In this episode of ChatGPT Curious I walk you through OpenAI’s newest release, Atlas, a web browser launched October 21st for Mac users. I cover how to set it up, what you can actually do with it, and why I think it’s largely redundant to ChatGPT itself. This episode unpacks both the function and business play (in my opinion) behind Atlas, and how it might be signaling an AI slow-down. Main Topics Covered Introduction to Atlas Setup and initial questions Interface overview (Home, Globe, Images, Videos, News) Emphasizing agent mode My early impressions of redundancy and money motives Concerns about unbundling features Highlights and bugs from personal testing The “Ask ChatGPT” feature in action My two pennies on the future of AI tools Recent ChatGPT use: Rachel’s Gemini Win Links & Resources for This Episode Read the Atlas release note from OpenAI Listen to Ep. 7 – What is AI? Subscribe to the ChatGPT Curious Newsletter: The Curious Companion Submit a Question Visit the Website Feeling curious AND generous? Click here to support the podcast.

This episode lays out exactly how to start using ChatGPT (in two super simple steps), for even the most beginner of users. I break down why using the tool is the best way to understand and critique it, share my take on AI as an equalizer, and walk through a surprisingly useful feature called “Schedules”. Let’s get curious. Main Topics Covered Why this episode exists (for true beginners) How ChatGPT can possibly level the playing field Two simple steps for getting started The goal: using AI to reclaim human time Recent ChatGPT use: Nest Cam + the Schedules feature Links & Resources for This Episode Listen to Ep. 10: Are We In an AI Bubble? Subscribe to the ChatGPT Curious Newsletter: The Curious Companion Submit a Question Visit the Website Feeling curious AND generous? Click here to support the podcast.

In this episode of ChatGPT Curious, we break down OpenAI’s newest release: Sora 2, the text-to-video model now living in its own app, Sora. From how diffusion models work to what the new invite-only platform looks like, we’re covering the tech, the ethics, and the implications. You’ll learn how Sora 2 generates videos, why it’s a big deal (for better and worse), and what it means for the future of AI-generated media. Main Topics Covered What Sora 2 is and how it works Diffusion explained (drop of dye in water analogy) Denoising and the Willy Wonka comparison The difference between training and generation SlopTok? Sora app features and invite system Opt-out policy and data control issues Compute cost and environmental impact Deepfakes, realism, and misinformation risks Personal takeaways and ethical concerns Recent ChatGPT use: Sora prompt + Repairing the wine fridge Links & Resources for This Episode Watch the Sora video that I “made” Subscribe to the ChatGPT Curious Newsletter: The Curious Companion Submit a Question Visit the Website Feeling curious AND generous? Click here to support the podcast.

In this episode we dig into why ChatGPT sometimes gives you garbage outputs and what you can do about it. From hallucinations and drift to bad prompts and long chats, we’ll cover the common pitfalls, what to do when it sucks, and how the imperfections of AI might actually be keeping your own skills sharp. Main Topics Covered WTF moments with bad ChatGPT outputs Why it’s math, not magic (probability, tokens, predictions) Hallucinations and why “AI slop” happens Improving your prompts Memory checks and correcting drift When to start a new chat The importance of knowing your own stuff Skills-of-operation vs skills-of-understanding Historical parallels: calculators, smartphones, cameras A solution to the concern about outsourcing thinking and expression Weekly use case: Joe’s meal planning with ChatGPT Links & Resources for This Episode Listen to Ep. 1: What You Actually Need to Know about ChatGPT Listen to Ep. 8: Getting ChatGPT to Do What You Want Listen to Ep. 9: Helpful ChatGPT Features You Might Not Know About Subscribe to the ChatGPT Curious Newsletter: The Curious Companion Submit a Question Visit the Website Feeling curious AND generous? Click here to support the podcast.

This episode is all about custom GPTs: What they are, what they can do, and how to “build” one. If you’ve ever wished you could clone yourself, this is basically how you do it. In this episode I share how I created my own ChatGP-TA for the Instagram Intensive, the files and instructions I used to make it sound like me, and the simple steps you can take to “clone yourself” without writing a single line of code. Along the way we talk vectors, transformers, input quality, and how to set capabilities so your Custom GPT does exactly what you want. Main Topics Covered GPT definition refresher: generative, pretrained, transformer How transformers work: tokens, vectors, and context Definition of a Custom GPT and why it’s like “cloning yourself” Example: building a Custom GPT (ChatGP-TA) for the Instagram Intensive Files and instructions used to train it (outlines, sales page, emails) Using Projects vs the GPT Builder (create + configure modes) Importance of context and instructions for best outputs Capabilities and settings (internet access, file uploads, toggles) Use cases and limitations of custom GPTs How Kate uses ChatGPT vs Claude Links & Resources for This Episode Ep. 1: What You Actually Need to Know About ChatGPT GPTs FAQ in the Open AI Help Center Open AI’s GPT Builder Ep. 6: An Intro to Using ChatGPT to Create Content Subscribe to the ChatGPT Curious Newsletter: The Curious Companion Submit a Question Visit the Website Feeling curious AND generous? Click here to support the podcast.

This episode takes a look at the hype surrounding AI and asks a simple question: Are we in a bubble? Spoiler alert: ABSOLUTELY. To make sense of it, I dig into the history of the dot-com boom and bust, walk through today’s AI financials, and explore what it might mean for companies, investors, and everyday people like you and me. Main Topics Covered Audience Q: ChatGPT vs. Gemini What a bubble actually is Story of the dot-com bubble Today’s AI numbers: OpenAI and Anthropic How greed fuels investment Oracle’s $300B OpenAI deal and “jumping the shark” Neuro-symbolic AI and Gary Marcus Who loses when the bubble bursts How I used ChatGPT this week: Agent mode for car rentals Links & Resources for This Episode Listen to Ep. 2: ChatGPT and the Environment: Energy, Water, and Carbon Emissions Subscribe to the ChatGPT Curious Newsletter: The Curious Companion Submit a Question Visit the Website Feeling curious AND generous? Click here to support the podcast.

In this episode of ChatGPT Curious I share a handful of ChatGPT features that you might not know about, and that I think you might find genuinely useful. These aren’t “hidden gems” or shiny distractions, they’re tools and settings I personally use and that I believe can improve both your user experience and the model’s outputs. From release notes and memory controls to project settings and the surprisingly powerful Study Mode, this is a practical tour of features that can actually make a difference. Main Topics Covered ChatGPT Release Notes and how to find them Personalization settings (desktop + mobile) Managing and customizing memory Personality modes and interaction styles Customizing ChatGPT’s voice options Projects, project-only memory, and instructions Study Mode: toggle vs. manual prompting How I used ChatGPT this week: lifting cycle + exercise swaps Links & Resources for This Episode Check out ChatGPT Release Notes Listen to Ep. 6: An Intro to Using ChatGPT for Content Creation Listen to Ep. 3: Is ChatGPT Killing Creativity? Listen to Ep. 8: Getting ChatGPT to Do What You Want Connect with me on Instagram Subscribe to the ChatGPT Curious Newsletter: The Curious Companion Submit a Question Visit the Website Feeling curious AND generous?  Click here to support the podcast.

In this episode we’re talking about what it really takes to get ChatGPT to do what you want. From clarifying your own thoughts to understanding the basics of prompting, this is a how-to guide without the hoopla. Really though, it’s not that serious. Whether you're asking it to write an email or act as your assistant, specificity and clarity are the name of the game. Main Topics Covered Prompting = communication Why prompt obsession is overblown Why I don’t give you “best prompt” templates Never ask it to create from scratch Quality input = Quality output The 7 Clarity Items Bonus strategies to try Reverse prompting recap Where ChatGPT still falls short Relational fuckery and AI How I used it this week: Model switching Links & Resources for This Episode Listen to Ep. 6: An Introduction to Using ChatGPT for Content Creation Check out @inquisitive_human on Instagram Subscribe to the ChatGPT Curious Newsletter: The Curious Companion Submit a Question Visit the Website Feeling curious AND generous?  Click here to support the podcast.

This episode is about giving you a clear, simple definition of a word that gets thrown around constantly: AI. You’re hearing it in every commercial, on every app, and in every new feature rollout. But what is it, really? I share a plain-language definition — “software that can guess” — contrast everyday examples of AI with simple automation, and give quick context on where the term came from, how regulating agencies define it, what is meant by “agents” and “AGI”, and how close we realistically are to what Terminator predicted. (Spoiler, not close at all.) Main Topics Covered Creating informed consumers “AI is…” exercise A colloquial, plain-language definition for AI Things That Are AI vs Things That Are NOT AI AI as a kitchen sink marketing term AI origin story: John McCarthy + the Dartmouth proposal Official definitions from OECD and NIST Understanding autonomy and “AI agents” The forecast on AGI: artificial general intelligence How I used ChatGPT this week: bulkhead light and bulb hunt Links & Resources for This Episode Listen to Ep 1: Everything You Actually Need to Know About ChatGPT Listen to Ep 4: Overhyped or Underestimated: Is ChatGPT Coming for Your Job? Read the proposal for the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence Subscribe to the ChatGPT Curious Newsletter: The Curious Companion Submit a Question Visit the Website Feeling curious AND generous?  Click here to support the podcast.

In this episode I give an introduction to using ChatGPT for content creation with a focus on practical strategies for repurposing your own work. You’ll hear about reverse prompting, using Projects to save instructions, and how to keep your taste and voice at the center of what you create. Main Topics Covered Recent ChatGPT outages and possible reasons Experimenting with Gemini and Google’s AI summary tool Viewing everything as content When using ChatGPT for content creation makes sense Suggested steps for creating content Picking a format, repurposing content, and reverse prompting Utilizing the ‘Projects’ feature Recent ChatGPT use: German translator Links & Resources for This Episode Listen to ep. 1: What You Actually Need to Know About ChatGPT Subscribe to the ChatGPT Curious Newsletter: The Curious Companion Submit a Question Visit the Website Feeling curious AND generous?  Click here to support the podcast.

In this episode, I dig into whether you can trust ChatGPT, and what that question reveals about trust in general. From model changes and user backlash to the three pillars of trust (benevolence, integrity, competency), I share why double-checking is anon-negotiable and how personal responsibility plays into using AI. We talk about media incentives, misinformation, and why “important” is a slippery, subjective word when it comes to verifying the answers that ChatGPT gives you. Main Topics Covered User reactions and model changes after GPT-5 rollout ChatGPT as an assistant for known answers What “hallucination” actually mean The importance of verifying information Trust and misinformation online Social media’s role in shaping belief Media incentives for clicks over accuracy The foundations and four components of expertise The three components of trust Applying the trust framework to ChatGPT Where personal responsibility fits in Recent ChatGPT use: Suggestion mode and sentence checks Links & Resources for This Episode Subscribe to the ChatGPT Curious Newsletter: The Curious Companion Submit a Question Visit the Website Feeling curious AND generous?  Click here to support the podcast.

So… is ChatGPT actually coming for your job? In this episode, I walk you through the GPT-5 release, what’s new, what’s noise, and why I think most folks won’t even notice a difference. We’ll talk about how AI is being used at work, why the headlines can be misleading, where the tech still falls short, and why job-loss predictions are far from straightforward. Main Topics Covered Key GPT-5 updates for users OpenAI’s “phD-level intelligence” claim New email and calendar integration Benchmark testing and hallucination improvements AI hype vs. real job impact Media narratives around AI job loss Microsoft study on AI and job tasks Defining “agents”, “agentic”, an “AGI” Summary of ChatGPT’s potential and limits Advice for AI-proofing your job How I used ChatGPT to create the podcast intro music Links & Resources for This Episode OpenAI’s GPT-5 Announcement (article) OpenAI’s GPT-5 Announcement (YouTube Video) Microsoft Article Suno AI Music Generator Affiliate Link Subscribe to the ChatGPT Curious Newsletter: The Curious Companion Submit a Question Visit the Website Feeling curious AND generous?  Click here to support the podcast.

In this episode I dig into the environmental impact of using ChatGPT: energy use, water consumption, and carbon emissions. I walk through the research, acknowledge the risk of whataboutism, and explain why comparisons to other systems matter when we're talking about true impact. Adopting a both/and approach, this episode is absolutely not about letting ChatGPT off the hook, it’s about putting things in perspective so we can take action on what will actually move the needle. Main Topics Covered Why this is episode 2 and why the topic matters Ramit Sethi’s $30K vs $3-question analogy The math behind ChatGPT’s energy use The origin (and problems) with the “3Wh per query” stat What .3Wh per query actually looks like in real-world use The difference between inference and training impact How ChatGPT kicked off the AI arms race Where most AI energy actually goes (spoiler, it's not ChatGPT) The hidden energy behind everything else we use How water usage is measured across three scopes ChatGPT’s water use vs typical U.S. electricity and food systems Why carbon emissions highlight the need for more transparency The repeating citations problem in media coverage What actually makes the biggest environmental difference Concerns about future energy use from agentic models Why transparency from companies matters This episode as a call for participatory awareness, not panic Links & Resources For This Episode Check out the full environmental impact resources list on my website  Subscribe to the ChatGPT Curious Newsletter Submit a Question Visit the Website Feeling curious AND generous?  Click here to support the podcast.

In this episode of ChatGPT Curious, I lay the groundwork for understanding what ChatGPT actually is, without getting too lost in the weeds. I break down key terms like LLM and parameters, explain how the model was trained (hint: lots of math), why it sometimes spits out wrong info, and what all of this means for how you use it. I also touch on the environmental cost, what the free vs. paid versions can actually do, and how to think critically about its outputs. If you've ever felt a little confused, a little curious, or both, this one's for you. Main Topics Covered Why it’s worth understanding the foundation of ChatGPT What is ChatGPT? Brief history of OpenAI and the development of GPT What GPT actually stands for and what changed with each version What “parameters” are and how they shape the model’s responses How language is turned into numbers via tokens What happens during training Human involvement in model training via RLHF (reinforcement learning with human feedback) Probabilistic vs deterministic systems and what that means for output accuracy The environmental cost of “compute” and an analogy for mindful use What the free version can do (and can’t), including search, uploads, and voice What the paid version offers What ChatGPT is not What to watch out for Real-life use case: Trying to fix a bike derailleur using ChatGPT Links & Resources for This Episode Try the Tokenizer Try out the Free version of ChatGPT Subscribe to the ChatGPT Curious Newsletter Submit a Question Visit the Website Feeling curious AND generous?  Click here to support the podcast.

In this episode I answer the question “Is ChatGPT killing creativity?” with a resounding no, and then unpack why I think that question even exists in the first place. I talk about what people are really reacting to, how our systems reward speed over depth, and why I see ChatGPT not as the problem, but as a mirror. We also take a detour into college, capitalism, and Cabo. Main Topics Covered Why ChatGPT isn’t killing creativity What “bullish” means and why I’m actually excited about The Great AI Reckoning: asking what really matters Covid as the spark for questioning value systems People using AI for things they don’t care about Rejecting the idea of laziness Systemic rewards for speed and flash over depth The failures of traditional education Critique of extractive capitalism ChatGPT as a tool to support life Real-life use case: chargeback script for Cabo resort Links & Resources for This Episode Subscribe to the ChatGPT Curious Newsletter Submit a Question Visit the Website Feeling curious AND generous?  Click here to support the podcast.

Welcome to the trailer episode of ChatGPT Curious! In this episode I lay out why I created the show, what kind of topics I’ll be exploring, and how I hope it supports your curiosity. From basic terms to big-picture questions, the goal is to make ChatGPT more useful, less overwhelming, and maybe even a little fun. Main Topics Covered Why I started this podcast Deep dive into ChatGPT since 2022 What this show will cover Terms like LLM, AGI, and parameters Two major AI camps Let’s have some nuance My background and tech tenacity Health and fitness roots Who this show is for New episodes and newsletter info Links & Resources For This Episode Join the Newsletter Check out Curious Finds Head to the website