The 'blip': Sam Altman's firing and texts

The Musk v. OpenAI trial continues, which means so do the allegations and leaks surrounding some of the most influential people in tech. Nilay and David recount the most interesting and entertaining moments from the courtroom this week, before digging into what we've learned about when Sam Altman was fired. After that, the hosts discuss OpenAI's apparent plans to build a phone, which seem utterly necessary and utterly doomed, along with the new Fitbit Air and a truly strange new home robot. Finally, in the lightning round, it's time for the Hype Desk, Brendan Carr is a Dummy, the Chinese company that wants to make everything, and the next big rebrand for xAI.

Further reading:

• ⁠Internal Tech Emails on X: "Sam Altman texts Mira Murat⁠

• ⁠We are going through the removal of Sam Altman from OpenAI in detail. ⁠

• ⁠Toner is relating how Sam Altman’s firing happened. ⁠

• ⁠Toner says she found out about ChatGPT by seeing screenshots on Twitter. ⁠

• ⁠Zilis sent Altman a text message of support after his 2023 ouster. ⁠

• ⁠Google’s taking a big swing at AI health with the Fitbit Air⁠

• ⁠OpenAI is reportedly launching a phone for ChatGPT ⁠

• ⁠The creator of Roomba is back with a furry robot companion ⁠

• ⁠Inside Dreame’s wild launch event — packed with products no one can buy⁠

• ⁠Dreame — the vacuum company — just ‘launched’ its own phones | The Verge⁠

• ⁠Dreame’s rocket-powered car can do 0–60 in 0.9 seconds because you can just say things now⁠

• ⁠A foldable iPhone dummy — on video. ⁠

• ⁠Apple agrees to pay iPhone owners $250 million for not delivering AI Siri ⁠

• ⁠DOJ assault on the NFL could end the Packers as we know them.⁠

• ⁠Apple could let you pick a favorite AI model in iOS 27 ⁠

• ⁠xAI is becoming SpaceXAI.⁠

• ⁠Microsoft gives up on Xbox Copilot AI ⁠

• ⁠Microsoft’s new Xbox shake-up is all about platform changes ⁠

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(Timestamps are approximate.)

00:00:00 Intro

00:02:00 Trial Discovery Era

00:06:00 Early OpenAI Origins

00:11:00 Elon Power Struggle

00:17:00 Altman Firing Texts

00:27:00 Why The Board Panicked

00:36:00 ChatGPT Phone Rumor

00:39:00 OpenAI Phone vs App Store

00:41:00 Why Apps Still Matter

00:44:00 Apple Siri Power Play

00:49:00 Apple Intelligence Lawsuit

00:53:00 Google Fitbit Air

00:57:00 Google Health Rebrand Backlash

01:01:00 Familiar Robot Pet Debate

01:10:00 Nintendo Star Fox Returns

01:12:00 Nintendo Weirdness Wins

01:15:00 Furry Overlap Discourse

01:16:00 Zach Gardening Surprise

01:21:00 Brendan Carr Broadband Fight

01:23:00 NFL Antitrust And Packers

01:29:00 Dreame Vaporware Parade

01:32:00 Rocket Car Reality Check

01:34:00 Elon Corporate Matryoshka

01:36:00 Xbox Ditches Copilot

01:37:00 Wrap Up And Schedule

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