e523 — Two hundred and sixty six starlings

e523 — Two hundred and sixty six starlings

Author: Michael Rowe, Michael Martine, Andy Piper August 4, 2025 Duration: 32:42
Photo by Pete Godfrey on Unsplash

Published 4 August 2025

e523 with Michael R and Andy, possibly arriving via carefully-arranged starlings? – stories about AI again, obviously; iPadOS 26; games, old and new; and, an innovative method of data transfer.

Andy and Michael R are back together this week, while Michael M takes a turn being away! We kick off with some AI-related topics, with ChatGPT successfully passing the anti-bot Turing test, CAPTCHA, and then some discussion of AI tools being allowed in Meta’s hiring process. Could the North Koreans be on their way?

Seamlessly gliding (almost like… liquid glass), there’s a discussion of iPadOS 26 public beta, and all the window-y goodness that’s coming to all in September.

Under the heading of games topics, the hosts cover a number of links, including the existential crisis experienced by games characters in a Matrix game, an incredible clay animated music video that revisits the 1980s and 1990s, and then, a brand new game all about the life of… a fly. Yes, a fly.

The last segment covers a different kind of flying creature, and looks at the potential for birds to become digital data carriers. Well, starlings anyway.

Are you switching to bird tech any time soon? Have your bots drop our bots a line on Mastodon at @gamesatwork_biz and let us know what you’re reading and what you’re thinking about!

These show notes were lovingly hand crafted by a real human, and not by a bot.  All rights reserved.  That’s our story and we’re sticking to it.

Selected Links

AI

Apple

Gaming

Birds! Yes, birds! (can we pretend this is a Maker section?)


The weekly conversation hosted by Michael Rowe, Michael Martine, and Andy Piper, Games At Work dot Biz, explores the intersection where our digital play and professional lives collide. This isn't just a review show; it's a deep dive into the technology that powers our hobbies, the business behind the leisure, and the cultural news shaping both worlds. Each episode feels like pulling up a chair with three friends who are as passionate about the craft of game development and the evolution of hardware as they are about the pure joy of finding a great new title. You'll hear specific discussions on everything from the latest graphics card impacting performance to the narrative design of an indie darling, all filtered through the lens of professionals who live in the tech space. The Games At Work dot Biz podcast operates on the belief that the games we play and the tools we use are inextricably linked, offering listeners a consistently thoughtful and engaging analysis that goes far beyond a simple score. Tune in for a regular dose of insightful commentary where the serious business of technology meets the serious fun of games.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 55

Games At Work dot Biz
Podcast Episodes
e515 — Seeing Through Walls [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:52
Photo by Mihály Köles on Unsplash Published 26 May 2025 e515 with Andy, Michael and Michael – the Fortnite Darth Vader NPC, IO, both from Google and Open AI, AI hardware, an intriguing Vision Pro use case, infrared conta…
e514 — Leroooooy Jenkins! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:50
Photo by WTFast on Unsplash Published 19 May 2025 e514 with Michael R and Andy – generative ads & LEGO, Aston Martin x Apple CarPlay Ultra, new Vision Pro UX, an Internet Roadtrip, Leroy Jenkins and so much more. While M…
e513 — Not Dead Yet [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:26
Photo by Hande B. on Unsplash Published 12 May 2025 e513 with Michael and Michael – Clippy + LLMs, social AI, first person video, Duck, Pong & other games, and so much more. While Andy is away, Michael and Michael start…
e512 — Sounds Good, On Paper [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:58
Cartoon versions of Andy and Michael M, generated by ChatGPT Published 5 May 2025 e512 with Andy and Michael – E Ink monitors, Agent run companies & towns, winning arguments with AI assistants, pixellating reality and mu…
e511 — Vibing in London [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:36
Photo by bill emrich from Pexels: Published 28 April 2025 e511 with Michael, Andy and Michael – Vibe coding with the Vision Pro, E Ink, ePaper, multi and single player MMORPGs, Minecraft London and much more. Michael, An…
e510 — Singing To the Dolphins [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:28
Photo by Ádám Berkecz on Unsplash Published 21 April 2025 e510 with Andy, Michael and Michael – AI stories ranging from privacy, dolphin communication, open source models for robots, Game Transfer Phenomenon and much mor…
e509 — Maverick and Marbles [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:10
Photo by Josiah Farrow on Unsplash Published 14 April 2025 e509 with Michael and Michael – stories and discussion all around AI, LLMs, llamas, generated Quake, grokking, generalization and much more. Michael and Michael…
e508 — Taxes and Tetris [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:53
Photo by Ben Griffiths on Unsplash Published 7 April 2025 e508 with Michael, Andy and Michael – stories and discussion on AI Conversational Swarm Intelligence, the Pokétax game and numerous Nintendo stories and much more…
e507 — VR is Dead?  Let’s Play! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:09
Photo by Braedon McLeod on Unsplash Published 31 March 2025 e507 with Michael, Andy and Michael – stories and discussion on AIs training humans, non-serindipious searching, doomed VR gaming, playlist portability and much…
e506 — Make Me A PowerPoint [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:32
screen capture of a presentation agenda with a photo of a painting of a mountain Published 23 March 2025 e506 with Andy and Michael M – stories and discussion on the attention economy, focus, pirated data used in trainin…