The 'AI is inevitable' trap

The 'AI is inevitable' trap

From The Vergecast by The Verge

April 17, 2026 · 1h 32m

About this episode

The episode discusses the current state of AI, the absurdity of Allbirds' pivot to AI, and the implications of monopolies in the ticketing industry.

The AI vibes continue to find all-time lows. David and Nilay open the show by talking through the absurd Allbirds pivot to AI, the attacks on Sam Altman, and the increasing divide between what AI companies say is inevitable and what people actually want. Then, the Hype Desk crew talks Coachella and RAMageddon, before David and Nilay catch up on the Live Nation-Ticketmaster monopoly suit and the increasing price of everything. In the lightning round, it's time for Brendan Carr is a dummy, satellite internet, brain-computer interfaces, and the Trump Phone. Further reading: Allbirds announced a switch from shoes to AI and its stock jumped 600 percent The Allbirds pivot to… meme stock? The attacks on Sam Altman are a warning for the AI world Sam Altman reportedly targeted in second attack Altman attack suspect proposed “Luigi’ing some tech CEOs.” Stanford’s AI study NYT: Half of Gen Z Uses AI, but Their Feelings Are Souring, Study Shows Reese Witherspoon on Threads on AI Ticketmaster is an illegal monopoly, jury finds A jury is about to decide the fate of Ticketmaster Microsoft counters the MacBook Neo with freebies for students YouTube Premium is getting pricier RAMageddon has come…

People in this episode

Hosts: David, Nilay

Topics covered

  • AI
  • technology trends
  • monopolies
  • ticketing industry
  • market dynamics
  • brain-computer interfaces

Keywords

  • AI
  • Allbirds
  • Sam Altman
  • Ticketmaster
  • Live Nation
  • RAMageddon
  • brain-computer interfaces
  • Gen Z
  • Microsoft
  • Meta

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Allbirds, Live Nation, Ticketmaster, Microsoft, Meta, Stanford

Products: Quest 3

Places: Gen Z

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