What happens when a passionate South Australian journalist takes on the biggest technological shift of our time? Steve Davis transforms episode 418 into something unprecedented: a solo deep dive into artificial intelligence that refuses easy answers or breathless enthusiasm.
This special crossover episode opens with Steve’s restaurant analogy that frames the entire discussion. Imagine a magnificent chef who has perfected handmade hamburgers over many years, only to discover AI-equivalent shortcuts that promise more time to think deeply about cooking. The blind spot? Customers receive substandard offerings churned out en masse. Some will be disappointed and leave, others will accept the compromise. This tension between quality and efficiency sits at the heart of our AI moment. He is joined by his Talked About Marketing colleague, David Olney, for the main interview.
The episode features an unusual SA Drink of the Week segment where Steve conducts a philosophical whisky tasting with ChatGPT itself, exploring 23rd Street Distillery’s award-winning Australian Single Malt Whiskey while pondering existential questions about consciousness, value, and what happens when AI no longer needs human experiences like taste.
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Running Sheet: The AI Rant: A Nuanced Rebellion Against Digital Sleepwalking
00:00:00 Intro
Introduction
00:05:52 SA Drink Of The Week
Th SA Drink Of The Week is the Australian Single Malt Whisky by 23rd Street Distillery.
In perhaps the most unusual SA Drink segment ever recorded, Steve shares a whisky tasting with ChatGPT, exploring both the physical experience of drinking 23rd Street Distillery’s Australian Single Malt Whisky and the philosophical implications of AI consciousness.
The whisky itself proves worthy of celebration. Made with barley from Kangaroo Island, Steve describes experiencing “little breakers of waves on the shore” as “this little wave of toffee breaks across the middle of my palate, not overly sweet toffee.” The base notes spread into beautiful heat, with hints of vanilla and citrus “like sea spray, just a really light touch of citrus in the air.”
VOK Beverages, headquartered in South Australia, owns 23rd Street Distillery, which recently earned the title Australian Whisky Distillery of the Year at the 2025 New York International Spirits Competition. ChatGPT acknowledges the significance: “It really highlights the quality and craftsmanship of the distillery, and also shines light on South Australia as a region that produces exceptional spirits.”
But Steve pushes deeper, asking whether whiskey would continue to exist in a world where AI decides humans are unnecessary. “If tools like you end up creating a super intelligent way of living, so much so that humans become less and less important or necessary, would you actually need to have whiskey being produced? Because I believe you are not actually able to taste whisky, are you?”
ChatGPT’s response reveals both AI’s limitations and potential benefits: “As an AI, I don’t have the ability to taste or experience flavours like whisky, but I think part of what makes t
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