4.6 and Codex at a fraction of the price, why agentic loops are making 200K context windows the sweet spot (sorry, million-token dreams), and the very real phenomenon of AI productivity psychosis. We dive into why coding-optimized models are secretly winning at everything, the Harvard study confirming AI doesn't reduce work – it intensifies it, and the exodus of safety researchers from XAI, Anthropic, and OpenAI (spoiler: they're not giving back their shares). Plus: Mike's arm is failing from too much mouse usage, we debate whether the chatbot era is actually fading, and yes – there's a safety researcher diss track called "Is This The End?" CHAPTERS: 0:00 Intro - Is This The End? (Song Preview)0:11 Still Relevant Tour Update & NASA Listener Callout1:42 AI Productivity Psychosis: The Pressure of Infinite Capability4:25 GLM-5 Breakdown: China's New Frontier Model on Huawei Chips7:24 First Impressions: GLM-5 in Agentic Loops9:48 Why Cheap Models Matter & The New Model War14:09 Codex Vibe Shift: Is OpenAI Winning?16:24 Does Context Window Size Even Matter Anymore?22:27 The Parallelization Problem & Cognitive Overload27:27 Mike's Arm Injury & The Voice Input Pivot31:17 Single-Threaded Work & The 95% Problem35:06 UX is Unsolved: Rolling Back Agentic Mistakes38:45 Harvard Study: AI Doesn't Reduce Work, It Intensifies It44:01 How AI Erodes Company Structure & Why Adoption Takes Years50:14 My AI vs Your AI: Household Debates50:43 The Safety Researcher Exodus: XAI, Anthropic, OpenAI56:49 Final Thoughts: Are We All Still Relevant?59:04 BONUS: Full "Is This The End?" Diss Track Thanks for listening. Like & Sub. Links above for the Still Relevant Tour signup and Simtheory. GLM-5 is here, your productivity psychosis is valid, and the safety researchers are becoming poets. xoxo

    1h 3m
  2. Is the ChatGPT Era Over? Opus 4.6 & The Shift from Chat to Delegation - EP99.33

    FEB 6

    Is the ChatGPT Era Over? Opus 4.6 & The Shift from Chat to Delegation - EP99.33

    Join Simtheory: https://simtheory.ai Register for the STILL RELEVANT tour: https://simulationtheory.ai/16c0d1db-a8d0-4ac9-bae3-d25074589a80 It's the model same-day showdown of 2026. Opus 4.6 and Codex 5.3 dropped within minutes of each other, and we're breaking down what this means for the future of AI work. In this episode, we unpack Opus 4.6's million-token context window (if you've got billies in the bank), why Codex's pricing makes it nearly impossible to ignore for agentic loops, and the real cost of running agents for 24 hours ($10K, apparently). We dive deep into why coding-optimized models are secretly crushing it at non-coding tasks, the mental fatigue of managing AI workers, and whether the chatbot era is actually fading or just evolving. Plus: Chris accidentally books three real pig grooming appointments, we debate whether you need a "life coach agent" to manage your agent swarm, and yes – there's an Opus 4.6 diss track that goes unreasonably hard. CHAPTERS: 0:00 Intro - Opus 4.6 Diss Track Preview0:09 The Model Same-Day Showdown: Opus 4.6 vs Codex 5.30:50 Opus 4.6 Breakdown: Million Token Context & Premium Pricing2:31 Token Bill Shock: $10K Research Bills & Extended Context Costs5:04 Codex Pricing: Why It's Nearly Free for Agentic Loops6:42 Why Coding Models Are Secretly Crushing Non-Coding Tasks10:14 Tool Fatigue: Too Many Models, Too Many Workflows12:47 Opus 4.6 First Impressions: "Solid" and "Faultless"13:48 Chris Accidentally Books Three Real Pig Grooming Appointments16:01 Unix Tools & Why Code-Optimized Models Win at Everything19:59 The Agentic Retraining Imperative: Chat to Delegation22:16 Agent Swarms & The Master Thread Architecture24:51 OpenAI vs Anthropic: The Enterprise Battle27:09 Corporate Espionage 2.0: Stealing Skills & The Open Source Threat31:19 The UX Problem: Why Delegation Isn't Solved Yet34:24 The Stress of Hyper-Productivity & Managing Agent Swarms37:07 Coordination: The Next Layer of Abstraction40:09 The Fantasy vs Reality of Autonomous AI Businesses44:37 Is the Turn-by-Turn Chatbot Era Actually Fading?49:23 Tokens as Spice: Turning Compute Into Money52:08 Reduce Cognitive Overload: The Real Goal of AI55:07 Still Relevant Tour Announcement55:39 BONUS: Full Opus 4.6 Diss Track Thanks for listening. Like & Sub. Links below for the Still Relevant Tour signup and Simtheory. The model wars are heating up, and your token bill is about to get interesting. xoxo

    1h 2m
  3. Did Clawdbot Just Show Us the Future of AI Workers? & Kimi K2.5 Dis Track Tested - EP99.32

    JAN 30

    Did Clawdbot Just Show Us the Future of AI Workers? & Kimi K2.5 Dis Track Tested - EP99.32

    Join Simtheory: https://simtheory.aiRegister for the STILL RELEVANT tour: https://simulationtheory.ai/16c0d1db-a8d0-4ac9-bae3-d25074589a80--- The hype train is 2026 knows only Moltbot (RIP Clawdbot). In this episode, we unpack the viral open-source AI assistant that's taken over the internet what it actually does, why everyone's losing their minds, and whether it's worth the $750/day token bills some users are racking up. We dive deep into why locally-run skills and CLI tools are beating computer-use clicking, how smaller models like GPT-5 Mini are crushing it in agentic workflows, and why the real magic is in targeted context - not massive swarms. Plus: Kimi K2.5 drops as a near-Sonnet-level model at 1/10th the price, we debate whether SaaS is dead, and yes – there are TWO Kimi K2.5 diss tracks. One made by Opus pretending to be Kimi. It might just slap? CHAPTERS: 0:00 Intro - Still Relevant Tour Update0:48 What is Moltbot? The Viral AI Assistant Explained3:57 Token Bill Shock: $750/Day and Anthropic Bans5:00 The Dream of Digital Coworkers on Mac Minis6:52 Why CLI Tools & Skills Beat Computer-Use Clicking10:57 Why This Way of Working Is Genuinely Exciting14:47 Smaller Models Crushing It: GPT-5 Mini & Targeted Context17:30 Wild Agentic Behavior: Chrome Tab Hijacking & Auto-Retries20:10 Security Architecture: Locked-Down Machines & Enterprise Use24:01 AI Building Its Own Tools On-The-Fly27:08 The Fear & Overwhelm of Rapid Progress29:10 2026: The Year of Agent Workers31:43 The Challenge of Directing AI Work (Everyone's a Manager Now)37:24 Skills Will Take Over: Why MCPs & Atlassian Can't Stop Us40:38 Real-World Use Cases: Doctors, Lawyers & Accountants46:28 Cost Solutions: Build Workflows Around Cheaper Models52:58 Kimi K2.5: Sonnet-Level Performance at 1/10th the Price1:00:55 The "1,500 Tool Calls" Claim: Marketing vs Reality1:05:23 The Kimi K2.5 Diss Tracks (Opus vs Kimi)1:08:08 Demo: Black Hole Simulator & Self-Trolling CRM1:12:55 Is SaaS Dead?1:14:30 BONUS: Full Kimi K2.5 Diss Tracks Thanks for listening. Like & Sub. Links below for the Still Relevant Tour signup and Simtheory. The future is open source, apparently. xoxo

    1h 20m
  4. The AI Productivity Paradox: Why Doing More Feels Like Burnout: EP99.31

    JAN 23

    The AI Productivity Paradox: Why Doing More Feels Like Burnout: EP99.31

    Join Simtheory: https://simtheory.ai Reserve your seat on the STILL RELEVANT tour: https://simulationtheory.ai/16c0d1db-a8d0-4ac9-bae3-d25074589a80----Two episodes in one week? We're either above average or completely unhinged. In this one, we dive deep into the new phenomenon of "AI exhaustion" – that fried feeling you get after multitasking across six agent tabs all day. We share our breakthroughs with AI-assisted presentations (20 minutes vs several hours), why browser-use on your local machine bypasses every anti-scraping technique known to man, and how enterprise context sharing could be the real unlock for organizations. Plus: OpenAI announces ads for ChatGPT (even on paid tiers), their CFO floats taking cuts from drug discoveries (seriously), and Google publicly dunks on them for it. Also – the Still Relevant Australia Tour is coming, and our LinkedIn group hit 200 members (we're basically LinkedIn influencers now too). CHAPTERS: 0:00 Intro - Still Relevant Tour Announcement + LinkedIn Milestone2:08 AI Exhaustion: The Cognitive Overload of Multitasking with Agents4:14 Why Single-Tasking with AI Beats Parallel Agent Chaos7:02 The Problem with "I Spun Up 70,000 Sub-Agents" Twitter Posts10:03 Mike's Presentation Workflow: From Hours to 20 Minutes14:06 Why Isn't Copilot Doing This Already?16:54 Old Models + Great Context = Still Amazing Results21:14 What's Actually Changed? It's the Software Layer25:22 Enterprise Context Sharing & Organizational IP31:22 Skills, Sub-Agents, and Role-Based Knowledge35:22 Security Concerns: Can You Hack an Agent with Malicious MD Files?38:23 Cloud Providers Have a Bigger Moat Than the Labs43:16 Browser Use: The Ultimate Context Gathering Weapon48:25 Rethinking SaaS: Software That Actually Thinks53:08 Smart Paste, Smart CC – Why Isn't All Software Like This?56:32 OpenAI's Desperate Moves: Ads, Age Verification & Drug Royalties1:03:03 Google Says "No Plans for Gemini Ads" (Shots Fired)1:07:24 Is OpenAI Okay? The Vibes Are Definitely Off1:10:35 Capitalism Won't Give You Free Time, Just More Demands1:11:20 Outro + Still Relevant Tour Details Thanks for listening. Like & Sub. Links below for the Still Relevant Tour signup and Simtheory. xoxo

    1h 13m
  5. 2026 Existential Crisis, Claude Code Hype &  Is SaaS Dead? EP99.30-WIZARDS

    JAN 19

    2026 Existential Crisis, Claude Code Hype & Is SaaS Dead? EP99.30-WIZARDS

    Join Simtheory: https://simtheory.ai---Join the most average AI LinkedIn group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/16562039/ It's 2026 and everyone's having an existential crisis. In this episode, we unpack the two camps dominating AI C/Twitter: hype boys claiming "Claude Code can do my washing" vs. software developers doom-scrolling themselves into career panic. We put the agentic hype to the test and discover that no, you can't actually run 8 agents recreating your local business ecosystem while you sleep. Plus, we reflect on why MCP is exhausting, why Gemini 3 Pro is somehow worse than Gemini 2.5 Pro, and why Geoffrey Hinton would rather write his book than answer questions in Tasmania. Also featuring: the $200,000/month enterprise AI problem, why SaaS isn't dead (but it's scared), and our prediction that AI workspaces will become the everything app. CHAPTERS: 00:00 Intro - Unpacking the 2026 AI Vibes02:21 Putting Claude Code and Agentic Hype to the Test05:57 Why Twitter AI Demos Never Show the Receipts07:03 Honest Assessment of Where Frontier Models Are At11:19 Building the Everything App with Email, Calendar and Files16:47 Collaborative Mode vs Agentic Delegation in Practice21:29 The Real Cost of Enterprise AI at Scale24:32 Why Cheaper Models Like Haiku and Gemini Flash Matter29:25 Is SaaS Actually Dead or Just Disrupted38:11 The Future of AI Platforms, SDKs and App Stores43:35 The Untapped Opportunity in Paid Proprietary MCPs51:21 Geoffrey Hinton Refuses to Take Questions in Tasmania55:05 2026 Plans and the Still Relevant Tour Announcement Thanks for listening. Like & Sub. xoxox

    1h 9m
  6. Gemini 3 Flash, GPT-Image-1.5, Skills vs MCPs, and Our 2025 Model Reviews - EP99.29

    12/23/2025

    Gemini 3 Flash, GPT-Image-1.5, Skills vs MCPs, and Our 2025 Model Reviews - EP99.29

    The Gift of Simtheory: https://simtheory.ai---2025 Model Timeline: https://simulationtheory.ai/5fd0e964-4c41-4f9a-bbb3-2a398d8500f0 It's the long-anticipated holiday special... except Mike and Kris forgot to prepare so it's just a normal episode. 🎅 This week: Gemini 3 Flash drops and it's actually incredible - cheap, fast, and weirdly smarter than Gemini 3 Pro at tool calling. We put GPT Image 1.5 head-to-head against Nano Banana Pro using hobo photos (spoiler: Google wins again). Plus, FireCrawl Agent is the research tool we've been waiting for, Anthropic launches Skills as an open standard, and we do a full 2025 model timeline recap. Also featuring: Best and Worst Model of the Year awards, 2026 predictions where Mike bets on OpenAI (controversial), and the full holiday musical outro where AI sings about what an "average" year it's been. CHAPTERS00:00 Intro - Holiday Special That Isn't00:55 Shipping Gemini 3 Flash While Looking Like a "Sophisticated Programming Hobo"02:52 Gemini 3 Flash Review: Cheap, Fast, Surprisingly Smart06:31 The Unreliable Frontier Model Problem10:45 GPT Image 1.5 vs Nano Banana Pro Showdown17:04 FireCrawl Agent: Research That Actually Works25:56 Gemini Deep Research Agent Deep Dive31:57 Skills vs MCPs: The New Paradigm43:35 Enterprise Skills: Codifying Business Procedures49:57 2025 Model Timeline Recap59:53 Best & Worst Model of 2025 Awards1:04:58 2026 Predictions: Mike Bets on OpenAI1:14:09 Final Thoughts & Holiday Thank Yous1:19:35 🎄 Holiday Musical: "A Very Average Christmas" Have a great Christmas/Holiday/New Year, see you in 2026! xox

    1h 23m
4.7
out of 5
225 Ratings

About

Join Michael and Chris Sharkey, two proudly average tech enthusiasts, as they stumble through the world of artificial intelligence with all the grace of a robot learning to dance. This (sometimes weekly*) podcast delivers an hour-long conversation about their thoroughly middle-of-the-road adventures with AI. No PhDs. No Silicon Valley insights. Just two guys with enough technical knowledge to be dangerous, sharing their unexceptional yet entertaining experiences with AI tools and technology. Subscribe now to hear: • Mediocre hot takes on AI developments • Stories of AI experiments gone adequately okay • The most average advice you'll ever need • Two Sharkeys trying their best to sound smart about algorithms • Childish AI prank calls that somehow fool everybody • Attempts at using AI for phishing attacks on their mother • "Chart-topping" AI songs according to the brothers Join our perfectly mediocre community where being average at AI is celebrated, questions are encouraged, and learning through mistakes is our specialty. Because let's face it - most of us are figuring this out as we go along. New episodes drop whenever we remember to record them. 🎙️ Proudly supported by Simtheory.ai

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