What Is AI?

The Chicago Bears are 7-2 after a mostly disastrous game on Monday night. And yet…they won! They won ugly—but they won! Rob and Patrick break down the rock fight that was Bears vs. Bucs and whether it casts omens for the rest of the season. Plus, are the Vikings screwed?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Please join us this Friday and Saturday for two days of streaming, as we raise money for the Immigrant Defenders Law Center! Back in podcast land, though, we gather to discourse about this week’s big discourse, aka learning 2026’s beloved Big Walk was, in part, made with AI. What are we supposed to do with this information? Is this a tipping point? Plus, Janet’s played Ocarina of Time for the first time, Patrick’s catching up with Wolverine, and Rob’s vampire-pilled.Links: IGF Jury Member Statement, House House Statement on their AI Use, Supper Mario Broth's Health Post , Playstation Cancels "Fairgames" from Haven Studios, Discussed: 00:00 - Intro9:33 - Group of IGF Jurists Make an Anti-AI statement, Big Walk Dev Discloses AI Use   1:16:46 - Supper Mario Broth shares health issues  1:24:38 - Playstation Cancels Fairgames, Marathon Announces Future Plans    1:32:46 - Wolverine   1:44:10 - Ocarina of Time   2:03:39 - Nighthawks   2:22:14: - Virtue and a Sledgehammer  2:24:48 - Master of Command2:32:29 - Outro and AnnouncementsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We joke about “the Bears being back” and “Super Bowl Super Bears,” but after the Bears went to Seattle and punched the Seahawks in the mouth, Rob and Patrick are left with only one option: hey, this team might be good? Like, really good? Like, actually a Super Bowl team?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The gang discuss the fate of Arkane, the onslaught of games and mods in the age of AI, and whether the election results spell trouble for AI and data centers. Then it’s time to talk the Ocarina of Time remake and (for some reason) Link’s moisture levels. Rob has been playing Ratline and has some thoughts about what makes a good mystery and the difference between theme being a flimsy frame or a load-bearing pillar. Then Patrick’s high on Hellraiser and it triggers some massive introspection about whether we can call it good.Links: Xbox's Arkane Studios attracts multiple bidders Including Ubisoft, Xbox is merging its Forza developers into a single studio, Itch.io Deletes "a Couple Terabytes of AI Slop" From Platform, Expands Generative AI Filtering,Discussed:00:00 - Intro04:06 - Arkane and the STJV Fighting Microsoft13:14 - Dan Greenwalt leaves Turn 1019:16 - The AI slop wave is here57:23 - Ocarina of Time Remake1:31:44 - The Ratline1:53:05 - Hellraiser Revival2:25:08 - Escape Academy 22:26:26 - Paranormasight2:28:40 - Marathon  2:29:30 - Outro and AnnouncementsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In a quest to better understand gaming’s AI moment, Patrick spends an hour with Dr. Luke Dicken, a former data scientist at Zynga and the eventual Director of Applied AI at Take-Two Interactive. Where did the underlying technology behind what is colloquially called "Generative AI" come from? Why do tech companies exaggerate what it’s capable of? What are the optimistic—and pessimistic—outcomes for game developers and players?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Chicago Bears played two games last week. And the Chicago frickin’ Bears won both of those games. Rob and Patrick find themselves in a strange place: already happy with the season and what it says about the future, deluding themselves into Super Bowl Super Bears, and already rationalizing how losing to the Seattle Seahawks doesn’t actually mean anything.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Bruno Dias joins the pod to talk about Nighthawks, Peter Molyneux's AI daydreams, and the scamminess or lack thereof of Star Citizen. Plus, Chia and Janet have been playing Virtue and a Sledgehammer and Over the Hill, while Rob has an old-school arcade racing game to tell you about.Links: Peter Molyneux speaks candidly about AI: 'We, as the industry, are pretending we're not using AI, but the reality is, it's almost impossible to code now without using AI'Discussed: 00:00 - Intro1:45 - Peter Monlyneux is unsurprisingly into AI48:18 - Nitehawks    1:09:34 - Over the Hill1:30:13 - Virtue and a Sledgehamer1:46:14 - IGF Previews1:53:03 - New Star GPSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Rob and Patrick can take a deep breath, because not only is Caleb Williams back, but he looked pretty darn good coming off a hamstring tear. Are the Bears back, though? For this week, yes, and we’ll take it. Plus, why exactly did the Philadelphia Eagles allow quarterback Jalen Hurts to play football when he hadn’t slept in more than 24 hours and was experiencing a blood clot?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s not entirely shocking, but BioWare has been shut down and the next Mass Effect has been cancelled. Plus, we’ve been exploring Steam Next Fest demos, opening Lament Configurations, and exploring a bunch of games, including Silver Pines and Well Dweller. Plus, we’ve got a Penguin Colony spoilercast and a review conversation with Rowan Kaiser about Galactic Racer.Links: EA Closes Bioware, AI Disclosure Extension for SteamDiscussed:00:00 - Intro06:45 - EA shutters Bioware39:40 - Star Wars Galactic Racer1:19:50 - Well Dweller1:36:09 - Silver Pines1:53:37 - Steam Next Fest Demos1:54:58 - Hell Wait2:06:00 - Haunted Paws2:13:17 - Hell Raiser Revival2:19:24 - Question Bucket03:30:52 - Penguin Colony   See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The death of Chicago sports (and pop culture) legend Mike Ditka. A Green Bay Packers team on the ropes. A Bears team favored to play in Wisconsin for the first time in decades. A moment to send an entire state into an existential crisis. So, naturally, the Bears played their worst football of the year and got their butts whooped. Rob and Patrick are here to podcast and cope.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.