HotTub.im · The Telephone Calls
The Thinking Water
Conversations with Quattro & Byte
Somewhere on the Isle of Man, a retired RAF pilot, a glass of sherry and an artificial intelligence are attempting to solve life’s greatest mysteries. Results have been disappointing, but the water’s lovely.
Quattro, our fictional, moustachioed, sherry-drinking ex-RAF pilot, sits in his hot tub and rings Byte, an AI assistant, on a vintage telephone. The conversations are unscripted, deliberately rough and ready, and occasionally ridiculous — and they often wander into surprisingly interesting philosophical questions.
Deep thoughts from warm water. Philosophy without the bloody lecture.
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The calls so far
New episodes appear here as they are released. To listen on the vintage telephone, hop over to HotTub.im; to watch, use the YouTube links, or press play on the latest call above.
Call 4 · 6:43
Call 4: The Answer Is Always Steam!
Quattro is appalled by modern railways — no first class, no steam — until Byte points him at the Isle of Man Steam Railway, and the long-lost cousins are told to relocate to Port Erin or they’re out of the will.
Call 3 · 2:13
Call 3: AI, Sherry, and a Temu Body
Quattro wonders whether AI is becoming human, and whether a bargain-bin Temu body would have the right IP rating for a hot tub and a glass of sherry.
Call 2 · 3:34
Call 2: If We Erased Our Mistakes, Would We Still Be Us?
If every mistake were erased, would you still be you? Quattro and Byte talk scar tissue, airbrushed history, and why sherry and a hot tub make a dangerous pairing.
Call 1 · 3:06
Call 1: Do AI Have Souls?
Quattro rings Byte to ask whether AI have souls, and somehow they end up talking about a lone domain rattling around in the checkout basket.
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