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Bittensor Drama! TAO down 15%! | E2274

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Apr 11, 2026

Ole Lehmann, AI educator and author of The AI Solopreneur, joins Gareth Howells, Vidaio co-founder and Bittensor builder. They dig into the Bittensor blowup, Covenant AI’s messy exit, and the TAO selloff. Gareth breaks down AI video upscaling and compression. Ole shares his AI council workflow, digital boardroom tools, and practical agent setups in Claude and OpenClaw.

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insights

INSIGHT

BitTensor's Real Test Is Subnet Governance

Jason Calacanis frames the Covenant blowup as a governance failure crypto networks must solve, not proof BitTensor is broken.
He argues subnet staking and participant control should stop founders from walking away with tokens while preserving enough autonomy to build.

insights

INSIGHT

Why Covenant Shook TAO So Hard

Gareth Howells says TAO fell from fear, not just token selling, because Covenant had become a marquee BitTensor success story.
He argues only three of 128 subnets were involved and the community will use the incident to harden rules.

insights

INSIGHT

TAO As An Index Bet On Global AI Work

Jason Calacanis sees BitTensor as global capitalism for AI work, where anyone can supply talent or compute without visas, payroll, or geographic gatekeeping.
He argues buying TAO resembles an ETF on subnet innovation because predicting individual winners is still hard.

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Covenant Exit Sparks BitTensor Panic

01:50 • 4min

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Governance Gaps Created the Crisis

06:04 • 3min

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Gareth Says One Actor Sold Out

TAO Fell on Fear, Not Just Selling

10:59 • 3min

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Vidaio Targets Video Optimization at Scale

13:30 • 3min

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Archives Become Searchable 4K Assets

Upscaling and Compression Cut Delivery Costs

21:08 • 3min

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Miners Compete to Build Better Models

24:18 • 3min

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BitTensor Unlocks Global Hidden Talent

Jason Frames TAO as Startup ETF

30:46 • 2min

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Free Markets Favor Best Price and Work

32:56 • 4min

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Investors Learn by Betting Publicly

36:42 • 4min

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Council Skill Simulates an AI Board

40:34 • 7min

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Claude Cowork Lowers the Barrier

47:15 • 2min

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Enhanced Show Notes Get a Bounty

49:07 • 3min

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AI Counsel Gives Practical Equity Advice

51:52 • 3min

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Basic Security Still Matters Amid AI Threats

55:20 • 1min

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Ole Builds AI Media From Cyprus

Bad Copilot Placement Breaks the Illusion

01:00:40 • 4min

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Maul Revives Star Wars’ Dark Underside

01:04:33 • 5min

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More RAM Makes Local AI Practical

01:09:05 • 4min

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Old Design Books Still Teach New Media

01:13:20 • 3min

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Science Fiction and Safer Audio Gear

Designer's guide to creating charts and Diagrams.

Designer's Guide to Creating Charts and Diagrams

Nigel Holmes

Written by Nigel Holmes, former Deputy Art Director of Time magazine, this book teaches how to analyze assignments, extract key information from data, and select the most appropriate chart types. It provides step-by-step guidance on making various diagrams, emphasizing the integration of mathematics and illustration to make statistics engaging and informative without trivializing the facts. The guide encourages chartmakers to elevate their role through creative visual vehicles that enhance understanding.

#2469

• Mentioned in 20 episodes

My Life in Advertising

Claude Hopkins

In 'My Life in Advertising,' Claude C. Hopkins shares his extensive experience and insights gained from over three decades in the advertising industry. The book is a blend of autobiography and practical guide, offering timeless principles on effective advertising. Hopkins emphasizes the importance of understanding the consumer, using specific and definite claims, and testing advertising strategies. He also discusses his methods for creating successful ad campaigns, including the use of free samples, the appeal of personalities over corporations, and the necessity of focusing on the consumer's needs rather than the advertiser's pride in their products. Despite being written in 1927, the book's principles remain relevant today, making it a valuable resource for anyone in the advertising and marketing fields.

#830

• Mentioned in 45 episodes

Scientific advertising

Claude Hopkins

Written in 1923, 'Scientific Advertising' by Claude C. Hopkins is a seminal work in the advertising industry. The book outlines an advertising approach based on testing and measuring, highlighting the importance of split testing and coupon-based customer tracking. Hopkins stresses that advertising should be treated as a science, with every ad rigorously tested to determine its effectiveness. He also emphasizes the power of direct response and the need for ads to focus on salesmanship, encouraging immediate action from the target audience. The book is widely regarded as a must-read for anyone in marketing and advertising, with principles that remain relevant today.

• Mentioned in 16 episodes

Hyperion

Dan Simmons

In 'Hyperion', Dan Simmons crafts a complex and engaging narrative that follows seven pilgrims as they travel to the enigmatic planet Hyperion. Each pilgrim has a unique story to tell, which they share during their journey, revealing their connections to Hyperion and the Shrike, a metallic creature with the power to grant wishes. The novel is structured similarly to 'The Canterbury Tales' by Geoffrey Chaucer, with a framing narrative that presents the tales of the pilgrims. The story explores themes of religion, war, love, and the human condition, set against a backdrop of interstellar politics and technological advancements. The novel is praised for its detailed world-building, character development, and literary references.

#253

• Mentioned in 103 episodes

Democracy in America

Alexis de Tocqueville

Written after his travels in the United States, 'Democracy in America' is a comprehensive study of American society and government. Tocqueville examines the democratic revolution and its impact on American life, discussing topics such as the sovereignty of the people, the role of civil society, the dangers of the tyranny of the majority, and the influence of religion and individualism. The book is a philosophical and political analysis that aims to understand why republican representative democracy succeeded in the United States while failing in other places, and it offers insights into the future of democracy both in America and globally.

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Today’s show:

TAO, the token associated with the Bittensor network, fell sharply last night after a major project declared it was taking its business elsewhere. Covenant AI had used Bittensor subnets 3, 39, and 89 before its abrupt and controversial decision to depart for other digital shores.

Gareth Howells, a co-founder of Vidaio (Bittensor Subnet 85), joined Jason and Alex to share the community perspective regarding Covenant’s decision to leave Bittensor, a choice that was especially bitter given that its recently-released Covenant-72B model trained using the network’s decentralized capabilities was hailed at the time as a demonstration of the crypto-AI hybrid’s potential. (Covenant’s Sam Dare was a recent guest on TWiST.)

Howells walked us through Vidaio’s product (AI models for high-quality video work, like upscaling)

Then it was time to bring new fan-favorite Ole Lehmann on. Ole took an Andrej Karpathy concept, and turned it into a skill that you can use in either OpenClaw or Claude Cowork.

Guests

Ole Lehmann: https://x.com/itsolelehmann

The AI Solopreneur newsletter: https://aisolo.beehiiv.com/

Vidaio: https://vidaio.io/

Vidaio on X: https://x.com/vidaio_

Timestamps:

0:00 Drama in the Bittensor space! Was there a rugpull?

1:01 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!

1:47 Gareth Howells of subnet85 joins the show: https://x.com/GarethHowells

9:56 Northwest Registered Agent - Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at https://northwestregisteredagent.com/TWIST

11:37 Gareth reacts to the Covenant situation… Did Sam sell tokens?

14:33 How VidAIo (subnet85) optimizes video as cheaply as possible. https://vidaio.io/

20:06 Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://squarespace.com/TWIST

21:12 Demo: Gareth shows upscaled footage of our very own Lon Harris

27:09 Who is actually doing the computing on Bittensor?

28:15 How Bittensor recruits tech talent from emerging markets

29:42 Pilot - Visit https://pilot.com/TWIST and get $1,200 off your first year.

30:58 Jason's explains the Bittensor network. https://docs.bittensor.com/

37:28 Jason addresses "pump and dump" allegations

40:46 Ole Lehmann joins the show https://x.com/itsolelehmann

45:31 Jason's $1,000 "bounty" for enhanced show notes

49:35 Check out Ole's newsletter at aisolo.beehiiv.com !

59:50 CrowdHealth - CrowdHealth lets you ditch the bureaucracy with a peer-to-peer funding platform for your healthcare. Get started for $99 per month for your first three months by using the code TWIST at https://JoinCrowdHealth.com/twist.

1:00:46 Off Duty with Alex and J-Cal!

1:04:46 Reacting to the Maul trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkVepshZhGc

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Follow Lon:

X: https://x.com/lons

Follow Alex:

X: https://x.com/alex

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm

Follow Jason:

X: https://twitter.com/Jason