In Episode 14 of SouthGeek News, Donovan, Ben, and guest host Sam Lewis return with a low-energy but content-packed discussion on recent tech happenings and personal adventures. Donovan opens with an update on the podcast’s move from Substack to Spreaker, triggered by a frustrating account suspension that Substack blamed on a false spam flag. An accidental annual payment to Spreaker sealed the deal, and now all of Donovan's podcasts—including Call Me Donovan and Tifton Talks—are hosted there, complete with dynamic ad insertion. Sam brings the gaming spotlight with a deep dive into
inZOI, a new hyper-realistic life sim game positioned as a potential “Sims killer.” He breaks down the character customization, AI-generated textures, and a wild 3D scanning feature that lets users bring real-world objects into the game. While promising, Sam notes it lacks the whimsy that made The Sims a cultural hit. AI takes center stage again as the crew talks about ChatGPT’s massive revenue growth—$415 million a month and counting—and its expanding capabilities in image generation, video, and more. They test out creating strange image prompts (like an alien humanoid centipede in a space suit) and joke about how powerful and unsettling the AI is becoming. Ben also shares his experiments using AI to auto-generate prompts and notes the surreal ease of working with such tools. In other tech news, Amazon is rolling out Nova Act, an AI agent designed to control browsers and perform basic web tasks like making reservations—an effort to catch up to OpenAI and Anthropic, ironically both companies Amazon also invests in. Meanwhile, Microsoft is doubling down on requiring users to sign into Windows 11 with a Microsoft account, removing the popular “bypass NRO” command from upcoming builds—a move the team sees as another step toward locking down user control. Security concerns arise around Google Chrome’s password manager as researchers demonstrate how AI can now generate malware capable of stealing credentials, even without any coding experience. The group strongly advises against saving passwords in browsers and recommends Bitwarden or other secure managers. The episode also touches on Apple TV+ bleeding over $1 billion annually despite its subscriber base, and the hosts debate shows like Severance. As if to cap the vibe, a thunderstorm knocks out Ben’s power mid-recording, leaving him running on battery backup, which only adds to the show’s chill, improvised tone. From podcast platform migrations and image-generating AIs to operating system annoyances and centipedes in space suits, this episode proves that even when the energy is low, the geek content stays strong.
ChatGPT generated images discussed in the show
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