Apertus: The Open-Source AI Revolution

Welcome back to The FAIK Files!

In this week's episode:

• HexStrike - the AI-powered hacking tool that can exploit zero-day vulnerabilities in minutes instead of months
• Diverging expert opinions on AI consciousness and welfare
• Switzerland's ambitious new open-source AI model "Apertus"
• Taco Bell is experiencing indigestion after several embarrassing viral AI-powered drive-thru moments

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*** NOTES AND REFERENCES ***

HexStrike AI Hacking Tool:

• AI-News Story: https://www.artificialintelligence-news.com/news/ai-hacking-tool-exploits-zero-day-security-vulnerabilities-in-minutes/
• HexStrike Website: https://www.hexstrike.com
• HexStrike on Github: https://github.com/0x4m4/hexstrike-ai

Experts Express Diverging Opinions on AI Consciousness / Welfare:

• Anthropic says some Claude models can now end harmful or abusive conversations: https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/16/anthropic-says-some-claude-models-can-now-end-harmful-or-abusive-conversations/
• Seemingly conscious AI is coming: https://mustafa-suleyman.ai/seemingly-conscious-ai-is-coming
• Exploring Model Welfare (Anthropic): https://www.anthropic.com/research/exploring-model-welfare

Switzerland's New Fully-Open-Source Model "Apertus":

• Swiss-AI Homepage: https://www.swiss-ai.org/apertus
• Try it out: https://publicai.co/chat
• Engadget article: https://www.engadget.com/ai/switzerland-launches-its-own-open-source-ai-model-133051578.html
• Full technical report: https://github.com/swiss-ai/apertus-tech-report/blob/main/Apertus_Tech_Report.pdf

Taco Bell Rethinks AI Drive-Through After Man Orders 18,000 Waters:

• BBC article: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgyk2p55g8o
• TikTok video of the incident: https://www.tiktok.com/@nate.b.jones/video/7544958105654775071?_r=1&_t=ZP-8zQrExEYkf8
• The voice ordering provider: https://omilia.com/use-cases/quick-service-restaurants/
• Omilia's Taco Bell case study: https://omilia.com/ai-meets-the-drive-thru-taco-bells-journey-to-automated-customer-service/

*** THE BOILERPLATE ***

About The FAIK Files:

The FAIK Files is an offshoot project from Perry Carpenter's most recent book, FAIK: A Practical Guide to Living in a World of Deepfakes, Disinformation, and AI-Generated Deceptions.

• Get the Book: FAIK: A Practical Guide to Living in a World of Deepfakes, Disinformation, and AI-Generated Deceptions (Amazon Associates link)
• Check out the website for more info: https://thisbookisfaik.com

Check out Perry & Mason's other show, the Digital Folklore Podcast:

• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/digital-folklore/id1657374458
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2v1BelkrbSRSkHEP4cYffj?si=u4XTTY4pR4qEqh5zMNSVQA
• Other:

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Connect with Mason:

• Mason on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mason-amadeus-a853a7242/
• Mason on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/pregnantsonic.com

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