WT: My Little Tax Adjuster

Episode Notes

The episode opens with Andrew Mayne discussing OpenAI's newly released plugins and the broader idea of ChatGPT becoming more like an app platform. He describes practical examples such as Wolfram Alpha, Instacart, OpenTable, and browsing, then spends much of the conversation demonstrating Code Interpreter inside ChatGPT by generating mazes, GIFs, sound files, Game of Life music, QR codes, and even a simple chess engine. He frames these tools as making computation and creation more accessible to ordinary users.

The discussion then shifts to everyday uses of ChatGPT and related AI tools: drafting letters, brainstorming, choosing meals, and helping with domestic decisions. Bryce introduces Rewind.ai, which records computer activity for later recall, leading to a privacy-and-utility discussion about AI-powered memory, search, and personal assistants. The episode also covers authenticity concerns around generated content and signatures, misinformation and viral falsehoods, the Hyperion tree, a disputed goblin shark photo, and a set of recommendations including Lucky Hank, Atlanta season three, Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game, Screen Picks, and Riley Brown AI.

Key topics

• ChatGPT plugins and app-like integrations: Andrew describes plugins as allowing ChatGPT to connect to tools like Wolfram Alpha, Instacart, OpenTable, and browsing so it can do more than plain text generation.
• Code Interpreter and computation inside ChatGPT: Andrew gives examples of running Python in ChatGPT to create mazes, GIFs, a Shepard tone WAV file, Game of Life music, QR codes, and a simple chess engine.
• ChatGPT as a practical assistant: The group discusses using ChatGPT for writing thank-you notes, brainstorming, deciding what to eat, finding takeout, and helping with family or household decisions.
• Rewind.ai and AI-powered personal recall: Bryce explains Rewind.ai as an app that watches computer use and archives it so users can later ask what was said or done in emails, Slack, Zoom, or calendars.
• Authenticity, signatures, and generated content: The conversation covers AI-generated content, handwritten-looking mail, plotters, and the Bob Dylan autopen controversy as examples of questions about what counts as a real signature or real authorship.
• Information reliability and false stories: Justin and Andrew discuss how people repeat claims without vetting them, the need to teach kids about misleading viral stories, and the limits of certainty in an overabundant information ecosystem.
• Hyperion and tallest-tree trivia: The hosts talk about the Hyperion redwood, its hidden location, estimated age, and the odd geography of other tallest trees.
• Goblin shark photo controversy: Andrew describes a published claim about a goblin shark in the Mediterranean that was challenged as a toy or fake specimen, illustrating weak evidence entering publication.
• Pinball and arcade history: Brian recommends Pinball, The Man Who Saved the Game, and the conversation expands into pinball bans, organized-crime concerns, and Atari/Key arcade history.

Picks

• Brian Brushwood: Pinball, The Man Who Saved the Game — He strongly recommends the movie, calling it absolutely fantastic, wholesome, sweet, adorable, and wonderful, and saying he had already watched it twice.
• Bryce Castillo: Lucky Hank — He recommends the show after watching the first episode on YouTube, describing the Bob Odenkirk vehicle positively while noting it is not dead serious and has a somewhat wackier tone.
• Justin Robert Young: Atlanta season three — He clearly endorses the season, saying he loves it, is enjoying it, and praising its surrealism, characters, and humor.
• Andrew Mayne: Screen Picks — He recommends the Apple TV subscription service as a cheap source of older movies and says he finds something worth watching there every month.
• Andrew Mayne: Riley Brown AI — He recommends the channel for staying current on AI tools and platforms, especially for people new to the space.