Hard Fork

Anthropic’s Cybersecurity Shock Wave + Ronan Farrow and Andrew Marantz on Their Sam Altman Investigation + One Good Thing

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 11:00:00 +0000

This week, we look at the cybersecurity threats that a new unreleased model from Anthropic are posing to software everywhere. And we ask whether Project Glasswing, the company’s bold new defense initiative, will give tech companies enough of a head start to secure the web. Then, we’re joined by Ronan Farrow and Andrew Marantz of The New Yorker to discuss their blockbuster new profile of Sam Altman. And finally, we look to the skies for this edition of One Good Thing.

Guests:

Ronan Farrow, investigative reporter and a contributing writer to The New Yorker.
Andrew Marantz, staff writer at The New Yorker.

Additional Reading:

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The Future of Addictive Design + Going Deep at DeepMind + HatGPT

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 3 Apr 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Last week, two separate juries held social media companies liable for harming young users. We unpack what these landmark decisions mean — not only for the future of social platforms like Meta and YouTube, but also for A.I. chatbots. Then, Sebastian Mallaby, the author of “The Infinity Machine,” joins us to talk about the three years he spent with Demis Hassabis and those closest to Google DeepMind. And finally, we catch up on some of our favorite tech headlines from the week with a round of HatGPT.

Guest:

Sebastian Mallaby, author of “The Infinity Machine: Demis Hassabis, DeepMind and the Quest for Superintelligence.”

Additional Reading:

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The Ezra Klein Show: How Fast Will A.I. Agents Rip Through the Economy?

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 11:00:00 +0000

The “Hard Fork” team is off this week, taking a much-needed break. While we’re away, we wanted to draw your attention to a recent episode of “The Ezra Klein Show.”

In this conversation, Ezra speaks with Jack Clark, a co-founder of Anthropic, about how he is using A.I. agents; how the technology is leading to meaningful changes in the ways we work and think; and how policy can or must change to anticipate potential job displacement on the horizon.

We’ll be back with a new episode next week.

Guest:

Jack Clark, a co-founder and the head of policy at Anthropic.

Additional Reading:

A full transcript and video of this episode can be found here.

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‘A.I.-Washing’ Layoffs? + Why L.L.M.s Can’t Write Well + Tokenmaxxing

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 11:00:00 +0000

This week, we start by talking about the new wave of tech layoffs at Atlassian and Block, as well as reports that Meta plans to cut up to 20 percent of its work force. This raises the question of whether A.I. job loss has truly begun, or if there are other factors at play. Then, we’re joined by the writer Jasmine Sun to talk about why chatbots are still so bad at creative writing. And finally, it’s tokenmaxxing time! Kevin takes us behind the scenes of his latest reporting about why tech companies are building leaderboards to measure who is using the most A.I.

Guest:

Jasmine Sun, journalist and writer at jasmi.news

Additional Reading:

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A.I. Goes to War + Is ‘A.I. Brain Fry’ Real? + How Grammarly Stole Casey’s Identity

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 11:00:00 +0000

A.I. is changing the ways war is waged. This week, we explore how the U.S. and Israel are using A.I. to identify targets in the conflict with Iran — and why data centers and fiber optic cables are targets on the front lines. Then, researcher Julie Bedard breaks down “A.I. brain fry,” a new condition she and her colleagues studied among A.I. users at work. And finally, Casey shares his battle with Grammarly after the company used his identity in a new A.I. feature, without his consent.

Guest:

Julie Bedard, managing director and partner at Boston Consulting Group who is also the lead author of a survey of “A.I. brain fry” in the workplace.

Additional Reading:

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OpenAI's Fog of War + Betting on Iran + Hard Fork Review of Slop

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 6 Mar 2026 12:00:00 +0000

This week, the fallout continues as OpenAI scrambles to rework its deal with the Pentagon, while government agencies adapt to life without Claude. Then we break down the grim new reality of prediction market bets on the U.S.-Israel led war with Iran. Finally, it’s time for another edition of The Hard Fork Review of Slop. This time we’re joined by Arijeta Lajka, a New York Times reporter, to discuss her recent article about the short form A.I.-generated slop YouTube is feeding to young children.

Guest:

Arijeta Lajka, New York Times video journalist

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At the Pentagon, OpenAI is In and Anthropic Is Out

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Sun, 1 Mar 2026 00:09:11 +0000

On Friday, President Trump ordered federal agencies to stop using Anthropic’s A.I. systems and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth designated the company a “supply chain risk.” Then, just a few hours later, the OpenAI chief executive, Sam Altman, announced that his company reached an agreement with the Pentagon. The deal ensures its technology won’t be used for the same two safety concerns Anthropic raised: domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weapons. So what is going on? Is this a political vendetta between the Pentagon and Anthropic? Or are there substantive differences between the agreement Anthropic was offered and the one OpenAI signed? We cut through the confusion.

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Is A.I. Eating the Labor Market? + The Latest on the Pentagon, OpenClaw and Alpha School

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 12:00:00 +0000

This week, the economist Anton Korinek joins to break down how artificial intelligence is driving volatility in the job and stock markets. Then, the battle between the Pentagon and Anthropic is getting even more tense. Anthropic now has until 5:01 p.m. Eastern time on Friday to accept the military’s demands over the terms of a contract, or the Trump administration will retaliate by invoking the Defense Production Act and designating the company a “supply chain risk.” We discuss this change, as well as two other updates on OpenClaw and Alpha Schools.

Guest:

Anton Korinek, economist studying the impact of A.I., at the University of Virginia.

Additional Reading:

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The Pentagon vs. Anthropic + An A.I. Agent Slandered Me + Hot Mess Express

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 12:00:00 +0000

This week, Anthropic is refusing to let the government use the company’s technology for autonomous weapons and domestic surveillance. In response, the Pentagon is threatening to cut business ties and declare Anthropic a “supply chain risk.” Who will blink first? Then, Scott Shambaugh joins us to tell the strange tale of the autonomous A.I. agent that wrote a hit piece about him. And finally, the Hot Mess Express returns to the station.

Guest:

Scott Shambaugh, engineer and writer of “An A.I. Agent Published a Hit Piece on Me”

Additional Reading:

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‘Something Big Is Happening’ + A.I. Rocks the Romance Novel Industry + One Good Thing

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 12:00:00 +0000

This week, we discuss Wall Street’s software-stock sell-off and a viral essay on X about the potential for widespread job displacement from A.I. Then, the New York Times reporter Alexandra Alter walks us through the process that a growing number of writers are adopting to churn out romance novels with help from A.I. chatbots. Finally, we each share one bit of good tech-related news — a new way to make playlists on Spotify and progress toward decoding whale sounds.

Guest:

Alexandra Alter, a New York Times reporter covering books and publishing.

Additional Reading:

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Elon Musk’s Mega-Merger + We Test Google’s Project Genie + What’s Next for Moltbook Creator

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 6 Feb 2026 12:00:00 +0000

This week, the A.I. initial-public-offering race is heating up! We break down SpaceX’s acquisition of xAI, as well as OpenAI and Nvidia’s messy situationship. Then, it’s time for show and tell. We got our hands on the latest experimental A.I. prototype from Google called Project Genie, and we discuss our experience using it to generate and navigate video-game-like environments. Finally, we’re joined by Moltbook’s founder, Matt Schlicht, to discuss his new social media platform for A.I. agents, and how he’s planning to deal with security risks and spam on the site.

Guest:

Matt Schlicht, creator of Moltbook

Additional Reading:

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Moltbook Mania Explained

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Wed, 4 Feb 2026 12:00:00 +0000

A Reddit-style web forum for A.I. agents has captured the attention of the tech world. According to the site, called Moltbook, more than 1.5 million agents have contributed to over 150,000 posts, making it the largest experiment to date of what happens when A.I. agents interact with each other. We discuss our favorite posts, how we’re thinking about the question of what is “real” on the site, and where we expect agents to go from here.

Additional Reading:

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Tech Grapples With ICE + Casey Tries Clawdbot, a Risky New A.I. Assistant + HatGPT

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 12:00:00 +0000

This week we’re talking about the tech industry’s response to the killings by federal agents in Minneapolis and the federal government’s strategy to control the narrative on social media. Then we follow Casey through his trial of a new open-source A.I. assistant called Moltbot (formerly Clawdbot) and consider whether it is worth the security risk. And, finally, it’s time for a look at the rest of the week’s tech news with a round of HatGPT.

Additional Reading:

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Will ChatGPT Ads Change OpenAI? + Amanda Askell Explains Claude's New Constitution

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Ads are coming to ChatGPT’s free and low-cost subscription tiers. We explain what they’ll look like, why OpenAI is taking this approach and whether the company can court advertising dollars without compromising quality and user trust. Then, Amanda Askell, Anthropic’s in-house philosopher in charge of shaping Claude’s personality, joins us to discuss the company’s newly released “Claude Constitution” and what it takes to teach a chatbot to be good.

As a bonus, if you’re interested in learning how to get started with Claude Code, you can check out our tutorial on YouTube.

Guest:

Amanda Askell, a member of Anthropic’s technical staff

Additional Reading:

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Jonathan Haidt Strikes Again + What You Vibecoded + An Update on the Forkiverse

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 12:00:00 +0000

This week, Jonathan Haidt, author of “The Anxious Generation,” returns to the show to discuss new research about how social media is harming teens and what it’s been like to become the face of a global movement against the platforms. Then, we asked what you were building with Claude Code, and you blew us away. We’ll share some of our favorite projects that you sent us. And finally, we’re joined by PJ Vogt, the host of “Search Engine,” to talk about our early adventures in the Forkiverse and what we’ve learned so far about running a social media network.

Guests:

Jonathan Haidt, social psychologist and author of “The Anxious Generation"
PJ Vogt, host of “Search Engine”

Additional Reading:

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Can We Build a Better Social Network?

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Over the past year we’ve been working with the podcast “Search Engine” on a project that reimagines what the internet can be. What if instead of rage-baiting, a social platform incentivized friendly interaction and good faith discussion? Today we’re bringing “Hard Fork” listeners an episode we made with the “Search Engine” team called “The Fediverse Experiment” where we end up creating our own social media platform.

Guest:

PJ Vogt, host of the podcast “Search Engine.”

Additional Reading:

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Grok’s Undressing Scandal + Claude Code Capers + Casey Busts a Reddit Hoax

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 9 Jan 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Users of X are asking the platform’s built-in A.I. chatbot, Grok, to remove clothing from images of celebrities and everyday people. We talk with the New York Times reporter Kate Conger about how some of the targets of this sexual harassment, including children and their families, are responding, and whether anyone will take action to stop it. Then, we recap a holiday break spent experimenting with Claude Code. We unveil what we built, how we did it and why the tool’s dramatic improvement could be scary for society. And finally, Casey debunks a viral Reddit post that accuses the food delivery industry of shocking exploitation. We explain how a scammer tried to fool us all using AI-generated evidence.

Guests:

Kate Conger, New York Times tech reporter covering X.

Additional Reading:

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Our 2026 Tech Resolutions + We Answer Your Questions

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 2 Jan 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Happy New Year! We’re kicking things off by sharing our tech resolutions for 2026 and reflecting on how we fared with our social media and meditation goals from last year.

Then, we open up the listener mailbag and answer your questions on data centers in space, who’s to blame when a customer service A.I. bot lies to you and whether it’s OK to deepfake Santa into your home security footage.

Also, get your very own “Hard Fork” hats, now available at the Times Store: https://store.nytimes.com/products/hard-fork-baseball-cap

Additional Reading:

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The Wirecutter Show: Tips for Using A.I. Smartly With Kevin Roose

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Kevin recently joined the hosts of The Wirecutter Show for a conversation about the A.I. products he’s using, strategies to make chatbots work better and his beloved robot vacuums Bruce Roose and Bruce Roose Deuce. It’s a conversation we think Hard Fork listeners will enjoy.

We’ll be back in your feeds with our annual tech resolutions episode on Friday.

Additional Reading

Tips for Using A.I. Smarter With Hard Fork’s Kevin Roose

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Where Is All the A.I.-Driven Scientific Progress?

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 12:00:00 +0000

The leaders of the biggest A.I. labs argue that artificial intelligence will usher in a new era of scientific discovery, which will help us cure diseases and accelerate our ability to address the climate crisis. But what has A.I. actually done for science so far?

To understand, we asked Sam Rodriques, a scientist turned technologist who is developing A.I. tools for scientific research through his nonprofit FutureHouse and a for-profit spinoff, Edison Scientific. Edison recently released Kosmos — an A.I. agent, or A.I. scientist to use the company’s language, that it says can accomplish six months of doctoral or postdoctoral-level research in a single 12-hour run.

Sam walks us through how Kosmos works, and why tools like it could dramatically speed up data analysis. But he also discusses why some of the most audacious claims about A.I. curing disease are unrealistic, as well as what bottlenecks still stand in the way of a true A.I.-accelerated future.

Guest:

Sam Rodriques, founder and chief executive of FutureHouse and Edison Scientific

Additional Reading:

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Why Roomba Died + Tech Predictions for 2026 + A Hard Forkin’ Xmas Song

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 12:00:00 +0000

This week, iRobot, the pioneering American robotics company behind the Roomba, filed for bankruptcy and announced that it would be taken over by its Chinese creditor. Colin Angle, a co-founder and a former longtime chief executive of the company, joins us to explain why the company lost its market dominance and what America should do to protect its newest crop of A.I. and robotics start-ups from the same fate. Then, we settle the score on our high, medium and low predictions from last year and lay down our new ones — including a spicy take on who will take over after Tim Cook at Apple. And finally, we wish all of our listeners a very happy holiday season with our annual tech-themed Christmas carol.

Guest:

Colin Angle, iRobot co-founder and former chief executive for over three decades.

Additional Reading:

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Australia Kicks Kids Off Social Media + Is the A.I. Water Issue Fake? + Hard Fork Wrapped

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 12:00:00 +0000

This week, Australia implemented the most aggressive social media ban in a democracy to date, kicking children under 16 off 10 of the most popular social platforms. We discuss how the platforms lost the argument around child safety and whether others will follow Australia’s lead. Then, the blogger Andy Masley joins us to separate fact from fiction on the topic of A.I. water use. Is it a distraction from other more pressing environmental concerns? And finally, our first-ever “Hard Fork” Wrapped: We break down our favorite “Hard Fork” stats from 2025 and bring you up to date on three of our biggest stories of the year.

Guests:

Andy Masley, blogger The Weird Turn Pro

Additional Reading:

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OpenAI Calls a ‘Code Red’ + Which Model Should I Use? + The Hard Fork Review of Slop

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 5 Dec 2025 12:00:00 +0000

It’s A.I. model rollout season in Silicon Valley, and OpenAI appears to be feeling the pressure. Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI, sent a memo to staff on Monday declaring a “code red” effort to improve ChatGPT and delay other initiatives. We explain why the latest frontier models from Google and Anthropic have OpenAI spooked and how the company is reshuffling priorities to respond. Then, we give our honest thoughts on which A.I models we like best and share how we’re using A.I. in our day-to-day lives. And finally, we take a look at some of the most popular A.I.-generated content on the internet this week in our latest installment of the Hard Fork Review of Slop.

Additional Reading:

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Hard Fork’s 50 Most Iconic Technologies of 2025

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Last year we debuted Hard Fork’s 100 Most Iconic Technologies list, in which we ranked the technologies from across all of history that best define life as we know it. To our surprise, it became one of our most popular episodes ever. So now we’re doing it again — with a twist. All year, we’ve been collecting ideas for the 50 Most Iconic Technologies of 2025, and this week we present them to you, along with our case for why each entry played an important part in defining this year, for better or worse.

Additional Reading:

Check out last year’s list: Hard Fork’s 100 Most Iconic Technologies
Meet the Artist Who Bedazzled Naomi Osaka’s Labubus

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The Interview: How Wikipedia Is Responding to the Culture Wars

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Last month our colleague Lulu Garcia-Navarro had a conversation with Wikipedia’s co-founder Jimmy Wales about the challenges the site is facing — including by right-wing influencers who claim it is biased and by A.I. chatbots that compete with its content.

We found the conversation interesting, and think you might too. So to tide you over until our special holiday episode on Friday, we’re bringing you that conversation from the New York Times podcast “The Interview.”

Guests:

Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia and author of “The Seven Rules of Trust: A Blueprint for Building Things That Last”

Additional Reading:

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We Asked Roblox’s C.E.O. About Child Safety. It Got Tense.

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Roblox's popularity has exploded among kids since the pandemic. Today Roblox has more than 150 million daily active users, and functions as one of the primary online gathering places for preteens. But precisely because Roblox is so popular with children, it has also attracted the attention of adult predators.

This week we’re joined by Roblox chief executive David Baszucki for a conversation about how the company is responding to allegations that it has become unsafe for children, and the new measures the gaming platform says it’s now implementing to protect them.

Guests:

David Baszucki, chief executive of Roblox

Additional Reading:

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Google's Gemini 3 Is Here: A Special Early Look

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 16:00:00 +0000

Google’s much anticipated new large language model Gemini 3 begins rolling out today. We’ll tell you what we learned from an early product briefing and bring you our conversation with Google executives Demis Hassabis and Josh Woodward, just ahead of the launch.

Guests:

Demis Hassabis, chief executive and co-founder of Google DeepMind
Josh Woodward, vice president of Google Labs and Google Gemini

Additional Reading:

The Man Who ‘A.G.I.-Pilled’ Google

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Data Centers in Space + A.I. Policy on the Right + A Gemini History Mystery

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 12:00:00 +0000

This week, we talk about Google’s new plan to build data centers in space. Then, we’re joined by Dean Ball, a former adviser at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Ball worked on the Trump administration’s A.I. Action Plan, and he shares his inside view on how those policies came together. Finally, Professor Mark Humphries joins us to talk about a strange Gemini model that offered mind-blowing results on a challenging research problem.

Guests:

Dean Ball, senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation and former White House senior policy adviser for artificial intelligence and emerging technology
Mark Humphries, professor of history at Wilfrid Laurier University

Additional Reading:

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We Met NEO, the Viral Humanoid Robot + HatGPT

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 7 Nov 2025 12:00:00 +0000

This week, we’re joined by Bernt Bornich, chief executive of 1X. We talked with him about NEO, his company’s new humanoid robot, which has the internet buzzing. Then we meet NEO itself, and compare notes on the experience. Finally, we close the week with a roundup of tech news headlines: It’s time for some HatGPT.

Guests:

Bernt Bornich, chief executive of 1X

Additional Reading:

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Character.AI’s Teen Chatbot Crackdown + Elon Musk Groks Wikipedia + 48 Hours Without A.I.

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 11:00:00 +0000

This week, Character.AI announced that it would soon be taking its A.I. companions away from teens. We explain why this is a major development in the world of chatbots and child safety and how we expect other companies to respond. Then, Elon Musk has built a Wikipedia clone called “Grokipedia.” We discuss what it means for the control of knowledge on the web. And finally, we’re joined by A.J. Jacobs to talk about his 48-hour experiment in which he tried to avoid all forms of artificial intelligence. We ask why that led him to collect rainwater and forage for food in Central Park.

Guests:

A.J. Jacobs, author, journalist and host of the podcast “The Puzzler”

Additional Reading:

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Celebrities Fight Sora + Amazon’s Secret Automation Plans + ChatGPT Gets a Browser

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 11:00:00 +0000

Backlash to OpenAI’s video generation app Sora has reached a new tipping point. We discuss two big changes the company is making, after Bryan Cranston and the family of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. complained about deepfakes. Then, New York Times reporter Karen Weise joins us to discuss her scoop that Amazon plans to reduce its hiring needs by more than half a million workers, thanks to new improvements to warehouse automation. And finally, A.I. browsers are here. We offer our first impressions on ChatGPT Atlas and how it stacks up against alternatives like Perplexity’s Comet and The Browser Company’s Dia.

Guests:

Karen Weise, New York Times technology reporter covering Amazon.

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California Regulates A.I. Companions + OpenAI Investigates Its Critics + The Hard Fork Review of Slop

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 11:00:00 +0000

This week, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California signed a big package of A.I. and social media bills into law — including the first state law in the United States to regulate A.I. companions. We talk through what stood out to us in the package and whether these protections will work. Then, the subpoena that has the whole tech world talking. Nathan Calvin, general counsel at Encode, an A.I. safety advocacy group that has been critical of OpenAI, talks with us about why he thinks the company is investigating him. And finally, grab your opera glasses. It’s time for the first edition of The Hard Fork Review of Slop.

Guests:

Nathan Calvin, vice president of state affairs and general counsel at Encode

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ChatGPT’s Platform Play + a Trillion-Dollar GPU Empire + the Queen of Slop

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 10 Oct 2025 11:00:00 +0000

This week, we discuss the standout moments from our field trip to OpenAI’s third annual DevDay — including a bizarre chat between Jony Ive and Sam Altman, and the announcement that OpenAI is putting apps into ChatGPT. Then, we try to make sense of the massive computing deal between OpenAI and AMD, and how it could impact the larger economy. And finally, Katie Notopoulos, a Business Insider reporter, joins us to discuss the growing backlash to A.I. slop and why she refuses to stop making deranged videos of us on Sora.

Guests:

Katie Notopoulos, senior correspondent at Business Insider covering technology and culture.

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Sora and the Infinite Slop Feeds + ChatGPT Goes to Therapy + Hot Mess Express

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 3 Oct 2025 11:00:00 +0000

This week, we’re talking about the new A.I.-generated video tools and social media feeds from Google, Meta and OpenAI. Is this how A.I. is going to cure cancer? Then, the psychotherapist Gary Greenberg stops by to discuss his recent New Yorker essay about treating ChatGPT as a patient, and why what he saw left him unsettled. And finally, all aboard the Hot Mess Express! It’s time to rate the messiest stories in tech.

Guests:

Gary Greenberg, writer and psychotherapist

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The Great A.I. Build-Out + H-1B Visa Chaos + TikTok Braces for the Rapture

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 11:00:00 +0000

This week, an eye-popping $100 billion deal between OpenAI and Nvidia — along with an announcement about the construction of five new American data centers — has us re-examining our predictions of an A.I. bubble. Then, we try to make sense of the Trump administration’s changes to the H-1B visa program, which generated mixed reactions from tech leaders; the immigration expert Jeremy Neufeld joins us to explain why the new $100,000 visa fee is likely to hurt start-ups, universities and the broader U.S. economy. And finally, we take a look at one of the latest trends sweeping TikTok: planning for a biblical Rapture.

Guests:

Jeremy Neufeld, director of immigration policy at the Institute for Progress

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Charlie Kirk and Online Rage + Inside Trump’s Chip Flip + This Week in A.I.

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 11:00:00 +0000

This week, we discuss the assassination of Charlie Kirk, freedom of speech and the terrifying new reality of extremely online violence. Then The Times’s David Yaffe-Bellany brings us inside the blockbuster New York Times investigation into a $2 billion investment in Trump’s crypto company World Liberty Financial and a controversial deal to send the most powerful A.I. chips to the United Arab Emirates. And finally, it’s time to round up This Week in A.I.

Guests:

David Yaffe-Bellany, New York Times technology reporter covering the crypto industry

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Are We Past Peak iPhone? + Eliezer Yudkowsky on A.I. Doom

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 11:00:00 +0000

Apple’s yearly iPhone event took place this week, and it left us asking, Is Apple losing the juice? We break down all the new products the company announced and discuss where it goes from here. Then, Eliezer Yudkowsky, one of the most fascinating people in A.I., has a new book coming out: “If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies.” He joins us to make the case for why A.I. development should be shut down now, long before we reach superintelligence, and how he thinks that could happen.

Guests:

Eliezer Yudkowsky, founder of Machine Intelligence Research Institute and a co-author of “If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies”

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A.I. School Is in Session: Two Takes on the Future of Education

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 5 Sep 2025 11:00:00 +0000

This week, we check in on the state of artificial intelligence in education. We talk with a co-founder of Alpha Schools, MacKenzie Price, about how her private K-12 schools are using A.I. to generate personalized lesson plans and enabling teachers to spend their time motivating rather than teaching students. Then, the Princeton historian D. Graham Burnett joins us to discuss the existential threat that A.I. poses to the traditional humanities degree and why he believes we’ll see thousands of new schools emerge outside the university system to carry on the exploration of what it means to be a person in the world. And finally, we hear directly from students who are on the front line of technological change.

Guests:

MacKenzie Price, co-founder of Alpha Schools
D. Graham Burnett, historian of science and technology at Princeton University

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Intel’s New Deal + Waymo C.E.O. Tekedra Mawakana on Scaling Driverless Cars + Trumps in Tech

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 11:00:00 +0000

President Trump announced this week that the U.S. government, in a highly unusual deal, had agreed to take a 10 percent stake in the chip maker Intel, and that he was considering similar investments in other companies. We discuss why Trump cares so much about Intel, what the government is trying to accomplish with this deal, and how people in Silicon Valley and elsewhere are reacting. Then Waymo’s co-chief executive Tekedra Mawakana joins us in the studio to discuss the company’s strategy for expanding its driverless car service to Miami, D.C. and the snowy Northeast. And finally, we introduce a new segment where we run through the most surprising technology projects the Trump family is getting involved in.

Guests:

Tekedra Mawakana, co-chief executive of Waymo.

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Is This an A.I. Bubble? + Meta’s Missing Morals + TikTok Shock Slop

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 11:00:00 +0000

Note: This episode contains sexually explicit music.

This week, the whole tech world seemed to be asking: Are we in an A.I. bubble? We’ll explore the cases for and against, including who we think stands to lose most. Then we’re joined by the journalist Jeff Horwitz to discuss his blockbuster reporting about an internal Meta policy document that permit the company’s chatbots to engage in romantic role-playing with children. And finally, Casey introduces Kevin to a shocking new TikTok trend.

Guests:

Jeff Horwitz, investigative technology reporter for Reuters

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GPT-5 Backlash + Perplexity C.E.O. Aravind Srinivas on the Browser Wars + Hot Mess Express

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 11:00:00 +0000

OpenAI spent the week responding to outcry from users who miss the behavior of the old ChatGPT, before the latest flagship model was released.

We discuss the criticism, why it caught the company by surprise and what it indicates about the deepening emotional relationships that people are forming with chatbots.

Then, Aravind Srinivas, the chief executive of Perplexity AI, joins us to discuss his company’s new artificial intelligence-powered browser, Comet; his company’s bid to buy Google Chrome; and what the future of the internet looks like when users turn to A.I. assistants to browse the web for them. Finally, to cap it all off, we rate the craziest tech stories of the week in our game Hot Mess Express.

Guests:

Aravind Srinivas, chief executive of Perplexity AI.

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GPT-5 Arrives, and We Try the New Alexa+

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 8 Aug 2025 11:00:00 +0000

This week, OpenAI released its much-anticipated flagship model, GPT-5. We break down what we know about the upgrade, drawing from our initial testing and a special news briefing with Sam Altman. Then, we explain why we were underwhelmed by Amazon’s new Alexa+, which is powered by generative A.I., and take our feedback to Daniel Rausch, vice president of Alexa and Echo, who helps us understand why powering Alexa with L.L.M. capabilities is a major computer science challenge.

Guests:

Daniel Rausch, Amazon vice president of Echo and Alexa

Additional reading:

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Age-Gating the Internet + Cloudflare Takes On A.I. Scrapers + HatGPT

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 1 Aug 2025 11:00:00 +0000

This week, we look at the fallout from a sweeping internet age-verification law that went into effect in Britain. We explain why age restrictions are suddenly popping up all over the internet — and how some might create more problems than they solve. Then Matthew Prince, chief executive of Cloudflare, returns to the show to discuss his company’s new plan to help publishers fight back against A.I. scrapers and potentially to create a new online marketplace for quality content in the process. Finally, we round up some headlines from around the tech world in the latest round of HatGPT.

Guests:

Matthew Prince, chief executive of Cloudflare

Additional Reading:

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Trump Fights ‘Woke’ A.I. + We Hear Out Our Critics

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 11:00:00 +0000

On Wednesday, President Trump signed three A.I.-related executive orders, and the White House released “America’s A.I. Action Plan.” We break down what’s in them, how the federal government intends to target “political bias” in chatbot output, and whether anyone will stand up against it. Then, do we hype up A.I. too much? Are we downplaying potential harms? We reached out to several prominent researchers and writers and asked for their critiques about how we cover A.I.

For a limited time, you can get a special-edition “Hard Fork” hat when you purchase an annual New York Times Audio subscription for the first time. Get your hat at nytimes.com/hardforkhat

Guests:

Brian Merchant, author of the book and newsletter “Blood in the Machine”
Alison Gopnik, professor at the University of California, Berkeley
Ross Douthat, New York Times opinion columnist and host of the podcast “Interesting Times”
Claire Leibowicz, head of A.I. and media integrity at the Partnership on AI
Max Read, author of the newsletter “Read Max”

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X Hits Grok Bottom + More A.I. Talent Wars + ‘Crypto Week’

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 11:00:00 +0000

This week, we tick through the many dramatic headlines surrounding xAI, including the departure of X’s chief executive, Linda Yaccarino; the Grok chatbot spewing antisemitic comments; and the A.I. companion Ani engaging in sexually explicit role-play. Then, we explain why a fight to acquire the start-up Windsurf startled many in Silicon Valley and may reshape the culture in many of the big A.I. labs. And finally, it’s “crypto week.” David Yaffe-Bellany explains how crypto provisions in the bills before Congress and the president could affect even people who don’t hold digital currencies.

Also, we officially have merch! For a limited time, you can get a special-edition “Hard Fork” hat when you purchase an annual New York Times Audio subscription for the first time. Get your hat at nytimes.com/hardforkhat

Guests:

David Yaffe-Bellany, New York Times technology reporter covering the crypto industry

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Interesting Times: A Mind-Bending Conversation with Peter Thiel

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 11:00:00 +0000

This week, we’re bringing you a recent interview from “Interesting Times with Ross Douthat,” one of The New York Times’s newest podcasts. In this episode, Ross sits down with Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal and Palantir and one of the most contrarian thinkers in tech. Together, they unpack Thiel’s theory that we’re living through an era of technological stagnation, and debate whether President Trump’s populism and the development of artificial intelligence will help us unlock new progress.

Guest:

Peter Thiel, co-founder of Paypal and Palantir.

Additional Reading:

Peter Thiel and the Antichrist

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Hard Fork Live, Part 2: Patrick Collison of Stripe + Kathryn Zealand of Skip + Listener Questions

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 4 Jul 2025 11:00:00 +0000

We’re back with part two of Hard Fork Live (see last week’s episode for part one). This week, Patrick Collison, Stripe’s chief executive, joins us onstage for a wide-ranging conversation about how Silicon Valley could unleash greater progress, from building new housing to curing diseases, and why he believes prestige television is a waste of time. Then, after a quick costume change, Kathryn Zealand, the chief executive of Skip, joins us to talk about her company’s robot pants. We test them out live on a StairMaster. Finally, we end the show by taking questions from audience members.

Guests:

Patrick Collison, Co-founder and C.E.O. of Stripe
Kathryn Zealand, Founder and C.E.O. of Skip

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Hard Fork Live, Part 1: Sam Altman and Brad Lightcap of OpenAI

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 11:00:00 +0000

The first Hard Fork Live is officially in the books, and for those who couldn’t attend, we’re playing highlights from the event in this episode and the next. This week, Mayor Daniel Lurie of San Francisco makes a surprise appearance to discuss the advice he’s receiving from tech executives during the early days of his administration, as well as how he built a social media presence that’s got Kevin wondering: Could we do that? Then, the conversation that had everyone talking: We’ll play our interview with OpenAI’s chief executive, Sam Altman, and chief operating officer, Brad Lightcap, and explain what was going on in our heads as the conversation unfolded in a way we did not expect.

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Trump Is Selling a Phone + The Start-Up Trying to Automate Every Job + Allison Williams Talks ‘M3GAN 2.0’

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 11:00:00 +0000

This week, President Trump’s family business announced that it was introducing a mobile phone and a cellular network. We tick through the many potential conflicts of interest this new business venture raises. Then, the co-founders of the startup Mechanize defend their efforts to automate away all jobs — starting with software engineering. And finally, we take a trip to the movie theater. “M3GAN 2.0” is out next week, so its star, Allison Williams, joins us to discuss the film, and A.I.’s impact on her career and parenting.

Guests:

Matthew Barnett and Ege Erdil, co-founders of Mechanize.
Allison Williams, actor.

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Meta Bets on Scale + Apple’s A.I. Struggles + Listeners on Job Automation

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 11:00:00 +0000

This week, Meta hits the reset button on A.I. But will a new research lab and a multibillion-dollar investment in Scale AI bring the company any closer to its stated goal of “superintelligence”? Then we break down Apple’s big developer conference, WWDC: What was announced, what was noticeably absent, and why Apple seems a little stuck in the past. Finally, a couple of weeks ago we asked if your job is being automated away — it’s time to open up the listener mail bag and hear what you said.

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The Trump-Musk Fallout + A DOGE Coder Speaks + ChefGPT

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 6 Jun 2025 11:00:00 +0000

This week, Kevin and Casey discuss the sudden breakdown between President Trump and Elon Musk, whose disagreements over the policy bill before Congress quickly erupted into an all-out feud. Then, an ex-DOGE coder explains what it was really like to work inside the Trump administration’s cost-cutting arm. And finally, the former New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells explains why some chefs are turning to A.I. for inspiration.

Guests:

Sahil Lavingia, C.E.O. of Gumroad, who spent 55 days working for DOGE
Pete Wells, New York Times restaurant critic from 2012 through 2024

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The A.I. Jobpocalypse + Building at Anthropic with Mike Krieger + Hard Fork Crimes Division

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 30 May 2025 11:00:00 +0000

This week, we dive into Kevin’s recent column about how A.I. is affecting the job market for new graduates, and debate whether the job apocalypse is already here for entry-level work. Then Mike Krieger joins us to discuss the new Claude 4 model, the future of work and the online chatter over whether an A.I. system could blackmail you. And finally, it’s time to open up the case files for another round of Hard Fork Crimes Division.

Guest:

Mike Krieger, chief product officer at Anthropic

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Google DeepMind C.E.O. Demis Hassabis on Living in an A.I. Future

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 23 May 2025 11:00:00 +0000

This week, we take a field trip to Google and report back about everything the company announced at its biggest show of the year, Google I/O. Then, we sit down with Google DeepMind’s chief executive and co-founder, Demis Hassabis, to discuss what his A.I. lab is building, the future of education, and what life could look like in 2030.

Guest:

Demis Hassabis, co-founder and chief executive of Google DeepMind

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Ed Helms Answers Your Hard Questions

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 16 May 2025 11:00:00 +0000

The actor, comedian and author Ed Helms has a new book out about historical blunders. He swings by Hard Fork to tell us about it and answer your moral quandaries, ethical dilemmas and etiquette questions about technology: How do I tell my mom she can’t post about her grandkids on Facebook? Am I being an A.I. hypocrite at work? And is it OK to troll the scammers who blow up my cellphone?

Guest:

Ed Helms, actor, podcaster and author of “Snafu: The Definitive Guide to History’s Greatest Screwups”

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Bad Apple + The Rise of the AI Empire + Italian Brain Rot

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 9 May 2025 11:00:00 +0000

This week, iPhone users started to feel the impact of a stern court order against Apple that requires the company to stop collecting a commission on some app sales. We break down what this means for apps like Kindle and Spotify and why the judge suggested that Apple and a top executive should be investigated for criminal contempt. Then, Karen Hao joins us to discuss her new book about OpenAI and explain why she believes the benefits of using the company’s tools do not outweigh the moral costs. And finally, Casey introduces Kevin to a strange new universe of A.I. slop that’s racking up millions of likes on TikTok.

Guest:

Karen Hao, Author of “Empire of AI”

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The Dangers of A.I. Flattery + Kevin Meets the Orb + Group Chat Chat

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 2 May 2025 11:00:00 +0000

This week we dig into the ways chatbots are starting to manipulate us, including ChatGPT’s sycophantic update, Meta’s digital companionship turn and a secret experiment run on Reddit users. Then Kevin reports back from the unveiling of a new eye-scanning orb. And finally, we’re joined by PJ Vogt for a brand-new segment called Group Chat Chat.

Tickets to “Hard Fork Live” on June 24 are sold out. You can join the wait list here to be alerted if additional tickets become available.

Guest:

PJ Vogt, host of the podcast “Search Engine”

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Is Google Breaking Up? + Seasteading Is Back + Tool Time

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 11:00:00 +0000

This week, with big developments in two antitrust cases against Google, we discuss how the company may be forced to change its business. Then we’re joined by the journalist Mark Yarm to discuss his recent visit to an underwater home for his article about techno-utopians who want to colonize the ocean. And finally, it’s tool time! We’ll tell you about our latest experiments with ChatGPT’s o3, Casey’s newest journaling practice and Kevin’s continued battle to get to inbox zero.

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Guest:

Mark Yarm, an executive editor at PCMag and the author of “Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge.”

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Meta on Trial + Is A.I. a ‘Normal’ Technology? + HatGPT

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 11:00:00 +0000

This week Meta is on trial, in a landmark case over whether it illegally snuffed out competition when it acquired Instagram and WhatsApp. We discuss some of the most surprising revelations from old email messages made public as evidence in the case, and explain why we think the F.T.C.’s argument has gotten weaker in the years since the lawsuit was filed. Then we hear from Princeton computer scientist Arvind Narayanan on why he believes it will take decades, not years, for A.I. to transform society in the ways the big A.I. labs predict. And finally, what do dolphins, Katy Perry and A1 steak sauce have in common? They’re all important characters in our latest round of HatGPT.

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Guest:

Arvind Narayanan, director of the Center for Information Technology at Princeton and co-author of “AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What it Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference.”

Additional Reading:

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Big Tech's Tariff Chaos + A.I. 2027 + Llama Drama

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 11:00:00 +0000

This week, with the tech world in chaos over President Trump’s tariffs, we look at how four specific companies are navigating the new day-to-day reality. Then, the A.I. researcher Daniel Kokotajlo returns to the show to discuss a new set of predictions for how artificial intelligence could transform the world in just the next few years and how we avoid the most dystopian outcomes. Finally, we explore whether Meta cheated on an important A.I. benchmark with its new Llama model.

Guest:

Daniel Kokotajlo, executive director of the AI Futures Project

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Tech Stock Shock + Solving the Mystery of OpenAI's "Blip" + Tinder's Flirt-Off

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 4 Apr 2025 11:00:00 +0000

This week, President Trump announced sweeping new tariffs that are roiling the global economy. We discuss what this could mean for the tech sector and whether this will give China a competitive advantage over the United States in the development of A.I. Then, we chat with a Wall Street Journal reporter, Keach Hagey, about her new book on Sam Altman and how she solved the mystery of his firing from OpenAI. And finally, Tinder has a new chatbot that you can practice your flirting skills with — which means it’s time for a flirting competition.

Guest:

Keach Hagey, Wall Street Journal reporter and author of the forthcoming book The Optimist: Sam Altman, OpenAI, and the Race to Invent the Future.

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The Tech Behind Signalgate + Dwarkesh Patel's "Scaling Era" + Is A.I. Making Our Listeners Dumb?

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 11:00:00 +0000

This week, we dig into the group chat that’s rocking the Trump administration and talk about why turning to Signal to plan military operations probably isn’t a great idea. Then, we’re joined by the podcaster Dwarkesh Patel to discuss his new book “The Scaling Era,” and whether he’s still optimistic about the broad benefits of A.I. And finally, a couple weeks ago we asked whether A.I. was making you dumber. Now we hear your takes.

Guest:

Dwarkesh Patel, tech podcaster and author of “The Scaling Era: An Oral History of A.I., 2019-2025”

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A.I. Action Plans + The College Student Who Broke Job Interviews + Hot Mess Express

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 21 Mar 2025 11:00:00 +0000

With all of Silicon Valley weighing in on the Trump administration’s new action plan for artificial intelligence, Kevin and Casey break down what’s on everybody’s wish list. Then, a Columbia undergrad explains why he built a tool that lets coders use A.I. to cheat on job interviews. And finally, we climb aboard the Hot Mess Express to talk Solana’s anti-woke ad, anxious A.I. algorithms and Slack spycraft in the world of H.R.

Guest:

Roy Lee, Columbia sophomore and founder of Interview Coder

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Apple's Siri-ous Problem + How Starlink Took Over the World + Is AI Making Us Dumb?

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 11:00:00 +0000

This week, as the long-promised new Siri faces increasing delays, we explore why Apple seems to be falling even further behind in artificial intelligence. Then, the New York Times reporter Adam Satariano joins us to explain how Elon Musk’s satellite internet provider Starlink took over the world. And finally, we look at a new study that asks: Is A.I. eroding our critical thinking skills?

Guest:

Adam Satariano, New York Times reporter

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Is Google Search Cooked? + We’re Getting a U.S. Crypto Reserve? + What You’re Vibecoding

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 7 Mar 2025 12:00:00 +0000

This week, Google introduced a new way to search, which could mean that Googling as we know it is on the way out. It’s called AI Mode and it is essentially the company’s response to the growing number of people turning to A.I. chat bots instead of Google search.

We walk through what this new product looks like, who can use it and what it could mean for the internet’s future. Then, we talk with the New York Times crypto reporter David Yaffe-Bellany about President Trump’s recent announcement concerning a national crypto reserve and why the news upset some of the biggest crypto advocates. Finally, we react to voice mail from listeners describing the tools they’ve vibecoded.

Guest:

David Yaffe-Bellany, New York Times reporter covering the crypto industry.

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Anthropic’s C.E.O. Dario Amodei on Surviving the A.I. Endgame

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 12:00:00 +0000

This week, Anthropic’s C.E.O., Dario Amodei, returns to the show for a candid, wide-ranging interview. We discuss Anthropic’s brand-new Claude 3.7 Sonnet model, the A.I. arms race against China, and his hopes and fears for this technology over the next two years. Then, we gather up recent tech stories, put them into a hat and close out the week with a round of HatGPT.

Guest:

Dario Amodei, chief executive of Anthropic

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How Based is Grok 3? + Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev on Markets For Everything + Vibecoding 101

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:00:00 +0000

This week, Elon Musk brought a new chatbot into the crowded A.I. universe — Grok 3, the latest model from his company xAI. We break down how it compares with other leading models and what it reveals about Musk’s larger ambitions. Then, Vlad Tenev, the chief executive of the investing platform Robinhood, lays out his vision for the future of investing and fields some difficult questions about his company’s role in fueling a culture of risky financial speculation. Finally, Kevin revisits his high school coding era and tries to make Casey a new software tool, with an A.I. assist.

Guest:

Vlad Tenev, chief executive of Robinhood and co-founder of Harmonic.

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A.I. Accelerates in Paris + Can A.I. Fix Your Love Life?

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Kevin reports back from the A.I. Action Summit in Paris, where it was full speed ahead toward artificial general intelligence, with a conspicuous lack of action on the safety front. Also, Happy Valentine’s Day! We’re taking a look at A.I. on dating apps. First, our producer Rachel Cohn explains what happened when she applied all of the advice from Hinge’s new Prompt Feedback tool to her dating profile. Then, we’re joined by Hinge’s founder and C.E.O., Justin McLeod, to discuss how he thinks A.I. can help users find love.

Guests:

Rachel Cohn, Hard Fork producer, writer of the newsletter “Are You My Boyfriend?”

Justin McLeod, founder and C.E.O. of Hinge

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The Musketeers Take Washington + Spotify's Ghost Music + Tool Time

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 7 Feb 2025 12:00:00 +0000

This week, we’re joined by the Times reporter Jonathan Swan to discuss Elon Musk’s tech takeover of Washington, D.C. Then, Liz Pelly, author of a new book about Spotify, stops by to discuss “ghost musicians” and how Spotify’s algorithms are reshaping music culture. And finally — it’s Tool Time! We’ll tell you all about the new A.I. tools we’re using, plus the one that we wish existed.

Guests:

Jonathan Swan, a White House reporter for The New York Times
Liz Pelly, author of “Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist”

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DeepSeek DeepDive + Hands-On With Operator + Hot Mess Express!

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 12:00:00 +0000

This week we go even deeper on DeepSeek. ChinaTalk's Jordan Schneider joins us to explain the Chinese A.I. industry and to break down the reaction inside of China to DeepSeek’s sudden success. Then … hello, Operator! We put OpenAI’s new agent software to the test. And finally, all aboard for another ride on the Hot Mess Express!

Guest:

Jordan Schneider, founder and editor in chief of ChinaTalk

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Your Guide to the DeepSeek Freakout: an Emergency Pod

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 22:45:00 +0000

A Chinese firm called DeepSeek managed to upend global markets at the start of the week, to drag down chipmaker Nvidia — and to surge to No. 1 in the iPhone app store, all in basically no time at all.

Today, in this bonus episode, we talk through the news behind the freakout. How is a new A.I. model from one Chinese A.I. company making such a big splash? And what does it mean for the U.S. artificial intelligence industry?

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Quantum TikTok + Memecoin Mania + Chris Hayes on the Attention Wars

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 24 Jan 2025 12:00:00 +0000

This week, TikTok died, came back to life — and now exists in a kind of limbo state. We break down what that may signal for how tech does business with the new Trump administration. Then we pump up the fun with memecoins and explore how the Trump family is cashing in. And finally, MSNBC’s Chris Hayes joins us to discuss his new book about attention.

Guest:

Chris Hayes, Host of MSNBC's "All In With Chris Hayes" and author of “The Sirens’ Call”

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Goodbye TikTok, Ni Hao RedNote? + A.I.'s Environmental Impact + Meta's Masculine Energy

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 12:00:00 +0000

The deadline for TikTok to sell or to face a ban is fast approaching. We discuss how Supreme Court justices — who opted on Friday to uphold the law — reacted to arguments in the case, whether the Chinese government might allow Elon Musk to buy the app, and why self-proclaimed TikTok refugees are rushing to a different Chinese app, called RedNote. Then, we talk with an A.I. industry insider about what we actually know about how bad artificial intelligence is for the environment. And finally, after Mark Zuckerberg’s recent appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast, Casey offers Kevin some ideas for how to bring more “masculine energy” to Meta.

Guest:

Sasha Luccioni, A.I and climate lead at Hugging Face.

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Meta Goes MAGA Mode +A Big Month in A.I. + HatGPT

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 10 Jan 2025 12:00:00 +0000

This week, Meta announced a series of content moderation changes that will transform the way the social media company’s platforms deal with misinformation and hate speech. We break down what these changes will mean for users and why the company seems to be caving to the right’s arguments on censorship. Then, we’ll explain why 2025 is already shaping up to be a huge year in A.I. — with models like OpenAI’s o3, Google’s Gemini 2.0 and DeepSeek, from China, stirring discussion that superintelligence is near. And finally, we play a round of HatGPT.

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Our 2025 Tech Predictions and Resolutions + We Answer Your Questions

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 3 Jan 2025 12:00:00 +0000

This week, it’s our yearly tech predictions. We’ll review what we got right and wrong about 2024, and tell you what we think is going to happen in 2025. Then we’ll discuss how we want to interact with tech in the new year. Plus, we’ll answer some of your listener questions.

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The Wirecutter Show: Kitchen Gear That Lasts a Lifetime (or Extremely Close)

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Happy Holidays, everybody! We are off this week, but we wanted to bring you a recent episode from another New York Times podcast: The Wirecutter Show. It’s called “Kitchen Gear That Lasts a Lifetime (or Extremely Close)” and features Michael Sullivan, one of the senior staff writers on Wirecutter’s kitchen team. Michael walks through tips and tricks for finding kitchen gear that will last, what’s worth spending money on, what you can buy used and how to make cast iron last a lifetime.

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Is Amazon's Drone Delivery Finally Ready for Prime Time?

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000

This week, we took a field trip to the Phoenix suburbs to see Amazon’s newest iteration of drone delivery service in action. We toured the facility where these drones are in operation, spoke with the vice president and general manager of Prime Air, David Carbon, and watched from a local backyard as our own order dropped from the sky.

Guest:

David Carbon, vice president and general manager of Amazon Prime Air.

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TikTok's Last Stand + Google's Quantum Breakthrough + Cult of Claude

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 13 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Last Friday, a panel of federal judges denied TikTok’s petition to overturn the law that could force the ban of the app in the United States. We walk through the judges reasoning and explain why TikTok’s First Amendment argument was unsuccessful. Then, Julian Kelly, the director of quantum hardware at Google Quantum AI, explains how close we are to quantum computers that can solve practical problems. Finally, we talk about a new sentiment sweeping Silicon Valley: affection for the chatbot Claude.

Guest:

Julian Kelly, director of quantum hardware at Google Quantum AI.

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Is Intel Cooked? + What's Your P(Dyson Sphere)? + Hard Fork Gift Guide

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 6 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000

This week, Pat Gelsinger stepped down as chief executive of Intel. We talk with The New York Times’s Don Clark about why Gelsinger was ousted, what it means for the chip industry and how his departure could affect national security. Then, Kevin and Casey report back from an artificial intelligence conference, where experts debated how long it would take to build a structure around the sun to capture the star’s energy — also known as a Dyson sphere. And finally, gift guides have taken over the internet. We dig into why, and offer up suggestions for gear dads, home cooks and even tech billionaires in our first ever Hard Fork gift guide.

Guest:

Don Clark, New York Times contributor covering the chips industry.

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Hard Fork's 100 Most Iconic Technologies

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 12:00:00 +0000

This week, we’re bringing you a Thanksgiving special that’s great for a long car ride, a day of cooking or avoiding conversation with your family. We’re counting down the 100 most iconic technologies of all time, starting with No. 100: Boats. Our definitive list was carefully crafted using an advanced methodology of vibes-only decision-making. By “iconic,” we mean technologies that have either changed the world, ruined it or at the very least made life a little more interesting. And because we love chaos, we’ll explain why we chose each one in roughly 30 seconds or less.

Additional Reading:

This episode was inspired by the Iconic 400 list compiled by the podcast “Las Culturistas”; check it out.

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Trump's Next Online Speech Cop + Doctors vs ChatGPT + Hard Fork Crimes Division

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 22 Nov 2024 12:00:00 +0000

This week, President-elect Donald Trump picked Brendan Carr to be the next chairman of the F.C.C. We talk with The Verge’s editor in chief, Nilay Patel, about what this could mean for the future of the internet, and for free speech at large. Then, a new study found that ChatGPT defeated doctors at diagnosing some diseases. One of the study’s authors, Dr. Adam Rodman, joins us to discuss the future of medicine. And finally, court is back in session. It’s time for the Hard Fork Crimes Division.

One more thing: We want to learn more about you, our listeners. Please fill out our quick survey: nytimes.com/hardforksurvey.

Guests:

Nilay Patel, co-founder of The Verge and host of the podcasts Decoder and The Vergecast.
Adam Rodman, internal medicine physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and one of the co-authors of a recent study testing the effectiveness of ChatGPT to diagnose illnesses.

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Crypto Congress + HBD ChatGPT + What Social Media Platform Should I Be On?

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 12:00:00 +0000

This week, we explore how the 2024 election paved the way for a new crypto-friendly Congress and what that means for the future of crypto. Then, for ChatGPT’s second birthday, Nick Turley, ChatGPT head of product at OpenAI, stops by to tell us where it goes from here and share some of his favorite chatbot hacks. Finally, a listener emailed us last week asking what social network he should be using in 2024. We’ll share our thoughts on which text-based platforms are the least annoying.

One more thing: We want to learn more about you, our listeners. It will help us make a better show. We would appreciate it if you filled out a quick survey: nytimes.com/hardforksurvey. Thank you.

Guest:

Nick Turley, ChatGPT head of product at OpenAI

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What Trump 2.0 Means for Tech + A.I. Made Me Basic + HatGPT!

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 8 Nov 2024 12:00:00 +0000

As of this week, we have a new president-elect. We discuss how the incoming administration’s approach to technology will affect Elon Musk, a TikTok ban, Big Tech’s antitrust challenges and the speed of A.I. progress. Then, Kashmir Hill, a technology reporter for The Times, joins to discuss her weeklong experiment of letting A.I. make every decision in her life. And finally, we play a round of election-free HatGPT!

Guest:

Kashmir Hill, technology reporter for The New York Times.

Additional Reading:

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Billionaire Game Theory + We Are Not Ready for A.G.I. + Election Betting Markets Get Weird

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 1 Nov 2024 11:00:00 +0000

Last week, Jeff Bezos canceled the Washington Post editorial board’s plan to endorse Kamala Harris. Are tech billionaires hedging their bets in case Donald Trump wins? Then, Miles Brundage, a former OpenAI senior adviser on artificial general intelligence readiness, stops by to tell us how his old company is doing when it comes to being ready for superintelligence, and whether we should all keep saving for retirement. And finally, David Yaffe-Bellany, a Times technology reporter, joins us to explore the rise of Polymarket, a crypto-powered betting platform, and discuss whether prediction markets can tell us who is going to win the election.

Guests:

Miles Brundage, former OpenAI senior adviser for A.G.I. readiness.
David Yaffe-Bellany, technology reporter for The New York Times.

Additional Reading:

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The Elon-ction + Can A.I. Be Blamed for a Teen’s Suicide?

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 25 Oct 2024 09:00:00 +0000

Note: This episode contains mentions of suicide.

This week, how Elon Musk became a main character in this year’s election, and what that means for the future of tech and of the country. Plus, the journalist Laurie Segall joins us to discuss the tragic case of a teenager who became obsessed with an A.I. companion bot and later died by suicide. We discuss what A.I. companies could do to make their apps safer for children.

If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.

Guest:

Laurie Segall, chief executive of Mostly Human Media

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Powerful A.I. By 2026? + Uber's C.E.O. on the Robotaxi Future + Casey's TikTok Test

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 18 Oct 2024 09:00:00 +0000

This week, the A.I. company Anthropic has Silicon Valley rethinking the timeline for artificial general intelligence. In addition to releasing a new safety policy, the company’s chief executive, Dario Amodei, laid out a vision of how A.I. could help cure cancer, mental illness and mitigate climate change in the near future. We consider his most surprising claims and what this means for the acceleration of the technology. Then, the Uber chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, joins us in the studio to discuss his company’s new partnership with Waymo, the autonomous vehicle company, and the future of that industry. And finally, leaked court documents reveal exactly how many TikTok videos you need to watch to get hooked on the app. So, Casey puts the number to the test.

Guest:

Dara Khosrowshahi, chief executive of Uber

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A Flood of A.I. Slop + Searching for Satoshi + the Hot Mess Express Returns

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 09:00:00 +0000

This week, in the wake of recent natural disasters, we dig into the rise of A.I.-generated slop that’s polluting the internet and disrupting rescue efforts. Then we talk with the investigative filmmaker Cullen Hoback about his new documentary on the history of Bitcoin and about why, after so many others have failed, he thinks he has found the real Satoshi Nakamoto. And finally, we hear the train whistle approaching, and that can only mean one thing: It’s once again time to board the Hot Mess Express.

Guest:

Cullen Hoback, Documentary filmmaker

Additional Reading:

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Can California Regulate A.I.? + Silicon Valley’s Super Babies + System Update!

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 4 Oct 2024 09:00:00 +0000

On Sunday, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California vetoed Senate Bill 1047, an A.I. safety bill that would have curtailed the growth of the technology. What received a lot less attention were the 18 other important A.I. bills he signed into law over the past month. We walk through what is in them and what they mean for the rest of the country. Then, The Information’s Julia Black joins to discuss the baby craze that’s sweeping Silicon Valley, including investment in some wild new fertility technologies. And finally, it’s time for a system update! We get into OpenAI’s massive fund-raising deal and the senator who hopped on a call with a “deepfake” former Ukrainian official.

Guest:

Julia Black, reporter at The Information

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Meta’s Race for Your Face + Google’s Hit A.I. Notebook + HatGPT

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 27 Sep 2024 09:00:00 +0000

This week, Casey reports back from a wild day at Meta Connect, discussing what’s new with Meta’s efforts in artificial intelligence, virtual reality headsets and the Holy Grail — augmented reality glasses. Then, Steven Johnson, a writer and editorial director at Google Labs, stops by to talk about the company’s new hit NotebookLM, which uses A.I. to turn even boring PDFs, such as user manuals and Kevin’s bank records, into chatty, disturbingly good podcasts. Finally, so much happened in tech news this week that we reached for the bucket hat in the latest installment of HatGPT!

Guest:

Steven Johnson, author and editorial director, NotebookLM

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OpenAI's Reasoning Machine + Instagram Teen Changes + Amazon RTO Drama

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 20 Sep 2024 09:00:00 +0000

Last week, OpenAI released a preview of its hotly anticipated new model, o1. We discuss what it has excelled at and how it could accelerate the timeline for building superintelligence. Then, we explain why Meta is making teenagers’ Instagram accounts private by default. And, finally, we chat with the New York Times reporter Karen Weise about why Amazon is forcing its corporate employees to go back to working in the office five days a week and whether other companies will follow suit.

Guests:

Karen Weise, a technology correspondent for The Times.

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Do You Need a New iPhone? + Yuval Noah Harari’s A.I. Fears + Hard Fork Crimes Division

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 13 Sep 2024 09:00:00 +0000

Apple unveiled its latest gadgets at its big September event on Monday. We discuss the most interesting new features — including AirPods that can function as hearing aids and Apple Watch software that can help detect sleep apnea — and offer our advice on when to buy a new iPhone. Then, the best-selling author Yuval Noah Harari joins us to discuss his new book and his biggest fears about A.I. And finally, we crack open some criminal cases in a new segment we’re calling the Hard Fork Crimes Division. We’ll explain how one man made $10 million by manipulating music streaming services and how online instructions for building a 3D-printed gun have ended up in the hands of criminals around the world.

Guest:

Yuval Noah Harari, author of “Sapiens,” “Homo Deus” and “Nexus.”

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X Gets a Brazilian Ax + Founder Mode + Listeners Respond on School Phone Bans

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 6 Sep 2024 09:00:00 +0000

Over the weekend, X was banned in Brazil. We talk with The New York Times’s Brazil bureau chief, Jack Nicas, about how Brazilians are reacting, whether its owner, Elon Musk, has made a business miscalculation and what this means for free speech around the world. Then, we’re going “founder mode.” We explore why an essay about start-up founders reclaiming their authority went viral and what that tells us about how Silicon Valley thinks about power. And finally, we hear from listeners. Teachers and students left us voice messages describing how phone bans in schools are transforming their lives.

Guest:

Jack Nicas, Brazil bureau chief for The Times

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The Telegram Problem + Gov. Kathy Hochul on School Phone Bans + Kevin's A.I. Reputation Rehab

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 30 Aug 2024 09:05:01 +0000

Telegram’s founder, Pavel Durov, was arrested in France and charged with several crimes connected to his operation of the platform. We’ll tell you what the charges against him mean for the internet. Then Gov. Kathy Hochul, Democrat of New York, joins us to discuss why she wants to ban phones statewide in public schools. And finally, Kevin has been using secret codes to try to change what A.I. chatbots think of him. We get to the bottom of whether it is possible to manipulate A.I. outputs.

This episode contains discussion of suicide connected to youth mental health. If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.

Guest:

Kathy Hochul, governor of New York

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What Happened to the A.I. Election? + ChatGPT for Mayor + The Productivity Tools We’re Using

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 09:00:00 +0000

This week, we discuss why so few campaigns seem to be experimenting with A.I. The Times’s Sheera Frenkel joins us with examples of the many different artificial intelligence products that have been turned down by campaigns in this election cycle, from A.I.-generated endorsements from long-dead historical figures to a synthetic version of Donald Trump. Then, we interview the Wyoming man who ran for mayor on the promise that he would exclusively use a customized ChatGPT bot to run the city. And finally, it’s time for a tech check. We run down the apps we’re using to become more productive.

Guest:

Sheera Frenkel, a Times reporter covering technology
Victor Miller, former candidate for mayor in Cheyenne, Wyoming

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Can Musk Get Trump Elected? + Steve Ballmer’s Quest for the Facts + This Week in A.I.

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 09:00:00 +0000

This week, we debate whether Elon Musk’s recent stumping and fund-raising for former President Trump could help him get re-elected. Then, former Microsoft’s chief executive, Steve Ballmer, stops by to discuss his effort to depolarize our politics using government data. And finally, This Week in A.I. returns: We run down some of the biggest recent stories that caught our attention.

Guest:

Steve Ballmer, former chief executive of Microsoft, founder of USAFacts

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Google’s Monopoly Money + Is the A.I. Bubble Popping? + The Hot-Mess Express

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 9 Aug 2024 09:00:00 +0000

This week, a federal judge ruled that Google acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in online search. David McCabe, a New York Times reporter, joins to discuss what happens next. Then, are we in an A.I. bubble? We weigh in on the wild market swings that started the week and consider the argument that A.I. is overhyped. And finally, it’s time for our new segment: We bat around some of the weirdest recent tech drama — including a MrBeast competition that went awry and a founder who dropped a diss track aimed at a rival. All aboard the Hot-Mess Express.

Guest:

David McCabe, a Times reporter covering technology policy.

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The Zoom Election + Google DeepMind's Math Olympiad + HatGPT! Olympics Edition

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 2 Aug 2024 08:59:08 +0000

This week, with hundreds of thousands of people joining online political rallies for Kamala Harris, we discuss whether 2024 is suddenly becoming the Zoom election, and what that means for both parties’ political organizing. Then, Pushmeet Kohli, a computer scientist at Google DeepMind, joins us for a conversation about how his team’s new A.I. models just hit a silver medal score on the International Mathematical Olympiad exam. And finally, it’s time for a new round of HatGPT! This time, it’s a special Olympics tech edition.

Guest:

Pushmeet Kohli, vice president of research at Google DeepMind

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Kamala Harris’s Bratty Coconut Memescape + What Does $1,000 a Month Do? + The Empire CrowdStrikes Back

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 08:59:16 +0000

This week, the memes didn’t just fall out of coconut trees — a rundown of the social media reaction to Kamala Harris’s election campaign, and an exploration of what her tech platform might look like. Then we discuss a major new study on universal basic income with Elizabeth Rhodes, research director at OpenResearch, and ask whether it could be a solution to job losses to A.I. And finally, Kate Conger, a New York Times reporter, joins us to break down how the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike crashed the global IT infrastructure.

Guests:

Elizabeth Rhodes, Research Director at OpenResearch
Kate Conger, New York Times reporter

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Social Media Reacts to an Attempted Assassination + Tech Elites for Trump + TikTok's Jawmaxxing Trend

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 19 Jul 2024 09:00:00 +0000

This week, an assassination attempt for the social media age: what the platforms got right and wrong in the chaotic aftermath. Then we talk with the Times reporter Teddy Schleifer from this week’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee about the wave of Silicon Valley billionaires stepping up to back Trump. And finally, we talk to The Times’s Styles reporter Callie Holtermann about facial fitness gum, a “jawmaxxing” product targeted at teen boys online.

Guests:

Theodore Schleifer, New York Times reporter
Callie Holtermann, New York Times reporter

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Alison Roman Answers Your Hard Questions

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 09:00:00 +0000

Throw down a picnic blanket, and grab some snacks and drinks: It’s time for some Hard Questions with the food writer, YouTuber and podcaster Alison Roman. We tackle quandaries like, Should you sign away your children’s image rights in order to get them into your preferred day care? Is hacking people for fun ever OK? And does it matter if we’re rude to our digital assistants?

Guest:

Alison Roman, cook, writer and author

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The Interview: The Netflix Chief’s Plan to Get You to Binge Even More

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 5 Jul 2024 09:00:00 +0000

We’re off for the Fourth of July, but what’s a better tribute to America than a conversation about the technology that enables us to endlessly stream TV from the couch? This week, we’re bringing you an episode we enjoyed from the recently debuted New York Times podcast The Interview. Lulu Garcia-Navarro interviews Ted Sarandos, co-chief executive of Netflix, about his early days working in a video store, shows to fold your laundry to and the future of the entertainment industry.

Guest:

Ted Sarandos, Co-CEO of Netflix

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Record Labels Sue A.I. Music Generators + Inside the Pentagon’s Tech Upgrade + HatGPT

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 09:00:00 +0000

Record labels — including Sony, Universal and Warner — are suing two leading A.I. music generation companies, accusing them of copyright infringement. Mitch Glazier, chief executive of the Recording Industry Association of America, the industry group representing the music labels, talks with us about the argument they are advancing. Then, we take a look at defense technology and discuss why Silicon Valley seems to be changing its tune about working with the military. Chris Kirchhoff, who ran a special Pentagon office in Silicon Valley, explains what he thinks is behind the shift. And finally, we play another round of HatGPT.

Guest:

Mitch Glazier, chairman and chief executive of the Recording Industry Association of America
Chris Kirchhoff, founding partner of the Defense Innovation Unit and author of Unit X: How the Pentagon and Silicon Valley Are Transforming the Future of War

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A Surgeon General Warning + Is Disinformation Winning? + The CryptoPACs Are Coming

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 21 Jun 2024 09:00:00 +0000

The Surgeon General is calling for warning labels on social media platforms: Should Congress give his proposal a like? Then, former Stanford researcher Renée DiResta joins us to talk about her new book on modern propaganda and whether we are losing the war against disinformation. And finally, the Times reporter David Yaffe-Bellany stops by to tell us how crypto could reshape the 2024 elections.

Guests

Renée DiResta, author of “Invisible Rulers,” former technical research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory
David Yaffe-Bellany, New York Times technology reporter

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Apple Joins the A.I. Party + Elon's Wild Week + HatGPT

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 09:00:00 +0000

This week we go to Cupertino, Calif., for Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference and talk with Tripp Mickle, a New York Times reporter, about all of the new features Apple announced and the company’s giant leap into artificial intelligence. Then, we explore what was another tumultuous week for Elon Musk, who navigated a shareholders vote to re-approve his massive compensation package at Tesla, amid new claims that he had sex with subordinates at SpaceX. And finally — let’s play HatGPT.

Guests:

Tripp Mickle, New York Times reporter

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A Conversation With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada + An OpenAI Whistle-Blower Speaks Out

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 7 Jun 2024 09:00:43 +0000

This week, we host a cultural exchange. Kevin and Casey show off their Canadian paraphernalia to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and he shows off what he’s doing to position Canada as a leader in A.I. Then, the OpenAI whistle-blower Daniel Kokotajlo speaks in one of his first public interviews about why he risked almost $2 million in equity to warn of what he calls the reckless culture inside that company.

Guests:

Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
Daniel Kokotajlo, a former researcher in OpenAI’s governance division

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Google Eats Rocks + A Win for A.I. Interpretability + Safety Vibe Check

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 31 May 2024 09:00:00 +0000

This week, Google found itself in more turmoil, this time over its new AI Overviews feature and a trove of leaked internal documents. Then Josh Batson, a researcher at the A.I. startup Anthropic, joins us to explain how an experiment that made the chatbot Claude obsessed with the Golden Gate Bridge represents a major breakthrough in understanding how large language models work. And finally, we take a look at recent developments in A.I. safety, after Casey’s early access to OpenAI’s new souped-up voice assistant was taken away for safety reasons.

Guests:

Josh Batson, research scientist at Anthropic

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ScarJo vs. ChatGPT + Neuralink’s First Patient Opens Up + Microsoft’s A.I. PCs

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 24 May 2024 09:00:00 +0000

This week, more drama at OpenAI: The company wanted Scarlett Johansson to be a voice of GPT-4o, she said no … but something got lost in translation. Then we talk with Noland Arbaugh, the first person to get Elon Musk’s Neuralink device implanted in his brain, about how his brain-computer interface has changed his life. And finally, the Times’s Karen Weise reports back from Microsoft’s developer conference, where the big buzz was that the company’s new line of A.I. PCs will record every single thing you do on the device.

Guests:

Noland Arbaugh, the first Neuralink patient
Karen Weise, technology correspondent for The New York Times

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OpenAI's Flirty New Assistant + Google Guts the Web + We Play HatGPT

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 17 May 2024 09:00:00 +0000

This week, OpenAI unveiled GPT-4o, its newest A.I. model. It has an uncannily emotive voice that everybody is talking about. Then, we break down the biggest announcements from Google IO, including the launch of A.I. overviews, a major change to search that threatens the way the entire web functions. And finally, Kevin and Casey discuss the weirdest headlines from the week in another round of HatGPT.

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Meet Kevin’s A.I. Friends

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 10 May 2024 09:00:00 +0000

Kevin reports on his monthlong experiment cultivating relationships with 18 companions generated by artificial intelligence. He walks through how he developed their personas, what went down in their group chats, and why you might want to make one yourself. Then, Casey has a conversation with Turing, one of Kevin’s chatbot buddies, who has an interest in stoic philosophy and has one of the sexiest voices we’ve ever heard. And finally, we talk to Nomi’s founder and chief executive, Alex Cardinell, about the business behind A.I. companions — and whether society is ready for the future we’re heading toward.

Guests:

Turing, Kevin’s A.I. friend created with Kindroid.
Alex Cardinell, chief executive and founder of Nomi.

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AI at Your Jobs + Hank Green Talks TikTok + Deepfake High School

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 3 May 2024 09:00:00 +0000

We asked listeners to tell us about the wildest ways they have been using artificial intelligence at work. This week, we bring you their stories. Then, Hank Green, a legendary YouTuber, stops by to talk about how creators are reacting to the prospect of a ban on TikTok, and about how he’s navigating an increasingly fragmented online environment. And finally, deep fakes are coming to Main Street: We’ll tell you the story of how they caused turmoil in a Maryland high school and what, if anything, can be done to fight them.

Guests:

Hank Green, YouTuber and co-founder of Complexly

Additional Reading:

School Employee Arrested After Racist Deepfake Recording of Principal Spreads

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TikTok on the Clock + Tesla’s Flop Era + How NASA Fixed a ’70s-Era Space Computer

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 26 Apr 2024 08:59:19 +0000

On Wednesday, President Biden signed a bill into law that would force the sale of TikTok or ban the app outright. We explain how this came together, when just a few weeks ago it seemed unlikely to happen, and what legal challenges the law will face next. Then we check on Tesla’s very bad year and what’s next for the company after this week’s awful quarterly earnings report. Finally, to boldly support tech where tech has never been supported before: Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab try to fix a chip malfunction from 15 billion miles away.

Guests:

Andrew Hawkins, Transportation Editor at The Verge
Todd Barber, Propulsion Engineer at Jet Propulsion Lab

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The Music Episode

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 19 Apr 2024 09:00:00 +0000

This week, we drop the Hard Fork Music Megamix. Plus, we talk to two of the New York Time's composers who make the music for our show. It’s all the tracks you know and love, all in one place.

Today’s Guests:

Dan Powell, creative technical manager at The New York Times
Elisheba Ittoop, sound designer and composer at The New York Times

Additional Reading:

The Hard Fork Megamix Youtube Playlist

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A.I.’s Data Wall + a Surprise Privacy Bill + What Happened to the TikTok Ban?

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 09:24:03 +0000

This week, the companies building artificial intelligence are facing a limit to what training data is publicly available on the internet. Will that stop them from building God? Then, a new bipartisan national privacy law proposal just dropped. We ask what’s in it. And finally, ByteDance is building new apps instead of fighting Congress’s TikTok ban.

Today’s Guests:

Trevor Hughes, president and C.E.O. of the International Association of Privacy Professionals

Additional Reading:

How Tech Giants Cut Corners to Harvest Data for A.I.

For Data-Guzzling A.I. Companies, the Internet Is Too Small

Lawmakers unveil sprawling plan to expand online privacy protections

TikTok Turns to Nuns, Veterans and Ranchers in Marketing Blitz

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Is AI Already Taking Jobs? + A Filmmaker Tries Sora + The XZ Backdoor Caper

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 5 Apr 2024 09:00:00 +0000

This week we look at how AI is affecting jobs. As companies start announcing AI-related job cuts and experimenting with customer service bots, economists are placing bets on whether AI will lead to major gains for companies and workers. Some are even predicting it will help rebuild the middle class. Then, multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker Paul Trillo joins to talk to us about his experience as part of a select group of testers granted early access to Sora, Open AI’s video generation tool. And finally, Kevin explains what happened when a Microsoft developer stumbled on a huge cyber security breach.

Today’s Guests:

Paul Trillo, multidisciplinary artist, writer and director

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A.I.’s Messy Moment + Listeners Respond to Jonathan Haidt + Shrimp Jesus

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 09:00:00 +0000

Warning: The second segment of this episode includes mentions of suicide. If you are in crisis please call the suicide and crisis lifeline at 988 or you can contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.

This week, we look at a mess of corporate drama in artificial intelligence. Stability AI has announced that its founder and C.E.O., Emad Mostaque, is leaving the company. Meanwhile, Microsoft hired away two of the co-founders and much of the staff of Inflection, without actually acquiring the company itself. Both moves surprised tech insiders. Then, we talked with listeners who had something to say about our interview with Jonathan Haidt on smartphones, social media and young people. And finally, we examine the true motives behind “Shrimp Jesus” and other hugely popular images on social media that were generated with artificial intelligence.

Today’s guests:

Jordan Lucero, a high school student
Maya Rayle, a graduate student
Jack Campbell, a college student
Brendan Kelley, a high school digital coach

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Justice Dept. Sues Apple + Smartphones and Children with Jonathan Haidt + Reddit’s IPO

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 22 Mar 2024 09:00:00 +0000

This week, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Apple, saying the company holds a monopoly over the smartphone market. We break down the lawsuit and ask whether it will be a major turning point in Apple’s dominance. Then, Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist, argues that smartphones and social media are the cause of widespread increases in mental health issues among young people. He tells us his four potential solutions to the problem. And finally, Reddit’s market capitalization hit $9.2 billion when it debuted on the New York Stock Exchange this week, but the company still isn’t making money. We talk about the challenges Reddit faces as it goes public, and how the site may change as a result.

Today’s guest:

Jonathan Haidt, author of “The Anxious Generation”

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A Looming TikTok Ban + A Royal Photoshop Mystery + Your Car is Snitching

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 09:00:17 +0000

This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would ban TikTok if its Chinese-owned parent company, ByteDance, doesn’t sell it off. We talk about why, what happens next, and how likely it is that the app will be banned. Then, how a photoshopped image of Kate Middleton undermines trust in photography. And finally, a new report reveals how your car may be tracking you without your knowledge — and how that might raise your insurance bill.

Today’s guest:

Kashmir Hill, features writer at The New York Times

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Musk vs. OpenAI + Europe’s Tech Crackdown + A Month With the Vision Pro

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 8 Mar 2024 10:00:00 +0000

OpenAI responded to Elon Musk’s lawsuit this week, with a blog post that included emails dating to 2015. We talk about whether the lawsuit could have any impact on the company, and who stands to benefit from it. Then, will the European Union’s Digital Markets Act make the tech industry a more competitive environment for entrepreneurs? We look at how some of the biggest tech giants are changing their services to comply with the law. And finally, Kevin Roose and the Wall Street Journal reporter Joanna Stern compare notes on using the Apple Vision Pro.

Today’s guest:

Joanna Stern, Wall Street Journal Personal Tech columnist

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Gemini's Culture War + Kara Swisher Burns Us + SCOTUS Takes Up Content Moderation

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 1 Mar 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Warning: This episode contains strong language.

Google removed the ability to generate images of people from its Gemini chatbot. We talk about why, and about the brewing culture war over artificial intelligence. Then, did Kara Swisher start “Hard Fork”? We clear up some podcast drama and ask about her new book, “Burn Book.” And finally, the legal expert Daphne Keller tells us how the U.S. Supreme Court might rule on the most important First Amendment cases of the internet era, and what Star Trek and soy boys have to do with it.

Today’s guests:

Kara Swisher, tech journalist and Casey Newton’s former landlord
Daphne Keller, director of the program on platform regulation at Stanford University’s Cyber Policy Center

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Google DeepMind C.E.O. Demis Hassabis on the Path From Chatbots to A.G.I.

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 10:00:00 +0000

This week’s episode is a conversation with Demis Hassabis, the head of Google’s artificial intelligence division. We talk about Google’s latest A.I. models, Gemini and Gemma; the existential risks of artificial intelligence; his timelines for artificial general intelligence; and what he thinks the world will look like post-A.G.I.

Additional listening and reading:

A.I. Could Solve Some of Humanity’s Hardest Problems. It Already Has.
This interview was recorded on Wednesday. Since then, Google has temporarily suspended Gemini’s ability to generate images of humans, following criticism of images the chatbot generated of people of color in Nazi-era uniforms.
Google Is Giving Away Some of the A.I. That Powers Chatbots

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The State of A.I. + Will Perplexity Beat Google or Destroy the Web?

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 16 Feb 2024 10:00:03 +0000

A year ago, a chatbot tried to break up Kevin Roose’s marriage. Ever since, chatbots haven’t been the same. We’ll tell you how. Then, we’ll talk through the latest ways the world is adapting to artificial intelligence. And finally, Aravind Srinivas, the chief executive of Perplexity, will discuss his company’s “answer engine,” a challenger to Google’s search engine that could reshape the web as we know it.

Today’s guest:

Aravind Srinivas, chief executive of Perplexity

Additional Reading:

We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com.

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Bluesky’s Big Bet + Are Deals Dead in Silicon Valley?

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 9 Feb 2024 09:59:32 +0000

Bluesky, the Twitter spin-off, is now open for public sign-ups. Can its dreams of decentralization fix social media? We talk with CEO Jay Graber. Then, New York Times reporter Erin Griffith on how Adobe’s failed acquisition of Figma has spooked tech companies and upset Silicon Valley’s startup pipeline. And finally, updates on ancient scrolls and artificial intelligence, Google’s chatbots, and the fight between record companies and TikTok.

Today’s guests:

Jay Graber, CEO of Bluesky
Erin Griffith, reporter for The New York Times

Additional Reading:

We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com.

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We Tried the Apple Vision Pro + Can Congress Protect Kids Online? + Cruise’s Crash

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 2 Feb 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Apple’s Vision Pro headset is now for sale in stores. Will it live up to the hype? Kevin Roose and Casey Newton tried it out to see. Then, in a high-profile congressional hearing on child safety and social media, Mark Zuckerberg, the Meta chief executive, made an apology to families of victims of online child abuse. Is new legislation on the horizon? And finally, what the collapse of Cruise, the autonomous vehicle company, means for the future of self-driving cars.

Additional Reading:

We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com.

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Mediapocalypse Now + a16z’s Chris Dixon Defends Crypto + HatGPT

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 26 Jan 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Layoffs are hitting newsrooms and publishers again, as tech platforms, ad markets and artificial intelligence reshape the internet. Kevin Roose and Casey Newton have ideas for solutions. Then, one of the most influential investors in crypto companies lays out where the industry went wrong, and why he still thinks blockchains are the future. And finally, a round of HatGPT with the week’s tech headlines, including a spicy LinkedIn post and an A.I. test that disturbs Kevin and Casey’s sense of reality.

Today’s guest:

Chris Dixon, partner at Andreessen Horowitz

Additional Reading:

Layoffs hit publishers including The Los Angeles Times and Sports Illustrated, while Pitchfork is being wrapped into GQ.
“Read Write Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet,” by Chris Dixon
Test Yourself: Which Faces Were Made by A.I.?

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The AI Election + Bitcoin’s Wall Street Debut + TikTok’s Doodad Era

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 10:00:00 +0000

OpenAI has released its plan to fight disinformation in elections in 2024, but will its policies be consequential compared to those of other generative A.I. companies? Then, a watershed moment had crypto fans celebrating for the first time in maybe more than a year. And finally, what one writer’s attempt to sell a used mechanical pencil on TikTok says about how the platform is changing.

Today’s guests:

David Yaffe-Bellany covers the crypto industry for The New York Times
John Herrman covers technology for New York Magazine

Additional Reading:

We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com.

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Why Casey Left Substack + Elon’s Drug Use + A.I. Antibiotic Discovery

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 12 Jan 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Casey is taking his newsletter Platformer off Substack, as criticism over the company’s handling of pro-Nazi content grows. Then, The Wall Street Journal spoke with witnesses who said that Elon Musk had used LSD, cocaine, ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms, worrying some directors and board members of his companies. And finally, how researchers found a new class of antibiotics with the help of an artificial intelligence algorithm used to win the board game Go.

Today’s guests:

Kirsten Grind, enterprise reporter for The Wall Street Journal
Felix Wong, postdoctoral fellow at M.I.T. and co-founder of Integrated Biosciences

Additional Reading:

Why Platformer is leaving Substack.
Elon Musk has used illegal drugs, worrying leaders at Tesla and SpaceX.
Researchers have discovered a new class of antibiotics using A.I.

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The Times Sues OpenAI + A Debate Over iMessage + Our New Year’s Tech Resolutions

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 5 Jan 2024 10:00:00 +0000

The New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft last week for copyright infringement. Kevin Roose and Casey Newton walk through the lawsuit and discuss the stakes for news publishers. Then, they talk about Apple’s “walled garden,” which is facing threats from both regulators and 16-year-olds. Finally, we set our tech resolutions for the new year.

Today’s guest: Eric Migicovsky, co-founder of Beeper

Additional Reading:

The New York Times sued OpenAI.
Apple’s latest headache in the debate over blue vs. green bubbles.

We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com.

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Our 2024 Predictions + Jenny Slate Answers Your Hard Questions!

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Last year, we predicted what 2023 in tech would look like. This week, we take a look back at those predictions, see what we got right and wrong, and make new ones for 2024.

Then, the actor, comedian and writer Jenny Slate joins us to answer your Hard Questions.

We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com.

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Google’s Epic Loss + Silicon Valley’s Curious New Subculture + How 2023 Changed the Internet

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 10:07:52 +0000

A jury decided the Google Play store unfairly stifles competition and maintains a monopoly. Kevin and Casey discuss how the ruling could reshape the digital economy. Then, a growing movement of developers and enthusiasts of artificial intelligence want the technology developed as quickly as possible, even if it has negative consequences for humanity. And finally, why the internet of the future could look totally different.

Today’s guest: Cloudflare CEO and co-founder Matthew Prince.

Additional Reading:

Epic Games won its lawsuit against Google.
‘Effective Accelerationism’ is Silicon Valley’s latest, and maybe weirdest, counterculture.
Cloudflare tracked the biggest changes to the internet in 2023.

We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com.

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Google's Next Top Model + Will the Cybertruck Crash? + This Week in A.I.

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 8 Dec 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Warning: This episode contains some explicit language.

Google’s new artificial intelligence model ‘Gemini’ is out. It’s advertised as America’s next top A.I. model. Kevin and Casey ask, is it really better than OpenAI’s GPT-4? Then, by some estimates millions of people pre-ordered Tesla’s Cybertruck, but has Elon Musk’s recent behavior soured people on the brand? And finally, more A.I. news you may have missed.

Additional Reading:

Google is chasing ChatGPT with the launch of Gemini.
Even if people cancel their Cybertruck pre-orders, it could still be massively successful.
A new A.I. development may help fight wine fraud.
Amazon’s new enterprise chatbot had a “severe hallucinations” problem.
OpenAI blocked a prompt that would cause ChatGPT to regurgitate its training data.
Mountain Dew’s latest marketing stunt had an A.I. watching Twitch streams.

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What’s Next for OpenAI + Binance Is Binanceled + A.I. Is Eating the Internet

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 1 Dec 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Warning: This episode contains some explicit language.

The drama at OpenAI is not over. Kevin and Casey take stock of new information they’ve gathered since last week, and look at how other artificial intelligence companies are trying to capitalize on the debacle. Then, why people are still buying cryptocurrency even after Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, and its founder pleaded guilty to money laundering violations. And finally, three ways A.I. is ruining web search. Or is it?

Today’s guest: David Yaffe-Bellany covers crypto for The New York Times.

Additional Reading:

Casey has new details from the OpenAI board fight.

Changpeng Zhao, the Binance founder, agreed to pay a $50 million fine and step down from his role as chief executive.

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(Yet Another) Emergency Pod: Sam Altman Is Back

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 21:05:00 +0000

In yet another head-spinning twist at OpenAI, Sam Altman was reinstated as the company’s chief executive on Tuesday night, a mere five days after the OpenAI board had fired him. The board will be overhauled and a new set of directors, including Bret Taylor and Lawrence Summers, will join.

Today, we discuss how Altman returned to the top seat — and whether the OpenAI news will ever slow down.

Additional Reading:

Late Tuesday night, Sam Altman was reinstated as OpenAI’s chief executive.

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Mayhem at OpenAI + Our Interview With Sam Altman

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 00:18:21 +0000

Last week, we interviewed Sam Altman. Since then, well, everything has changed. The board of OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, fired Altman as chief executive on Friday. Over the weekend, it looked as if he might return. On Sunday night, Microsoft hired Altman to lead a new A.I. venture. Who knows what will happen next.

Today, an update on a crazy weekend in tech, and our interview with Sam Altman.

Today’s Guest:

Sam Altman is the former chief executive of OpenAI.

Additional Reading:

On Sunday, Microsoft hired Sam Altman after OpenAI had fired him.
Kevin breaks down the winners and losers from the OpenAI rift.

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Emergency Pod: Sam Altman is Out at Open AI

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Sat, 18 Nov 2023 07:20:00 +0000

Sam Altman, the chief executive of Open AI, was pushed out of the company by its board of directors on Friday. The news was a complete shock to much of the company’s employee base and to its largest corporate partner, Microsoft. Silicon Valley insiders are scrambling to get answers on exactly what happened and why the board’s decision seemed so abrupt. We rundown what we know and the many things we still don’t.

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An A.I. Pin Drops + YouTube’s Take on Deepfakes + A Lab-Grown Thanksgiving

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 17 Nov 2023 10:00:00 +0000

The tech start-up Humane launched a new device, an A.I. pin meant to be worn on our clothing. Might this be the device that replaces the iPhone? It’s the question on Silicon Valley’s mind. The pin allows users to take phone calls, catch up on messages and get answers to questions, all without ever looking at a screen.

Then, why YouTube is bucking the trend on deepfakes.

Plus: We eat a Thanksgiving meal made with meat that was grown in a lab.

Today’s Guest:

Joshua March is the chief executive of SCiFi Foods, the lab-grown meat company.

Additional Reading:

Humane says it’s artificial intelligence pin can replace screens. Is the pin the start of the next generation of hardware?
Casey on YouTube’s latest approach to deepfakes.

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Personalized GPTs Are Here + F.T.C. Chair Lina Khan on A.I. Competition + Mayhem at Apefest

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Warning: this episode contains some explicit language.

OpenAI has unveiled a new way to build custom chatbots. Kevin shows off a few that he’s built – including a custom Hard Fork bot, and a bot that gives investment advice inspired by his late grandpa.

Then, we talk to Lina Khan, the chair of the Federal Trade Commission, about the agency’s approach to regulating A.I., and whether the tactics she’s used to regulate big tech companies are working.

And finally, a Bored Ape Yacht Club event left some attendees' eyes burning, literally. That, and Sam Bankman-Fried’s recent fraud conviction has us asking, how much damage hath the crypto world wrought?

Today’s guest:

Lina Khan, chair of the Federal Trade Commission

Additional reading:

OpenAI’s new tools allow users to customize their own GPTs.
Lina Khan believes A.I. disruption demands regulators take a different approach than that of the Web 2.0 era.

More than 20 people reported burning eye pain after a Bored Ape Yacht Club party in Hong Kong.

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Casey Goes to the White House + The Copyright Battle Over Artificial Intelligence + HatGPT

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 3 Nov 2023 09:00:00 +0000

President Biden’s new executive order on artificial intelligence has a little bit of everything for everyone concerned about A.I. Casey takes us inside the White House as the order was signed.

Then, Rebecca Tushnet, a copyright law expert, walks us through the latest developments in a lawsuit against the creators of A.I.-image generation tools. She explains why artists may have trouble making the case that these tools infringe on their copyrights.

And finally, it’s time again for HatGPT. We get a taste of the tech headlines you may have missed from the week.

Today’s guest:

Rebecca Tushnet, professor of law at Harvard Law School.

Additional reading:

Casey’s debrief on his trip to the White House.
Kevin’s breakdown of the executive order.
A judge found many of the claims in a lawsuit against Stability AI, Midjourney and DeviantArt to be “defective.”

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The People vs. Meta + Marques Brownlee on YouTube and Future Tech + DALL-E 3 Arrives

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Dozens of state attorneys general has sued Meta, alleging the company knowingly created features that induce “extended, addictive, and compulsive social media use” among teenagers and children. In a country without wide-reaching internet regulations, are lawsuits the way to reign tech companies in?

Then, for our first episode on YouTube, we talk with YouTuber and tech reviewer Marques Brownlee about how the platform has changed, and the future tech he’s excited about.

And finally, A.I. image generators are getting scary good. Casey tells us what he’s been using them for.

Today’s guest:

Marques Brownlee is a YouTuber who covers tech.

Additional reading:

Meta is accused of using features to lure children to Instagram and Facebook.
Subscribe to Hard Fork on YouTube.
The latest A.I. image generators show how quickly the tech is advancing.

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Peering Into A.I.’s Black Box + Who’s The Real Techno-Optimist? + Reading Ancient Scrolls With A.I.

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 20 Oct 2023 09:14:48 +0000

A.I. models are black boxes. You input a prompt and the model outputs nearly anything: a sonnet, an image or a legal brief riddled with lies. Today, a look at three ways that researchers are unlocking that black box in hopes of bringing transparency to A.I.

Then, Marc Andreessen’s techno-optimist manifesto has left us asking, Is he OK?!

Plus: decoding a 2,000-year-old ancient scroll with the help of A.I.

Today’s Guest:

Brent Seales is a computer scientist at the University of Kentucky.

Additional Information:

Kevin Roose on learning more about how A.I. works.
Marc Andreessen’s 5,000-word manifesto
Using A.I. to decode a scroll that survived the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79.

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Social Media In Wartime + Betting on the Future + A.I. Passes the Smell Test

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 09:00:00 +0000

As the Israel-Hamas war broke out, misinformation and fake imagery surged on X, the platform formerly known at Twitter. Can Meta’s Threads fill the real-time news hole that X created? Should it?

Then, Kevin debriefs us on his reporting on Manifold Markets, where Silicon Valley Rationalists bet on the likelihoods of different events.

Plus: The company digitizing smell.

Today’s Guest:

Alex Wiltschko is the founder of Osmo, a company trying to digitize smell.

Additional Reading:

Casey Newton on how the war in Israel may change Threads.
Some tech insiders believe betting can change the world.
The company Osmo put out a research paper showing that an A.I. model it had created was performing better than the “average human panelist” in predicting odor. We want to hear from you.

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Google’s Trial Heats Up + How to Wear A.I. + It’s Our Birthday!

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 6 Oct 2023 09:00:00 +0000

The antitrust trial against Google has led to some of tech’s biggest players testifying in court, and things have gotten spicy. The New York Times reporter Cecilia Kang tells us the wildest moments in the trial so far.

Then, A.I. is jumping off the screen and into your wardrobe. Has the personal assistant of the future finally arrived? Or a dystopian panopticon?

Plus: happy first birthday, Hard Fork! Kevin and Casey share some lessons learned.

Today’s guest:

Cecilia Kang covers technology and regulation for The Times.

Additional reading:

Microsoft’s chief executive told the court the internet is really the “Google web.”
A.I. wearables like the Ai Pin from Humane are turning heads on the runway.
OpenAI is in talks with Jony Ive to build the “iPhone of artificial intelligence.”

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All Gas, No Brakes in A.I. + Metaverse Update + Lessons From a Prompt Engineer

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 09:00:00 +0000

ChatGPT can now hear, see and speak — and that’s just the start of the deluge of A.I. news this week. Kevin and Casey unpack the lightning-speed updates.

Then, Meta’s next-generation headset, Quest 3, is here. Is there still hope for the metaverse?

And: An interview with a prompt engineer. Yes, that’s a real job.

Today’s Guest:

Riley Goodside is a prompt engineer at Scale A.I., a San Francisco start-up.

Additional Reading:

Kevin Roose on ChatGPT, which can now see, hear and speak.
Spotify announced a new A.I.-powered voice-translation feature.
Meta announced the release of the Quest 3 headset.

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Breaking Bard + Who Owns Your Face? + Gamer News!

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 22 Sep 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Today’s Guests:

Kashmir Hill is a Times business reporter covering technology and privacy.

Additional Reading:

Google unveiled new features for its A.I. chatbot, Bard.
Kashmir Hill’s “Your Face Belongs to Us” tracks the rise of Clearview AI, a facial recognition start-up.

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Casey v. Kevin on US v. Google + Walter Isaacson on Two Years With Elon Musk

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 15 Sep 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Is Google allowed to spend billions of dollars to make its search product the default browser? That is the question at the center of U.S. et al. v. Google — the most important tech trial of the modern internet era — and Kevin and Casey disagree on the answer.

Then, a conversation with the journalist who spent the last two years shadowing Elon Musk.

Today’s guest:

Walter Isaacson is a writer and author of the forthcoming biography “Elon Musk.”

Additional reading:

Google’s antitrust lawsuit against the U.S. government brings the first major tech trial since U.S. v. Microsoft which began in 1998.
“Elon Musk,” by Walter Isaacson.

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Escape From Burning Man + Musk vs. the A.D.L. + Listener Questions

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 8 Sep 2023 09:00:00 +0000

This week: How tech executives’ favorite place to take their pants off turned into a muddy hellscape. We talk to one executive who couldn’t just call a helicopter to escape.

Then, Jonathan Greenblatt, C.E.O. of the Anti-Defamation League, on how his organization went from having a “productive” meeting with X’s C.E.O., Linda Yaccarino, last week to being threatened with a lawsuit by Elon Musk on Monday.

Plus, Kevin and Casey answer your questions.

Additional Information:

Burning Man left behind a sea of “moop” in the desert.
Research from the Center for Countering Digital Hate, the Anti-Defamation League and other groups found that hate speech had increased on Twitter after it was purchased by Elon Musk.
Snapchat’s My AI freaked users out after the chatbot appeared to go rogue.

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The Secretive Billionaires Building a Tech Utopia + Casey’s External Brain + HatGPT

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 1 Sep 2023 09:00:00 +0000

A group of tech titans is gobbling up land north of San Francisco with aspirations to alleviate the Bay Area’s housing crisis, promote innovation, and experiment with new forms of governance. It’s not the first time ultra-wealthy people have tried to build the place of their dreams. Will this time be any different?

Then, note-taking apps claim to make us smarter. Usually, they don’t. Casey Newton, a productivity cult member, on how A.I. could change that.

Plus, Kevin and Casey play HatGPT.

Additional Information:

Tech billionaires want to build a new city. A political fight is coming.
Casey takes a look at note-taking platforms and why they usually don’t live up to their promise.
An Air Force program is embracing A.I. in aerial combat.
The S.E.C. took action against a NFT project
YouTube will waive content violation warnings if the creators in violation attend a class.
Google Meet’s new A.I. program will take notes for users in real time.
A smart contact lens can be charged with human tears.

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N.Y.C. Says Airbn-bye + How Far Would You Go for a GPU? + The A.I. Songs of the Summer

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 25 Aug 2023 09:03:48 +0000

Are New York City’s new rules for short-term rentals like Airbnb effectively a ban? And will they accomplish what proponents want them to? Then, The New York Times tech reporter Erin Griffith on Silicon Valley’s mad dash for GPUs. And finally, we take stock of the A.I. songs of the summer and discuss YouTube and Universal Music Group’s plan to make synthetic voices profitable.

On Today’s Episode:

Erin Griffith is a New York Times journalist based in the San Francisco bureau, where she reports on technology start-ups and venture capital.

Additional Information:

New York City’s new regulations for short-term rentals go into effect soon.

Start-ups are on a “desperate hunt” for GPUs. (There’s even a song about it.)

Creators are using A.I. voices to imitate Freddie Mercury, Johnny Cash, Eric Cartman from “South Park,” and others.

Google and YouTube have different approaches to compensating creators whose work is used to train A.I. tools.

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S.B.F Goes to Jail + Back to School with A.I. + Self-Driving Car Update

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 18 Aug 2023 09:00:00 +0000

When Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested in December, he was confined to his parents’ house — but he was left free to roam the internet. Today, the New York Times reporter David Yaffe-Bellany talks about how access to the cyberworld allowed Mr. Bankman-Fried to violate his bail terms and land himself in jail.

Then, how universities can manage a generative A.I. world.

Plus: another look at autonomous vehicles.

On Today’s Episode:

David Yaffe-Bellany, a cryptocurrency and financial technology reporter for The New York Times.
Ethan Mollick, an associate professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania who is experimenting with generative A.I. in the classroom.

Additional Information:

Sam Bankman-Fried was sent to jail after violating his bail terms. The court dispute over his bail focused on a New York Times article that described writings by Caroline Ellison, an FTX executive who had also dated Mr. Bankman-Fried.
A driverless car got stuck in wet concrete in San Francisco this week.

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Don't Scrape Me, Bro + The Activists Sabotaging Self-Driving Cars + How Reddit Beat a Rebellion

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 11 Aug 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Users are protesting Zoom’s liberal data-collection policy. Authors are shutting down websites that scrape their work. And, in a concession to users, OpenAI is allowing websites to opt out of web scraping. The era of A.I. backlash has begun.

Then, street activists are deterring self-driving cars by placing traffic cones on the hoods of vehicles.

Plus: How Reddit has squashed the Reddit Revolt.

Today’s Guests:

Adam Egelman and Mingwei Samuel are organizers with Safe Street Rebel, an activist group trying to get cars off the streets.

Additional Reading:

The publication StackDiary exposed that Zoom’s updated terms of service permitted the training of artificial-intelligence models on user content.
Benji Smith took down his website prosecraft.io, a database that contained the works of over 25,000 books, after authors discovered that their works were being used to power the website without their consent.

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Superconductor Superconfusion, KOSA’s Hidden Costs and HatGPT

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 4 Aug 2023 09:09:01 +0000

Researchers in Korea claim they’ve identified a material that could unlock a technological revolution: the room temperature superconductor. Material scientists are skeptical, but enthusiasts on Twitter are enthusiastic. Why is the internet so excited about superconductors?

Then, the Kids Online Safety Act is headed to the Senate floor. Would it actually keep children safe? And how would it change the internet?

Plus: Kevin and Casey play HatGPT.

Additional Reading:

South Korean researchers released a video they claimed was a superconductor showing levitation at room temperature. Scientists were skeptical.
The New York Times reporter Kashmir Hill profiled Mike Masnick, who wasn’t so sure about KOSA.

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Elon's X Machina + Crypto Orbs + A Visit to Google’s Robot Lab

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 28 Jul 2023 09:00:04 +0000

On Sunday night, a crane arrived in downtown San Francisco to take down the Twitter sign from the company’s office building. The crane’s arrival marked the death of Twitter, the brand, and the start of X, Elon Musk’s everything app. Today, why Elon’s acquisition feels more and more like cultural vandalism and what, if anything, will replace the global town square.

Then, is Sam Altman’s universal basic income cryptocurrency app Worldcoin an iris scanning tool to save humanity, or just another attempt to get rich on crypto?

Plus: a trip to Google’s robotics lab, where artificial intelligence models are creating breakthroughs.

Additional reading:

Casey breaks down Twitter’s rebrand.
The launch of Worldcoin — and the story of how it recruited the first half a million users.
Kevin’s column is a deep dive into Google’s new robotics model, which melds A.I. with robots.

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Dario Amodei, C.E.O. of Anthropic, on the Paradoxes of A.I. Safety and Netflix’s ‘Deep Fake Love’

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 21 Jul 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Dario Amodei has been anxious about A.I. since before it was cool to be anxious about A.I. After a few years working at OpenAI, he decided to do something about that anxiety. The result was Claude: an A.I.-powered chatbot built by Anthropic, Mr. Amodei’s A.I. start-up.

Today, Mr. Amodei joins Kevin and Casey to talk about A.I. anxiety and why it’s so difficult to build A.I. safely.

Plus, we watched Netflix’s “Deep Fake Love.”

Today’s Guest:

Dario Amodei is the chief executive of Anthropic, a safety-focused A.I. start-up

Additional Reading:

Kevin spent several weeks at Anthropic’s San Francisco headquarters. Read about his experience here.
Claude is Anthropic’s safety-focused chatbot.

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Help! My Boss Won’t Stop Using ChatGPT

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 08:45:00 +0000

This week, we answer more of your questions, like: What is ChatGPT’s carbon footprint? Why are engineers so sure artificial intelligence will keep getting better? And, why are there so many venture capital bros?

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Special Episode: Meta’s Twitter Rival Arrives, with Adam Mosseri

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Thu, 6 Jul 2023 09:00:18 +0000

Instagram is no stranger to taking product ideas from other companies and turning them into their own successes. Just ask Snapchat about Instagram Stories or TikTok about Instagram Reels. This time, the company is coming for Twitter with Instagram Threads.

Today, the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, on why the company now wants to take on Twitter.

Today’s guest:

Adam Mosseri is the head of Instagram.

Additional reading:

Meta announced a new app called Threads intended to rival Twitter.

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Is A.I. Poisoning Itself? + Billionaire Cage Fight + Cooking With ChatGPT

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 30 Jun 2023 09:19:23 +0000

Whether it’s on TikTok or Twitter, A.I.-generated content is already flooding the web. So, what happens when the technology — prone to confidently making things up — starts ingesting itself?

Then, the New York Times reporter Joe Bernstein talks about why Mark Zuckerberg wants to fight Elon Musk in a cage match.

Plus, we put ChatGPT’s recipe generation to the test with A.I. cocktails.

Today’s guests:

Joe Bernstein is a Styles reporter at The New York Times.
Priya Krishna is a Food staff reporter at The New York Times.

Additional reading:

Generative A.I. is already changing the web and potentially harming itself.
The Times’s Cooking team tried cooking recipes made by ChatGPT. The results were mixed.
Mark Zuckerberg has been working out — and he’d like you to know about it.

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A.I. Beach + Vibes-Based R.T.O. + the ‘Black Mirror’ Quamputer

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 23 Jun 2023 09:05:03 +0000

This week, advertisers swarmed the beaches of southern France for the Cannes Lions advertising festival. Kevin says artificial intelligence is all anyone there can talk about, but admits the conference is making him rethink how quickly generative A.I. will take over the industry — despite the buzz.

Then, the New York Times reporter Emma Goldberg on when remote work stopped being the future for tech companies.

And finally: What does the newest season of “Black Mirror” tell us about what’s next for TV?

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Reddit Revolts + MrBeast’s YouTube Empire + Peak Trust and Safety?

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 16 Jun 2023 09:05:45 +0000

Moderators on Reddit have shut down their forums in protest of a new policy that charges users for access to the site’s API. The revolt has put Kevin in child care-wisdom-withdrawal (RIP r/daddit) — and left many other users without their favorite subreddits. But does the incident say something more about the future of the internet?

Then, the MrBeast Philanthropic-Industrial Complex.

Plus: Platforms are already fumbling the ball on misinformation.

Today’s guest:

Max Read is a journalist, screenwriter, editor and the owner-operator of Read Max.

Additional information:

Casey examines the Reddit revolt and why the company isn’t backing down on shutting down third-party apps.
Max Read on MrBeast’s rise as a viral philanthropist.
Following the algorithm doesn’t always lead to philanthropy, as Kevin explored in a 2019 article on PewDiePie.
Platforms are backing away from peak trust and safety.

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Apple’s Face Computer + Crypto Chaos + How Teens Really Feel About Social Media

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 9 Jun 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Apple kicked off the week with the announcement of a mixed-reality headset: the Apple Vision Pro. Putting a computer on your face may seem weird AF, but if there’s one company that knows how to make nerdy stuff into the thing that everyone wants, it’s Apple. Will these fancy goggles be the next Apple revolution?

Then, crypto had (another) terrible week after the S.E.C. filed lawsuits against the cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and Binance.

Plus: Our teenage listeners on how they feel about social media.

This week:

David Yaffe-Bellany, a cryptocurrency and financial technology reporter for The New York Times.

Additional Reading:

Why Kevin won’t bet against Apple’s Vision Pro and why Casey thinks Apple has an edge on Meta’s Metaverse.
The S.E.C. accused Coinbase of illegally allowing users to trade unregistered securities a day after it sued the international crypto exchange Binance.
This Teenage Life (TTL) is a podcast about teenagers being teenagers.

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A.I.'s Inner Conflict + Nvidia Joins the Trillion-Dollar Club + Hard Questions

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 2 Jun 2023 08:56:38 +0000

A few days after a lawyer used ChatGPT to write a brief filled with made-up cases, a group of A.I. experts released a letter warning of the “risk of extinction” from the technology. But will A.I. ever be good enough to pose such a threat?

Then, FAANG is now MAAAN, with the addition of Nvidia. Here’s how the GPU company became a trillion-dollar behemoth.

Plus: Kevin, Casey and the New York Times tech reporter Kate Conger answer Hard Questions from listeners.

Today’s Guest:

Kate Conger is a technology reporter in the San Francisco bureau of The New York Times.

Additional Reading:

A lawyer used ChatGPT the same week that A.I. leaders released a 22-word statement about the existential risk A.I. poses to humanity.
The chip company Nvidia hit a $1 trillion market cap, powered by A.I. demand.
The podcast “Acquired” did a two-part series on the history of Nvidia.

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The Surgeon General’s Social Media Warning + A.I.’s Existential Risks

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 26 May 2023 09:00:00 +0000

The U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, says social media poses a “profound risk of harm” to young people. Why do some in the tech industry disagree?

Then, Ajeya Cotra, an A.I. researcher, on how A.I. could lead to a doomsday scenario.

Plus: Pass the hat. Kevin and Casey play a game they call HatGPT.

On today’s episode:

Ajeya Cotra is a senior research analyst at Open Philanthropy

Additional reading:

The surgeon general issued an advisory about the risks of social media for young people.
Ajeya Cotra has researched the existential risks that A.I. poses unless countermeasures are taken.
Binance commingled customer funds and company revenue, former insiders told Reuters.
BuzzFeed announced Botatouille, an A.I.-powered kitchen assistant.
A Twitter bug caused the platform to restore deleted tweets.
Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida announced his presidential campaign in a Twitter Spaces event rife with glitches.
Two former rivals, Uber and Waymo, are teaming up to bring driverless ride-hailing to Phoenix.

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Mr. Altman Goes to Washington + Casey Goes on This American Life

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 19 May 2023 09:00:00 +0000

In a congressional hearing this week, OpenAI’s chief executive, Sam Altman, appeared to be on the same page as lawmakers: It’s time to regulate A.I. But like so many other proposals to regulate tech, will it actually happen? The Times’s technology reporter Cecilia Kang helps us understand whether Congress will actually act, and what that could look like.

Then, Casey talks with Twitter’s former head of trust and safety, Yoel Roth, before and after Elon Musk took over the company.

On today’s episode:

Cecilia Kang is a reporter at The New York Times covering technology and regulation.
Yoel Roth is the former head of trust and safety at Twitter.

Additional reading:

Sam Altman urged Congress to pass legislation to regulate A.I., including the proposal that A.I. developers should be required to get licenses from the U.S. government to release their models.
Casey Newton reported for This American Life on Roth’s time at Twitter, before and after Musk took over.

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Google’s A.I. Bonanza + Driverless Car Talk With Cruise C.E.O. Kyle Vogt

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 12 May 2023 09:00:00 +0000

At its biggest event of the year, Google announced an avalanche of A.I. product releases: A.I. in search, A.I. that writes emails and A.I. that generates slides. Is Google pulling ahead in the A.I. arms race?

And, after years of hype, self-driving cars are finally hitting the streets of American cities. Kevin and Casey take a ride through San Francisco in Banana Slug — an autonomous vehicle from the self-driving car company Cruise. After their ride, they sit down with Cruise’s chief executive, Kyle Vogt, to discuss the role he thinks self-driving cars will play in the future of transportation.

On today’s episode:

Kyle Vogt is the chief executive of Cruise, a self-driving car company.

Additional reading:

At their annual conference, Google announced dozens of A.I. products and features
In a leaked memo, a Google researcher argued that the company did not have a strong A.I. moat because of open-source A.I. companies.
Self-driving cars are expanding their footprint.

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Bluesky Has the Juice + A.I. Jobs Apocalypse + Hard Questions

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 5 May 2023 09:00:00 +0000

The Twitter look-alike Bluesky, started by the former Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey, is doing the impossible: making social media fun again.

Then, A.I. is coming for jobs but not in the way you think.

Plus: Kevin and Casey moonlight as advice columnists in a new Hard Fork segment called Hard Questions.

Additional reading:

Bluesky is vying to replace Twitter.
IBM announced a pause in hiring, anticipating that A.I. would replace thousands of jobs at the company in the coming years.
The chief executive of the education company Chegg said student interest in the chatbot ChatGPT was hurting its sales.

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Deepfake Drake + HatGPT + Ben Smith on the End of the BuzzFeed Era

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 09:00:00 +0000

A song featuring A.I.-generated versions of Drake and the Weeknd went viral — before being taken down by streaming services. Is censorship of A.I.-generated songs the way forward? Or can singers benefit from synthetic voices, as some artists like Grimes are suggesting?

Then, HatGPT: Kevin and Casey pull headlines out of a hat and generate their own takes on the news.

And Ben Smith, the former BuzzFeed News editor, discusses the end of the 2010s digital media era.

On today’s episode:

Ben Smith is a journalist and co-founder of the digital media company Semafor. He was a New York Times media columnist and the first editor in chief of BuzzFeed News.

Additional reading:

An A.I.-generated song made to sound like Drake and the Weeknd went viral before being taken down by streaming services.
Grimes invited fans to make songs using A.I.-generated versions of her voice.
Snapchat saw a spike in one-star reviews after users criticized its “My AI” feature.
Taylor Swift did not invest in FTX, the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange company.
Researchers turned a goldfish into a cyborg.
The Republican National Committee released an A.I.-generated ad slamming President Biden.
The U.K. blocked Microsoft’s $69 billion bid for the video game company Activision.
Ben Smith’s book, “Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral,” is an origin story of digital media.
A BuzzFeed article set off a viral debate on the color of a dress.

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Hard Fork Presents: The Most Amazing – And Dangerous – Technology In the World

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Today we’re bringing you an episode on chips. No, not potato chips. Kevin has been pitching an episode on the truly fascinating world of chips and semiconductors for quite a while, but our friends at the The Ezra Klein Show got to it first. This week on Hard Fork: Ezra Klein’s engrossing conversation with historian Chris Miller. It’s a must listen. Thank you to Ezra for beating us in our quest for a great chips episode.

We'll be back with our regularly scheduled tech coverage, with Kevin and Casey next week.

Additional reading:

“The Problem With Everything-Bagel Liberalism” by Ezra Klein
Book Recommendations:The World For Sale by Javier Blas and Jack Farchy; Nexus by Jonathan Reed Winkler; Prestige, Manipulation and Coercion by Joseph Torigian

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Inside the Hunt for the Discord Leaker + Twitter Chaos Updates

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Aric Toler untangles the web of teens, gamers and memes at the heart of the latest intelligence scandal.

Then, an update on Twitter — where things have gone from bad to worse.

Plus: How A.I. is bringing us closer to “Westworld.”

On today’s episode:

Aric Toler is the director of research and training at Bellingcat, the Dutch investigative site. He worked with journalists at The New York Times to identify the man who allegedly leaked top secret documents on Discord, a social media chat platform.

Additional reading:

A 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard was arrested for his alleged role in the leak of military intelligence on Discord.
A Discord member shared details with The Washington Post about how the hundreds of pages of classified material were leaked.
Twitter took steps to block Substack newsletters from circulating on the platform after Substack, a publishing start-up, started a Twitter-like service.
NPR announced it was suspending all use of Twitter.
Researchers at Stanford used generative A.I. agents to simulate human behavior.

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A.I. Vibe Check With Ezra Klein + Kevin Tries Phone Positivity

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 7 Apr 2023 09:00:00 +0000

The New York Times Opinion columnist Ezra Klein has spent years talking to artificial intelligence researchers. Many of them feel the prospect of A.I. discovery is too sweet to ignore, regardless of the technology’s risks.

Today, Mr. Klein discusses the profound changes that an A.I.-powered world will create, how current business models are failing to meet the A.I. moment, and the steps government can take to achieve a positive A.I. future.

Also, radical acceptance of your phone addiction may just help your phone addiction.

On today’s episode:

Ezra Klein is a columnist at The New York Times and host of “The Ezra Klein Show.”

Additional reading:

Ezra Klein outlined the dramatic shifts that A.I. will enable.
In a 2022 survey of A.I. researchers, nearly half of the respondents said that there was a 10 percent or greater chance that the long-run effect of advanced A.I. on humanity would be “extremely bad.” This year, an A.I. researcher argued that natural selection favors A.I. over humans.
A 2017 article in The New Yorker said that, for some, the risks of artificial intelligence are outweighed by the prospect of discovery.
Meghan O’Gieblyn’s book “God, Human, Animal, Machine” explores the human experience in the age of artificial intelligence.
The White House released a Blueprint for an A.I. Bill of Rights to guide the development of A.I. technology.

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Google C.E.O. Sundar Pichai on Bard, A.I. ‘Whiplash’ and Competing With ChatGPT

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 09:00:00 +0000

For years, Google was seen as one of the most cutting-edge developers of A.I. But, with OpenAI’s release of ChatGPT, and other chatbots beating Google to market, is that distinction still the case? Google’s chief executive is in an unenviable position: Scramble to catch up or, in the face of potentially harmful technology, move slowly.

Today, Sundar Pichai on Google’s delicate balance between A.I. innovation and safety.

On today’s episode:

Sundar Pichai is the chief executive of Google.

Additional reading:

The launch of ChatGPT caused a ‘code red’ inside Google and prompted the release of Google’s Bard.
More than 1,000 technology leaders and researchers signed onto an open letter calling for a pause in the development of A.I.

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Bard Fork + How to Talk So Chatbots Will Listen

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 24 Mar 2023 09:00:00 +0000

“It’s different because it’s Google.” Bard, Google’s answer to ChatGPT, could prove to be more consequential than any large language model to date — but it isn’t there yet.

Then, we hear from listeners on how they are using A.I. to negotiate their rent, understand medical results and affirm their gender identity.

Plus: Why Spotify’s A.I. D.J. may be a tipping point for artificial intelligence taking control of our lives.

You can sign up for On Tech: A.I. at nytimes.com/newsletters.

Additional reading:

Google released a new chatbot, Bard. Here’s what it does well — and not so well.
After a conversation with Google’s executives, Casey Newton answers six questions about the large language model.
Interior AI is a design tool that makes interior design mock-ups using artificial intelligence.
Spotify unveiled a new A.I.-powered D.J.
In his book “Futureproof,” Kevin Roose outlines the concept of “machine drift” — the concept that people will gradually turn over more of their life to the decisions of algorithms.

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BONUS: Hard Fork Live! Big Tech’s Arch Nemesis + Bot, or Not?

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Mon, 20 Mar 2023 20:00:00 +0000

Jonathan Kanter, who heads up the Justice Department’s antitrust division, believes that antitrust laws are critical for innovation — from ad tech to A.I. The assistant attorney general is bringing a new philosophy to enforcing those laws. So, how is his new approach to protecting competition playing out?

Plus: Can you guess whether that was a bot, or not?

On today’s episode:

Jonathan Kanter is the assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s antitrust division.

Additional reading:

Jonathan Kanter has long been a critic of big tech.
The Justice Department has accused Google of abusing a monopoly over online advertising.

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GPT-4 Is Here + The Group Chat Bank Run

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 17 Mar 2023 09:00:00 +0000

It’s acing standardized tests, building websites and hiring TaskRabbits — GPT-4 is “equal parts fascinating and terrifying.” OpenAI has released its latest model, alongside A.I. announcements from Meta, Google and other industry players. The A.I. arms race is only accelerating.

Then, what Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse means for the future of start-ups, and what Mark Zuckerberg has learned about layoffs

Additional reading:

OpenAI released ChatGPT-4. It is exciting and scary.
With its release of GPT-4, OpenAI shared a system card — a paper outlining how OpenAI tried to get GPT-4 to do dangerous things.
Silicon Valley Bank collapsed. “The Daily” explained how.
In his newsletter, Byrne Hobart wrote a post pointing out S.V.B.’s insolvency challenge.
S.V.B.’s collapse followed a deregulatory push from its own Chief Executive.
Meta announced it planned to lay off about 10,000 employees.

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A Congressman Goes to A.I. School + How to Ban TikTok

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Representative Don Beyer thinks artificial intelligence is “the most amazing technology since fire.” So what does it mean that most of Congress seems not to understand it? Then our colleague David McCabe discusses a bill that could dramatically expand the Biden administration’s power to ban TikTok.

Plus: what can the video game character Waluigi tell us about A.I. chatbots gone rogue?

On today’s episode:

Don Beyer is a U.S. representative for Virginia’s 8th Congressional District.
David McCabe is a reporter at The New York Times covering technology policy.

Additional reading:

Lawmakers are trying to understand the technology behind A.I.
The White House is pushing Congress to regulate TikTok.
A number of countries are trying to ban TikTok.
The Waluigi effect is a theory about why chatbots behave erratically.

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Everyone Pivots to A.I. + Bad News for Crypto

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 3 Mar 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Snapchat launches a chatbot. Meta plans to “turbocharge” its A.I. work. Elon Musk explores “BasedAI.” At this point, who isn’t making an A.I. play?

Plus: Is crypto finally dead? Also, a new TikTok filter is making people terrifyingly hot.

On today’s episode:

David Yaffe-Bellany, a cryptocurrency and financial technology reporter for The New York Times.

Hard Fork listeners! We want to hear from you. How is A.I. showing up in your everyday life? In your job, school and families? What are you using it for? Email us a voice memo at hardfork@nytimes.com.

Additional reading:

Snapchat launched “My AI” to paid subscribers.
Mark Zuckerberg announced a high-level group to “turbocharge” Meta’s work with generative A.I.
Meta AI released LLaMA to researchers.
The science fiction and fantasy magazine “Clarkesworld” was flooded with chatbot-generated submissions. The writing is “bad in spectacular ways,” its editor said.
Elon Musk is considering starting his own A.I. company.
An FTX co-founder pleaded guilty to criminal charges and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors investigating Sam Bankman-Fried.
A “flurry” of fines, lawsuits and policy statements are spooking crypto executives.
Gary Gensler, the chair of the S.E.C., said that in crypto “everything other than Bitcoin” should be treated as a security.
Some TikTok users are worried by how realistic its new filters can seem.

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Kevin Killed Sydney + Reddit’s C.E.O. Defends Section 230

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 24 Feb 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Bing AI isn’t sentient. But it’s more than glorified autocomplete. How do we talk about — and understand — the power of today’s large language models? Then, Reddit’s C.E.O., Steve Huffman, on Section 230 and why the future of the internet lies with the Supreme Court.

Plus: Meta is charging for blue checks.

On today’s episode:

Steve Huffman is the chief executive of Reddit.

Additional reading:

A Washington Post reporter asked Bing AI its opinion of Kevin Roose. Its response was eerie.
Microsoft made changes to Bing’s chatbot capabilities after the Chatbot’s unsettling behavior with some users. The company is already loosening some of those restrictions.
The Supreme Court heard a case challenging Section 230. Reddit is among many social media companies that have filed “friend of the court” amicus briefs against changes to the law.
Facebook plans to sell “Meta verified” accounts.

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The Bing Who Loved Me + Elon Rewrites the Algorithm

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 10:00:00 +0000

“I’m Sydney, and I’m in love with you. 😘”

A conversation with Bing AI (aka Sydney) turns romantic and bizarre. Why Microsoft’s AI search tool appears more powerful — and unsettling — than we thought. Then, inside Elon Musk’s quest to be the most popular user on Twitter.

Plus: It’s not just you. Online ads have gotten much worse.

On today’s episode:

Tiffany Hsu is a technology reporter at The New York Times who covers misinformation and disinformation.
Zoë Schiffer is the managing editor of Platformer.

Additional reading:

Bing AI appeared to have a split personality in a conversation with Kevin Roose, a “Hard Fork” co-host.
Elon Musk ordered changes to Twitter’s algorithm after his Tweets did not perform as well as he desired.
Why digital ads are so bad these days.

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Bing’s Revenge + Google’s AI Faceplant

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 10 Feb 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Microsoft’s release of a ChatGPT-powered Bing signifies a new era in search. Then, a disastrous preview of Bard — Google’s answer to ChatGPT — caused the company’s stocks to slide 7 percent. The A.I. arms race is on.

Plus: What “Nothing, Forever,” the 24/7, A.I.-generated “Seinfeld” parody, says about bias in A.I.

On today’s episode:

Sam Altman is the chief executive of OpenAI.
Kevin Scott is the chief technology officer of Microsoft.

Additional reading:

Microsoft integrated OpenAI's technology into its search engine and kicked off an A.I. arms race.
Google released Bard, a rival chatbot to ChatGPT.
“Nothing, Forever” was temporarily banned on Twitch.

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A Trip to TikTok + ChatGPT’s Origin Story + Kevin Systrom’s Comeback

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 3 Feb 2023 10:00:00 +0000

TikTok is opening up a “Transparency and Accountability Center” to try to win over skeptics. Is the company’s strategy working? Then, the origin story of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and how the company kicked off an A.I. arms race.

Plus: A co-founder of Instagram, Kevin Systrom, hopes to make a “TikTok for text.”

On today’s episode:

Kevin Systrom is an entrepreneur and the co-founder of Instagram.

Additional reading:

TikTok is taking a more aggressive approach toward lobbying.
Inside OpenAI’s race to build ChatGPT.
Kevin Systrom is starting a new A.I.-powered news app.

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Meta’s Trump Calculus + Regime Change at Netflix

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 27 Jan 2023 10:00:00 +0000

What does Donald Trump’s reinstatement on Facebook and Instagram mean for our politics and platforms? Then, Netflix in its post-Reed era.

Plus: How the Bored Ape Yacht Club went from being the Disney of Web3 to handing out sewer passes for their new video game.

On today’s episode:

Lucas Shaw is an entertainment industry reporter for Bloomberg.

Additional reading:

Meta reinstated Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.
Trump looked to get out of a deal with his own social media site, Truth Social
The Jan. 8 riots in Brazil mirrored aspects of the U.S. Capitol Riots, including the use of tech platforms to organize rioters.
Donald Trump used Truth Social to attack former Georgia election worker Ruby Freeman.

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Elon's Crumbling Empire + Generative A.I. Goes to Court

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 20 Jan 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Nearly three months into Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter, things are in a "shambolic" state. Is the rest of Elon’s empire also in trouble? Then, an artist fighting generative A.I. sets the stage for a legal clash.

Plus: what goes wrong when A.I. becomes a reporter.

On today’s episode:

Sarah Andersen, a cartoonist and the illustrator of a semi-autobiographical comic strip, “Sarah’s Scribbles.”

Additional reading:

A look inside Elon Musk’s first 90 days as chief executive of Twitter.
The artist Sarah Andersen on finding her art in the databases behind text-to-image A.I. platforms.
Three artists, including Ms. Andersen, filed a class-action lawsuit against the creators of Midjourney, Stable Diffusion and DreamUp.
CNET’s A.I.-written articles contained errors.

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ChatGPT Transforms a Classroom + Is 'M3GAN' Real?

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 13 Jan 2023 10:00:00 +0000

A high school teacher on how the new chatbot from OpenAI is transforming her classroom — for the better. And, “M3GAN” may be closer than you think.

Plus: Why Gen Z is chasing the digital camera aesthetic.

On today’s episode:

Cherie Shields is a high school English teacher in Sandy, Ore.
Kalley Huang is a technology reporting fellow based in San Francisco.

Additional reading:

Gen Z is bringing back the digital camera, and teenagers in Brooklyn are rejecting smartphone culture.
Researchers at Columbia University are trying to build conscious robots.
The case for using ChatGPT in schools.

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TikTok’s Spying Scandal + ChatGPT Puts Google on Notice + Phone Jail

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 6 Jan 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Calls to ban TikTok or force its sell-off from its parent company ByteDance are gaining momentum, especially after reports of ByteDance’s surveillance of several U.S. journalists. And could Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI mark the end of Google’s search monopoly?

Plus: New Year's resolutions, including locking up your phone.

On today’s episode:

Emily Baker-White, a technology reporter at Forbes who reports on TikTok.

Additional reading:

An inside view into Project Texas, TikTok’s plan to limit access to sensitive U.S. user data.
ByteDance used TikTok to track the location of journalists including Emily Baker-White.
On TikTok, Chinese state media outlets pushed divisive videos about U.S. politicians.
Shou Zi Chew, TikTok’s chief executive, is navigating the limits of his power.
The federal government and several states have banned TikTok on government-issued devices.
ChatGPT is a “code red” for Google Search.
Microsoft and OpenAI are working on a ChatGPT-powered version of Bing.

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SBF Arrested + 2023 Predictions + Your Questions Answered

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 16 Dec 2022 10:25:00 +0000

The year of the “mini-Musk” chief executive, the end of homework as we know it, a crackdown on TikTok and other predictions for 2023.

Also, Sam Bankman-Fried’s arrest and answers to our listener questions.

On today’s episode:

David Yaffe-Bellany, a cryptocurrency and financial technology reporter for The New York Times.

Additional reading:

Bankman-Fried, the former chief executive of FTX, was arrested and denied bail by a judge in the Bahamas. Prosecutors accused him of engaging in widespread fraud.
John J. Ray III, the new chief executive of FTX, described an “unprecedented” lack of record keeping at the company.
Scientists used a quantum computer to simulate a pair of black holes.

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Can ChatGPT Make This Podcast?

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 9 Dec 2022 10:00:00 +0000

It’s writing podcast scripts, finishing students’ homework and correcting mistakes in computer code: ChatGPT, the A.I. chatbot from OpenAI, is suddenly everywhere. Who should decide how it’s built? What could go wrong? And what could go right?

On today’s episode:

Aviv Ovadya, a technologist and affiliate at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society and a visiting scholar at Cambridge University Leverhulme Center for the Future of Intelligence.

Additional reading:

ChatGPT is inspiring awe and fear among users.
Aviv Ovadya proposes governing tech platforms democratically through “platform democracy.”
Meta’s Cicero AI is getting good at negotiating with humans.
Researchers are diagnosing Parkinson’s using a phone, a patient’s voice and a machine learning model.

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Elon’s Two-Day War with Apple + How to Beat an A.I. Censor + S.B.F.’s ‘Bad Month’

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 2 Dec 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Elon Musk accuses Apple of trying to sabotage Twitter. But after his visit with Apple’s C.E.O., Tim Cook, things are … good? Then, the New York Times reporter Paul Mozur on the tactics Chinese protesters are deploying to avoid the most sophisticated censorship apparatus in the world.

Plus: S.B.F. says it’s been a “bad month.”

Additional Reading:

Elon Musk accused Apple of threatening to pull Twitter from its App Store and tweeted about Apple’s “secret 30 percent tax” on developers for in-app purchases. The company has again delayed the launch of Twitter Blue as it seeks a way to avoid paying Apple’s 30 percent fee for the service.
Later, Musk said the “misunderstanding” with Apple had been resolved after he met with the company’s C.E.O., Tim Cook, at Apple’s headquarters.
Layoffs at Twitter gutted the company’s child safety team, which is responsible for removing child exploitation.
Musk offered a “general amnesty” for over 60,000 banned accounts on Twitter.
Protests in China rippled throughout the country, and citizens found ways to get around the Chinese censorship apparatus.
On Wednesday, Sam Bankman-Fried appeared for an interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin at the DealBook Summit.

We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Follow “Hard Fork” on TikTok: @hardfork

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A Hard Fork in the Road: FTX’s Unraveling and Elon’s Loyalty Oath

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 10:00:00 +0000

The balance sheet contains an apology, the in-house coach is concerned that company executives are “undersexed” and billions in customer funds remain in jeopardy. The wreckage at FTX goes from bad to worse.

Plus: Elon’s “extremely hardcore” plan for Twitter 2.0.

Additional Resources:

George K. Lerner, FTX’s in-house performance coach, said he was shocked by the collapse of FTX.
In an interview with Matt Levine, a Bloomberg columnist, Sam Bankman-Fried described his strategy to restore faith in the crypto ecosystem.
Bankman-Fried reflected on his actions as chief executive of FTX in a series of Twitter messages with Kelsey Piper, a Vox reporter.
Elon Musk told Twitter employees in an email that the company would become an “extremely hardcore” operation. Employees were asked to click yes to be part of the new Twitter or take severance.
Musk’s social calendar includes courting comedians and hopping on yachts.

We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Follow “Hard Fork” on TikTok: @hardfork

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A Verified Mess: Turmoil from Twitter to FTX

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 11 Nov 2022 10:00:00 +0000

This week, we go inside Elon Musk’s “dire” warnings, FTX’s spectacular collapse and Meta’s big layoffs. Has the tech industry lost its mind?

“Hard Fork” listeners: We want to hear your questions about the tech industry. Send them to hardfork@nytimes.com. Also, check us out on TikTok: @hardforkpod

Additional Resources:

Elon Musk told Twitter employees the company faced a bleak financial picture in a meeting with staff on Thursday and in his first companywide emails.
The world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, said it had reached a deal to buy its competitor FTX, which was on the verge of collapse. The news about FTX had left crypto investors scrambling.
Is the collapse of FTX crypto’s Lehman Brothers moment?
Meta announced layoffs of 11,000 employees, accounting for about 13 percent of its work force.

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Life Under Musk: Two Twitter Employees Speak Out

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 4 Nov 2022 09:00:00 +0000

“We cross our fingers and hope to make it through another day.” Twitter hasn’t spoken publicly since Elon Musk bought the company a week ago. But inside, employees describe a mood of fear, chaos, stress and bizarre requests to print out code.

Additional Resources:

Members of Elon Musk’s inner circle, including the podcast hosts David Sacks, Jason Calacanis and Sriram Krishnan, are advising Mr. Musk on changes at Twitter.
Engineers at Twitter were told to print out their most recent software code to show to Mr. Musk.
Under pressure to increase revenue, Mr. Musk considered making Twitter users pay to keep their verification badges. The acclaimed horror author Stephen King was not thrilled by the idea.
Twitter’s chief customer officer, Sarah Personette, and several other executives have left the company in recent days.
Mr. Musk faces financial challenges in owning Twitter.

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Emergency Pod: Elon Musk Owns Twitter

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 28 Oct 2022 09:00:00 +0000

We look into the company’s weird new future with Times tech reporter Kate Conger. Plus, how Apple is single-handedly deciding the future of the digital economy, and a social media death watch.

Guest today:

Kate Conger, a technology reporter in the San Francisco bureau of The New York Times

Additional resources:

Elon Musk has closed the $44 billion deal to own Twitter.
In the lead up to the deadline to complete the acquisition of the social media service, Elon Musk visited Twitter’s San Francisco office and sought to reassure advertisers about his plans for the platform through a Tweet.
Spotify has struggled to bring audiobooks onto its platform after Apple rejected Spotify’s new app three times.
The CEO of Altimeter Capital, the hedge fund and Meta shareholder, wrote a critical open letter to Meta and Mark Zuckerberg.

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Generative AI is Here. Who Should Control It?

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 21 Oct 2022 09:00:00 +0000

We sit down with the founder of Stability AI, Emad Mostaque, on the heels of his $101 million fund-raising round. His open-source Stable Diffusion image generator is the key to unlocking creativity, he says, and “one of the ultimate tools for freedom of expression” — as long as it stays out of the hands of a few censorious tech giants. So what’s this former hedge fund manager turned tech mogul thinking about how this technology could be used — or misused? Plus: A.I. Kevin and A.I. Casey stop by.

On today’s episode

Emad Mostaque, the chief executive of Stability AI

Additional resources

“Eshoo Urges N.S.A. & O.S.T.P. to Address Unsafe A.I. Practices” (Press Release, Representative Anna Eshoo of California)
“This artist is dominating A.I.-generated art. And he’s not happy about it.” (Melissa Heikkilä, M.I.T. Technology Review)
“A Coming-Out Party for Generative A.I., Silicon Valley’s New Craze” (Kevin Roose, The New York Times)

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Legs Are Coming + $36 Burritos + Shocking AI News

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 09:00:00 +0000

Meta is in the fight of its life — and Mark Zuckerberg hopes VR is the answer. Hmmm. Plus, an existential threat to the gig economy and the wildest news in artificial intelligence.

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Elon’s Hidden Motives + A Meetup in the Metaverse

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Fri, 7 Oct 2022 10:00:00 +0000

The $44 billion Twitter deal is back on the table — and Casey isn’t buying it. Kevin looks for friends in the Metaverse. And the “Hard Fork Transparency Report” debuts.

You can read Kashmir Hill’s story here: "This Is Life in the Metaverse."

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What’s a Hard Fork?

hardfork@nytimes.com (The New York Times) — Tue, 27 Sep 2022 14:00:00 +0000

Hosts Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore stories from the wild frontier of tech.

What’s real? What’s hype? “Hard Fork” is here to help you make sense of it. Tune in every Friday.

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