Welcome back to Zero Shot, The Ken’s weekly discussion where Brady, Praveen, and Rohin go beyond the headlines to probe the major shake-ups in artificial intelligence.
This week, Brady notices how media producers and creators emphasising how their work is “made by humans”. This type of disclaimer looks like the beginning of a bifurcation of content into AI-generated output and “handcrafted” media. Take a few steps further and there are consequences for education, contractual agreements, and legal disputes.
Rohin looked at Perplexity’s snapback after Amazon sued it over making agentic shopping available via the Comet browser, enabling automation that places orders on behalf of users. For consumers, the question to consider is: would you hand over your credentials to an AI agent and let it represent you, while you shoulder all legal liability for its actions?
Finally, Praveen presented AI’s first major use case in the Global South. Tools and platforms such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Adalat AI are speeding up research, stenography, and other tasks in the legal arena, making it possible for court proceedings to move faster. India isn’t alone in this; court systems in other parts of the world such as Brazil and China are using artificial intelligence in their own ways too.
Zero Shot’s cover art is generated using AI. Everything else is made by humans.
We appreciate your critiques, suggestions, and ideas. Send them to zeroshot@the-ken.com, or write in just to say hi.
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Additional Reading
Pluribus: “This show was made by humans”
https://bsky.app/profile/thespaceshipper.com/post/3m54is34d5c2l
Rosalía on Lux: “It’s all human—very much human”
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/arts/music/rosalia-lux-interview.html
This year’s Coca-Cola holiday ad exposes one of the biggest problems with AI-generated video
https://www.businessinsider.com/coca-cola-ai-holiday-ad-glitches-highlight-ai-shortcomings-2025-11
Chinese court again rules AI-generated images are eligible for copyright protection
https://www.chinaiplawupdate.com/2025/03/chinese-court-again-rules-there-is-copyright-in-ai-generated-images/
Bullying is not innovation
https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/bullying-is-not-innovation
Norway tests show Chinese-made electric buses can be halted remotely by manufacturer
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/norway-tests-chinese-made-electric-bus-yutong-halted-remotely-5448366
4,000 Indian courts have done away with typing. An AI revolution is on
https://theprint.in/ground-reports/4000-indian-courts-have-done-away-with-typing-an-ai-revolution-is-on/2770297/
Petition in Supreme Court says GenAI in judiciary may lead to fake case laws
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/petition-in-supreme-court-says-genai-in-judiciary-may-cause-hallucinations-lead-to-fake-case-laws/article70262821.ece
Welcome back to Zero Shot, The Ken’s weekly podcast where Brady, Praveen, and Rohin riff off each other’s commentary about the big ideas and latest developments in artificial intelligence.
This week, Praveen covers the accomplishments of Xania Monet, the first AI-powered artist to debut on an airplay chart. Xania is among at least six AI artists to be included on Billboard rankings, and she’s the creation of a real-life songwriter who used Suno (and human assistance) to create her songs. Find out what this means for the streaming business and creative expression.
Brady explains how the dominance of the Magnificent 7—Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla—in the current stock market echoes the Nifty Fifty on the New York Stock Exchange in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Spoiler alert: it didn’t end well for those firms half a century ago. Whether you believe there’s currently an AI bubble, it’s still worth knowing what happened before.
Finally, Rohin posits that Big AI is in its “zero f***s given” era. Investment in private AI companies is now being framed as “play or lose”. Opting out is stigmatised. The consequences could be severe.
Plus: Send us your setup for a long/short strategy as a skeptical investor who is hedging against the AI bubble popping. We’ll feature the interesting, unexpected, counterintuitive ideas in the next episode.
The content of this podcast is not investment advice. Always do your own research.
Share your critiques, suggestions, and ideas, or just say hi by dropping a note at zeroshot@the-ken.com. If you’d like to sponsor Zero Shot, let’s talk.
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Additional Reading & Listening
How many AI artists have debuted on Billboard’s charts?
https://www.billboard.com/lists/ai-artists-on-billboard-charts/
“How Was I Supposed to Know?” by Xania Monet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opuDZYJuAz0
Ways of Seeing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ways_of_Seeing
What is “involution”, China's race-to-the-bottom competition trend?
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/what-is-involution-chinas-race-to-the-bottom-competition-trend-2025-09-14/
Sam Altman shuts down question about how OpenAI can commit to spending $1.4 trillion while earning billions: 'Enough'
https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-defends-openai-trillion-spending-2025-11
How OpenAI uses complex and circular deals to fuels its multibillion-dollar rise
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/10/31/technology/openai-fundraising-deals.html
Join Brady Ng, Praveen Gopal Krishnan, and Rohin Dharmakumar of The Ken as they discuss the big ideas in artificial intelligence. You’ll get the macro view, explore their experiments in practical applications, go deeper than the news coverage you’ve seen, and hear about the implications of the latest developments. Nothing is off the table.