#225 - GPT 5.1, Kimi K2 Thinking, Remote Labor Index

#225 - GPT 5.1, Kimi K2 Thinking, Remote Labor Index

Author: Skynet Today November 21, 2025 Duration: 1:18:14
Our 225th episode with a summary and discussion of last week's big AI news! Recorded on 11/16/2025 Hosted by Andrey Kurenkov and co-hosted by Michelle Lee Feel free to email us your questions and feedback at contact@lastweekinai.com and/or hello@gladstone.ai Read out our text newsletter and comment on the podcast at https://lastweekin.ai/ In this episode:New AI model releases include GPT-5.1 from OpenAI and Ernie 5.0 from Baidu, each with updated features and capabilities.Self-driving technology advancements from Baidu’s Apollo Go and Pony AI’s IPO highlight significant progress in the automotive sector.Startup funding updates include Incept taking $50M for diffusion models, while Cursor and Gamma secure significant valuations for coding and presentation tools respectively.AI-generated content is gaining traction with songs topping charts and new marketplaces for AI-generated voices, indicating evolving trends in synthetic media. Timestamps:(00:01:19) News PreviewTools & Apps(00:02:13) OpenAI says the brand-new GPT-5.1 is ‘warmer’ and has more ‘personality’ options | The Verge(00:04:51) Baidu Unveils ERNIE 5.0 and a Series of AI Applications at Baidu World 2025, Ramps Up Global Push(00:07:00) ByteDance’s Volcano Engine debuts coding agent at $1.3 promo price(00:08:04) Google will let users call stores, browse products, and check out using AI | The Verge(00:10:41) Fei-Fei Li's World Labs speeds up the world model race with Marble, its first commercial product | TechCrunch(00:13:30) OpenAI says it's fixed ChatGPT's em dash problem | TechCrunchApplications & Business(00:16:01) Anthropic announces $50 billion data center plan | TechCrunch(00:18:06) Baidu teases next-gen AI training, inference accelerators • The Register(00:20:50) Meta chief AI scientist Yann LeCun plans to exit and launch own start-up(00:24:41) Amazon Demands Perplexity Stop AI Tool From Making Purchases - Bloomberg(00:27:32) AI PowerPoint-killer Gamma hits $2.1B valuation, $100M ARR, founder says  | TechCrunch(00:29:33) Inception raises $50 million to build diffusion models for code and text | TechCrunch(00:31:14) Coding assistant Cursor raises $2.3B 5 months after its previous round | TechCrunch(00:33:56) China's Baidu says it's running 250,000 robotaxi rides a week — same as Alphabet's Waymo(00:35:26) Driverless Tech Firm Pony AI Raises $863 Million in HK ListingProjects & Open Source(00:36:30) Moonshot's Kimi K2 Thinking emerges as leading open source AIResearch & Advancements(00:39:22) [2510.26787] Remote Labor Index: Measuring AI Automation of Remote Work(00:45:21) OpenAI Researchers Train Weight Sparse Transformers to Expose Interpretable Circuits - MarkTechPost(00:49:34) Kimi Linear: An Expressive, Efficient Attention Architecture(00:53:33) Watch Google DeepMind’s new AI agent learn to play video games | The Verge(00:57:34) arXiv Changes Rules After Getting Spammed With AI-Generated 'Research' PapersPolicy & Safety(00:59:35) Stability AI largely wins UK court battle against Getty Images over copyright and trademark | AP News(01:01:48) Court rules that OpenAI violated German copyright law; orders it to pay damages | TechCrunch(01:03:48) Microsoft's $15.2B UAE investment turns Gulf State into test case for US AI diplomacy | TechCrunchSynthetic Media & Art(01:06:39) An AI-Generated Country Song Is Topping A Billboard Chart, And That Should Infuriate Us All | Whiskey Riff(01:10:59) Xania Monet is the first AI-powered artist to debut on a Billboard airplay chart, but she likely won’t be the last | CNN(01:13:34) ElevenLabs’ new AI marketplace lets brands use famous voices for ads | The Verge See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Keeping up with artificial intelligence can feel like drinking from a firehose. Every week brings a new breakthrough, a surprising application, or an urgent ethical debate. Last Week in AI, from the team at Skynet Today, is here to turn that torrent into a clear, digestible stream. Instead of getting lost in the noise, you'll get a thoughtful rundown of the developments that actually have impact, explained without unnecessary jargon. Each episode feels like a conversation with well-informed friends who have done the homework for you, sifting through research papers, product launches, and industry announcements to highlight what's substantive. You'll hear nuanced discussions that go beyond the headlines, considering the real-world implications of new models, policy shifts, and corporate moves in the tech landscape. This podcast doesn't just tell you what happened; it provides context on why it matters for developers, businesses, and society at large. It’s an efficient way to stay informed and critically engaged with a field that is reshaping our world at a breathtaking pace. Tune in for a consistently insightful analysis that makes the complex world of AI feel accessible and relevant, week after week.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Last Week in AI
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