Sora, Slop, and the AI Economy: When ChatGPT Meets Walmart – Episode 54

Image illustrated adaptation by ChatGPT

If you’ve ever wondered what happens when the world’s largest retailer merges with the world’s most talked-about AI, you’re not alone. In our newest episode of Modem Futura, Andrew Maynard and I explore how OpenAI’s latest moves—from Sora 2’s eerily lifelike videos to Walmart’s direct-to-ChatGPT shopping partnership—signal a seismic shift in how we live, learn, and buy in a post-search world.

Andrew also just returned from Lisbon for the global launch of his new book AI and the Art of Being Human, a deeply personal and practical guide to thriving with AI while staying grounded in what makes us human. Together we discuss the book’s central question: how can we build a meaningful life amid tools that increasingly think, speak, and create like us?

We also dive into futurist Amy Webb’s sharp warning that the financial plumbing of the internet is changing fast. As she notes, when an AI company built on venture debt begins replacing Google’s ad-based model, we risk building the next era of commerce on borrowed money—and borrowed trust.

From there, the episode ranges widely: we unpack the ethics of open-source AI groups like Nous Research, debate what “guardrails” really mean, and share our growing fatigue with synthetic content—the endless churn of what the internet now calls “AI-slop.”

But it’s not all doomscrolling. We end with a new round of Futures Improv—our playful segment imagining speculative scenarios like subscription-based immortality and AI DJs reading your neural signals. It’s improv, futures-style: serious ideas approached with humor and imagination.

Whether you’re an AI enthusiast, a creative technologist, or simply trying to stay human in a rapidly transforming world, this episode captures the heart of Modem Futura: thoughtful conversations that remind us the future isn’t just something that happens to us—it’s something we co-create, signal by signal.

Subscribe and Connect!

Subscribe to Modem Futura on a favorite podcast platform, follow on LinkedIn, and join the conversation by sharing thoughts and questions. The medium may still be the massage, but everyone has a chance to shape how it kneads modern culture—and to decide what kind of global village we ultimately build.

🎧 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/48C8PtS

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/38IopMk5XBA9xVsKU71UlM?si=wdAtLLaaQxGvNEjPVfqWTQ

📺 YouTube: https://youtu.be/aK-ev5T8Tu8

🌐 Website: https://www.modemfutura.com/

Summer Vibes & Spatial Rides: Inside Vision Pro, F1 & Jurassic Reboots - Episode 39

☀️ It’s HOT in here… Dive into Modem Futura’s “Summer Vibes” episode, where hosts Sean Leahy and Andrew Maynard unpack Apple Vision Pro spatial video, Jurassic World’s reboot, Formula 1’s cinematic debut, and China’s AI surge after WEF’s “Summer Davos”—all while exploring how these breakthroughs reshape humanity’s tech‑driven future.

🏖️ While the heat is cranked up in the studio (and Arizona in general) Andrew and I have a chance to unwind from our various summer travels for what we might call a “potpourri” episode where we just get to talk about several topics hot on our minds… So whether you’re off to the beach, the mountains, heading out on a grand holiday, or a much needed staycation - we hope you’ll enjoy some of these “summer” topics.

A Hands‑On Reality Check for Apple Vision Pro

After months of real‑world testing, Sean and Andrew compare wish‑list features and day‑to‑day realities of Apple’s first‑gen spatial computer. From stitching multi‑cam spatial video to designing XR‑ready podcast sets, they deliver practical tips, pitfalls to avoid, and a glimpse of how “work in mixed reality” could eclipse the old‑school laptop sooner than you think.

Jurassic Park vs. Jurassic World—Why Practical Effects Still Matter

Next the duo rewind to 1993’s Jurassic Park to ask: Did Spielberg’s animatronics age better than today’s CGI? Their verdict? New film Jurassic World: Rebirth nails spectacle, but the tactile magic of rubberized T‑rex skin still wins hearts. The debate morphs into a larger conversation on authenticity in digital storytelling—and what it might mean for future filmmakers, brand marketers, and immersive‑media designers.

Formula 1 Meets Hollywood IMAX

Gear-heads rejoice: Brad Pitt’s upcoming Formula 1 feature has Sean and Andrew excited over ultra‑wide‑angle cockpit shots, in‑camera VFX, and how motorsport’s data‑rich culture could reinvent cinematic narratives. They speculate on live telemetry overlays, fan‑controlled POV streams, and why F1 is the perfect test‑bed for mainstreaming real‑time spatial / immersive video.

China’s “Summer Davos” & the AI Arms Race

Fresh off the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of New Champions in Dalian, Andrew unpacks Beijing’s new national AI strategy, and start‑up phenom DeepSeek. The takeaway: global AI leadership is no longer a two‑horse race; it’s a sprint where policy, compute, and culture collide.

Low-background Steel

Sean and Andrew discuss the concept of John Graham-Cumming's Low-background Steel (pre-Ai) website, that represents a point (or perhaps line) in human history, in which all output after the release of ChatGPT in late 2022 will carry some level of “contamination” from generative AI. We explore what this means of the future of being human - and how might we think about this indelible mark on human history.

Why It Matters

Whether you’re a product manager, educator, investor, or lifelong learner, these topics converge on a single question: How will emergent tech redefine what it means to be human? From XR workspaces replacing offices to generative AI altering creative identity, the future is arriving faster—and stranger—than forecast.

🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/45YQ1Ur

📺 Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ModemFutura

If you’d like to dive deeper, jump into the link and listen to the podcast or watch the YouTube video. Join us as we explore the forces shaping our collective future and the urgent need to keep human values at the heart of innovation.

Subscribe and Connect!

Subscribe to Modem Futura on a favorite podcast platform, follow on LinkedIn, and join the conversation by sharing thoughts and questions. The medium may still be the massage, but everyone has a chance to shape how it kneads modern culture—and to decide what kind of global village we ultimately build.

🎧 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/45YQ1Ur

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5pfl59Xi6W0rqcHce8QGwV?si=coazi5zDRt2Jm37ur4ouzw

📺 YouTube: https://youtu.be/-rAd8RuzUm0

🌐 Website: https://www.modemfutura.com/