415: ‘A Good Duck Butt’, With Allen Pike

Special guest Allen Pike joins the show to talk about the state of generative AI and how Apple Intelligence measures up (so far). Also: some speculation on Apple’s pending acquisition of the ever-difficult-to-pronounce Pixelmator.

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Links:

• Allen’s blog (allenpike.com).

• Allen’s take on Apple Intelligence, so far: “It’s Good for Apple, and Okay for You (allenpike.com/2024/apple-intelligence-ios-18-2)”. (Includes the Image-Playground–generated derpy-looking images of Allen that we discuss on the show.)

• Forestwalk Labs — Allen’s new startup (forestwalk.ai).

• Allen’s podcasts:
• Fun Facts with Arik Devens, now complete (funfact.fm).

• It Shipped That Way (itshipped.fm).

• CGP Grey and Myke Hurley discuss how Apple Intelligence message suggestions feel “anti-human” on Cortex ep. 161 (relay.fm/cortex/161).

• Cursor (cursor.com) — “The AI Code Editor”.

• Rich Sutton’s 2019 essay “The Bitter Lesson” (incompleteideas.net/IncIdeas/BitterLesson.html) (“The biggest lesson that can be read from 70 years of AI research is that general methods that leverage computation are ultimately the most effective, and by a large margin.”)

• AMC’s “Halt and Catch Fire” (themoviedb.org/tv/59659-halt-and-catch-fire), which ran four seasons from 2014–2017.

• Ellen Cushing for The Atlantic: “Thanksgiving Should Be in October (apple.news/AbMJaWlJVTBmkWhp-OyNiAQ)”.

This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.