Flow by Google, Alex Voices a Predator, and 41 Days Sober | E015 | Diggnation
Diggnation (rebooted)
Plastic Personification and Media Evolution
This chapter features a humorous critique of a commercial that anthropomorphizes plastic, followed by imaginative brainstorming sessions on how to enhance the concept. The speakers also explore the shift in media dynamics as traditional storytelling transitions to social media, highlighting the role of AI in animation and a review of an upcoming animated anthology film.
Kevinβs 41 days sober and glowing, Alex voices a Viking, and AI is still deeply weird. This week, Kevin tries Google's "Flow" video tool, which turns your prompt into something between an ad and a fever dream. Alex talks loop group voice work on Predator: Killer of Killers, and Kevin explains why Eleven Labsβ new AI is scarily good at conversations. Also: red-tinted contact lenses that might give you night vision, Builders AI getting caught with 700 human coders, and a hot take on residuals from the streaming wars. Alex's kitchen remodel is still chaos, Kevin's skin is allegedly better, and yes, Apple is skipping straight to iOS 26. Because of course they are.
β±οΈ Timestamps:
00:00 Intro and Welcome
01:43 Kevin Discusses Recent Travel (NYC)
02:22 Sober Life Update (41 Days), Physical Effects Discussed
06:32 Diggnation 20th Anniversary Mention (July 1st)
07:41 Alex's New Mac Laptop Purchase (M4 Pro)
13:03 Alex Tries Mascot Harlan Wine
14:16 Kevin Shares Google's Flow AI Video Generation Experiments
24:30 Watching the "Plastic Baby" AI Video
28:00 Discussion of Flow Features (Continuity, Extending Scenes)
29:20 Alex Reveals He is In Predator: Killer of Killers
38:17 Streaming Royalties, SAG/AFTRA, and AI Impact
0:50:54 Apple's Reported Jump to iOS 26
0:55:41 Kevin Shows His New iPhone and Hard Graft Sleeve
0:59:45 Reflections on Aging, Time, and Pet Toaster
1:01:04 Antarctica Trip for Kevin's 50th?
1:03:19 Builder.AI Exposed for Using Human Engineers
1:06:53 Satirical Builder.AI AI Video
1:09:34 Bitcoin and Crypto Bro Kidnapping Story
1:13:17 11 Labs Conversational AI 2.0 Demo
1:23:18 Infrared Contact Lenses Development
1:27:05 Apple AirPods Hearing Aid Feature
1:28:22 Attempting Mouse Contact Lens AI Video
1:32:25 Closing Remarks, Continued Sobriety Reflections
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π° Top Stories:
Builders AI bankruptcy: https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/20/builders_ai_real_people/
Flow AI demo: https://ai.googleblog.com/2025/05/introducing-flow-google-video-generation
Infrared contact lens tech: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/night-vision-contact-lenses-infrared
Eleven Labs Conversational AI 2.0: https://elevenlabs.io/blog/conversational-ai-update
Apple skips to iOS 26: https://www.macrumors.com/2025/05/15/apple-ios26-2026-plan/
π€ People Mentioned:
Alex Albrecht β / alalbrecht
Kevin Rose β / kevinrose
Dan Trachtenberg β https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1502434/
Will Harlan β / willharlan
Alexis Ohanian β https://www.776.com/team/alexis-ohanian
Mauricio Balvanera β / maubrowncow
Heather (Alexβs wife) β still hates AirDrop
Betty White β timeless icon
Wim Hof β https://www.wimhofmethod.com/
Tim Ferriss β https://tim.blog/
ποΈ Products Mentioned:
Flow (Google AI tool) β https://ai.google/tools/flow/
Eleven Labs β https://elevenlabs.io/
Unreal Engine β https://www.unrealengine.com/
MacBook Pro Max β https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/
Mascot Harlan wine β https://www.harlanestate.com/mascot
Builder.AI β https://www.builder.ai/
AirPods Pro β https://amzn.to/3ZakGJV
Snapchat β https://www.snapchat.com/
FaceTime β https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204380
Kore Shorts (Vuori) β https://vuori.com/products/kore-short
Hard Graft β https://www.hardgraft.com/
Costco β https://www.costco.com/
Twitter β https://twitter.com/
Bitcoin β https://bitcoin.org/
π§ Follow Diggnation:
Apple Podcasts β https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/diggnation-rebooted/id1766027468
Spotify β https://open.spotify.com/show/0bzwpvUwHNLiGqlcTCBKJZ
Instagram β https://www.instagram.com/thediggnation
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