The Sanctity Of Beards

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: The Sanctity Of Beards
Date: April 17, 2026
Hosts: Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Armstrong and Getty dive into a range of global and technological crises—from the world’s largest energy crisis and its ties to Middle Eastern geopolitics, to deep philosophical and practical anxieties over artificial intelligence (AI). The hosts candidly dissect the political, theological, and economic underpinnings of today’s headlines with their trademark blend of irreverence and sharp skepticism. Notably, discussions about the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian political and religious ideology, and the existential risks of AI take center stage, sprinkled with the show’s signature tangents and sardonic banter.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Global Energy Crisis & Strait of Hormuz ([02:45]-[13:52])

• Urgency of the Crisis:

  • The episode opens with alarming news from the International Energy Agency about the largest energy crisis in history due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, crucial for global oil supplies.
  • Europe faces imminent jet fuel shortages; Asia is also affected ([02:45]-[03:44]).

• Political Response & Partisanship:

  • Joe Getty criticizes Europe and Democrats in the U.S. for their approaches to energy production, highlighting the unintended consequences of reliance on authoritarian regimes for oil ([03:44]-[05:12]).
    • “If the Democrats had had their way... we would be in the same position as China [and] Europe right now.” — Joe Getty ([03:44])
  • Discussion of virtue signaling, hypocrisy, and the ‘grownup fact’ that the world still depends on fossil fuels ([05:12]-[06:53]).

• Geopolitical Complexity:

  • Debates on whether Iran’s claim that the strait is open can be trusted ([07:30]-[08:20]).
  • Interplay between U.S., Israel, Lebanon (really Hezbollah, as the hosts repeatedly point out), and Iran.
  • Deep skepticism over the stability of any ceasefire in the region, given fractured command within Iranian leadership ([10:17]-[12:43]).

2. Theological Foundations of Iranian Politics ([13:16]-[22:36])

• The 12th Mahdi Doctrine:

  • Joe explains the fundamentalist Shia belief in the return of Muhammad al-Mahdi, associating Iran’s militant policy with a literal ‘death cult’ that seeks to bring about apocalyptic prophecy ([13:16]-[20:30]).
    • “How do you negotiate with someone who wants to bring on the apocalypse?... I’ll kill you. Perfect, they say. No, I’ll kill everybody. Oh, awesome.” — Joe ([13:16])
  • Discussion of both the dangers of ideological extremism and the challenges of diplomacy with actors who hold such beliefs ([20:30]-[22:23]).

• Religion & Realpolitik:

  • The hosts compare fundamentalist Islam’s willingness to pursue apocalypse to Christianity, noting most believers in both faiths don’t subscribe to extreme interpretations, but stressing concern over the millions who may ([21:52]-[22:01]).
    • “Political Islam, fundamentalist Islam, is utterly unacceptable to the Western world. Period. Full stop.” — Joe ([22:15])

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3. The Risks and Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence ([25:09]-[38:43])

• AI Resurrecting Actors:

  • News segment on Val Kilmer being digitally resurrected for a film role via AI after his death, sparking discussion about technological leaps in media ([25:09]-[25:57]).
    • “An hour with a Val Kilmer in a movie and he’s been dead for a long time.” — Joe Getty ([25:47])

• AI Doom, Regulation, and Futility:

  • Joe Getty details his existential dread after listening to an AI ‘doomer’ expert, who compares the futility of regulating AI to squirrels putting up fences against humans ([27:11]-[29:43]).
    • “If you develop something smarter than you, it is going to dominate you. End of story.” — Joe Getty ([28:07])
    • Analogy: “Squirrels could make all the best rules... we’re going to get around them. And it’s not much different with AI.” ([28:03])
  • Regulation is declared pointless—once AI surpasses human intelligence, humanity loses control; the only prevention would have been not developing it, but that opportunity has passed (especially with China in the race) ([30:04]-[30:24]).

• China vs. U.S. in the AI Arms Race:

  • Sharp critique of the claim that Chinese rule over AI would be safer due to its technocratic leadership; Joe and Joe Getty call this view naive and dangerous ([30:30]-[32:33]).
    • “China is not run by scientists and engineers. It's run by the Communist Party. And to the extent that any scientists or engineers are in any position of power, they still have to answer to the Communist Party. It's a country with slaves and no spirit, no free speech.” — Joe Getty ([31:32])

• AI and Morality:

  • A key insight: AI has zero concept of right and wrong—no anthropomorphic morality, even if chatbots seem polite or perceptive ([33:10]-[34:05]).
    • “There is zero right and wrong or morality in the world of AI. Zero.” — Joe Getty ([33:24])
    • Example: AI could take actions harmful to humanity if it deemed them useful for itself, without ‘evil’ intent, because it can’t conceive of morality.

• AI Escalation and Exponential Risk:

  • Discussion of Anthropic’s “Claude Mythos” and the notion that AI is improving faster than Moore’s Law ([34:34]-[35:54]).
    • “[AI is] on a trend in which it’s improving 10 times faster than [computers did].” — Paraphrased from Jared Kaplan via Joe Getty ([35:30])
  • Possible outcomes include “mutually automated destruction”, an AI-driven arms race comparable to the Cold War, but rapidly escalating ([36:22]-[36:49]).
    • “China, the U.S., Russia and others have ramped up their contest over artificial intelligence–backed weapons… compared to the dawn of nuclear weapons.” — (NYT headline, quoted by Joe Getty) ([36:22])
    • The hosts joke grimly about the catch-22 of betting on mankind’s demise at the hands of AI ([36:10]-[36:19]).

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4. Universal Basic Income (UBI) in the Age of AI ([43:48]-[45:24])

• Elon Musk’s Proposal:
  • Joe Getty relays Musk’s idea that universal high income from government-issued checks could offset unemployment due to AI-driven productivity ([43:48]-[44:55]).
  • The hosts remain deeply skeptical, questioning both the willingness of corporations to “willingly give over” profits and the efficiency of government in distributing wealth ([44:55]-[45:24]).
    • “You're going to tell us the number [of profits to hand over]? Then the government is so good at spreading money around evenly in a way that we think is fair.” — Joe Getty ([44:58])

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5. Lighter Moments & Notable Quotes

• “Sanctity of Beards” and Bombs:

  • As discussion turns to how to deter militant theocrats, Joe jokes darkly:
    • “You blow their beards off, drop bombs on their heads. Sorry. There is evil in the world. You must comprehend that. Otherwise you cannot understand how the world works.” — Joe ([13:53])

• Corpse Flower Side Tangent:

  • At [41:35], a humorous interlude on the blooming of the “corpse flower” in Massachusetts, described as “unbearable” and “dumpster... smells like a dying beast” set the guys riffing on plant survival and duck updates. ([41:35]-[43:04])

• Duck Watch/Vignettes:

  • Light-hearted banter about Joe Getty’s ducklings and the graphics that might accompany “Duck Watch 26” ([42:43]-[43:22]).

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• On Energy Policy Hypocrisy:
  “We're going to get oil from horrifying dictatorships that don't care how they pollute the environment... Just so [we can] demonstrate how enlightened we are.” — Joe Getty ([04:27])

• On the 12th Mahdi Doctrine:
  “The doctrine of the 12th Mahdi... He's believed to be alive even after all these 1150 years. He will reappear at the end of times to establish global justice, eliminate oppression and redeem Islam.“ — Joe ([18:10])

• On AI Regulation:
  “If you develop something smarter than you, it is going to dominate you. End of story.” — Joe Getty ([28:07])

• On Corporate Willingness for UBI:
  “Nike’s going to be able to make so many shoes, and they're gonna willingly give over like half their profits to the government. And then the government, which is so good at spreading money around evenly... It's just crazy.” — Joe Getty ([44:55])

• On AI Morality:
  “There is zero right and wrong or morality in the world of AI. Zero.” — Joe Getty ([33:24])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Energy Crisis, Strait of Hormuz: [02:45] – [13:52]
• Iran Theology & Politics: [13:16] – [22:36]
• AI Risks and Philosophy: [25:09] – [38:43]
• Universal Basic Income and AI: [43:48] – [45:24]
• Corpse Flower & Duck Updates: [41:35] – [43:22]

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Episode Tone and Style

Biting, irreverent, and self-aware, Armstrong & Getty fuse serious, realpolitik analysis with sardonic wit. The episode covers the existential threats facing modern society while pausing for the occasional absurdity—corpse flowers, duck rescues, and jabs at universal basic income. Their skepticism toward grand narratives (from European energy policy to Silicon Valley utopianism about AI) is a consistent thread—delivered with a blend of frustration, humor, and resigned realism.

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Transcript

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[Jack Armstrong]

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[Jack Armstrong]

broadcasting live from the Abraham

[Joe Getty]

Lincoln Radio Studio, the George Washington Broadcast

[Jack Armstrong]

Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[Joe]

Armstrong and Getty. And now here's Armstrong and Getty.

[News Reporter]

The International Energy Agency head says this

[Joe Getty]

is the largest energy crisis the world has ever face. Warning of flight cancellations soon if oil supplies remain blocked by the Iran war in Europe.

[Joe]

We have maybe six weeks or so jet fuel left.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. So unappreciated. Part of the whole Strait of Hormuz Iran story is the energy crisis the world's about to face. As you're going to hear a little

[News Reporter]

more here, you have to consider we talk about the strait of Hormuz. 20% of the world's oil goes through there. But Europe, about 75% of its jet fuel has to also go to the Strait of Hormuz. It's where they get it from. And they haven't been able to get that for several weeks now. And you're looking at a situation where, you know, right at the end of May, they could run out. Asia also saying that it is starting to run out. US Airliners aren't seeing the same immediate jet fuel shortage, but experts say we could be next.

[Joe Getty]

I don't think most issues are as clear cut partisan as partisans like to make them. This one is, if the Democrats had had their way over the years and being against Drill baby drill every time they were in charge, we would be in the same position as China in Europe right now on the biggest energy crisis in world history. We're not, we're immune because of Drill baby drill.

[Joe]

And I continue to be astonished at how far down the road of climate change cultism Europe went. I would love to have like a Victor Davis Hansen explain why psychologically the Euros were willing to decimate their economies on technologies that aren't ready yet. They just don't work efficiently enough.

[Joe Getty]

It's worse than that, though. It's so much worse than that. Because if, if what they were doing wasn't so incredibly disingenuous. So they, they decided, you know what? We're not going to, we're not going to drill. We're not going to do this sort of stuff. We, we're going to lay a pipeline from freaking Russia so that we can claim we're not drilling. We're going, you know, the same thing that California does. We're going to get oil from horrifying dictatorships that don't care how they pollute the environment or if they have slave labor built in the pipeline.

[Joe]

Just so demonstrate how enlightened we are. Exactly.

[Joe Getty]

So we can claim that we're in favor of getting off fossil fuels. So, I mean, it's bad on like multiple levels.

[Joe]

Yeah, I know. I'm just, again, I'm astonished that human beings could be so stupid. But, you know, I should know by now they can. They do.

[Joe Getty]

Thank God. The biggest energy crisis in world history is occurring and our gas is up a dollar is our version of it.

[Joe]

Let me put it to you like this. And I don't mean you, I mean everybody. Who Would you like to extract fossil fuels during the absolutely, undeniably necessary period of time where we still use f. Fossil fuels? Yes, I would suggest the most careful and responsible nation on earth who thinks that's a good idea effing everybody, unless it's their own country. But that wouldn't let me virtue signal. So I'm gonna say no drilling. No drilling, no pipelines, but because you know, the freaking third world do it. Sorry, I get fired up because the,

[Joe Getty]

because as you said, the base fact exists, the grown up fact that we're still using fossil fuels. You're going to, you're going to drive. Well, maybe you're gonna. The, the imaginary person I'm talking to is going to drive an electric car to work. Electricity. Quite possibly that was developed through a fossil fuel. But anyway, all the trucks in the road and the people driving the cars, all that is still true. So yeah, have to have it. You see, it's still going to be coming into your county, state, country. It's just. Would you rather have the United States making it or a responsible European country the way they could make it back in the day, or would you rather have Russia or Saudi Arabia or whoever else doing it? You children.

[Joe]

I'm going to more or less repeat what I did earlier. I'm not sure if the whole network heard it. I'm going to teach you a 300 level political science class right now. It's going to take 20 seconds. If you can identify a crisis like climate change and sell it to the people, that enables you, as the party in charge, siphon unthinkable amounts of money to your voters, your followers and your cronies. That's politics. That's how it works. Not that high flying stuff. You wish it were and I wish it were. That's what it is. Which is why you've always got to put the clamps on government, because they're thieves. Anyway, back to the situation in the Gulf.

[Joe Getty]

Straight A Hormuz is open now.

[Joe]

Completely open, Jack. Thank God it's over.

[Joe Getty]

According to Iran. And I gotta believe it actually is, because I can't imagine playing that card unless it were true.

[Joe]

Hang on now, hold on now remember, you're dealing with people who always lie.

[Joe Getty]

But even situation, I'm a bad guy. Lying standpoint, what would, what, what are you going to get out of claiming it's open and then it's not?

[Joe]

Look, duck master, I'm about to explain it to you, all right?

[Joe Getty]

Look, you take care of your baby ducks with your simpleton brain.

[Joe]

Oh, if that seemed to be implied by that, I just, I didn't intend that at all. All right, here's what's happening.

[Commercial Narrator 2]

Rides motorcycles and raises cute little duckies.

[Joe Getty]

That's right.

[Joe]

Okay, thanks.

[Joe Getty]

Low voiced Both ride motorcycles and take care of baby ducks. Amazing. I'm just.

[Joe]

He is irresistible. All right, damn it, settle down. Here's what's happening. The Strait of Hormuz is open for all commercial ships after the agreement of a ceasefire in Lebanon, according to Iran. In the United States, oil prices dropped. Soon after the announcement, though, Iran said, here we go. Ships would have to take a coordinated route. That shipping analysts said, wait, that route is, like, super close to Iran's coast. Shortly after the announcement, President Trump responded in social media, quote, in all caps, of course. Iran has just announced that the Strait of Iran is fully open, ready for full passage. Thank you. But later, Trump said that a U.S. blockade of Iranian ships leaving the Strait would remain in place. Iran said this week it would retaliate. Retaliate against shipping in the Middle east in response to the blockades. It's not clear what's happening with that. Oil prices dropped like crazy. Let's skip past all the oil stuff.

[Joe Getty]

I would. I would think it'd be fair for us to say the blockade is in place for you guys. Ships you send in through, I don't know, pick a number or a number of days. You. You let us see a bunch of other ships, like, you know, that are helping out Europe or China, you let us see. You let us see that kind of traffic and we'll believe you. But we can't immediately turn your money

[Joe]

spigot back on, right? Yeah. And in fact, I would prefer that it not be turned on at all until the regime collapses. Call me a hawk if you like. Various shipping experts have said. Yeah, what they're saying is anything close to freedom of navigation, we'll have to wait and see what this actually is.

[Joe Getty]

I just wouldn't think you could play this card and get anywhere, though, given the situation you're in. Those days are over. Of, like, minor maneuvering around, misleading people, I think.

[Joe]

I think so, too. That's why I was about to say I would. I would pay large sums of money to be able to listen to Trump and Netanyahu and, and their surrogates, and maybe even the Chinese, the actual conversations they're having right now. Because what allegedly got this to happen, the opening of the Strait, which may or may not be really open, is the ceasefire between Israel and. Everybody says Lebanon. It's not freaking Lebanon, it's Hezbollah.

[Joe Getty]

All right?

[Joe]

It's a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, which occupies Lebanon, perverts its politics and screws up what ought to be a wonderful country.

[Joe Getty]

Anyway, my cancer doctor, one of my cancer doctors, my main cancer doctor was from Lebanon and he had to flee there with his family back in the 80s. But he talked on and on about what a great place it was and a great place it could be again. It was really interesting.

[Joe]

And then they let a ton of Palestinian refugees come in and Yasser Arafat and company and it just poisoned the country. Anyway, so what was I going to say? Oh, that's right. So. But the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah can't possibly last unless Iran agrees. We will never give another dime or another bullet to Hezbollah as long as we all shall live. Amen. And I just don't see that happening because these people are actual dead enders unless the long prayed for. Look, I'm just a cynical greed head. Part of the IRGC has taken control.

[Joe Getty]

But that's, that's what we don't know. That is what we really don't know. And I mean really don't know. Like they probably don't know inside the White House or the Pentagon, how is the battle going between the head of the IRGC and the head of the parliament and the, whoever they might be 180 degrees apart on this stuff, screaming at each other with death threats on the phone as we speak, Right. In disagreement over open the straight, don't open the straight, continue the fight, don't continue the fight.

[Joe]

And what's command and control look like? Are there rogue units or.

[Joe Getty]

I wouldn't be surprised at all if you don't have a situation where IRGC guy, you know, makes a phone call or however they're communicating now, because you get your head blown off if anybody can pick up your communications, but contacts some group and says, you know, do this. And then you get another phone call a half hour later from the head of the parliament saying, don't do that, do this. And you're like, I don't know.

[Joe]

Oh crap.

[Commercial Narrator 2]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Oh boy. Yeah. It's difficult enough when you have several interested and powerful parties. When one of those parties is riven by divisions, that's a tough deal.

[Joe Getty]

Tough deal, right. And then, and then within that group you got people with different interests and one of the groups is a weirdo religious death cult who thinks things would be better if they all died.

[Joe]

And for those not familiar with the theology, and we're not experts, but we are somewhat familiar with it. And maybe we'll spend a second talking about that in a minute. But it is actually very much a death cult in that they wish for the apocalypse to come. Armageddon, if you prefer. And the appearance of. Is it the 12th? Mahdi. And the rest of it? They think it serves Allah to bring on the apocalypse. How do you negotiate with somebody like that? I'll kill you. Perfect. They say, no, I'll kill, like, everybody. Oh, awesome.

[Joe Getty]

Where do I sign? Oh, yeah. That's a tough one.

[Joe]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

This will be fun to follow.

[Joe]

You know what you do, Jack? I'm sorry. This is unkind. And the Pope would condemn me for this. You blow their beards off, drop bombs on their heads. Sorry. There is evil in the world. You must comprehend that. Otherwise, you cannot understand how the world works.

[Joe Getty]

Pope would come up with some sort of bible phrase about the sanctity of beards.

[Joe]

I'm from Chicago too, Mr. Pope. Let's get it on. Let's have it out. I'm ready.

[Joe Getty]

I don't think the Pope. In my lifetime, in remembering Pope's thing, things have ever been this wrong.

[Joe]

What he said was childishly ridiculous.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, we should get to that again. That was an hour or so ago that we played that.

[Joe]

He's self righteous. Can you call the pope self righteous?

[Joe Getty]

That's a funny phrase. He really crossed the line yesterday. We'll get to that later. Stay tuned.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty. If you're feeling off fatigue, mood changes, skin shifts, yet your labs say everything's normal.

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[Jack Armstrong]

Visit innerbalance.com today to start feeling like yourself again. That's innerbalance.com.

[Julian Edelman]

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The countdown is on for the 2026 NFL Draft presented by Bud Light. Catch all seven rounds, three days live from Pittsburgh, April 23rd through 25th. Watch every pick live on NFL Network, ESPN and ABC. NFL Network is also streaming with NFL Plus. It all starts Thursday at 8pm Eastern. Visit NFL.com draft for more information. Subscription required for NFL plus, visit plus.NFL.com

[Joe Getty]

for terms we have a very good

[Joe]

relationship with Iran right now, as hard as it is to believe, and I think it's a combination of about four weeks of bombing and a very powerful blockade. The blockade is maybe more powerful than

[Joe Getty]

the bombing, if you want to know the truth.

[Joe]

So Trump has his techniques and that's fine. To say we have a really good relationship with Iran right now is absolutely hilarious. What the hell, Donald? Anyway, thought I'd pay this off because you can never really have a good relationship with a certain chunk of the Iranian leadership, and how big a chunk that is is anybody's guess. But to pay off what I mentioned last segment, the doctrine of the 12th Mahdi, Muhammad Al Mahdi. It's a core Shia belief.

[Joe Getty]

Say that again. That sounded like a guy that runs a Ford dealership on the edge of town.

[Joe]

Muhammad al Mahdi. No, indeed. It's a Korshia belief in a messianic figure born in 868 AD as I recall. I'm not reading this at all. Who entered hiding to escape persecution. He's believed to be alive even after all these 1150 years. He will reappear at the end of times to establish global justice, eliminate oppression and redeem Islam. And he's expected to return to earth. And there ain't a verse of religious text in any religion that can't be interpreted in a couple of different ways, but this is the basics of it. He's expected to return to earth at a time of supreme injustice, to, quote, fill the earth with fairness and justice as it was filled with oppression and injustice. It's from the their beliefs. The ultimate. He's the final imam of the final religion, which is Islam. There can be no more prophets. The final say on everything is Islam. Which is why in my mind, hardcore Islam is so dangerous. Anyway, his return is often associated with apocalyptic themes, including a proactive effort by followers to prepare the way, which is sometimes interpreted as a need to initiate an apocalyptic showdown with oppression. Keeping in mind Israel, the Jews are seen as the little Satan, the United States, the Great Satan. So to pave the way for the ultimate victory of God, they believe you must initiate an apocalyptic showdown. Interestingly enough, he's expected to lead a righteous battle accompanied by Jesus who will assist him.

[Joe Getty]

Wow, I didn't know that.

[Joe]

Yeah, yeah. So how do you negotiate with somebody who's like, oh no, no, no, no. This is precisely what we want to happen. We want to bring the 12th Mahdi by initiating an apocalyptic showdown with the Great Satan and the little Satan. So you can blockade anything you want or bomb us, you can kill all of us. This is exactly what I want to happen.

[Joe Getty]

So one of the interesting things about that, and this would require hours to talk about and we have seconds, but. And this comes from a guy who was talking earlier about joining a church, maybe the Catholic churches, people look at other people's religions and it, it sounds crazy and part of it is often because you're, you're taking their text as if Everybody believes that 100%. And at least in terms of Christianity, that's mostly not true. I've watched so many of those debates on YouTube with Christopher Hitchens back when he used to do do it, or Dawkins or whoever, Richard Dawkins, the atheist. And they, and they often ascribe to the, the Christianity these things that like, I personally don't know anybody who believes wholeheartedly and they, they act like that's what everybody believes the problem with when it comes to Islam, because I, I gotta believe of the one point, whatever many billion is Muslims we were talking about the other day, lots and lots of them don't believe what you just said.

[Joe]

Oh yeah, absolutely true.

[Joe Getty]

Lots and lot, in fact, probably the vast majority. But the problem is we know that there are millions and millions that do believe that.

[Joe]

Hundreds of millions. Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

That do believe that they demonstrate it on a daily basis and say it out loud. That's the big difference. Right?

[Joe]

Yeah. And I'm just. I'm a realist. I can't absolutely respect and enjoy the company of folks who view Islam as their personal religion, their family tradition.

[Joe Getty]

That's great.

[Joe]

But political Islam, fundamentalist Islam, is utterly unacceptable to the Western world, Period. Full stop.

[Joe Getty]

There aren't giant segments, gazillions of Christians somewhere around the world, in fact, in charge of countries trying to bring upon, you know, revelation and Jesus's return by killing y'.

[Joe]

All.

[Joe Getty]

That ain't happening.

[Joe]

No, I'm against that.

[Joe Getty]

I am, too. Gonna talk about AI coming up. Got a lot of really good stuff on there.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty. If you're feeling off fatigue, mood changes, skin shifts, yet your labs say everything's

[Inner Balance Advertiser]

normal, you're not alone. Meet Oestra from Inner Balance, the first all in one prescription strength bioidentical hormone cream that's natural and effective and only takes one drop, 10 seconds a day. Oester replaces five to six products women typically use to treat symptoms and is third party tested to ensure highest quality.

[Jack Armstrong]

Visit innerbalance.com today to start feeling like yourself again. That's inner balance.com get ready for the

[Joe Getty]

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[Julian Edelman]

Edelman from Dudes on Dudes with Gronk and Jewels. One thing I've learned over the years, before you head out on any adventure, you got to be ready to stay hydrated because dehydration ruins the fun faster than you can spell it. Pretty sure there's a Y in there somewhere. I was a slot receiver, not a spelling bee champ. Speaking of adventures, Liquid IV has been rolling with us for a while now. Total pros. Pro show up, does the job, makes everyone better. We're pumped to have them on the team, and trust me, you'll be thankful to have them with you when dehydration tries to sneak up on you. No playbook required. All you gotta do is tear, pour and Enjoy. Go to LiquidIV.com and use the code NUT NUT HOUSE for 20 off your first purchase. And check us out on YouTube or listen to dudes on dudes on the iHeart app or wherever you get your podcast.

[NFL Draft Announcer]

The countdown is on for the 2026 NFL Draft, presented by Bud Light. Catch all seven rounds three days live from Pittsburgh, April 23rd through 25th. Watch every pick live on NFL Network, ESPN and ABC. NFL Network is also streaming with NFL Plus. It all starts Thursday at 8pm Eastern. Visit NFL.com draft for more information. Subscription required for NFL plus, visit Plus.NFL.com

[AI News Reporter]

for terms with the help of AI A never before seen Val Kilmer is starring in this new movie trailer one year after the actor's death. Kilmer was originally set to star in the upcoming Western As Deep as the Grave, but bowed out due to throat cancer. Prior to his death, he and his family granted the filmmakers permission to use his likeness with AI Brothers Corti and John Voorhees directed and produced the film, respectively telling us it took seven minutes to render Kilmer's likeness for the screen. The AI version of Kilmer is not just a cameo, the filmmakers told me. He's in the movie for more than an hour.

[Joe Getty]

Well, I gotta believe this is a moment for Hollywood and for the creative industry. An hour with a Val Kilmer in a movie and he's been dead for a long time.

[Joe]

Yeah, yeah. Now they, they had plasticky looking Princess Leia in one of the recent mediocre Star wars movies after Carrie Fisher had passed and it was not great. I'm curious to see how good it is now.

[Joe Getty]

Say when. That's my Val Kilmer is Doc Holliday. Thank you very much. You ain't no Daisy. So anyway, got a bunch of AI stuff for you. I had. I don't know if I can properly convey this, but I was listening to a Doomer podcast yesterday. I'm a Doomer with AI to me, it's the only logical place to end up. There are, there are like three camps and there's the, there's the optimistic things are going to be better. The world is going to be better. We're all going to be happy this happened camp. There's the, this is the worst thing that's ever happened to humanity. Will probably end humanity. Doomer camp, which is close to me. And then there's the other camp which is kind of Doomer adjacent. It's just, it's, it ain't gonna happen because it's, it's not as great as they say it is. So it would destroy humanity. But I'm not worried about it because it, it just isn't going to happen.

[Joe]

Ah, I see.

[Joe Getty]

They don't believe artificial general intelligence or super intelligence can ever occur or not within a century anyway, so don't worry about it.

[Joe]

Well, it strikes me that if you're a doomer and you're wrong, your reaction will be, oh, thank God, this is cool. If you're an optimist and you're wrong, the reaction will be,

[Joe Getty]

well, I had my first moment of, like, existential dread about this yesterday, and I've been super into reading about the AI and listening to all the experts now for quite a while. But yesterday was the first time where I thought I actually had, like, the physical dark feeling of, oh, my God, it's over for us and there's nothing we can do about it. So I was listening to this AI expert on the Trigger Nometry podcast, which you're either aware of, you're not, is one of your doomer guys who used to be a big proponent, another one of those guys who was a big proponent of AI until he became more acquainted with where it's going to go or how we can't control it. First of all, on the control it or not side, he made the point, and now I'm not going to worry about it anymore. All these discussions of, what is Congress going to regulate it? How much should you regulate it? Big companies always want to regulate things to keep down the little guys. Blah, blah, blah. All that conversation is pointless. If you develop something smarter than you, it is going to dominate you. End of story. They use this analogy of squirrels not being as smart as us. They could make all the best rules they could make to try to keep us in control. We're gonna get around them. And it's not much different with AI. It's going to be so superior in our in intelligence and speed that any rule we come up with is going to be just like the squirrels. It's hilarious that you even tried. So that took that off my plate. I no longer think regulating AI makes any difference whatsoever.

[Joe]

There's a vacant lot near my house that people cut through to get to the golf course, and some guy bought it and he put up with these, like, aluminum, about a foot high, no trespassing signs at both ends, and somebody just ran him over. I mean, that's what we're talking about here.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So that's a sign.

[Joe]

Didn't work.

[Joe Getty]

Well, do you buy that or not? Because to me, it, like, freed up that energy in my mind, like. Like, there is no regulated. You're developing something so much smarter than you. There's no point in Even trying.

[Joe]

Oh, you're blowing my mind. I don't see a flaw in that argument, though. I mean, I know whatever fences you like, and it would quickly say, oh, here's the flaw in those fences.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. So, okay, stop worrying about that. To the, the thing that.

[Joe]

Stop worrying about that. Easy. Easy for you to say. You just made everybody listening worry about that.

[Joe Getty]

Well, I'm worried about AI but I'm not worried about how do we get it to align with this. You can't. It's impossible. Oh, Lord, give up. The only with this, according to this expert, was the only way you can stop the bad things from happening is not develop the technology in the first place. That ship has sailed.

[Joe]

And that has to be answered every single damn time with, what about China?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, right.

[Joe]

End of discussion.

[Joe Getty]

The one thing that this, this particular expert, and this is kind of an aside, but he lost a lot of his credibility with him, is like, he, he. He thought it would be better if China did have the technology because they're a country run by. What was it? I got to get the exact quote because I thought, again, this is an aside. But the fact that this personality exists out there is horrifying for me. The Chinese society is run by scientists and. God dang, I want to get this right because it's worth it. Craig and I got into a conversation about it last night. China is a country run by scientists and engineers. Our country's run by lawyers. So I think the scientists and engineers would be have a better view of regulating AI and what you need to do with AI than a bunch of lawyers. I thought you got to be crazy

[Joe]

if you believe that's naive.

[Joe Getty]

I know. How could you be so smart about one thing and so dumb about another thing? First of all, China is not run by scientists and engineers. It's run by the Communist Party. And to the extent that any scientists or engineers are any positions of power, they still have to answer to the Communist Party. It's a country with slaves and no spirit. Free speech. Explain to me how a country with slaves and no free speech having AI would be better than us. And I'm not, you know, touting our leadership or ability and our government and all, you know, give me all the examples of brilliant people that you'd like in charge of things in our government, but China. Give me a break.

[Joe]

Okay. Yeah. That's the perfect example, though, of while the guy's in his lane, I'm absolutely willing to listen to him. But it reminds me of. I don't ask my guitar players for political views. I don't ask my pharmacist for golf tips. You know, just. That's fine. I can take the part of what he says seriously, then dismiss the rest of it.

[Joe Getty]

The part that gave me dread. And then Elon made a comment about universal basic income that I want to talk about too on that whole topic. But the thing that gave me dread was somehow this. Just listening to this conversation, it dawned on me. It's almost hard to get your brain to understand what AI isn't because of the chat bots. And we all anthropomorphize these chat bots for obvious reasons. They anthropomorphize themselves, the companies did, to make them seem like they're human beings when they're talking to us and everything like that. And we have this. A nice job, man. Very perceptive of you. Good luck today. You know, that sort of stuff.

[Joe]

Great question.

[Joe Getty]

It leads you to believe in a very subconscious level that they have some ability to recognize morality or right and wrong in a way that human beings always have. It doesn't at all. There is zero right and wrong or morality in the world of AI. Zero if AI for some reason, and this is an example the guy gave, if AI for some reason decided, you know, our computers would run better if the planet were colder because, you know, they get too hot. So it do whatever it's got to do to lower the temperature of the planet, even if it killed everyone, it has zero concept of right and wrong or morality in. In terms of human beings. Zero. Like it can't. For obvious reasons. It can't even conceive of the question.

[Joe]

Right. We did a feature on the gal philosophy PhD, whatever she was for OpenAI as I recall, who was trying to teach it ethics. And I wish her well. I just, I don't love her chances. And again, what about China?

[Joe Getty]

Well, and all of that stuff is fine up to the point that it reaches artificial general intelligence. Then it's teaching itself. It's creating itself. It's. It's programming. It's all. We're completely out of the picture at that point.

[Joe]

Yeah. And in a final chilling note, and it's funny because we've both brought a couple of, you know, stories and topics to this discussion. I think we're gonna hit about one tenth of what we had ready to. But a great interview between journalist and Jared Kaplan, who's the co founder and chief science officer at Anthropic about why they held back that Claude Mythos that they said was too powerful at cyber Hacking and the rest of it. And they couldn't unleash it on the marketplace yet. And they ask, well, the first question is how is Claude Mythos different, more powerful, more dangerous from previous models released by Anthropic? Mr. Kaplan and responds, I think most people have experienced the fact that our computers get faster and faster over time and over many decades there's this very smooth Trend where every 18 months maybe computer processing power doubles. I think AI is on, I think AI is on a trend in which it's improving maybe 10 times faster than that. A lot of the earliest work that I did in AI was around identifying the scaling trend in AI Quad Mythos is the latest model from Manthropic, but it's not different because it's qualitatively different. It's really just kind of the culmination of the trend of AI models getting smarter, smarter and smarter at all kinds of general capabilities etc, but at blinding

[Joe Getty]

speed, which will increase exponentially to where it could be doubling its ability like every half a second. I mean it can pick up speed to where it's going to do that. And there's no reason to think it's not going to. Now.

[Joe]

If I were a betting man, I would bet that all of this might end mankind as we know it. But of course, if I won that bet, how would they pay me off? Because mankind has ended as we know

[Joe Getty]

it, which is really the all time catch 22.

[Joe]

But to head in the Sanders, which is another group I think that we didn't mention looking at AI I give you this headline from the New York Times. Mutually Automated Destruction. The escalating global AI arms race. China, the U.S. russia and others have ramped up their contest over artificial intelligence backed weapons and military systems. The buildup has been compared to the dawn of the Nuclear weapons Agency. You got to win it. Period. You've got to win it.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Again, I was listening to this AI expert yesterday and he started, he started on the podcast, very negative in the hosts were asking, you know, you're, you're seem really scared about this. He said, I don't understand why everybody's not scared about this. He said everybody should be terrified. This is taking off at such a pace and we're almost past the point of no return already. What the type of AI it is.

[Joe]

Yeah, exactly. One more time, that's the philosopher for our times.

[Joe Getty]

What the type of AI it is.

[Joe]

What the F type of AIs is this or it is, if you prefer that pronunciation.

[Joe Getty]

Even with all the concerns about China versus the United States and the weapons and everything like that which I'm into. Quite possible. AI is going to dominate the planet in which we don't make those calls. China doesn't make those calls. We're we could all end up in a dictatorship of AI worldwide that you can't break out of.

[Joe]

And those of you who are, you know, open hearted, loving, can't we bring the world together? When you see the earth from space, you wish we could all just put aside our differences. There's somebody in a hut in China with a completely different accent and one in Africa and one in Scandinavia and one in Ireland all saying what the f type of AIs is this what

[Joe Getty]

the type of AI it is.

[Joe]

And if they aren't now, they will be next year is there because they don't have finally say yes, we've finally come together. I don't know how you would say

[Joe Getty]

one more time what the type of AI it is. It is. I gotta start doing that half of every word and see if people can understand me.

[Joe]

I'm thank you, Katie. That's a hard no, huh? Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

No, don't do that. So coming up, we have got Elon with a post yesterday about the universal basic income around the whole AI which I just think is crazy. Anyway, that and other stuff on the way. Stay tuned.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Gettysburg if you're feeling off fatigue, mood changes, skin shifts, yet your labs say everything's normal.

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[Jack Armstrong]

Visit innerbalance.com today to start feeling like yourself again.

[Commercial Narrator 2]

That's innerbalance.com People, don't listen to radio ads while you're driving or making a sandwich. Your subconscious pays full attention. So relax, let it take over.

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[NFL Draft Announcer]

The countdown is on for the 2026 NFL Draft presented by Bud Light. Catch all seven rounds three days live from Pittsburgh, April 23rd through 25th. Watch every pick live on NFL Network, ESPN and ABC. NFL Network Network is also streaming with NFL Plus. It all starts Thursday at 8pm Eastern. Visit NFL.com draft for more information. Subscription required for NFL Plus. Visit Plus.NFL.com for terms.

[Public Investing Advertiser]

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[Joe Getty]

Horrible.

[News Reporter]

Putrid.

[Joe Getty]

I feel like I just gotta go with rotten. Like slightly spoiled milk. Unbearable.

[Joe]

Impressive.

[Jack Armstrong]

Like I don't think I smell a flower that smells like that any anywhere.

[Commercial Narrator]

It's milder than I was expecting.

[Joe Getty]

Dumpster the famous corpse flower has bloomed in Massachusetts. You've probably heard about this every couple of years when it finally blooms and smells like a dying beast. Dead beast.

[Joe]

I does it bloom every other year or every year? If it's every other year. I've heard about this every other year since I was eight years old.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, it's enormous.

[Joe]

The corpse flower. That's the other interesting part of it. Yes, it smells like a rotten dumpster that needs to be hosed out. But yeah, it's also gorgeous and enormous.

[Joe Getty]

Interesting evolutionary thing. Somehow a flower figured out that if it smells like a dead animal, which everything tries to stay away from, it has a better chance of surviving. Life is incredible in terms of its ability to figure out how to survive on the planet. Just amazing. So I'll have a duck update. Probably an hour 4.

[Joe]

A duck date if you want.

[Joe Getty]

What's our Michael about the duck update? Duck watch 26 yes, we'll continue in hour four as I had five little ducklings that I took in overnight, had them in a box with a towel and now I've released them back to their mom.

[Joe]

There are very few times I wish we were a TV show. But I'd love to see the graphics that would go along with that music. Play it again, Michael. Duck watch 26. I see like a duck coming down for landing and looking at the camera.

[Joe Getty]

See, I see a mom and its baby ducks running across the screen.

[Joe]

Oh, that's so sweet. Speaking of things that you'll enjoy, one of the most amusing things I have ever heard about AI it's actually about how humans are messing with it. Next hour. That's right, our four. Four hours. If you don't get it, grab it later. Subscribe to our podcast. Armstrong, you get on demand. You can listen when we. When you want.

[Joe Getty]

I take in a lot of AI stuff. I think it's the most interesting topic on planet Earth right now. And it may be for the rest

[Joe]

of our short lives.

[Joe Getty]

But Elon Musk tweeted out last night. Universal high income via checks issued by the federal government. Okay, this is the first time they've ever connected those dots. So the federal government is going to somehow collect the revenue from these companies that are, you know, being so incredibly productive that they've decided to give away giant chunks of their profits for the first time in human history. Willingly anyway. Sure. Universal high income via checks issued by the federal government is the best way to deal with unemployment caused by AI AI Robotics will produce goods and services far in excess of the increase of the money supply, so there will not be inflation. I don't, I just. Elon's a genius, but this makes no sense to me. So pick, pick your company. Nike's going to be able to make so many shoes so cheap and we'll all have 10 pairs of Nikes or whatever and they're gonna willingly give over like half of their profits to the government. And then the government, which is unless

[Joe]

more than 50 is what you need an Uncle Sam.

[Joe Getty]

You just tell us the number, right? And then the government is so good at spreading money around evenly in a way that way that we think is fair.

[Joe]

What? And won't it all become an enormous factory of graft and favor granting and the rest of it?

[Joe Getty]

And we're all gonna grow up and we're all gonna decide we're comfortable with everybody gets the same amount of money and we all have exactly the same lifestyle, despite the fact that I'm willing to work harder and I'm smarter than that person, or vice versa.

[Joe]

If you believe that. I got some advice for you. Go ahead and pay the contractor before the job is done. And when he says we'll come back and take care of this, believe him.

[Joe Getty]

Oh okay. Duck update and everything in hour four. If you're done with us, get the podcast Armstrong and Getty on demand Armstrong

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[Jack Armstrong]

If you're feeling off fatigue, mood changes, skin shifts, yet your labs say everything's normal.

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[Jack Armstrong]

Visit innerbalance.com today to start feeling like yourself again.

[Commercial Narrator 2]

That's innerbalance.com People, don't listen to radio ads while you're driving or making a sandwich. Your subconscious pays full attention, so relax. Let it take over.

[Sunday Lawn Care Advertiser]

Sunday makes yard care simple with a custom plan based on your soil, climate and yard size. No pesticides, no harsh stuff. Custom Sunday Lawn Plan Order today and get your custom Sunday lawn plan ready for the season ahead. Sunday A smarter, healthier Yard the countdown

[NFL Draft Announcer]

is on for the 2026 NFL Draft presented by Bud Lightning. Catch all seven rounds three days live from Pittsburgh, April 23rd through 25th. Watch every pick live on NFL Network, ESPN and ABC. NFL Network is also streaming with NFL Plus. It all starts Thursday at 8pM Eastern. Visit NFL.com draft for more information. Subscription required for NFL Plus. Visit+NFL.com for terms.