Welcome back to The FAIK Files!

In this week's episode:

• HexStrike - the AI-powered hacking tool that can exploit zero-day vulnerabilities in minutes instead of months


• Diverging expert opinions on AI consciousness and welfare


• Switzerland's ambitious new open-source AI model "Apertus"


• Taco Bell is experiencing indigestion after several embarrassing viral AI-powered drive-thru moments

Want to leave us a voicemail? Here's the magic link to do just that: ⁠⁠https://sayhi.chat/FAIK⁠⁠

You can also join our Discord server here: ⁠⁠https://discord.gg/cU7wepaz⁠⁠

*** NOTES AND REFERENCES ***

HexStrike AI Hacking Tool:

• AI-News Story: https://www.artificialintelligence-news.com/news/ai-hacking-tool-exploits-zero-day-security-vulnerabilities-in-minutes/
  


• HexStrike Website: https://www.hexstrike.com
  


• HexStrike on Github: https://github.com/0x4m4/hexstrike-ai
  

Experts Express Diverging Opinions on AI Consciousness / Welfare:

• Anthropic says some Claude models can now end harmful or abusive conversations: https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/16/anthropic-says-some-claude-models-can-now-end-harmful-or-abusive-conversations/
  


• Seemingly conscious AI is coming: https://mustafa-suleyman.ai/seemingly-conscious-ai-is-coming
  


• Exploring Model Welfare (Anthropic): https://www.anthropic.com/research/exploring-model-welfare
  

Switzerland's New Fully-Open-Source Model "Apertus":

• Swiss-AI Homepage: https://www.swiss-ai.org/apertus
  


• Try it out: https://publicai.co/chat
  


• Engadget article: https://www.engadget.com/ai/switzerland-launches-its-own-open-source-ai-model-133051578.html
  


• Full technical report: https://github.com/swiss-ai/apertus-tech-report/blob/main/Apertus_Tech_Report.pdf
  

Taco Bell Rethinks AI Drive-Through After Man Orders 18,000 Waters:

• BBC article: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgyk2p55g8o
  


• TikTok video of the incident: https://www.tiktok.com/@nate.b.jones/video/7544958105654775071?_r=1&_t=ZP-8zQrExEYkf8
  


• The voice ordering provider: https://omilia.com/use-cases/quick-service-restaurants/
  


• Omilia's Taco Bell case study: https://omilia.com/ai-meets-the-drive-thru-taco-bells-journey-to-automated-customer-service/
  

*** THE BOILERPLATE ***

About The FAIK Files:

The FAIK Files is an offshoot project from Perry Carpenter's most recent book, FAIK: A Practical Guide to Living in a World of Deepfakes, Disinformation, and AI-Generated Deceptions.

• Get the Book: FAIK: A Practical Guide to Living in a World of Deepfakes, Disinformation, and AI-Generated Deceptions (Amazon Associates link)


• Check out the website for more info: https://thisbookisfaik.com
  

Check out Perry & Mason's other show, the Digital Folklore Podcast:

• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/digital-folklore/id1657374458
  


• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2v1BelkrbSRSkHEP4cYffj?si=u4XTTY4pR4qEqh5zMNSVQA
  


• Other:

Want to connect with us? Here's how:

Connect with Perry:

• Perry on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/perrycarpenter
  


• Perry on X: https://x.com/perrycarpenter
  


• Perry on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/perrycarpenter.bsky.social
  

Connect with Mason:

• Mason on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mason-amadeus-a853a7242/
  


• Mason on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/pregnantsonic.com
  

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