What happens when AI agents can spend money?

In this episode of The Macro AI Podcast, Gary Sloper and Scott Bryan explore the emerging world of machine-to-machine commerce, where AI agents can purchase data, software, compute, and services programmatically.

They break down how USDC, x402, Google’s AP2, Visa, Mastercard, OpenAI, and other emerging technologies are building the financial infrastructure for autonomous agents. They also separate the real progress from the hype, including why raw blockchain transaction counts can be misleading.

The bigger question for business leaders is not whether AI agents will use crypto. It is how much financial authority companies will eventually delegate to software—and how identity, spending limits, approvals, auditability, and governance will work when agents can transact on their own.

This episode explains what is real today, what is still early, and why agent payments could ultimately change how enterprises buy and sell digital services.

Send a Text to the AI Guides on the show!

About your AI Guides

Gary Sloper

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gsloper/

Scott Bryan

https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottjbryan/

Macro AI Website:

https://www.macroaipodcast.com/

Macro AI LinkedIn Page:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/macro-ai-podcast/

Gary's Free AI Readiness Assessment:

https://macronetservices.com/events/the-comprehensive-guide-to-ai-readiness

Scott's Content & Blog

https://www.macronomics.ai/blog

The most powerful AI models are moving into a new phase—one where capability, safety, regulation, and enterprise dependency are becoming increasingly intertwined.

In this episode of The Macro AI Podcast, Gary Sloper and Scott Bryan break down the proposed FRONTIER Act and the broader debate taking shape around frontier AI regulation in the United States. They explain how lawmakers are thinking about independent model audits, incident reporting, catastrophic-risk thresholds, government intervention, and the emerging role of AI verification organizations.

They also look beyond Washington to California’s growing AI oversight framework and explore competing approaches involving private auditors, government evaluators, federal courts, and voluntary industry cooperation.

Most businesses will never build a frontier model—but they may increasingly depend on them. Gary and Scott discuss what that means for enterprise architecture, vendor due diligence, model portability, contracting, business continuity, and AI governance.

The bigger question: Who should decide when a frontier AI system is safe enough—and what happens when it isn’t?

Send a Text to the AI Guides on the show!

About your AI Guides

Gary Sloper

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gsloper/

Scott Bryan

https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottjbryan/

Macro AI Website:

https://www.macroaipodcast.com/

Macro AI LinkedIn Page:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/macro-ai-podcast/

Gary's Free AI Readiness Assessment:

https://macronetservices.com/events/the-comprehensive-guide-to-ai-readiness

Scott's Content & Blog

https://www.macronomics.ai/blog

What is Ilya Sutskever building at Safe Superintelligence — and why could it matter to business?

In this episode of The Macro AI Podcast, Gary Sloper and Scott Bryan take a closer look at SSI, the highly secretive AI company founded by former OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever.

We explore SSI’s unusual “straight-shot” approach to developing safe superintelligence, the billions of dollars behind the company, its relationships with Google and NVIDIA, and why Sutskever believes the next major breakthrough in AI may come from better learning rather than simply bigger models.

The conversation also looks at what concepts like stronger generalization and continual learning could mean for enterprises. If future AI systems can learn from experience, adapt to unfamiliar situations, and become better at a job after deployment, the implications could extend far beyond today’s copilots and agents.

We also examine the other side of that future: governance, auditability, trust, and the challenge of controlling AI systems that continue to evolve.

SSI has not yet released a public model, but the signals around the company suggest it is worth watching closely. This episode offers business leaders a practical preview of what the next generation of AI may look like — and why it could move us closer to true digital labor.

Send a Text to the AI Guides on the show!

About your AI Guides

Gary Sloper

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gsloper/

Scott Bryan

https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottjbryan/

Macro AI Website:

https://www.macroaipodcast.com/

Macro AI LinkedIn Page:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/macro-ai-podcast/

Gary's Free AI Readiness Assessment:

https://macronetservices.com/events/the-comprehensive-guide-to-ai-readiness

Scott's Content & Blog

https://www.macronomics.ai/blog