Hard Fork

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 BrundageDavid Yaffe-Bellany Additional Reading: Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and the Billions of Ways to Influence an ElectionMiles Brundage’s on Why He’s Leaving OpenAIThe Crypto Website Where the Election Odds Swing in Trump’s Favor We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

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 Additional Reading: Elon Musk’s Big Business and Conflicts of Interest With the U.S. GovernmentCan a Chatbot Named Daenerys Targaryen Be Blamed for a Teen’s Suicide? Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

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 Additional Reading: Dario Amodei’s Essay “Machines of Loving Grace”TikTok Executives Know About App’s Effect on Teens, Lawsuit Documents Allege We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

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 HobackAdditional Reading: Another Hurdle in Recovery From Helene: Misinformation Is Getting in the WayBitcoin Documentary ‘Money Electric’ Reopens Search for Satoshi NakamotoU.S. Weighs Forcing Google to Break Off Parts of the CompanyWe want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok. Soon, you’ll need a subscription to keep full access to this show, and to other New York Times podcasts, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Don’t miss out on exploring all of our shows, featuring everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts.

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, Additional Reading: California Governor Vetoes Sweeping A.I. LegislationDawn of the Silicon Valley SuperbabyOpenAI Completes Deal That Values Company at $157 Billion‘Deepfake’ Caller Poses as Ukrainian Official in Exchange With Key Senator We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok. Soon, you’ll need a subscription to keep full access to this show, and to other New York Times podcasts, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Don’t miss out on exploring all of our shows, featuring everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts.

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 Additional Reading: Meta Unveils New Smart Glasses and Headsets in Pursuit of the MetaverseA.I. Is Mastering Language. Should We Trust What It Says?OpenAI Executives Exit as C.E.O. Works to Make the Company For-Profit We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

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 Additional Reading: OpenAI Unveils New ChatGPT That Can Reason Through Math and ScienceInstagram, Facing Pressure Over Child Safety Online, Unveils Sweeping ChangesAmazon Tells Corporate Workers to Be Back in the Office 5 Days a Week We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

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: Additional Reading: Apple Unveils New iPhones With Built-In Artificial IntelligenceRussia Secretly Worms Its Way Into America’s Conservative MediaHe’s Known as ‘Ivan the Troll.’ His 3D-Printed Guns Have Gone Viral.The Bands and the Fans Were Fake. The $10 Million Was Real. We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

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 Additional Reading: Brazil Blocks X After Musk Ignores Court Orders Paul Graham’s Founder Mode We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

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: Additional Reading: How Pavel Durov, Telegram’s Founder, Went From Russia’s Mark Zuckerberg to Wanted ManKathy Hochul’s ‘Big’ Plan to Ban Phones in SchoolsWe want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

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 FrenkelVictor Miller Additional Reading: The Year of the A.I. Election That Wasn’tMayoral Candidate Vows to Let VIC, an AI Bot, Run Wyoming’s Capital CityThree Apps That Made Me More Productive This Year We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

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, Additional Reading: Inside Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Growing AllianceThe American Right Is Terminally OnlineThe New Home of the L.A. Clippers Is a Hot Ticket for ArtA California Bill to Regulate A.I. Causes Alarm in Silicon Valley We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

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 Additional Reading: ‘Google Is a Monopolist,’ Judge Rules in Landmark Antitrust CaseTech Bosses Preach Patience as They Spend and Spend on A.I.What’s Behind All the Stock Market Drama?Willing to Die for MrBeast (and $5 Million) We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

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: Additional Reading: Liberal “White Dudes” Rally for Harris: “It’s Like a Rainbow of Beige”Move Over, Mathematicians, Here Comes AlphaProofNow Narrating the Olympics: A.I.-Al Michaels We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTubeand TikTok.

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: Kate Conger Additional Reading: What is the KHive?Is It Silicon Valley’s Job to Make Guaranteed Income a Reality?OpenResearch Unconditional Cash StudyWhen Tech Fails, It Is Usually With a Whimper Instead of a Bang We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

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 SchleiferCallie HoltermannAdditional Reading: An Assassination Attempt for the Social Media AgeHow a Network of Tech Billionaires Helped J.D. Vance Leap Into PowerWhy Are Gen Z Boys Chewing on Rock-Hard Gum? We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

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 RomanAdditional Reading: Why Deleting Your Period Tracker Won’t Protect Your PrivacyDilly Bean Stew With Cabbage and Frizzled Onions We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

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: Additional Reading: “The Interview”: Ted Sarandos’s Plan to Get You to Binge Even More NetflixCan Japan’s First Same-Sex Dating Reality Show Change Hearts and Minds?We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

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 GlazierChris KirchhoffAdditional Reading: Major Record Labels Sue A.I. Music Generators260 McNuggets? McDonald’s Ends A.I. Drive-Through Tests Amid ErrorsWe want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

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 DiRestaDavid Yaffe-BellanyAdditional Reading: Surgeon General: Why I’m Calling for a Warning Label on Social Media PlatformsMy Encounter With the Fantasy-Industrial ComplexHow Crypto Money Is Poised to Influence the Election