E281: AI That Thinks… and Acts? (Plus Rockets, Religion & Reality)
From Small Town Scuttlebutt by Rick Fink & Liz Daly
April 2, 2026 · 1h 11m · Episode 281
About this episode
The episode discusses the Artemis II launch, AI technology with guest Pablo Gazmuri, and explores philosophical questions about existence.
We kick things off by tipping our cap to NASA for the successful Artemis II launch—yes, including finally fixing the onboard toilet (progress comes in many forms). From there, we zoom out on why space exploration still matters, then get into the wild realities of launch: the speeds required to escape Earth’s atmosphere and the G-forces astronauts endure just to get there. Then Pablo Gazmuri returns—AI Healthcare Technology Leader at Microsoft—to bring us up to speed on what’s actually happening in AI right now. He explains OpenClaw, an emerging platform that doesn’t just generate answers like ChatGPT—it can actually execute tasks and take action for you. So the real question becomes: should you be putting something like this on your computer today? We break down the pros, cons, and real-world implications of the latest tech—without the hype, without the fear-mongering. Then things take a turn (as they do) into bigger territory: science, religion, and philosophy. What are we? Why are we here? And what’s waiting on the other side? A little existential… a lot practical… and plenty of laughs along the way. Special thanks to our esteemed sponsors, Perez Martial Arts and Winslow Design.
People in this episode
Hosts: Rick Fink, Liz Daly
Guest: Pablo Gazmuri
Topics covered
- AI technology
- space exploration
- philosophy
- science
- religion
- comedy
Keywords
- AI
- space exploration
- Artemis II
- OpenClaw
- philosophy
- NASA
- Pablo Gazmuri
Sponsors
Perez Martial Arts, Winslow Design
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: NASA, Microsoft
Products: OpenClaw
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