‘Uncanny Valley’: Minneapolis Misinformation, TikTok’s New Owners, and Moltbot Hype

Articles mentioned in this episode:

You can follow Brian Barrett on Bluesky at @brbarrett, Zoë Schiffer on Bluesky at @zoeschiffer, and Tim Marchman on Bluesky at @timmarchman. Write to us at uncannyvalley@wired.com.

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Transcript

Note: This is an automated transcript, which may contain errors.

Brian Barrett: How is everybody doing?

Tim Marchman: I’m doing great.

Zoë Schiffer: Wow.

Brian Barrett: That is something.

Zoë Schiffer: Shocking, I would say.

Brian Barrett: Yeah. Tim, what’s your secret?

Tim Marchman: I am trying and doing an actually pretty good job of keeping in mind that my anxious perceptions do not reflect reality, and that they have to be looked at logically.

Brian Barrett: That’s a better coping mechanism than mine, which is that my kids have discovered Mario Kart, so I’m playing a lot of Mario Kart. Zoë?

Zoë Schiffer: I’m doing fine. I would say that I think I have hit a bit of a mental-emotional wall with what is happening, and I’m really grateful to be doing the work that we do because if I was trying to pretend that my corporate job mattered as I was during the early days of the first Trump presidency when I worked in tech, I’m just so glad not to be back there. That was a tough time.

Brian Barrett: But Zoë, is there anything you’re looking forward to, say, in a day or so?

Zoë Schiffer: OK. Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Showing how well-rounded I am, I am going to be seeing the premiere of the Melania Trump movie.

Brian Barrett: Yes.

Zoë Schiffer: The movie that Amazon Studios poured millions and millions and millions of dollars into the trailer. I thought—

Tim Marchman: I have never been more jealous.

Zoë Schiffer: I know. I know. Exceptional work. They made it so dramatic. That woman, as far as I can tell, sorry to say this, does not have any perceptible personality of any sort, but they tried everything to cover that up.

Brian Barrett: Tim, in fairness, I think there’s a safe bet you could still score a ticket.

Zoë Schiffer: Yeah. Oh yes.