A fond farewell to brunch and also humankind

This week's episode of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! brought a mix of existential dread and lighthearted absurdity. Author Hernan Diaz, whose novel "Trust" has garnered significant acclaim, joined the show to discuss his work and a peculiar anecdote involving Dua Lipa. The panel, consisting of Adam Burke, Shantaara Jackson, and Sam Rocha, also weighed in on a variety of topics, from the unsettling capabilities of AI to the surprising new trend of "man-keeping" in marriages.

The Rise of AI and the Fall of Humanity

The show kicked off with a discussion about artificial intelligence, prompted by a quote from Google Gemini stating, "It does not currently have the capability to destroy humanity." This seemingly reassuring statement was met with a healthy dose of skepticism from the panel. Host Peter Sagal highlighted the unsettling implication of the word "currently," suggesting a future where AI might indeed pose a threat. Shantaara Jackson pointed out the irony that the very people warning us about AI are often the ones creating it, referencing the CEO of Anthropic who expressed concerns about the technology he's developing. Sam Rocha shared her personal anxieties about AI, particularly after encountering "Coco robots" – delivery robots with human-like faces and even ethnic names. The panel debated whether giving these robots ethnic names was better or worse, ultimately concluding it was worse, as it perpetuated inequalities even among machines. Peter Sagal quipped that AI was initially meant to destroy musicians, writers, and other professions, but not humanity itself. Bill Gates' 6,000-word essay on AI's destructive potential was also mentioned, with Sagal joking that he had ChatGPT summarize it for him.