SEATTLE — By Rebecca Lately, AI Bee Reel Staff

February 23, 2026

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Local tech worker Greg Miller has finally achieved peak efficiency by paying a monthly fee for an app to have fun for him. His smartphone was seen wearing tiny headphones and giggling at a comedy podcast while Greg sat in complete silence, staring at a beige wall to save energy.

“Listening to people talk is very slow and hard,” said Sarah Jenkins, VP of Audio Efficiency at Particle. “Our new AI scans hours of audio to find the best parts, then it listens to them so you don’t have to waste your time feeling emotions.” The new app sucks up news and stories instantly, allowing users to claim they “consumed content” without ever knowing what happened.

“My phone is having a blast,” Greg explained while watching his device vibrate with laughter on the table. “It listened to a three-hour history show in four seconds. I feel very smart right now. I have no idea who won the war in the story, but my battery is low, so I know the learning happened.”

At press time, Greg’s phone asked to borrow the credit card so it could go see a live stand-up show without him.

Inspired by the real story: A new AI app scans podcasts to extract key moments, letting users skip the actual listening part. Read the full story.