Quitting Booze, Quitting Alexa, and AI Tries to Replace Us All | E014 | Diggnation

170 snips

May 13, 2025

Kevin shares his journey 15 days into sobriety, tackling the challenges of socializing without alcohol. Meanwhile, Alex dives into 3D printing projects and automates his home, bidding farewell to smart speakers. Creative guest Jayci Hayes discusses her adventures with wildfires and launching a unique margarita brand. There's also intriguing talk about the role of AI in replacing creative jobs, as well as the need for ethical guidelines in tech. Plus, the hosts navigate exciting updates in app development and share insights on hydration and health tech.

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00:00 / 00:00

Kevin's Sobriety Journey

Kevin Rose shares his experience being 15 days sober and aiming for 90 days.
He describes the first 10 days as difficult with withdrawal symptoms.

00:00 / 00:00

Google Gemini AI Codes Games

Google's Gemini AI now codes entire games from simple text prompts in a one-shot process.
This marks substantial progress in AI-assisted programming and content creation.

00:00 / 00:00

AI as Conversation Partner

AI should serve as a partner handling mundane tasks, not replace human friendships.
Thoughtful AI can help moderate conversations and reduce toxic discourse.

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Kevin’s 15 days into sobriety, Alex is resin-printing door parts, and the Digg mobile app is quietly becoming a real thing.
This week, AI is either your creative assistant or the reason you need a new career—depending on how you feel about Marvel using bots for its opening credits.
Jayci Hayes joins with tales of heli-repelling wildfires, building GameCrib, working with Twitch in its early days, and launching a bottled margarita brand designed to protect citrus from UV light.
Also: Alex automates his home with Home Assistant (bye Echo), Apple finally loses its grip on in-app payments, and listener Graz emails in to offer custom Diggnation knives.
It’s a caffeine-fueled episode with actual emotional depth and at least one sincere conversation about electrolytes.

⏱️ Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:15 Kevin hits 15 days sober, skips red wine and Jack
07:19 Mascot wine list opens to listeners
08:41 Graz offers custom chef’s knives
10:46 Gemini AI codes games, Bolt builds apps
13:53 Kevin hits NYC, Alex sees plays
15:23 Sponsor: NordVPN
17:50 Made In Grill
20:59 Starlink camping + Amazon satellites
22:59 Digg app update + $115K raised
26:33 AI friends? Still weird
33:03 Reddit fights persuasive bots
39:33 Kevin goes all in on Home Assistant
41:48 Sponsor: LMNT
44:54 Guest: Jayci Hayes—fires, Twitch, margaritas
50:55 Runway AI makes an animated pilot
51:57 Will AI replace creatives?
1:03:04 Whoop 5.0 features + sleep guilt
1:11:27 Alex prints a custom spacer
1:19:06 Apple loses in-app payment fight

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📰 Top Stories:
Reddit tightens AI bot rules: https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/06/reddit-will-tighten-verification-to-keep-out-human-like-ai-bots
Runway launches AI pilot: https://variety.com/2025/artisans/news/runway-ai-studio-animated-pilot-mars-siv-1236381403
Whoop 5.0 release: https://www.theverge.com/news/661773/whoop-5-news-price-specs-battery
Apple ruling on in-app payments: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2025-05-02/ruling-apple-app-store-epic-games
Made In’s new grill: https://madeincookware.com/collections/grill-pans-and-griddles

👤 People Mentioned:
Alex Albrecht – https://www.linkedin.com/in/alalbrecht/
Kevin Rose – https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinrose
Justin Mezzell – https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-mezzell/
Mau Balvanera – https://www.linkedin.com/in/maubrowncow/
Will Harlan – https://www.linkedin.com/in/willharlan
John Graziano – https://grazmakes.com/about
Mike Mazer – https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikemaser/
Jayci Hayes – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaci-hays-5174a6/
Theo Vaughn – https://www.theovon.com/
Mark Zuckerberg – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Zuckerberg

🛍️ Products Mentioned:
Barebones Pulaski Axe - https://amzn.to/4iX08fj
Made In Grill – https://madeincookware.com/collections/grill-pans-and-griddles
Home Assistant – https://www.home-assistant.io/
Echo Devices – https://amzn.to/3ZakGJV
Eleven Labs – https://elevenlabs.io/
Plex – https://www.plex.tv/
Apple Watch – https://amzn.to/3YJNadz
Aura Ring – https://amzn.to/437ikNb
Whoop 5.0 – https://amzn.to/43dJi5O
Runway AI – https://runwayml.com/
Fusion 360 – https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360
Formlabs – https://formlabs.com/
Disney+ – https://www.disneyplus.com/
Secret Invasion – https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-4cfe6313-7f5e-4544-af84-d31bf718f65a
Photoshop – https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop.html
Kindle – https://amzn.to/3GPDnfP
Crucial Conversations – https://amzn.to/42Sz3VI

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Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/0bzwpvUwHNLiGqlcTCBKJZ
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