TRASHFUTURE – PREVIEW What a Pickle! feat. Abi Thorn
Date: January 9, 2026
Main Theme:
The hosts and guest Abi Thorn take a critical, humorous look at the latest in AI-driven personal tech—specifically an absurd new AR glasses product called “Pickle OS.” They riff on the bigger cultural trends of digital self-surveillance, Silicon Valley's bizarre “soul computing” marketing lingo, and the way these products reflect their creators' fixations and ethics.
Overview
- Context: The team moves from discussing pathological online behavior and fascist psychology to the outlandish promises of “soul computing” in consumer tech, embodied by the fictional/fake “Pickle OS” AR glasses.
- Tone: Satirical, biting, irreverent; the hosts and Abi mix personal anecdotes, tech critique, and social commentary.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
1. Dominance, Humiliation, and Digital Sadism
[00:00 – 01:55]
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Tech and Power Fantasies: The episode opens linking random internet users' desire to dominate and humiliate, threading this to larger fascist tendencies. Social media and technology are framed as outlets for instant, sadistic gratification.
- Quote:
“It's the domination of a hated or detested person, but realized instantly...I want your humiliation...That is the orgy.”
— A [00:00]
- Quote:
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Example: Trump’s sociopathic relationship with reality is compared to these digital dynamics.
- Quote:
“For all of these people, this is a sort of a fun, sadistic game until it isn't and it's too late.”
— B [01:45]
- Quote:
2. Introducing “Pickle OS”: The AI With a ‘Soul’
[01:59 – 04:05]
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What is Pickle OS?
- A satirical overview of Pickle OS, supposedly devised by “Daniel Park” who wants to usher in the “era of soul computing.”
- Pure tech marketing absurdity: promises “personal intelligence” that amplifies human agency by giving you an “AI soul.”
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Techno-utopian Claims:
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Quote:
“We need soul computing. We need to announce the era of soul computing.”
— A [02:22] -
Abi Thorn retort:
“James Brown has announced the era of soul computing.” [02:54] “I am the intelligence that sees my life and learns to understand me. I have a soul already. Why would I need to buy one?”
— C [03:35]
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The Hardware:
- AR glasses, marketed as “sculpted to suit every face,” but actually ugly and impractical.
3. Privacy Nightmares & The Value-Add Fallacy
[04:14 – 07:08]
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Functionality Exposed:
- Glasses record everything seen and heard, analyze patterns (“bubbles” of info), and offer pop-up suggestions—often unwelcome and invasive.
- Dangers of being “a walking recording setup.”
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Marketing versus Reality:
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Quote:
“Don't rely on any of this.”
— A [05:18] (on the generative AI disclaimer) -
Mocking the Utility:
“I don't need a fucking pop up that tells me to kill myself. I get thousands of them every day.”
— C [06:19] -
The product is declared “fake, it's not real,” underscoring the performative, speculative nature of so many tech launches.
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Parodying Surveillance:
- Quote:
“Some kind of pansexual Opticon, if you will.”
— B [07:31] (panopticon wordplay)
- Quote:
4. Self-Optimization as Surveillance
[07:09 – 09:08]
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AI & Techno-Self Help:
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The AI criticizes you for “over-optimization,” tracking your every purchase and activity, then scolding you for not living up to your own quantified standards.
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Quote:
“Your biggest weakness is over optimization one, you try to buy discipline rather than have it…”
— A [07:47] -
Quote:
“I'm sort of clutching my glasses to my face and rolling around in agony as it tries to do like Jocko Willink motivation shit on me.”
— B [07:51]
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LLMs as Reflections of Their Makers:
- AI chatbots replicate the quirks, judgments, and priorities of their (often Silicon Valley) creators.
- Quote:
“LLMs reflect the personalities of the people that make them... The people who design these are fucking like lizard people from Silicon Valley...”
— A [08:13]
5. Interiorization, Memory, and Outsourcing Humanity
[09:08 – 10:03]
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Critique of Outsourcing Memory:
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The AI promises to “remember everything” for you—including what a quote from Walden meant to you—effectively outsourcing your own interiority.
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Quote:
“What if...all your interiority has been externalized into some glasses...so you don't have to remember what Walden meant to you. It remembers it for you.”
— A [09:27]
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The Value of Forgetting and Memory’s Human Qualities:
- Discussion on how memory is valuable because it is malleable and subjective.
- Quote:
“The whole point of memories is that, like stones on the beach, the more you revisit them, the more they're smooth…and the more the happy ones remain...”
— C [09:47]
6. Memorable Moments & Satirical Gold
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Abi’s zinger on Pickle OS:
“I'm actually looking into getting rid of my pickle, but go on.”
— C [02:18] -
On intrusive thoughts versus AI prompts:
“That's what I have intrusive thoughts for...I don't need to buy it and wear it on my face.”
— B & C [06:29 & 06:47] -
On why we use memory, not AR:
“When I read the book and there's a bit that I like, I highlight it or I copy it out…and then I store those things in my head, in my brain.”
— B [09:08]
Notable Quotes With Timestamps
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On the nature of digital sadism:
“It's the domination of a hated or detested person, but realized instantly... That is the orgy. That's what they're doing.”
— A [00:00] -
On buying a ‘soul’:
"I am the intelligence that sees my life and learns to understand me. I have a soul already. Why would I need to buy one?" — C [03:35]
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On surveillance technology:
“So wait, wait, presumably this also turns you into a sort of like walking recording setup... That is then telling you that your biggest weakness is that you're washed and chopped and so on.”
— B [05:55] -
On the problem with “remembering everything”:
"I don't want to remember everything perfectly... the more you revisit them [memories], the more they're smooth, and the more the happy ones remain..."
— C [09:47]
Timestamps for Key Segments
- 00:00–01:55: Digital sadism, Trump, the gamification of cruelty
- 01:59–04:14: Introduction of Pickle OS and “soul computing”
- 04:14–05:23: The AR glasses specs and pop-up absurdity
- 05:23–07:00: Surveillance, generative AI disclaimers, panopticon jokes
- 07:00–09:08: Self-optimization critique, LLMs as the designer’s psyche
- 09:08–10:03: Memory, interiority, and why outsourcing it is dehumanizing
Summary
This episode lampoons both current AI hype and deeper tendencies in Silicon Valley—namely, the urge to technologize and commodify every aspect of the self, even the soul. Through satire, sharp cultural critique, and irreverent humor, the hosts and Abi Thorn highlight the inherent absurdities and dangers of “smart” tech that promises agency and self-knowledge, but may in fact only reduce human richness to data points and notifications.