Go To The Discotech & Dance

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: Go To The Discotech & Dance
Date: January 21, 2026
Host: iHeartPodcasts

---

Episode Overview

In this episode, Armstrong & Getty deliver their trademark mix of satirical news analysis, banter, and candid commentary. The main focus is Donald Trump’s controversial statements about U.S. interests in Greenland, including his claims of military superiority, musings about acquiring Greenland, and his eventual assurance that no force will be used. Other major topics include the rapid acceleration of AI technology and its societal implications, debates about extending the NFL season, and political sidebars touching on Democratic party dynamics.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump, Greenland, and American Power

• Introductory Satire: The hosts kick off with a satirical take on post-WWII American bravado, riffing on Trump’s reported remarks to European leaders.

  • Notable Quote [01:15]:
    “That is straight out of like a parody movie from yesteryear that some American would say something like that in Europe.” – Joe Getty

• Greenland Comments at Davos: Trump’s narratives around U.S. power, Greenland’s strategic value, and reflections on WWII-era events.

  • Trump: “No nation or group of nations is in any position to be able to secure Greenland other than the United States, we're a great power. Much greater than people even understand.” [02:36]
  • Hosts joke about the U.S. having the right to keep occupied territories after WWII, highlighting the absurdity with mock imperial ambitions.
  • Notable Quote [04:13]:
    “Would that apply to France and Belgium...? I mean, North Africa. The scenery, the wine, everything. Yeah, that's. That's an interesting attitude.” – Joe Getty

• Trump's Military Boasting:

  • Claims of new, secret weapons used in Venezuela creating defense system failures.
  • Hosts speculate whether Trump refers to “brain scrambler” technology or power grid shutdowns.
  • Notable Quote [05:46]:
    “So there's the President saying out loud we used some sort of new weapon that isn't regularly talked about. I guess.” – Michael

2. The Greenland "Negotiation" and Use of Force

• Acquisition Rhetoric: Trump proposes “immediate negotiations” for the “acquisition of Greenland,” referencing historical conquests.

  • Trump: “It's the United States alone that can protect this giant mass of land, this giant piece of ice, develop it and improve it...that's the reason I'm seeking immediate negotiations to once again discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States.” [06:33]
  • Notable Quote [07:19]:
    “So a new age of conquest. Is that what he's—settler colonialism. I hate to make the idiot lefties right?” – Joe Getty

• Reassuring No Force Will Be Used: Trump insists he won't use military force, but the buildup raises tensions.

  • Trump: “Probably won't get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force where we would be, frankly, unstoppable. But I won't do that. Okay. Now everyone's saying, oh, good. That's probably the biggest statement I made because people thought I would use force...” [07:50]
  • Hosts wonder if this assurance was spontaneous.
  • Notable Quote [09:13]:
    “Was he ad libbing there at the end, though? ...Did he start the speech with the intention of saying that and...decided to say that? I don't know.” – Michael

• Comic Relief: The hosts mock the idea of themselves being sent to defend Greenland, referencing draft worries and their lack of military qualifications. [10:14–11:01]

3. AI: The Acceleration and Singularity

• Elon Musk’s Claims:

  • Musk asserts, “We are in the singularity. We are at the top of the roller coaster and we are about to go down...I think we'll hit AGI next year or this year, 2026.” [20:13]
  • Hosts summarize the concept of the singularity—AI “improving itself recursively” and transforming civilization rapidly.
  • Notable Quote [21:48]:
    “It teaches itself to do something, then learns from what it taught itself and no humans involved. At that point, it just is off to the races...” – Michael

• Analogy and Acceleration:

  • The rapid change is compared to compressing the industrial revolution into a minute.
  • Notable Quote [23:01]:
    “It’d be like living through the agricultural revolution or the industrial revolution if it were compressed into like a minute.” – Michael

• Socioeconomic Impact:

  • Speculation on universal basic/high income; skepticism about mechanisms.
  • Notable Quote [26:58]:
    “We're all going to be 1 percenters.” – Michael
  • Hosts question, “Who enforces this? What does the interim period look like before AI ‘saves’ us?” [27:27]
  • Acknowledgement that the current likeliest outcome is even greater wealth concentration and mass unemployment.

4. NFL Season Extension Debate

• NFL Owner Wants 18 Games:
  • Robert Kraft proposes adding a game to the regular season, cutting preseason.
  • Discussion about what makes NFL relevant; skepticism about player health and making the sport more global.
  • Notable Quote [19:15]:
    “That is a stark statement of its importance.” – Joe Getty (on NFL shows dominating U.S. TV ratings)

5. Democratic Politics & Identity

• Josh Shapiro & Kamala Harris Memoir:

  • Insights into the vetting process; Shapiro reportedly asked if he was an Israeli agent because of his Jewish heritage; the hosts lampoon the misplaced suspicion.
  • Notable Quotes:
    • “Had I been a double agent for Israel, was she kidding? I told her how offensive the question was.” – Michael [14:34]
    • “That makes it really sound like they were overly suspicious about a Jewish running mate.” – Michael [15:02]

• Campaign Dynamics: Reflection on why Shapiro and Harris’s political moments were “over too soon” and the left’s internal debates over Israel/Hamas.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Absurdity of American Hubris:
  “That is straight out of like a parody movie from yesteryear that some American would say something like that in Europe.” – Joe Getty [01:15]

• On Trump's Conquest Rhetoric:
  “A new age of conquest. Is that what he's—settler colonialism. I hate to make the idiot lefties right?” – Joe Getty [07:19]

• On Jobless AI Future:
  "The current concentration of wealth in a few hands will look like, you know, communism in five years." – Joe Getty [31:28]

• On the Coming Singularity:
  “It teaches itself to do something, then learns from what it taught itself and no humans involved. At that point, it just is off to the races.” – Michael [21:48]

---

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:58] Trump’s post-WWII bravado and “you’d be speaking German” riff begins
• [02:36] Trump on Greenland, WWII occupation, and U.S. military power
• [05:46] Hosts discuss “secret weapons” and the Venezuela operation
• [06:33] Trump’s call for Greenland acquisition negotiations
• [07:50] Trump’s assurance not to use force to acquire Greenland
• [10:14] Draft anxieties and comic riff on defending Greenland
• [13:05] Shapiro’s Israel/VP vetting controversy
• [20:13] Elon Musk’s “singularity” comments and AI speed
• [24:35] Musk’s ambitions with SpaceX and AI data centers
• [26:58] Universal high income skepticism
• [31:08] Hosts predict likely near-term AI outcomes: layoffs, no universal income
• [33:32] Hosts reflect on Trump’s foreign policy and economic legacy

---

Tone & Style

The podcast maintains Armstrong & Getty’s signature blend of irreverent humor, skepticism, and occasionally biting political satire. The style is conversational, mixing researched observations with off-the-cuff banter and deadpan mockery. The group leavens heavy topics—like the singularity or U.S. imperialism—with jokes, quips, and self-deprecating asides.

---

Summary Takeaway

This episode offers a sharp, comedic, and provocative dissection of major current events—chiefly Trump’s Greenland gambit and the looming reality of advanced AI—punctuated by wry skepticism about both political and technological utopianism. Listeners get both timely analysis and a sense of the hosts’ own incredulity at the “insane times” in which we live.

Transcript

[Jack Armstrong]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Joe Getty]

Guaranteed Human.

[Commercial Announcer]

Mylo's Pro Rewards members go big during Pro Savings Days at Lowe's. Buy more and save more with up to 20% off job site essentials like primed finger joint boards when you spend $3000 or more plus get up to 25% off PVC DWV pipes when you spend $250 or more. Shop Pro Savings Days at Lowe's. We help you Save. Valid through 123. Selection varies by location while supplies last loyalty program. Subject to terms and conditions. Visit Lowe's Terms for details. Subject to change.

[Michael]

Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln Radio studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center.

[Joe Getty]

Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty. Armstrong and Getty and now he Armstrong and Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

And then after the war, which we won, we won it big. Without us right now, you'd all be speaking German and little Japanese.

[Michael]

Perhaps that's an interesting thing for the President of the United States to say to European leaders. If it weren't for us, you'd be speaking German.

[Joe Getty]

That is straight out of like a parody movie from yesteryear that some American would say something like that in Europe. That's out of a comedy by the way.

[Michael]

Let me say it again just because I can't get it out of my mind. I watched the movie Fury over the weekend. This is a 10 year old movie so I'm like dozen year old movie. I'd never seen it. Brad Pitt, tank commander April 45, end of World War II. Like when the Germans are really fighting to the last. Whoa, that is some real life. This is what war is like movie if you, if you want that flavor. And it's from everything I've read pretty accurate, I mean about the end of World War II. But I mean it's if you've got a, a fanciful view of like you know what it's like to be a hero and it's just gruesome. War is, war is awful. Just awful even when you win. But man, I couldn't recommend that movie more highly if you like that sort of thing. Anywho, to actually come out 80 some years later, say you'd be speaking German if it wasn't for us is a hell of a flex.

[Joe Getty]

Yes. So obviously Greenland and the idea of America snatching Greenland is on everybody's mind and so Trump stood up at Davos and addressed that directly. We'll start with Admichael.

[Jack Armstrong]

And the fact is no nation or group of nations is in any position to be able to secure Greenland other than the United States, we're a great power. Much greater than people even understand. I think they found that out two weeks ago in Venezuela. We saw this in World War II when Denmark fell to Germany after just six hours of fighting and was totally unable to defend either itself or Greenland. So the United States was then compelled. We did it. We felt an obligation to do it. To send our own forces to hold the Greenland territory. And hold it we did, at great cost and expense. They didn't have a chance of getting on it and they tried. Denmark knows that you got rolled by.

[Michael]

The Nazis once you Dane, so don't be talking tough.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. Yeah, we can put as many bases there as we want. But he went on 82.

[Jack Armstrong]

Michael, after the war, we gave Greenland back to Denmark. How stupid were we to do that? But we did it. But we gave it back. But how ungrateful are they now? Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Okay. Okay. All right, you're. Jack's not going to say it, so I'll say it. The idea that the. The territory of our allies that we occupied to fight the Nazis were then by rights ours and we should have kept them is horrific.

[Michael]

Well, would that.

[Joe Getty]

Absolutely horrific.

[Michael]

Would that apply to France and Belgium and wherever country we went into it?

[Joe Getty]

And a good chunk of Germany and Spain, then Italy and the rest of it. Italy, it'd be nice. I mean, North Africa. The scenery, the, you know, the wine, everything. Yeah, that's. That's an interesting attitude. Yeah. Huh. Okay. Okay, let's see. And then. Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow.

[Michael]

We were there fighting the Nazis. And then once the Nazis are defeated.

[Joe Getty]

We'Re just gonna stay here. This is ours now. You should have defended yourselves. Yeah. Interesting. Again, a unique foreign policy idea from the Current American President. 83.

[Michael]

Michael.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, this one, he. Well, go ahead. Go. Just play it.

[Jack Armstrong]

So now our country and the world face much greater risks than it did ever before. Because of missiles, because of nuclear. Because of weapons of warfare that I can't even talk about. Two weeks ago, they saw weapons that nobody ever heard of. They weren't able to fire one shot at us. They said, what happened? Everything was discombobulated. They said, we've got them in our sights. Press the trigger. And nothing happened. No anti aircraft missiles went up. There was one that went up about 30ft and crashed down right next to the people that sent it. They said, what the hell is going on? Those, Those defensive systems were made by Russia and by China. So they're going to go back to the drawing boards, I guess.

[Michael]

Well, that's pretty interesting for those of us who've been wondering how we pulled off the Snatch and Maduro thing. So there's the President saying out loud we used some sort of new weapon that isn't regularly talked about. I guess.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I think probably the. The evildoers around the planet noticed that he wasn't giving anything away. I hadn't heard anybody put that specific. Was he talking about the description to it?

[Michael]

Was he talking about the old brain scrambler ray that we know we used, or is this just like shutting off the power and everything?

[Joe Getty]

A brain scrambler and shutting off the power wouldn't cause a missile to go up 200ft, then fall to the earth. Right. So there's something else going on. And then we'll skip 84 and just end with 85.

[Jack Armstrong]

Michael, it's the United States alone that can protect this giant mass of land, this giant piece of ice, develop it and improve it, and make it so that it's good for Europe and safe for Europe and good for us. And that's the reason I'm seeking immediate negotiations to once again discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States. Just as we have acquired many other territories throughout our history, as many of the European nations have. They've acquired. There's nothing wrong with it. Many of them, Some went in reverse, actually. If you look, some had great vast wealth, great vast lands all over the world. They went in reverse. They stuck back where they started. That happens, too.

[Joe Getty]

So a new age of conquest. Is that what he's. Settler colonialism. I hate to make the idiot lefties. Right?

[Michael]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

And then I guess we're still working on a clip where he says, people thought I would use force, but now I want to negotiate. No, it is.

[Michael]

That's the headline of the day, definitely, that he flat out said, the United States is not going to use force to. To take Greenland.

[Joe Getty]

So how long is it, Michael? Let's hear it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Probably won't get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force where we would be, frankly, unstoppable. But I won't do that. Okay. Now everyone's saying, oh, good. That's probably the biggest statement I made because people thought I would use force. I don't have to use force. I don't want to use force. I won't use force. All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland.

[Joe Getty]

Wow.

[Michael]

So all that buildup, which, if I'm the Euros, I'm sitting there thinking, he's going to try to take Greenland.

[Joe Getty]

He at the end, discussion of all the fearsome weapons and stuff like that.

[Michael]

Yeah, you can't stop us. He then at the end throws in, I won't use force. He said he would be appreciative if the world acquiesced to our desire to take over the territory. You can say no and we will remember that's how he ended.

[Joe Getty]

You know what I would love, what opportunity I'd love is to like, be in the same room with, you know, the Republican leaders of the House and.

[Michael]

Senate.

[Joe Getty]

And Marco Rubio, who you always bring up, say, what do you think all this behind the scenes, there are stressed out conversations taking place.

[Michael]

Well, was he, was he ad libbing there at the end, though? We won't use force. Was what, Was there anybody on earth that knew he was going to say that at the end, other than him? Did he start, did he start the speech with the intention of saying that and in the, you know, toward the end of it decided to say that? I don't know.

[Joe Getty]

No. What a great question. I don't know. I'd be guessing. I tried.

[Michael]

I think he threw that off the cuff. Now, he might have gone out there planning to say that, but I, I, I'll bet nobody knew he was going to say that. Yeah, I don't think he, you know, I don't think he sits around with speech writers coming up with these things.

[Joe Getty]

Right, right. They might hack out the outline for him, but, yeah, so, yeah, yeah. I don't know. So you think he looked around the room and saw those faces and was like, no, we're not going to use force. All right. Or do you think he planned to say that?

[Michael]

My guess would be, my guess would be he never intended to use force. It was just, at what point was he going to say it out loud?

[Joe Getty]

Right.

[Michael]

He, even Trump knows that's, you know, that's too far. Michael's very happy because Michael had been doing the calisthenics because he was worried the draft was going to come back and we need strong men to take Greenland.

[Joe Getty]

Why don't we have people in charge of like, getting the right size uniforms for everybody? I'm not sure we need you like on the cross country skis with a rifle in your hand in Greenland. No offense. Yeah.

[Katie Green]

I like your idea better.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Yeah. Logistics, I think, is a field for.

[Michael]

You on the cross country skis with a rifle.

[Joe Getty]

Right, right. Sure. If we're down to the crew of this show, it's learn to speak Chinese.

[Michael]

Yeah. Once you get to us, Greenland is putting up more of a defense than we were expecting.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Katie Green]

You're in big trouble if you're defending, you know, depending on me.

[Joe Getty]

These are insane times. Completely insane.

[Michael]

I know. When the. When the headline all around the world is Trump announces he won't use force to take Greenland because everybody was concerned that he might. That's something. Oh, it's.

[Joe Getty]

It's horrific. I'm horrified.

[Michael]

Keeps life interesting. I was bored. I was bored with my previous life. Now it's interesting every single day. World War Three is this close. We're gonna go and solve it any second. Yeah, all these things are very exciting.

[Joe Getty]

Boy.

[Michael]

Any thoughts on any of this? Text line 415295KFTC.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty, one of the most.

[Michael]

Important owners in the NFL is pushing for adding another game to the season to make it an 18 game season. Maybe some of the details on that later. Or not.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. Wow. Okay. Ah. As my favorite team was decimated by injuries by the current number of games, I'm not a big fan of that idea. But we will discuss. So putting aside the madness of Trump for the moment, I feel like the Kamala Harris phenomenon was too short. We didn't have enough time to enjoy it. It was over, and it was like a perfect movie. It just said when the credits run. Yeah, exactly. Josh Shapiro in preparation for his. Look, I'm a reasonable guy. Presidential run in which he will be working that lane. Oh, that. The very term makes me shudder because it means presidential politics is being discussed. But he'll be competing in that lane for. With Rahm Emanuel.

[Michael]

He's a Jew.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, exactly.

[Michael]

Another Jew.

[Joe Getty]

Can you make it clear that you're being wry here? You sound like a Nazi.

[Michael]

Well, accepted wisdom seems to be that the reason Josh Shapiro wasn't the running mate is because he's Jewish. And now you got Rahm Emanuel and Josh Shapiro, both Jewish, fighting it out.

[Joe Getty]

The Democratic Party's pro Hamas, right? I'm not anti Jew. I'm anti Zionists, and all Jews are Zionists attitude. Yeah, indeed. That's gonna be a bit of a rub, as they say. But anyway, that factors into the story, I guess. Josh is writing the inevitable memoir as he gets ready to run for president. And according to it, Harris's VP vetting team, led by a pair of dudes. Oh, Eric Holder and Dana Remus. Now, these are the people, keep in mind, who came up with old Coach Waltz as the VP choice. Is there a weaker act in American politics than old Josh? Sure, you can bilk the treasury walls.

[Michael]

Well.

[Joe Getty]

At least Gavin Newsom's a skilled liar and a capable con man.

[Michael]

Yeah, they should have figured it out through interviews, I guess. But I remember that unveiling of him at the convention. He was good. He was freaking good that night.

[Joe Getty]

True, true.

[Michael]

Just didn't have much depth.

[Joe Getty]

But so anyway, those two geniuses, they actually asked Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania, whether he ever had been an Israeli agent or communicated with undercover agents of Israel since he was a Jew. Right. Wow. Had I been a double agent for Israel, Wrote Shapiro, who is Jewish. Was she kidding? I told her how offensive the question was.

[Michael]

Should have said to Eric Holder, were you ever in contact with the Black Panthers at any point?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Because you're black. Yeah. And Remus, this Dana Remus answers, well, we have to ask, have you ever communicated with an undercover agent of Israel? Shapiro responded, if they were undercover, how.

[Michael]

The hell would I know?

[Joe Getty]

Wow, wow, wow.

[Michael]

That makes it really sound like they were overly suspicious about a Jewish running mate.

[Joe Getty]

Harris's consideration of Shapiro sparked backlash from left wing activists who launched a no Genocide Josh campaign.

[Michael]

I wish it would have happened. It would have been great to have had that national conversation.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, to expose them. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That maligned the governor's support for Israel and his criticism of illegal protests on college campuses that were in favor of the Hamas October 7th attacks. He was when Harris. Blah, blah, blah, she claimed. Now Harris, when she picked Waltz, said as anti Semitism played no role in the decision or the dialogue with Vice President. Blah, blah, blah. Memoir. I'm sorry. Shapiro's memoir tells a different story. The governor said Ramos questioning said a lot about some of the people around the vp. Shapiro also revealed, according to the Atlantic, that Harris asked him, quote, if he would apologize for some of his comments about protesters at the University of Pennsylvania who'd built encampments. Shapiro flatly declined. Harris defended those anti Israel campus agitators, saying, quote, they are showing exactly what the human emotion should be as a response to Gaza.

[Michael]

I forget, has Harris officially said she's not running? She said she's not running for governor in California. But she hasn't taken president off the table, has she?

[Joe Getty]

No. No.

[Michael]

Well, that'd be something. If she and Josh were run at the same time, that would get ugly fast.

[Joe Getty]

Boy, if she could find somebody's head with that was so soft, they would contribute money to her for a presidential run. You gotta take that money. I mean, somebody that stupid, their money's gonna go somewhere. It might as well go to you. So why would she, you know, to paraphrase Trump, why would she take that off the table?

[Michael]

They're probably going to lose it or drop it anyway. So. Because they're so dumb, might as well give it to her.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow.

[Joe Getty]

Eric Holder is raking in as much as $2,300 an hour conducting racial equity audits for corporations like Starbucks.

[Michael]

Wow.

[Joe Getty]

And with his blessing, they're taking steps to promote equity.

[Michael]

Yeah, that's like the old Jesse Jackson thing. So you hire him and pay that money and then you're safe because you can tell any activist that ever comes after you for anything. Look, look what I did here. I heard Eric Holder and gave him $2300 to.

[Joe Getty]

Right, right.

[Michael]

Inoculates you against any criticism.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. You buy a no blackmail pass for that. Of course you've been blackmailed, but you know, it's less expensive than if you got accused publicly and had to scramble to cover.

[Michael]

So some damn interesting AI stuff out of a lot of fronts, including Elon's.

[Joe Getty]

Mouth, Armstrong and Getty before we get.

[Michael]

To some really interesting AI stuff. Scary AI stuff. If it's true. Robert Kraft is one of the most powerful owners in all of football. He owns the New England Patriots. And if you follow the NFL at all, you know that whole story. And they. They may go to the super bowl again this year. Anyway, he and other.

[Joe Getty]

Remember they mentioned it during one of the games that he was a season ticket holder, just a huge fan. And Richard Nell, too. And he decided, you know what? I like this team so much, I'm gonna buy it.

[Michael]

I didn't know that either.

[Joe Getty]

Be nice to have that sort of money to throw around. Although you get me a couple of, you know, Cubs beers, I'm at Wrigley Field or something. I start to think crazy stuff.

[Michael]

I sure like cheese. I like his cheese slices. But Robert Kraft says he and the other owners are gonna propose adding another game to these currently 17 game season, taking away one or two preseason games. So you wouldn't actually.

[Jack Armstrong]

But.

[Michael]

But they don't. The starters don't play in the preseason game. So I don't see that as a balancing act. Anyway, but one of the games has to be in another country because they're trying to. Trying to spread this sport because they don't understand why this can't be popular around the world like soccer is. He pointed out that of the top 100 television shows last year, the NFL accounted for 93 of them.

[Joe Getty]

Wait a minute. Actually, I'm not surprised by that.

[Michael]

That's amazing, though.

[Joe Getty]

That is a stark statement of its importance. Yes. Yeah.

[Michael]

Wow. Anyway.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow.

[Michael]

Wow. I agree.

[Joe Getty]

Not brave firefighters in a variety of cities around America that the show is named for or cops or CSI guys or what? No, fire the ball over and over again.

[Michael]

You know, the whole golden goose parable.

[Jack Armstrong]

But.

[Joe Getty]

It'S too brutal a sport for that many games.

[Michael]

But one of the great things about the NFL, college football is the same way to a certain extent. There are few enough games that every week matters. Every week matters a lot. And you know, you become like the NBA where, you know, the starters are going to sit some of these games because the season's so long and all that sort of thing.

[Joe Getty]

But, well, in an 18 game season, you might be able to lose six games in a row and still make the playoffs. Right?

[Michael]

Exactly.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

So it's a different thing shouldn't happen. Yeah.

[Michael]

So Elon said this yesterday in an interview. He said we are in the singularity, which we will get to the definition of. And everybody's got a different definition of this, but we'll get to the Grox version of the definition. And Grok is Elon's chatbot, so it should know what Elon means by singularity. Elon said, we're in the singularity, we are at the top of the roller coaster and we are about to go down. It blows my mind. It blows my mind multiple times a week. I'm like, wow. Than two days later, I'm more, wow. I think we'll hit AGI next year or this year, 2026. He was replying to posts from AI researchers and engineers who are describing how current AI tools, especially advanced coding agents and various models like Claude Opus are dramatically accelerating their work. Things that used to take years now happen in weeks or months. Onboarding to massive code bases takes days instead of months. Even top experts are stunned by the emergent capabilities recently. That's what this says. With, you know, the caveat that we always have to throw in that most everybody who's talking this stuff up is asking for more money to be invested. Doesn't mean it's not true, though. What does?

[Joe Getty]

Or Even if it's 2/3 true, that's a hell of an exaggeration, but a hell of a headline too.

[Michael]

Yeah. So what did Elon mean by the singularity? It refers to the hypothetical point when artificial intelligence becomes super intelligent, capable of improving itself recursively, like bending back on itself.

[Joe Getty]

It.

[Michael]

It teaches itself to do something, then learns from what it taught itself and no humans involved. At that point, it just is off.

[Joe Getty]

To the races, then finds the flaws in what it just did, corrects them, and over and over and over again with speed. That we can't comprehend at X an exponential.

[Michael]

An exponential speed leading to technological progress so rapid and profound that it becomes unpredictable and incomprehensible to unhated human, unaided humans.

[Joe Getty]

And then, whoops, there go your kidneys as they harvest your organs.

[Michael]

Normal forecasting for where it goes completely breaks down. It's like an event horizon for civilization. Like we are at a new point now. Nobody knows what's going to happen. Let's just sit back and watch and see what the computers decide to do with the planet and the humans on it.

[Joe Getty]

I'm trying to think of. So this would be like living through the. But. But what?

[Michael]

Nothing like it.

[Joe Getty]

Not.

[Michael]

Not at the speed anyway.

[Joe Getty]

I mean, the invention of oxygen. No, that was already here. We didn't have to invent it. Development of speech.

[Michael]

It'd be like living through the agricultural revolution or the industrial revolution if it were. If it were compressed into like a minute.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, you know what? Honestly, the development of speech would be a pretty good kind of parallel to the extent that you can have a parallel if again, that was compressed into a year's time.

[Michael]

So Elon signaling, he thinks that this year we will cross the threshold into the acceleration phase. And the pace will be supersonic. He's used the term supersonic. Some tsunami for AI and robotics advances that it. I mean, it'll be building its own robots for whatever it decides robots need to do. I mean, it just. It'll build, it'll have a plant, it'll buy some land. I mean, I've read a bunch of books like the. The AI might decide to. It's. It's made enough money off of what Ed's doing. It buys some land, it builds a plant, it starts making robots.

[Jack Armstrong]

There.

[Michael]

There are fences around it. You don't even know what they're building robots for.

[Joe Getty]

And we're like, excuse me, excuse me. What are you doing over there? Yeah, don't worry about it.

[Michael]

None you need to know. Says the robots anyway.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, boy.

[Michael]

2026 feels like the year this becomes undeniable to more people, possibly tied to expected breakthroughs toward that that will exceed all anything human tasks that can be done. And then gets to this part about we're gonna have to get to the universal basic income sooner than anybody even thought.

[Joe Getty]

And then the universal high income that they're promising us. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then, whoops, there goes your kidneys, interestingly.

[Michael]

Or your eyes. For some reason, it needs eyeballs.

[Joe Getty]

I don't know why, but they need them. Anyway, Elon is now I think they are going to take Space X public, which they'd resisted for years and said, no, we're not going to do that until we have people flying back and forth to Mars. But now they're going to.

[Michael]

We have people flying back and forth to Mars.

[Joe Getty]

Currently we do not, sir. Now they're going to. Partly, at least, because there's a rush now to put AI data centers in space, which has prompted some skepticism from engineers given the technical challenges posed by building solar powered AI centers, AI data centers that are zipping around the earth as satellites. But Musk has become obsessed with the idea of SpaceX being the first to do that. Such feat would be hard to attempt without the billions of dollars in capital an initial public offering could develop in one or deliver in one fell swoop. And that's partly it has to do with his obsession with staying ahead of long running rival Sam Altman, who's in charge of OpenAI. So Elon, who's now essentially said, Tesla doesn't make cars anymore. That's a sideline. We make robots. It's all about the AI. In fact, we're going to, and I'm paraphrasing, I'm describing, he hasn't said this, but we're going to mortgage Space X to get more AI money.

[Michael]

So what?

[Joe Getty]

By July. By the way.

[Michael]

We talked about this a little bit earlier. So this universal high income, as Elon calls it, so not basic income, not, you know, that experiment's been tried in various towns where you're given enough money to like get by. Everybody's given that much money. And it's like a social experiment. Elon's talking about a situation, universal hiring, where everybody's making. Well, he says money will become pointless because everybody will have plenty of food, plenty of health care, plenty of energy, I don't know, housing. I mean, because I assume, where's the cutoff for this high income? I assume some people currently are above it and would have to take a step backwards.

[Joe Getty]

I think Elon would tell you, oh no, no, no, no, no. Everybody's going to be raising to the edge 1%. Yeah, yeah.

[Michael]

We're all going to be 1 percenters.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Or even 10th of 1 percenters. Yeah, allegedly. As we discussed earlier though, by what mechanism? With what people enforcing it? And how long will that take to set up and actually successfully distribute that money so people aren't in the streets fighting for their lives with no employment, no prospects of employment, and the conventional economy is broken down while we wait for our robot overlords to Save us. I mean, even the most wildly optimistic predictions. What does that interim period look like?

[Michael]

I have not heard a single person, and I take in a lot of AI information podcasts, read a lot. I've not heard a single person talk about that part. The mechanism for who's collecting this money. So you, your, your AI just bought a farm and now is running it more efficiently than anything has ever been done before and making more money than anybody's ever made before. Okay, that money belongs to your company and now you're gonna give it out to everybody. Why? Because you're a nice guy. I mean, I don't understand what's the forcing mechanism there and how much you give out.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, we're supposed to trust them. Oh, it'll be great for everybody. That sounds like the sort of thing somebody would say before they absolutely lay waste to the economy and the populace for their own gain. I'm not sure that's their actual purpose or even that they know that they're doing that, but. Oh, trust me, it'll be fine. Everybody will have plenty yet. Explain to me, and I tell you what, just the two minute version, what will those mechanisms look like? Nobody's talking about that. And again, earlier I said, and I approached this as somebody who's, you know, spent out a lifetime looking at political systems and how they actually work on the ground.

[Michael]

What's.

[Joe Getty]

Is that taxation? Is it voluntary? What are the. I mean, okay, you're going to have robots and computers distribute it all and put it into everybody's bank accounts nearly instantaneously.

[Michael]

Well, I feel like it's always presented, and I could be wrong here, they never get into the details, which seems like an oversight to me, but it always seems like it's presented to me that it's just like out of the goodness of their heart, all these big AI companies will be so wealthy, they'll just. Everybody will have plenty. Well, why, that's not the history of mankind. Well, no, certainly the Arab princes have more enough money to give out to everybody as much as they want to, but they don't. They, they give out a fair amount, but they keep most of it for themselves.

[Joe Getty]

They keep enough to keep everybody pacified, or. I'm sorry, they give out enough. Keep everybody pacified. Well, it just occurred to me, I think one of the answers they might give to my previous question is, Joe, you don't understand money. We're not going to give money to people. The stores will be open. Just go get as much food as you want. That's fine. And Then go to the. You know, go to the golf store and get some new sticks if you need them or want them.

[Michael]

The discotheque and dance.

[Joe Getty]

The pardon me? Go to the discotheque the discotheque and dance because there will be no cover charge. Go to Disneyland and ride on the rides. Pretty effing crowded over here. Hey, we'll have the robots build another one, and then if that becomes less popular, the robots will tear it down and build you whatever you want. It's like. Like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Willy Wonka, if you prefer. Oh, for what it's worth, now that's the singularity, or whatever you want to call it. The current state of things. Wall Street Journal with a really interesting piece that say CEOs are saying wonderful things about how much time and money AI is solving, saving the companies these days, but the people who are actually doing it and doing the work and stuff are much, much less optimistic about it. Or. Or they have much lower numbers that could be just to preserve their jobs. And we don't really have time to talk about it. Maybe we'll get into that tomorrow.

[Michael]

I feel like that's the most likely thing that happens, at least in my lifetime, is companies are able to do a lot more with AI. They lay off a whole bunch of people. They're just keeping their profits like companies always have, which is fine. They get to. They're not doling out money. There's no basic, you know, income or anything. There's just millions and millions and millions of people that can't get a job.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, the current concentration of wealth in a few hands will look like, you know, communism in five years.

[Michael]

Right, Exactly. We will finish strong next Armstrong and Getty. So what's that kid's name that America fell in love with? The quarterback for Indiana, his fun personality and winning ways?

[Joe Getty]

Fernando. What's his last name again?

[Michael]

Mendoza.

[Joe Getty]

Fernando Mendoza.

[Michael]

You know what his big prize is? Your prize is you get to be quarterback for the Oakland Raiders or the Las Vegas looks. Vegas Raiders.

[Joe Getty]

Wait a minute. That's not a price, that's a punishment.

[Michael]

I know it. I know it. Congratulations. After all that work and luck and glory and all the good stuff that has happened in your cool attitude, you get to be the quarterback for the Raiders.

[Joe Getty]

My ridiculous accent reminds me that during the game, I saw that Dos Equis has brought back the most interesting man in the world.

[Michael]

He's aged a little.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Haven't we all? Yes, yes. Still very, very interesting man, though. Glad to see that. Right?

[Michael]

Yeah, absolutely. So headline of the Day is Trump backed off taking Greenland by force. Hard to believe that anybody was ever taking that seriously, but apparently, let's be.

[Joe Getty]

Fair to believe he ever proposed it. True.

[Michael]

Yeah. You know, you can't blame people for taking him seriously, I guess, because he said it like 50,000 times. So there you go. There's your headline of the day.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. You know, and I've been harshly, strongly, unapologetically critical about certain aspects of Trump's act and his foreign policy, and I don't withdraw that at all. On the other hand, I'm reminded every day of how fantastic the administration's been for business compared to the Biden administration. For with the exception of the tariffs, which I think are just a bad idea, a lot of great economic stuff, a lot of good deregulation stuff, just absolutely wonderful. It's just a shame that, you know, you gotta order the entire cable package and can't just, like, take the channels you like.

[Michael]

Well, people have said that about me.

[Joe Getty]

Human beings in general, I think.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Michael]

So Trump was asked today, though, because the Supreme Court's going to rule one of these days on whether or not he's allowed to do this tariff stuff. And he was asked today, he said, what. What if the Supreme Court, you know, says you don't have that power? And he said, well, we'll have to figure out a different way. Which was unusually accepting of the idea that maybe they could decide that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

One of his aides. I can't. One of his top aides was out saying roughly the same thing. We'll find a different authority under which to do it, but you won't be able to. It'll really, really weaken it.

[Michael]

God, I wouldn't think so.

[Joe Getty]

It's Final Thoughts.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm strong again.

[Joe Getty]

It's Final Thoughts. It's Final Thoughts.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm strong again. Get ready with Katie Green and Michael Banjodo.

[Joe Getty]

It's Final Thoughts.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm Strong Together. Yeah.

[Michael]

Here's your host for Final Thoughts, Joe Getty.

[Joe Getty]

Hey, let's get a final thought from everybody on the crew to wrap things up for the day. Wouldn't that be charming? How about Michelangelo leading us off from the control room? Michael, I'm just checking out this email.

[Katie Green]

I got from a co worker. They are emptying his office to get reconstruction. So he has all this free alcohol and beer and says, come grab all you want.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. Hey, help a brother out, would you? Yeah.

[Katie Green]

I'm not a drinker, but I'm sure a lot of people would like that.

[Joe Getty]

Katie Green, our esteemed new Booze woman has a final thought. Katie, Wait a minute. How much booze does the guy have in his office and why? Yeah, get past the lead. Sorry, Katie, go ahead.

[Michael]

No, if I'm ever in a restaurant that serves like a whole fish, I'm forever going to picture them in a sleep mask.

[Joe Getty]

Close its eye out of decency, would you? Jack, a final thought for us.

[Michael]

It's both very exciting and terrifying that we all could live through the most interesting period in the history of humans in the next couple of years ever.

[Joe Getty]

By far. And we'll get to experience Been on a roll too. How about the status quo? Can I opt for the status quo? Is that a, you know, like choose your room on a hotel app or something? Anyway, my final thought is also AI related the current system situation as enunciated by a guy in Raleigh, North Carolina. Executives automatically assume AI is going to be the savior. I can't count the number of times that I've sought a solution for a problem asked one of the LLMs, large language machines and it gave me a solution to accessibility problems that was completely wrong.

[Michael]

Yeah. Keeping in mind that the smart people would tell you these chatbots that we're all using are like a web page is to the Internet. That's not what AI is. That's just one tiny little piece of it. Armstrong and Getty Wrapping up another grueling four hour workday.

[Joe Getty]

So many people to thank. So many people who'd like to buy some nice real estate in greenland. Go to armstrongandgetti.com for the hot links. Drop us a note mailbagarmstrongandgetti.com we will see you tomorrow.

[Michael]

God bless America.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Joe Getty]

Thanks for listening to the Armstrong and Getty Show.

[Jack Armstrong]

We're done for the day and you won't have to pay for the podcast cuz it's free. Subscribe right now. Don't miss a thing. It's called Armstrong and Getty on Demand. You made it rhyme louder and it's rhyme in a long time. Armstrong and Getty this is an iHeart podcast.

[Joe Getty]

Guaranteed Human.