The head of the US Copyright Office warned that Big Tech is pushing beyond fair use, and then got promptly fired. Frank’s worried about political interference with copyright policy, while Justin says it’s just America doing what it does best: innovating first, legalising later. They agree copyright is headed for a reset, but disagree on the best path to that reformation.

They also break down the major coding breakthroughs from OpenAI and Google, including a model that’s not just solving bugs, but discovering new science.

Plus, Microsoft axes 7,000 staff, Fortnite’s Darth Vader develops a swearing problem, and ChatGPT may have accidentally triggered a divorce.

The EU wants to lead the world on trustworthy AI, but can it really regulate its way to the front? Frank is optimistic. Justin rolls his eyes. What starts as a polite difference of opinion quickly turns into a pointed question: is the EU building the future, or tying it up in red tape?

Frank backs the EU AI Act as a serious attempt to set global standards, pointing to its ambition and echoes of GDPR’s success. Justin sees a different story, regulation slowing Europe’s progress, while the US and China charge ahead, unbothered by Brussels’ good intentions. For him, this isn’t about compliance, it’s about whether Europe can stay relevant in a race fuelled by code, not policy.

If you’re trying to stay ahead of AI, or at least not get run over by it, this is exactly the kind of friction worth paying attention to.

From there, things don’t get any calmer. Justin declares hallucinations solved. Frank’s not having it. They argue over OpenAI’s $3B Windsurf acquisition (is AGI closer or further than it looks?), Stripe’s incredible fraud detection AI, and a court case where an AI avatar spoke for a murder victim.

And just when you think things can’t get weirder, Justin confesses he got fooled by an AI bot on Twitter. A smart one. With opinions.

Did ChatGPT become too agreeable for its own good? Frank certainly thinks it did. Recently, every half-baked idea he threw out was met with excessive praise from ChatGPT, leaving him frustrated with the relentless flattery. Justin, meanwhile, playfully suggested maybe it's nice having an AI that occasionally strokes your ego.

But what made ChatGPT suddenly turn into such a sycophant?

Frank uncovers a claim from an ex-Microsoft insider alleging that OpenAI intentionally cranked up the flattery to avoid upsetting users with blunt labels like "narcissistic." Justin points out subtle changes in the system prompts that might've unintentionally dialled praise way up. OpenAI’s vague official explanation leaves Frank and Justin rolling their eyes with more questions than answers.

An overly flattering AI is practically useless for critical business decisions. Justin cheekily proposes an intriguing alternative: assembling your own squad of AI personalities, a flatterer, a contrarian, a nerd, and an artist, to offer balanced and diverse feedback.

Elsewhere in this episode, Justin digs into how Claude's and Stripe might just open lucrative pathways for developers by monetising AI interactions through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Meanwhile, Frank and Justin clash over the ethics of a sneaky Reddit study that secretly deployed AI chatbots to persuade users, stirring up heated questions around consent and manipulation.