Last Week in AI #225 - GPT 5.1, Kimi K2 Thinking, Remote Labor Index
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Nov 21, 2025 
Michelle Lee, founder and CEO of a company creating physical AI scientists, joins to dive into the latest in AI tech. They discuss the arrival of GPT-5.1, which boasts a warmer personality, and Baidu's ambitious Ernie 5.0 and Apollo Go developments. The duo explores the boom in AI-generated music that is topping charts and the launch of voice marketplaces for iconic voices. They also highlight advancements in remote labor and implications for automation in the workforce, plus a peek at Kimi K2 Thinking's innovative tool-use model.
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Models With Personality Presets
- OpenAI released GPT-5.1 with personality presets to make models feel "warmer" and more customizable.
- Andrey Kurenkov notes this targets both productivity users and casual conversational users with varied preferences.
Baidu's Broad Robotaxi Expansion
- Baidu launched Ernie 5.0 and expanded Apollo Go robotaxi operations to many cities and millions of rides.
- Michelle Lee and Andrey highlight China's rapid deployment compared with Western robotaxi rollouts.
Use Low Intro Pricing To Win Users
- ByteDance priced its Volcano Engine coding agent very low to attract users with an initial $1.3 promo month.
- Consider trial pricing to drive adoption against established coding tools, as Andrey observed.