Our 225th episode with a summary and discussion of last week's big AI news!Recorded on 11/16/2025Hosted by <a href="https://twitter.com/andrey_kurenkov" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Andrey Kurenkov</a> and co-hosted by <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/amichlee" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Michelle Lee</a>Feel free to email us your questions and feedback at <a href="mailto:contact@lastweekinai.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">contact@lastweekinai.com </a>and/or&nbsp;<a href="mailto:hello@gladstone.ai" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">hello@gladstone.ai</a>Read out our text newsletter and comment on the podcast at <a href="https://lastweekin.ai/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://lastweekin.ai/</a>In this episode:<ul><li>New AI model releases include GPT-5.1 from OpenAI and Ernie 5.0 from Baidu, each with updated features and capabilities.</li><li>Self-driving technology advancements from Baidu’s Apollo Go and Pony AI’s IPO highlight significant progress in the automotive sector.</li><li>Startup funding updates include Incept taking $50M for diffusion models, while Cursor and Gamma secure significant valuations for coding and presentation tools respectively.</li><li>AI-generated content is gaining traction with songs topping charts and new marketplaces for AI-generated voices, indicating evolving trends in synthetic media.</li></ul>Timestamps:<ul><li>(00:01:19) News Preview</li><li>Tools & Apps</li><li>(00:02:13) <a href="https://www.theverge.com/news/802653/openai-gpt-5-1-upgrade-personality-presets" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">OpenAI says the brand-new GPT-5.1 is ‘warmer’ and has more ‘personality’ options | The Verge</a></li><li>(00:04:51) <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/baidu-unveils-ernie-5-0-and-a-series-of-ai-applications-at-baidu-world-2025--ramps-up-global-push-302614531.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Baidu Unveils ERNIE 5.0 and a Series of AI Applications at Baidu World 2025, Ramps Up Global Push</a></li><li>(00:07:00) <a href="https://www.techinasia.com/news/bytedances-volcano-engine-debuts-coding-agent-at-1-3-promo-price?_bhlid=c1556b8d78cd6fbc6a17b645d6f9c7dd9d537fee" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ByteDance’s Volcano Engine debuts coding agent at $1.3 promo price</a></li><li>(00:08:04) <a href="https://www.theverge.com/news/819431/google-shopping-ai-gemini-agentic-checkout-calling" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Google will let users call stores, browse products, and check out using AI | The Verge</a></li><li>(00:10:41) <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/12/fei-fei-lis-world-labs-speeds-up-the-world-model-race-with-marble-its-first-commercial-product/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Fei-Fei Li's World Labs speeds up the world model race with Marble, its first commercial product | TechCrunch</a></li><li>(00:13:30) <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/14/openai-says-its-fixed-chatgpts-em-dash-problem/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">OpenAI says it's fixed ChatGPT's em dash problem | TechCrunch</a></li><li>Applications & Business</li><li>(00:16:01) <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/12/anthropic-announces-50-billion-data-center-plan/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Anthropic announces $50 billion data center plan | TechCrunch</a></li><li>(00:18:06) <a href="https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/13/baidu_inference_training_chips/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Baidu teases next-gen AI training, inference accelerators • The Register</a></li><li>(00:20:50) <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/c586eb77-a16e-4363-ab0b-e877898b70de" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Meta chief AI scientist Yann LeCun plans to exit and launch own start-up</a></li><li>(00:24:41) <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-11-04/amazon-demands-perplexity-stop-ai-agent-from-making-purchases" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Amazon Demands Perplexity Stop AI Tool From Making Purchases - Bloomberg</a></li><li>(00:27:32) <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/10/ai-powerpoint-killer-gamma-hits-2-1b-valuation-100m-arr-founder-says/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">AI PowerPoint-killer Gamma hits $2.1B valuation, $100M ARR, founder says&nbsp; | TechCrunch</a></li><li>(00:29:33) <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/06/inception-raises-50-million-to-build-diffusion-models-for-code-and-text/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Inception raises $50 million to build diffusion models for code and text | TechCrunch</a></li><li>(00:31:14) <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/13/coding-assistant-cursor-raises-2-3b-5-months-after-its-previous-round/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Coding assistant Cursor raises $2.3B 5 months after its previous round | TechCrunch</a></li><li>(00:33:56) <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/03/china-baidu-robotaxis-alphabet-waymo-.html?amp_gsa=1&_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQGsAEggAID#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=17621822500587&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnbc.com%2F2025%2F11%2F03%2Fchina-baidu-robotaxis-alphabet-waymo-.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">China's Baidu says it's running 250,000 robotaxi rides a week — same as Alphabet's Waymo</a></li><li>(00:35:26) <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/driverless-tech-firm-pony-ai-152356874.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Driverless Tech Firm Pony AI Raises $863 Million in HK Listing</a></li><li>Projects & Open Source</li><li>(00:36:30) <a href="https://venturebeat.com/ai/moonshots-kimi-k2-thinking-emerges-as-leading-open-source-ai-outperforming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Moonshot's Kimi K2 Thinking emerges as leading open source AI</a></li><li>Research & Advancements</li><li>(00:39:22) <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.26787" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[2510.26787] Remote Labor Index: Measuring AI Automation of Remote Work</a></li><li>(00:45:21) <a href="https://www.marktechpost.com/2025/11/14/openai-researchers-train-weight-sparse-transformers-to-expose-interpretable-circuits/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">OpenAI Researchers Train Weight Sparse Transformers to Expose Interpretable Circuits - MarkTechPost</a></li><li>(00:49:34) <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.26692" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kimi Linear: An Expressive, Efficient Attention Architecture</a></li><li>(00:53:33) <a href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/819937/google-deepmind-ai-agent-sima-2-agi-video-games" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Watch Google DeepMind’s new AI agent learn to play video games | The Verge</a></li><li>(00:57:34) <a href="https://www.404media.co/arxiv-changes-rules-after-getting-spammed-with-ai-generated-research-papers/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arXiv Changes Rules After Getting Spammed With AI-Generated 'Research' Papers</a></li><li>Policy & Safety</li><li>(00:59:35) <a href="https://apnews.com/article/getty-stability-ai-image-copyright-trademark-fa2c561a33c7b6714a7657255a3fbdf1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Stability AI largely wins UK court battle against Getty Images over copyright and trademark | AP News</a></li><li>(01:01:48) <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/12/court-rules-that-openai-violated-german-copyright-law-ordered-it-to-pay-damages/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Court rules that OpenAI violated German copyright law; orders it to pay damages | TechCrunch</a></li><li>(01:03:48) <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/03/microsofts-15-2b-uae-investment-turns-gulf-state-into-test-case-for-us-ai-diplomacy/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Microsoft's $15.2B UAE investment turns Gulf State into test case for US AI diplomacy | TechCrunch</a></li><li>Synthetic Media & Art</li><li>(01:06:39) <a href="https://www.whiskeyriff.com/2025/11/08/an-ai-generated-country-song-is-topping-a-billboard-chart-and-that-should-infuriate-us-all/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">An AI-Generated Country Song Is Topping A Billboard Chart, And That Should Infuriate Us All | Whiskey Riff</a></li><li>(01:10:59) <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/01/entertainment/xania-monet-billboard-ai" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Xania Monet is the first AI-powered artist to debut on a Billboard airplay chart, but she likely won’t be the last | CNN</a></li><li>(01:13:34) <a href="https://www.theverge.com/news/818470/elevenlabs-iconic-voice-marketplace-ai-audio" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ElevenLabs’ new AI marketplace lets brands use famous voices for ads | The Verge</a></li></ul>See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

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#225 - GPT 5.1, Kimi K2 Thinking, Remote Labor Index

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