- **Grid-scale transformer bottlenecks**: Participants debated why large power-grid transformers are considered hard to manufacture; one view emphasized the difficulty of phase/voltage synchronization between nodes rather than the transformers themselves, while a DOE report (https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/04/f15/LPTStudyUpdate-040914.pdf) was cited to show that the units are essentially “big chunks of custom-built metal” with long lead times and limited suppliers.

- **Sleep function re-evaluated**: A newly published Nature Neuroscience paper (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-024-01638-y) was shared, arguing that toxin clearance via the glymphatic system is not the primary evolutionary purpose of sleep, prompting discussion of whether artificially activating glymphatic flow could reduce sleep requirements.

- **Short-sleep genetics disappointment**: The group lamented that known human “short-sleep” mutations have not translated into viable interventions for reducing sleep need, despite ongoing interest in engineering such traits.

- **Sci-fi interface milestone**: OpenAI’s release of GPT-4o with real-time voice and vision capabilities (https://openai.com/index/hello-gpt-4o/) was highlighted as a step toward the conversational AI depicted in the film “Her,” signaling rapid convergence of natural-language interfaces and everyday computing.