This week, Ian and Michael drift through a range of cultural references — actors, composers, old arcade games, and the curious limits of how many famous names any of us can actually remember. Along the way we reflect on fading movie stardom, the strange selectiveness of cultural memory, and the tiny fraction of people who end up being remembered at all. As usual, the conversation wanders further afield, touching on early video games, DNA testing services, and which jobs might survive the advance of AI and robots. (This description was written with the help of AI)

This week we dig into “AI fatigue” and “AI anxiety”; familiar enough to anyone trying to keep up with the constant churn of tools, hype, and expectations. The conversation circles around whether these concerns are widespread or mostly confined to a small corner of the population, with detours into work, hype cycles, and the limits of human attention. Along the way we veer into broader territory: bubbles (both AI and personal), environmental indifference, questionable television, and the possibility that most people simply aren’t that worried about any of it. (This description was written with help of AI)

This week’s conversation starts with a small moral dilemma: why is it so easy to consume endless hours of online content, yet oddly difficult to part with even a few euros to support the people making it? From there we wander through the economics of the modern “content economy” and the accumulation of monthly fees that comes with living online. Along the way we reflect on how value is assigned (or not) to digital work, whether audiences have simply hit subscription fatigue, and what happens when AI joins the ranks of the contentmakers. As usual, the discussion drifts into neighbouring territory: the changing role of universities, the consumerist society, and the slightly unsettling sense that information - and perhaps expertise - is becoming both cheaper and harder to price. (This description was generated with the help of AI; this episode features AI-generated speech)

This week we explore Europe’s push for digital alternatives — from cloud infrastructure to software ecosystems — and ask what technological independence might realistically look like. The conversation moves between policy ambition and practical constraints. Along the way we detour into the everyday realities of Windows, Mac, and Linux, and what real choice actually means for users versus institutions. (This description was written with the help of AI)

This week Ian and Michael test the limits of “vibe coding” and find that it might actually work. From there, naturally, we drift into the idea of apps-on-demand, AI minions, and subscription creep, with detours into rainforest guilt, insecure software libraries, hallucinating language models, second-hand drinks cabinets, and the small question of superintelligence wiping us out. Along the way: The Fermi Paradox, universal basic income, and the possibility that in solving convenience we may be accelerating something rather less convenient. (This description was written with the help of AI)

Ian and Michael discuss the desire to automate and outsource or most unpopular and difficult decisions to AI as a means to deflect responsibility; I'd love to help, but my AI assistant decided otherwise...

(This episode contains AI-generated speech)

Ian and Michael kick off the new season with a host of topics: the self-contained money merry-go-round of the AI industry, proposed social media bans, media consolidation, AI-generated “reality” shows, and the case for hoarding DVD players like it’s already the end times. A loose, opinionated start to the year and to season 5! (This description was written with the help of AI)

2025 is all but over! For the traditional New Year’s send-off, Ian and Michael look back on the year through the lens of “words of the year” from various dictionaries — and find plenty to be puzzled, amused, and mildly irritated by. From rage bait and parasocial relationships to vibe coding, AI slop, and the strange linguistic inventions of younger generations, the conversation drifts through language, technology, culture, and the growing feeling that everyone might be speaking a slightly different dialect now. Equal parts word nerdery, generational bewilderment, and end-of-year reflection, it’s a fitting way to wave goodbye to the season and stumble into the next one. (This description was created with the help of AI)

AI Unfiltered will return with new episodes in 2026!