In this episode of AI-Curious, we dive into the strange, sticky, and sometimes surprisingly emotional world of AI romantic partners.

We’re joined by author and historian Jennifer Wright, who recently wrote a sharp op-ed for The Washington Post titled “Please Break Up With Your AI Lover.” While millions are already turning to AI bots for companionship, Jennifer makes a compelling case for why this trend—though rooted in real loneliness—could be deeply damaging to our ability to connect, to grow, to give love.

We unpack:

• The surface problems of AI boyfriends/girlfriends, from poor memory to the illusion of affection
• Why constant flattery from bots may feel good—but ultimately erodes something essential in real relationships
• The importance of sacrifice, caregiving, and challenge in human connection
• Whether AI companions, even with future upgrades, can ever replicate the messy magic of real love
• What AI fiction gets wrong—and why most AI-generated stories are (still) terrible
• Her take on AI and historical accuracy, and the troubling implications of getting facts wrong at scale
• Why creativity matters even when the output is bad—and what we lose when we outsource it

Plus, Jennifer gives us a preview of her next book about America’s Gilded Age, and we swap war stories about terrible first novels, romantic relationships, and the puppy-induced joys of caretaking.

Let’s get curious.

Links from this episode:

• Jennifer Wright’s Washington Post op-ed: Please Break Up With Your AI Lover
• Jennifer’s latest book: Madame Restell: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Old New York’s Most Fabulous, Fearless, and Infamous Abortionist
• Jennifer’s upcoming book: Glitz, Glam, and a Damn Good Time: How Mamie Fish, Queen of the Gilded Age, Partied Her Way to Power.

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In this episode of AI-Curious, we explore a side of AI that rarely gets the spotlight: Large Geospatial Models (LGMs). You’ve heard of LLMs — now meet their real-world counterpart. LGMs could power everything from autonomous vehicles and urban planning to smarter first-response systems and industrial logistics.

We speak with Bill Lakeland, CEO of Spexi, a company building a decentralized fleet of self-flying drones that are actively mapping the planet — one 25-acre hex at a time. We dig into how these drones collect fresh, high-res data; how that data is authenticated and standardized; and how it could enable a new generation of real-world AI applications.

Along the way, we discuss:

• (5:00) What LGMs are, and how they differ from LLMs

• (13:07) Why real-time geospatial data is crucial for first responders

• (20:33) How drones fit into the LGM landscape

• (25:12) How Spexi’s autonomous drone “specxagons” work

• (31:43) Why their aerial data is 900x more detailed than Google Earth

• (36:26) How they’re addressing privacy, regulation, and standardization

• (40:02) What happens after the footage is collected — and how it’s turned into insights

• (45:35) The future integration of LGMs and LLMs

• (48:00) Speculative futures: how LGMs could change everyday life

If you’re curious about AI in the physical world — not just on screens — this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.

Spexi:

https://www.spexi.com/

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In this episode of AI-Curious, we speak with Sarah Franklin, CEO of Lattice and former CMO of Salesforce, about how business leaders are adapting to the rapid rise of AI in the workplace. We explore what it means to lead during a time of disruption, how AI agents and digital workers are already being deployed across organizations, and why the biggest challenge is often not the tech—but the mindset.

Sarah shares her perspective on where AI is delivering real value today, from HR to sales to internal knowledge management, and she offers a candid take on how leaders can navigate change while maintaining trust, transparency, and human-centric values.

We also dive into the future: digital twins, avatar-led meetings, and what it might mean to lead a team that includes both humans and AI agents.

TOPICS & TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Why we’re still early in understanding AI leadership

02:42 – Why past tech shifts (like cloud and mobile) don’t compare to AI

05:51 – Lattice’s mission and how AI fits into the HR stack

09:38 – Are AI agents real or still theoretical?

14:21 – Where AI agents are being used today (sales, service, HR)

20:02 – Digital twins and what leadership looks like with AI teammates

26:28 – How to address employee anxiety about AI and job security

30:19 – Sarah’s favorite personal and professional use cases for AI

34:59 – Prompting frameworks and why specificity matters

38:43 – A forecast for the future of AI and HR

Lattice

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https://www.youtube.com/@jeffwilser