The Illusion of Apple's AI Research

Brain Farts

The Illusion of Thinking… or Just a PR Stunt?

Welcome to Brain Farts — where critical thinking meets critical gas.

This week, we dive into one of the spiciest tech showdowns of 2025: Apple’s AI research paper *“The Illusion of Thinking.”* The claim? That AI models can’t actually reason. The reality? It might be Apple’s own reasoning that’s... a little off.

💥 Here’s what we’re unpacking in this episode:

- Did Apple just *accidentally* gaslight the entire AI field?
- Why the timing of the paper — right before WWDC — has conspiracy theorists (and academics) raising eyebrows.
- The role of influencers in hijacking the narrative before anyone read the paper (looking at you, LinkedIn).
- Why Gary Marcus popped champagne — and why researchers like Alex Lawsen immediately put it back in the fridge.
- The *actual* technical flaws in the paper — token limits, impossible puzzles, and unfair grading rubrics.
- What happens when corporate strategy collides with scientific integrity — and who ends up cleaning up the mess.

🤖 Spoiler alert: the real illusion might be thinking Apple was doing this for science.

Whether you're a researcher, a strategist, or just someone who yells at Siri for not setting timers correctly, this episode will make you question how tech narratives are shaped — and who benefits.

🧠 Plus: Our favorite critiques, sharpest clapbacks, and a winged brain cameo that (somehow) still makes more sense than Apple’s evaluation scripts.

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🎧 Listen now. Think critically. And maybe don’t take every white paper at face value.

Have thoughts? Complaints? Brain farts of your own? Yell into your HomePod mini. We’re listening.