Reshaping Workflows with Dell Pro Max and NVIDIA RTX PRO GPUs
Episode: The AI News Revolution with The Neuron
Date: January 15, 2026
Host: Logan Lawler
Guests: Grant (Writer, The Neuron), Corey Knowles (Editor, The Neuron)
Episode Overview
This episode explores the rapid evolution of AI, how news about these advancements is communicated, and the increasingly important role of accessible, nuanced coverage in the AI space. Host Logan Lawler sits down with Grant and Corey from The Neuron, a leading AI newsletter and podcast, to dissect trends in AI model acceleration, the impact on everyday workflows, the implications for critical thinking and education, and the real-world benefits of edge (local) AI on Dell Pro Max hardware powered by NVIDIA GPUs.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Introducing The Neuron – Striking the Balance in AI News
- [00:20–02:27]
- The Neuron delivers daily AI news pitched between dense technical deep-dives and superficial summary newsletters.
- They focus on making critical AI developments accessible and relevant, emphasizing clarity and a sense of humor.
- Logan: “You’re the New York Times... because you’re the only [AI news] I read.” [02:29]
- Grant: "In the AI industry there's two camps ... and there's not enough content that's in the middle." [01:06]
- Corey: "We try to explain some complex stuff to people who have no technical background necessarily, or at least limited." [01:47]
2. Is AI Acceleration Slowing Down or Speeding Up?
- [04:26–08:03]
- Grant: AI progress is now accelerating even faster than a year ago, thanks to both better models and users’ growing proficiency.
- Key force multipliers:
- Human adaptation to AI tools
- Rapid-fire model releases
- Increasing agent capabilities
- Grant: “90% of code is now written by AI at a lot of these companies, especially the AI labs.” [04:54]
- The pace is so fast, AI journalists have to remake the newsletter each day as new stories break.
- Corey: “The number of days that a story drops... and then another story drops that we absolutely cannot not have...” [06:10]
- The public's adoption outpaces traditional corporate uptake; consumer ramp is quick, but enterprise is more tentative.
3. Do Everyday Users Notice the Leap in AI Abilities?
- [10:13–13:37]
- For non-technical users, the difference between, say, Claude Sonnet 4.0 and 4.5 is subtle.
- Corey: “The average person... these differences will seem small despite the fact that they still have a massive impact to maybe science, maybe research, maybe mathematics, to coding, to all kinds of fields.” [10:13]
- The big leap is often only visible in technical or professional domains.
- Multimodal AI (“AI of things”) will quietly permeate devices (fridges, microwaves, doorbell cams).
- OpenAI revealed only a small portion (2–7%) of users engage with advanced reasoning models under the hood.
- Grant: “GPT5... was the first time that people had like the general audience has actually used the smartest AI possible.” [12:17]
4. AI’s Impact on Critical Thinking and Decision Making
- [15:04–18:10]
- Does delegating reasoning to AI erode our critical thinking?
- Grant: “Yes, unequivocally, yes.” [15:04]
- Logan: “I think a little bit of that being able to figure it out and a little bit of that critical thinking is being lost because we serve it up so quickly.” [13:39]
- MIT study: When students use AI to write papers, they retain less; participation matters for cognitive benefits.
- Outsourcing decisions (like where to eat) can be a net positive—“we all get burned out by how many decisions we have to make a day”—but eliminating all genuine choice may not be desirable.
- Corey: “If you’re using AI in a way that is taking away your ability to think, you are doing it wrong. ... Ask it to teach you, ask it to explain things to you.” [17:11]
- Does delegating reasoning to AI erode our critical thinking?
5. AI in Education: Personalized Learning at Scale
- [18:10–23:35]
- New features like "Study with Me" from OpenAI illustrate emerging trends.
- Personalized AI tutors can help every student, not just those with special needs.
- Corey: “...less about AI as a means to cheat and more of it as a way to customize personal education for each student.” [19:31]
- Examples like Alpha School show two-hour personalized AI-driven curricula resulting in significant learning acceleration.
- Grant: “If we have software that does that and we can roll that out to all the schools everywhere. Come on, let's go, we're off to the races.” [22:51]
- Ensuring AI augments, not offloads, critical thinking remains key.
6. Prompting Best Practices and Working with Reasoning Models
- [25:49–29:51]
- Logan shares: His blog/content workflow using Nvidia's Parakeet for transcription, LM Studio for model interaction, and “minimal” prompts.
- Corey: Save recurring workflows as “projects”—each contains a style guide, sample outputs, and core instructions for efficiency and quality control.
- “Anytime we do something that’s great, it gets sucked into a project immediately.” [27:20]
- Grant: Projects are like custom GPTs—store context, instructions, style guides, and writing examples for consistent output.
7. Real-World Power: Dell Pro Max (with NVIDIA RTX PRO GPUs)
- [31:02–38:16]
- Corey: Uses the Dell Pro Max Micro (i7 Ultra, 64GB RAM, Ada 20GB), loves the compact power, can run large models (up to 35B params) locally, no crashes even under stress.
- Local AI advantages:
- No waiting for cloud resources
- Consistent benchmarking environment
- Lower costs, privacy, and fast iteration
- Corey: “This makes that bar higher. I'm able to pretty quickly generate thousand pixel square images… in about a minute.” [34:53]
- Grant: (Premium Mobile) Pushed the hardware beyond typical use (ComfyUI, LM Studio, Docker, Steam, heavy multitasking), crashed once only after “extreme” overload.
- Logan: "The limit is your wallet [on the cloud]; but on local, you just reach the hardware ceiling." [36:36]
8. The Next 12 Months: Speculation & Predictions
- [38:40–43:04]
- Grant:
- OpenAI's public roadmap:
- Year 1: ChatGPT
- Year 2: Reasoning models
- Year 3 (now): Agents
- Year 4+: AI for science (labs automated by AI running real-world experiments)
- Possible “AI winter” or bubble pop, though unclear when or if that’ll occur.
- Watch for breakthroughs in “AI for science” (real-world lab/automation integrations).
- OpenAI's public roadmap:
- Corey:
- “World models” in consumer space—AI-generated video/gaming will explode, with full-length AI feature films in theaters likely by 2026.
- Game dev cycles and content drops will accelerate as software automation improves.
- First practical glimpses of models “improving themselves” (self-coding, patching, self-repair).
- Grant:
9. AI in Content Creation – Hollywood & Beyond
- [43:04–44:10]
- TV/Film are leveraging local AI for scene generation, dramatically cutting production costs.
- Logan: “We saved millions of dollars on this production because no one cares what the sand looks like as long as it looks somewhat real and there's an oasis in the background.” [44:10]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- Logan: “You’re the New York Times... because you’re the only [AI news] I read.” [02:29]
- Grant: “90% of code is now written by AI at a lot of these companies, especially the AI labs.” [04:54]
- Grant: “At the time... only 2%-7% of people… have ever used reasoning models… only 7% of people ever used it.” [12:17]
- Grant: "Yes, unequivocally yes." — on whether AI reduces critical thinking [15:04]
- Corey: “If you’re using AI in a way that is taking away your ability to think, you are doing it wrong.” [17:11]
- Grant: “If we have software that does that and we can roll that out to all of the schools everywhere. Come on, let's go, we're off to the races.” [22:51]
- Corey: “Anytime we do something that’s great, it gets sucked into a project immediately.” [27:20]
- Corey: “This makes that bar higher. ... You get what you wait for.” [34:53]
- Logan: “The limit is your wallet. The limit’s your wallet [in the cloud].” [36:33]
Timestamps for Major Segments
- [00:20] — Guest intros & The Neuron’s value proposition
- [04:26] — Pace of AI development: last year vs. now
- [10:13] — Can the average user feel the difference in new models?
- [15:04] — Critical thinking and decision outsourcing
- [18:10] — AI in education: prospects and pitfalls
- [25:49] — Prompting best practices with advanced models
- [31:02] — Dell Pro Max: local AI performance stories
- [38:40] — Futurecasting: What’s next in AI (2027 and beyond)
- [43:04] — AI in creative industries and content production
- [44:33] — Where to find The Neuron and connect online
Where to Find The Guests
- The Neuron Podcast:
- YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts ("The Neuron: AI Explained")
- Newsletter: theneurondaily.com, theneuron.ai
- Corey on X (Twitter): @CoreyKnowles
- Corey on Sora: @SeeNoEvil
Tone
The episode is informative but playful, with a personable and humorous touch. The guests are unabashedly nerdy but focused on demystifying AI for a wider audience. The show is practical, direct, and energetically curious about both the promise and the peril of current AI trends.
Summary compiled for those seeking depth, new ideas, and actionable insights in the ever-shifting world of AI and next-gen workflows.
