Is Avocado… Toast? - Tech Brew Ride Home Recap

Podcast: Tech Brew Ride Home

Published: 2026-03-13

Duration: 21 min

Summary

Meta's delayed AI model, Avocado, faces performance issues compared to competitors. The social media addiction trial nears conclusion, and video apps increasingly resemble each other with AI-driven features.

What Happened

Meta's ambitious new AI model, Avocado, has been delayed due to underperformance compared to rivals like Google's Gemini 3.0. This setback comes despite significant investments in AI, including a $4.3 billion stake in Scale AI. Meta aims to catch up by possibly licensing Google's AI model temporarily while re-evaluating its AI strategy.

The social media addiction trial in Los Angeles is concluding, with a case that could influence thousands of similar lawsuits. The trial involves a plaintiff who claims her mental health was negatively impacted by early social media use. Meta and YouTube argue that pre-existing conditions were the primary cause of her issues, not their platforms.

Peacock's app is evolving to resemble TikTok, introducing AI-curated playlists narrated by an AI avatar of Andy Cohen. This new feature, called Your Bravo Verse, personalizes content by pulling from extensive Bravo TV archives, aiming to engage users with AI-driven narrative experiences.

Disney Plus is also jumping into the vertical video trend with its new feature, Verts, designed to boost engagement by showcasing short clips from its vast content library. This feature aims to attract mobile-first viewers and increase content discovery on the platform.

The episode touches on a long-read discussing how the iPhone, rather than ATMs, led to a significant decline in bank teller jobs by enabling mobile banking. This highlights how technological shifts can redefine job landscapes and productivity paradigms.

The discussion also includes a reflection on AI's potential impact on jobs, suggesting that AI's real productivity gains will come from creating new workflows rather than slotting into existing ones. The episode questions the long-term implications of AI on human labor and productivity.

Key Insights