By David Pierce
On The Vergecast: Testing Operator and Deep Research, and catching up on all things DOGE.
Over the last few weeks, OpenAI has done the previously unthinkable: it has consistently shipped interesting new user-facing products. First there was Tasks, a way to engage ChatGPT in helping you get things done. Then there was Operator, a way for the chatbot to actually do things for you. And finally there was “deep research,” an extremely imperfect but still very interesting tool for generating deep dives.
For now, Operator and deep research are both gated behind ChatGPT’s most expensive subscription, the $200-a-month Pro tier. (Tasks is available on the $20 Plus plan.) So on this episode of The Vergecast, we paid up and got to testing. The Verge’s Kylie Robison joins the show to talk about her experience with the shiniest things about ChatGPT – the good, the bad, the ugly, and the really, really, impossibly slow.
After that, The Verge’s Liz Lopatto joins us for an update on Elon Musk and the DOGE takeover of the US government. Liz explains where things stand now, why this is all such a big deal, and where this crisis is really headed. Musk has long assumed, often correctly, that the rules simply don’t apply to him. He’s testing that theory more aggressively than ever, and the consequences will be dire no matter where it ends.
Finally, we answer a question on the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11, or email [email protected]!) about Super Bowl streaming. Nilay joins with some thoughts about the new scorebug, Tubi’s 4K streaming performance, and what we hope gets better before Super Bowl LX.
If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started:
- OpenAI’s new Operator AI agent can do things on the web for you
- ChatGPT’s agent can now do deep research for you
- I tested ChatGPT’s deep research with the most misunderstood law on the internet
- Elon Musk’s rapid unscheduled disassembly of the US government
- DOGE wreaked havoc on the government in just one week
- Federal judge blocks DOGE from accessing sensitive Treasury records
- How Elon Musk’s Department of Energy access could pose a nuclear threat
- What we know about President Elon’s government takeover
- From Sports Business Journal: Fox debuts new score bug at Super Bowl, met with hostility from viewers
By David Pierce
David Pierce is editor-at-large and Vergecast co-host with over a decade of experience covering consumer tech. Previously, at Protocol, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired.
