Andrew Lee is the co-founder of Shortwave, an AI-powered email app. He’s also Tim’s brother.Andrew shares how Shortwave evolved from a conventional email app into a multi-LLM system that automates inbox organization, drafts messages, and performs advanced search via agentic reasoning. He explains how recent improvements in model performance have dramatically changed what is possible for an app like Shortwave. He discusses which models Shortwave uses, the tradeoffs between open and closed models, and where AI-powered email is going next. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.aisummer.org
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1:01:14
Dean and Tim on Deep Research and the Paris Summit
In this episode, Dean and Tim discuss Dean’s trip to Paris for the AI Action Summit, including Vice President Vance’s speech on AI. They talk through the European outlook on AI regulation, European resentment toward America, and the stark shift in policymaker attitudes toward AI safety. Then they turn to OpenAI’s new Deep Research agent, chatting about their experience with the product and reflecting on what it means for the future of policy research. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.aisummer.org
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1:03:29
Kashmir Hill on falling love with ChatGPT
Kashmir Hill is a reporter at the New York Times who focuses on the social impacts of new technology. In this episode, she describes how users are customizing chatbots like ChatGPT to fulfill emotional and even erotic needs, often bypassing built-in safeguards. These fantasy conversations are usually harmless, but there are potential pitfalls—especially where children are involved. Kashmir also discusses about how policymakers should deal with the emergence of uncannily accurate facial recognition technology."She Is in Love With ChatGPT" by Kashmir Hill in the New York Times, 2025.Your Face Belongs to Us. Book by Kashmir Hill published in 2023."The Secretive Company That Might End Privacy as We Know It" by Kashmir Hill in the New York Times, 2020. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.aisummer.org
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52:14
Sophia Tung on riding a self-driving taxi in China
Tim and Dean chat with Sophia Tung, an entrepreneur, engineer, and now YouTuber, about her recent experience in a Chinese self-driving taxi from Apollo Go, a subsidiary of Baidu. Apollo Go is a bit like China’s Waymo, but Sophia found the experience of riding in an Apollo Go taxi to be far worse than riding in a Waymo. We talk about her experience in China as well as the broader implications: is China just a few years behind American AV companies, or is there a deeper problem? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.aisummer.org
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1:03:16
Dean and Tim on DeepSeek and AI progress
Dean and Tim discuss DeepSeek’s r1 release and what it means. We talk export controls, whether the model is a true technical breakthrough, and what “reasoning” models like r1 and o1 mean for the pace of AI progress going forward. This is our first episode with just Dean and Tim chatting, but we hope to do more such episodes in the future. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.aisummer.org