Mere Mortals Conversations Intention Is All That Matters | Every Day Use Of AI Agents
Dec 28, 2025
01:20:36
We're expanding out from an AI blog into the real world. Also had some issues with the audio this episode so I'm working from the backup copy (that was super loud for some reason).
In Episode #507 of 'Meanderings', Juan & I discuss: the shift from attention to intention in the AI era, what truly agentic AI might look like versus glorified chatbots and automated workflows, where the tech is actually useful right now, whether the real breakthroughs will come from bolt-ons to existing platforms or from new rails built natively for agents, testing jailbreak games, microtransactions and betting on an AI Monopoly, job market dislocations, new forms of basic services and the rise of agent-first marketplaces.
Huge thanks to Petar for the baller boost this week, the beanie is back!
Stan Link: https://stan.store/meremortals
Timeline:
(00:00:00) Intro
(00:01:20) Agentic AI: what it is and what it is not
(00:06:08) Hands-on agents: calls, purchases and speed trade-offs
(00:10:54) Agents vs automated workflows: real differences
(00:15:06) Trust, bugs and the need for human verification
(00:20:04) The Intent Economy article: key takeaways
(00:27:59) Legacy rails vs new rails: why 2026 may surprise
(00:31:05) Slow to sudden shifts: adopting AI-first systems
(00:34:16) Content for AIs, not humans: a paradigm shift
(00:39:11) Bootstragram Lounge
(00:43:06) Daily use-cases: new profiles, payments and x402
(00:49:20) Model guardrails vs open models: practical lessons
(00:53:17) Spinning up a podcast agent: limitations revealed
(00:57:47) Intent drift: when your goals change mid-stream
(1:00:12) Human relationships, agents and future norms
(01:06:36) Free money? x402 Monopoly and betting agents
(01:12:32) When rules break: brittleness of current agents
(01:15:00) Keeping up: daily AI briefs and real-world inertia
(01:19:59) Wrap-up
In Episode #507 of 'Meanderings', Juan & I discuss: the shift from attention to intention in the AI era, what truly agentic AI might look like versus glorified chatbots and automated workflows, where the tech is actually useful right now, whether the real breakthroughs will come from bolt-ons to existing platforms or from new rails built natively for agents, testing jailbreak games, microtransactions and betting on an AI Monopoly, job market dislocations, new forms of basic services and the rise of agent-first marketplaces.
Huge thanks to Petar for the baller boost this week, the beanie is back!
Stan Link: https://stan.store/meremortals
Timeline:
(00:00:00) Intro
(00:01:20) Agentic AI: what it is and what it is not
(00:06:08) Hands-on agents: calls, purchases and speed trade-offs
(00:10:54) Agents vs automated workflows: real differences
(00:15:06) Trust, bugs and the need for human verification
(00:20:04) The Intent Economy article: key takeaways
(00:27:59) Legacy rails vs new rails: why 2026 may surprise
(00:31:05) Slow to sudden shifts: adopting AI-first systems
(00:34:16) Content for AIs, not humans: a paradigm shift
(00:39:11) Bootstragram Lounge
(00:43:06) Daily use-cases: new profiles, payments and x402
(00:49:20) Model guardrails vs open models: practical lessons
(00:53:17) Spinning up a podcast agent: limitations revealed
(00:57:47) Intent drift: when your goals change mid-stream
(1:00:12) Human relationships, agents and future norms
(01:06:36) Free money? x402 Monopoly and betting agents
(01:12:32) When rules break: brittleness of current agents
(01:15:00) Keeping up: daily AI briefs and real-world inertia
(01:19:59) Wrap-up
Connect with Mere Mortals:
Website: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/
Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReU
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/meremortalspods
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcasts/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meremortalspodcasts
Value 4 Value Support:
Boostagram: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/support
Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/meremortalspodcast