#225 - GPT 5.1, Kimi K2 Thinking, Remote Labor Index

Our 225th episode with a summary and discussion of last week's big AI news!

Recorded on 11/16/2025

Hosted by Andrey Kurenkov and co-hosted by Michelle Lee

Feel free to email us your questions and feedback at contact@lastweekinai.com and/or hello@gladstone.ai

Read out our text newsletter and comment on the podcast at https://lastweekin.ai/

In this episode:

• New AI model releases include GPT-5.1 from OpenAI and Ernie 5.0 from Baidu, each with updated features and capabilities.
• Self-driving technology advancements from Baidu’s Apollo Go and Pony AI’s IPO highlight significant progress in the automotive sector.
• Startup funding updates include Incept taking $50M for diffusion models, while Cursor and Gamma secure significant valuations for coding and presentation tools respectively.
• AI-generated content is gaining traction with songs topping charts and new marketplaces for AI-generated voices, indicating evolving trends in synthetic media.

Timestamps:

• (00:01:19) News Preview
• Tools & Apps
• (00:02:13) OpenAI says the brand-new GPT-5.1 is ‘warmer’ and has more ‘personality’ options | The Verge
• (00:04:51) Baidu Unveils ERNIE 5.0 and a Series of AI Applications at Baidu World 2025, Ramps Up Global Push
• (00:07:00) ByteDance’s Volcano Engine debuts coding agent at $1.3 promo price
• (00:08:04) Google will let users call stores, browse products, and check out using AI | The Verge
• (00:10:41) Fei-Fei Li's World Labs speeds up the world model race with Marble, its first commercial product | TechCrunch
• (00:13:30) OpenAI says it's fixed ChatGPT's em dash problem | TechCrunch
• Applications & Business
• (00:16:01) Anthropic announces $50 billion data center plan | TechCrunch
• (00:18:06) Baidu teases next-gen AI training, inference accelerators • The Register
• (00:20:50) Meta chief AI scientist Yann LeCun plans to exit and launch own start-up
• (00:24:41)