From March 2023 to March 2024, this was a bonus episode of the show, available exclusively to our Patreon backers for one year. Want to get bonus episodes before everybody else? Support our show for just $1 a month!

This bonus episode is a way to say thanks for all your generosity and encouragement since we debuted on this day in 2019.

We’ve lived through a lot since then.

Some of it has been pretty bad, some of it has been pretty great.

Some of it… well, it could be a little of both.

Like the world of artificial intelligence.

The new AI tools can do some amazing stuff – and it can get things totally, completely wrong in the worst possible ways.

We decided to see what would happen if we put AI to work here, on our show.

I set up an account on ChatGPT and told the system to write an episode of the podcast Cool Weird Awesome.

I then plugged the script into my trial account of the program Descript, which created an AI version of my voice (though occasionally I’ve had to voice some words that the system wouldn’t generate for me).

Anyway, here’s what AI thinks this show sounds like!

…

Welcome to Cool Weird Awesome, the show that celebrates the strangeness in the world. I’m your host, Brady Carlson, and today, we’re going to take a look at some of the coolest and weirdest things happening around the world.

Today’s episode is all about amazing inventions that have changed the world. We’re going to take a look at some of the most bizarre and game-changing inventions that have ever been created.

Our first invention is the telephone. Imagine a world without phones! Back in 1876, Alexander Graham Bell invented the first telephone, which allowed people to communicate with each other over long distances. Can you imagine a world without phones? I can’t!

Our next invention is the airplane. The Wright Brothers are credited with inventing the first airplane in 1903. Before the invention of airplanes, traveling long distances was a real struggle. But thanks to the Wright Brothers, we can now fly to almost any part of the world in just a matter of hours.

Our next invention is one that we take for granted every day – the light bulb. In 1879, Thomas Edison invented the first practical incandescent light bulb. Before the invention of light bulbs, people had to rely on candles and gas lamps to light their homes. Can you imagine living in a world without electric lights?

Our final invention is one that’s changed the way we live our lives forever – the internet. In the 1960s, the United States Department of Defense created a network called ARPANET, which was the precursor to the internet we know today. The internet has revolutionized the way we communicate, learn, and work.

So there you have it, folks. Four amazing inventions that have changed the world forever. Without the telephone, the airplane, the light bulb, and the internet, our lives would be very different. I hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Cool Weird Awesome. Tune in next time for more weird and wonderful stories from around the world.