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220 afleveringen, van nieuw naar oud
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Australia Kicks Kids Off Social Media + Is the A.I. Water Issue Fake? + Hard Fork Wrapped
12 december 2025 · 1 uur 10 min
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. Lees meer
Guests:
Andy Masley, blogger The Weird Turn Pro
Additional Reading:
A Grand Social Media Experiment Begins in Australia
The A.I. water issue is fake
Why Is Everyone So Wrong About A.I. Water Use?
Trump Signs Executive Order to Neuter State A.I. Laws
Trump Clears Sale of More Powerful Nvidia A.I. Chips to China
We Asked Roblox’s C.E.O. About Child Safety. It Got Tense.
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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OpenAI Calls a ‘Code Red’ + Which Model Should I Use? + The Hard Fork Review of Slop
5 december 2025 · 59 min
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. Lees meer
Additional Reading:
What OpenAI Did When ChatGPT Users Lost Touch With Reality
Google Unveils Gemini 3, With Improved Coding and Search Abilities
Tourists Tricked by Fake Royal Christmas Market
Deepfake of North Carolina lawmaker used in award-winning Whirlpool video
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Hard Fork’s 50 Most Iconic Technologies of 2025
28 november 2025 · 1 uur 16 min
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. Lees meer
Additional Reading:
Check out last year’s list: Hard Fork’s 100 Most Iconic Technologies
Meet the Artist Who Bedazzled Naomi Osaka’s Labubus
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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The Interview: How Wikipedia Is Responding to the Culture Wars
25 november 2025 · 46 min
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. Lees meer
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:
The Culture Wars Came for Wikipedia. Jimmy Wales Is Staying the Course.
Elon Musk Challenges Wikipedia With His Own A.I. Encyclopedia
Elon Musk Groks Wikipedia
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
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We Asked Roblox’s C.E.O. About Child Safety. It Got Tense.
21 november 2025 · 40 min
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. Lees meer
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:
Roblox Sued for Wrongful Death After Teenager’s Suicide
Generation Alpha’s FarmVille Is Growing Like Crazy in Roblox
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Google's Gemini 3 Is Here: A Special Early Look
18 november 2025 · 27 min
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. Lees meer
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
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Data Centers in Space + A.I. Policy on the Right + A Gemini History Mystery
14 november 2025 · 1 uur 12 min
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. Lees meer
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:
Towards a Future Space-Based, Highly Scalable A.I. Infrastructure System Design
What It's Like to Work at the White House
Has Google Quietly Solved Two of AI’s Oldest Problems?
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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We Met NEO, the Viral Humanoid Robot + HatGPT
7 november 2025 · 1 uur 8 min
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. Lees meer
Guests:
Bernt Bornich, chief executive of 1X
Additional Reading:
I Tried the Robot That’s Coming to Live With You. It’s Still Part Human.
Invasion of the Home Humanoid Robots
There Are More Robots Working in China Than the Rest of the World Combined
Trump Pardons Founder of the Crypto Exchange Binance
For Podcasters, a Voice Clone Is a Double-Edged Sword
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Character.AI’s Teen Chatbot Crackdown + Elon Musk Groks Wikipedia + 48 Hours Without A.I.
31 oktober 2025 · 1 uur 1 min
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. Lees meer
Guests:
A.J. Jacobs, author, journalist and host of the podcast “The Puzzler”
Additional Reading:
Character.AI to Bar Children Under 18 From Using Its Chatbots
Elon Musk Challenges Wikipedia With His Own A.I. Encyclopedia
48 Hours Without A.I.
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Celebrities Fight Sora + Amazon’s Secret Automation Plans + ChatGPT Gets a Browser
24 oktober 2025 · 1 uur 8 min
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. Lees meer
Guests:
Karen Weise, New York Times technology reporter covering Amazon.
Additional Reading:
OpenAI Blocks Videos of Martin Luther King Jr. After Racist Depictions
Amazon Plans to Replace More Than Half a Million Jobs With Robots
The Robots Fueling Amazon’s Automation
OpenAI Unveils Web Browser Built for Artificial Intelligence
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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California Regulates A.I. Companions + OpenAI Investigates Its Critics + The Hard Fork Review of Slop
17 oktober 2025 · 1 uur 5 min
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. Lees meer
Guests:
Nathan Calvin, vice president of state affairs and general counsel at Encode
Additional Reading:
California Regulates A.I. Companions
OpenAI Thinks Its Critics Are Funded by Billionaires. Now It’s Going After Them.
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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ChatGPT’s Platform Play + a Trillion-Dollar GPU Empire + the Queen of Slop
10 oktober 2025 · 1 uur 7 min
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. Lees meer
Guests:
Katie Notopoulos, senior correspondent at Business Insider covering technology and culture.
Additional Reading:
OpenAI’s Platform Play
OpenAI Agrees to Use Computer Chips From AMD
I’m Addicted to Sora 2!
OpenAI’s New Video App Is Jaw-Dropping (for Better and Worse)
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Sora and the Infinite Slop Feeds + ChatGPT Goes to Therapy + Hot Mess Express
3 oktober 2025 · 1 uur 6 min
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. Lees meer
Guests:
Gary Greenberg, writer and psychotherapist
Additional Reading:
OpenAI Launches a Social Network
OpenAI’s New Video App Is Jaw-Dropping (for Better and Worse)
Putting ChatGPT on the Couch
What My Daughter Told ChatGPT Before She Took Her Life
Chatbots Can Go Into a Delusional Spiral. Here’s How It Happens.
YouTube Settles Trump Lawsuit Over Account Suspension for $24.5 Million
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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The Great A.I. Build-Out + H-1B Visa Chaos + TikTok Braces for the Rapture
26 september 2025 · 53 min
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. Lees meer
Guests:
Jeremy Neufeld, director of immigration policy at the Institute for Progress
Additional Reading:
Nvidia to Invest $100 Billion in OpenAI
OpenAI to Join Tech Giants in Building 5 New Data Centers in U.S.
$100,000 Per Employee: How the H-1B Visa Fee Could Reshape Work Forces
A $100,000 Per Worker Visa Fee Tips the Balance to Big Tech
The Rapture Was Predicted to Happen Today. TikTok Has Some Advice.
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Charlie Kirk and Online Rage + Inside Trump’s Chip Flip + This Week in A.I.
19 september 2025 · 1 uur 14 min
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. Lees meer
Guests:
David Yaffe-Bellany, New York Times technology reporter covering the crypto industry
Additional Reading:
Trump Administration Wields Its Full Toolbox to Bring Media to Heel
Social Platforms Duck Blame for Inflaming Divisions Before Charlie Kirk’s Death
In Giant Deals, U.A.E. Got Chips, and Trump Team Got Crypto Riches
A Teen Was Suicidal. ChatGPT Was the Friend He Confided In.
OpenAI’s Risky Step to Protect Teens
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Are We Past Peak iPhone? + Eliezer Yudkowsky on A.I. Doom
12 september 2025 · 1 uur 12 min
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. Lees meer
Guests:
Eliezer Yudkowsky, founder of Machine Intelligence Research Institute and a co-author of “If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies”
Additional Reading:
A.I.’s Prophet of Doom Wants to Shut It All Down
AI as Normal Technology, revisited
Apple’s misunderstood crossbody iPhone strap might be the best I’ve seen
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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A.I. School Is in Session: Two Takes on the Future of Education
5 september 2025 · 1 uur 12 min
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. Lees meer
Guests:
MacKenzie Price, co-founder of Alpha Schools
D. Graham Burnett, historian of science and technology at Princeton University
Additional Reading:
A.I.-Driven Education: Founded in Texas and Coming to a School Near You
Will the Humanities Survive Artificial Intelligence?
OpenAI and Microsoft Bankroll New A.I. Training for Teachers
Welcome to Campus. Here’s Your ChatGPT.
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Intel’s New Deal + Waymo C.E.O. Tekedra Mawakana on Scaling Driverless Cars + Trumps in Tech
29 augustus 2025 · 1 uur 3 min
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. Lees meer
Guests:
Tekedra Mawakana, co-chief executive of Waymo.
Additional Reading:
Intel Agrees to Sell U.S. a 10% Stake in Its Business
First Lady Melania Trump Launches Nationwide Presidential AI Challenge
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Is This an A.I. Bubble? + Meta’s Missing Morals + TikTok Shock Slop
22 augustus 2025 · 1 uur 7 min
Note: This episode contains sexually explicit music. Lees meer
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
Additional Reading:
My Dinner With Altman
Companies Are Pouring Billions Into A.I. It Has Yet to Pay Off
Meta’s A.I. Rules Have Let Bots Hold ‘Sensual’ Chats With Children
Why Is TikTok Overflowing With A.I. Country Music Erotica?
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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GPT-5 Backlash + Perplexity C.E.O. Aravind Srinivas on the Browser Wars + Hot Mess Express
15 augustus 2025 · 1 uur 11 min
OpenAI spent the week responding to outcry from users who miss the behavior of the old ChatGPT, before the latest flagship model was released. Lees meer
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.
Additional Reading:
Chatbots Can Go Into a Delusional Spiral. Here’s How It Happens.
Three Big Lessons From the GPT-5 Backlash
A.I. Start-Up Perplexity Offers to Buy Google’s Chrome Browser for $34.5 Billion
Elon Musk Threatens to Sue Apple Over Claims It Favors OpenAI
U.S. Government to Take Cut of Nvidia and AMD A.I. Chip Sales to China
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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GPT-5 Arrives, and We Try the New Alexa+
8 augustus 2025 · 1 uur 13 min
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. Lees meer
Guests:
Daniel Rausch, Amazon vice president of Echo and Alexa
Additional reading:
OpenAI Aims to Stay Ahead of Rivals With New GPT-5 Technology
Amazon Unveils Alexa+, Powered by Generative A.I.
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Age-Gating the Internet + Cloudflare Takes On A.I. Scrapers + HatGPT
1 augustus 2025 · 1 uur 12 min
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. Lees meer
Guests:
Matthew Prince, chief executive of Cloudflare
Additional Reading:
Supreme Court Upholds Texas Law Limiting Access to Pornography
The U.K.’s age gates are coming to America
Cloudflare Introduces Default Blocking of A.I. Data Scrapers
Also, you can still get a special-edition “Hard Fork” hat! For a limited time, you’ll receive one when you purchase an annual New York Times Audio subscription for the first time (U.S. only). Go to nytimes.com/hardforkhat.
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Trump Fights ‘Woke’ A.I. + We Hear Out Our Critics
25 juli 2025 · 1 uur 6 min
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. Lees meer
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”
Additional Reading:
Trump Plans to Give A.I. Developers a Free Hand
The Chatbot Culture Wars Are Here
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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X Hits Grok Bottom + More A.I. Talent Wars + ‘Crypto Week’
18 juli 2025 · 1 uur 8 min
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. Lees meer
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
Additional Reading:
Elon Musk’s Grok Chatbot Shares Antisemitic Posts on X
Google Hires A.I. Leaders From a Start-Up Courted by OpenAI
Cognition AI Buys Windsurf as A.I. Frenzy Escalates
‘Crypto Week’ Is Back on Track After House G.O.P. Quells Conservative Revolt
The ‘Trump Pump’: How Crypto Lobbying Won Over a President
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
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Interesting Times: A Mind-Bending Conversation with Peter Thiel
11 juli 2025 · 1 uur 2 min
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. Lees meer
Guest:
Peter Thiel, co-founder of Paypal and Palantir.
Additional Reading:
Peter Thiel and the Antichrist
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Hard Fork Live, Part 2: Patrick Collison of Stripe + Kathryn Zealand of Skip + Listener Questions
4 juli 2025 · 58 min
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. Lees meer
Guests:
Patrick Collison, Co-founder and C.E.O. of Stripe
Kathryn Zealand, Founder and C.E.O. of Skip
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
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Hard Fork Live, Part 1: Sam Altman and Brad Lightcap of OpenAI
27 juni 2025 · 57 min
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. Lees meer
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
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Trump Is Selling a Phone + The Start-Up Trying to Automate Every Job + Allison Williams Talks ‘M3GAN 2.0’
20 juni 2025 · 1 uur 4 min
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. Lees meer
Guests:
Matthew Barnett and Ege Erdil, co-founders of Mechanize.
Allison Williams, actor.
Additional Reading:
Trump Mobile Phone Company Announced by President’s Family, but Details Are Murky
The President Is Selling a Phone
This A.I. Company Wants to Take Your Job
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Meta Bets on Scale + Apple’s A.I. Struggles + Listeners on Job Automation
13 juni 2025 · 1 uur 7 min
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. Lees meer
Additional Reading:
Meta looks for an A.I. reset
Apple Executives Defend Apple Intelligence, Siri and A.I. Strategy
This A.I. Company Wants to Take Your Job
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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The Trump-Musk Fallout + A DOGE Coder Speaks + ChefGPT
6 juni 2025 · 1 uur 7 min
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. Lees meer
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
Additional Reading:
If Elon Musk and President Trump Divorce, Who Gets Silicon Valley?
This Year’s Hot New Tool for Chefs? ChatGPT.
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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The A.I. Jobpocalypse + Building at Anthropic with Mike Krieger + Hard Fork Crimes Division
30 mei 2025 · 1 uur 8 min
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. Lees meer
Guest:
Mike Krieger, chief product officer at Anthropic
Additional Reading:
For Some Recent Graduates, the A.I. Job Apocalypse May Already Be Here
Another Suspect Is Charged in Bitcoin Kidnapping and Torture Case
Elizabeth Holmes’s Partner Has a New Blood-Testing Start-Up
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Google DeepMind C.E.O. Demis Hassabis on Living in an A.I. Future
23 mei 2025 · 1 uur 14 min
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. Lees meer
Guest:
Demis Hassabis, co-founder and chief executive of Google DeepMind
Additional Reading:
At Google I/O, everything is changing and normal and scary and chill
Google Unveils A.I. Chatbot, Signaling a New Era for Search
Google DeepMind C.E.O. Demis Hassabis on the Path From Chatbots to A.G.I.
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Ed Helms Answers Your Hard Questions
16 mei 2025 · 56 min
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? Lees meer
Guest:
Ed Helms, actor, podcaster and author of “Snafu: The Definitive Guide to History’s Greatest Screwups”
Additional Reading:
Interview: Ed Helms on Historical Snafus and His Reading Life
7 Months Inside an Online Scam Labor Camp
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Bad Apple + The Rise of the AI Empire + Italian Brain Rot
9 mei 2025 · 1 uur 12 min
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. Lees meer
Guest:
Karen Hao, Author of “Empire of AI”
Additional Reading:
Judge Rebukes Apple and Orders It to Loosen Grip on App Store
Brain Rot Comes for Italy
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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The Dangers of A.I. Flattery + Kevin Meets the Orb + Group Chat Chat
2 mei 2025 · 1 uur 7 min
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. Lees meer
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”
Additional Reading:
Meta’s ‘Digital Companions’ Will Talk Sex With Users — Even Children
Reddit Issuing ‘Formal Legal Demands’ Against Researchers Who Conducted Secret A.I. Experiment on Users
The Group Chats That Changed America
The Ice Bucket Challenge Worked. Why Not Try It Again?
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Is Google Breaking Up? + Seasteading Is Back + Tool Time
25 april 2025 · 1 uur 8 min
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. Lees meer
Tickets to Hard Fork live are on sale! See us June 24 at SFJAZZ.
Guest:
Mark Yarm, an executive editor at PCMag and the author of “Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge.”
Additional Reading:
Google May Be on the Brink of a Breakup
Google Is Illegally Monopolizing Online Advertising Tech, Judge Rules
The Techno-Utopians Who Want to Colonize the Sea
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Meta on Trial + Is A.I. a ‘Normal’ Technology? + HatGPT
18 april 2025 · 1 uur 20 min
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. Lees meer
Tickets to Hard Fork live are on sale now! See us June 24 at SFJAZZ.
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:
What if Mark Zuckerberg Had Not Bought Instagram and WhatsApp?
AI as Normal Technology
One Giant Stunt for Womankind
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Big Tech's Tariff Chaos + A.I. 2027 + Llama Drama
11 april 2025 · 1 uur 9 min
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. Lees meer
Guest:
Daniel Kokotajlo, executive director of the AI Futures Project
Additional Reading:
Inside Trump’s Reversal on Tariffs: From ‘Be Cool!’ to ‘Getting Yippy’
A.I. 2027
Meta Gets Rebuked Over Benchmark Gaming
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Tech Stock Shock + Solving the Mystery of OpenAI's "Blip" + Tinder's Flirt-Off
4 april 2025 · 1 uur 2 min
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. Lees meer
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.
Additional Reading:
What Trump’s Sweeping Tariffs Mean for the Global Economy, and for You
Trump’s New Tariffs Test Apple’s Global Supply Chain
The Secrets and Misdirection Behind Sam Altman’s Firing From OpenAI
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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The Tech Behind Signalgate + Dwarkesh Patel's "Scaling Era" + Is A.I. Making Our Listeners Dumb?
28 maart 2025 · 1 uur 8 min
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. Lees meer
Guest:
Dwarkesh Patel, tech podcaster and author of “The Scaling Era: An Oral History of A.I., 2019-2025”
Additional Reading:
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
Signal Chat Leak Angers U.S. Military Pilots
Is A.I. Making Us Dumb?
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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A.I. Action Plans + The College Student Who Broke Job Interviews + Hot Mess Express
21 maart 2025 · 1 uur 2 min
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. Lees meer
Guest:
Roy Lee, Columbia sophomore and founder of Interview Coder
Additional Reading:
America Crafts an A.I. Action Plan
Meet the 21-Year-Old Helping Coders Use A.I. to Cheat in Google and Other Tech Job Interviews
Solana Pulls Ad After Huge Backlash
Digital Therapists Get Stressed Too, Study Finds
Rippling Sues Deel, a Software Rival, Over Corporate Spying
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
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Apple's Siri-ous Problem + How Starlink Took Over the World + Is AI Making Us Dumb?
14 maart 2025 · 1 uur 3 min
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? Lees meer
Guest:
Adam Satariano, New York Times reporter
Additional Reading:
Apple Delays Siri Upgrade Indefinitely as AI Concerns Escalate
With Starlink, Elon Musk’s Satellite Dominance Is Raising Global Alarms
The Impact of Generative AI on Critical Thinking: Self-Reported Reductions in Cognitive Effort and Confidence Effects From a Survey of Knowledge Workers
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Is Google Search Cooked? + We’re Getting a U.S. Crypto Reserve? + What You’re Vibecoding
7 maart 2025 · 1 uur 10 min
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. Lees meer
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.
Additional Reading:
Trump Faces Blowback Over Plans for Crypto Reserve
Not a Coder? With A.I., Just Having an Idea Can Be Enough.
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Anthropic’s C.E.O. Dario Amodei on Surviving the A.I. Endgame
28 februari 2025 · 1 uur 7 min
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. Lees meer
Guest:
Dario Amodei, chief executive of Anthropic
Additional Reading:
Inside the White-Hot Center of A.I. Doomerism
Machines of Loving Grace
Apple Removes Cloud Encryption Feature From U.K. After Backdoor Order
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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How Based is Grok 3? + Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev on Markets For Everything + Vibecoding 101
21 februari 2025 · 1 uur 12 min
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. Lees meer
Guest:
Vlad Tenev, chief executive of Robinhood and co-founder of Harmonic.
Additional Reading:
There Are Probably Too Many A.I. Companies Now
An Investing Revolution Is Coming. The U.S. Isn’t Ready for It.
Is Math the Path to Chatbots That Don’t Make Stuff Up?
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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A.I. Accelerates in Paris + Can A.I. Fix Your Love Life?
14 februari 2025 · 1 uur 12 min
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. Lees meer
Guests:
Rachel Cohn, Hard Fork producer, writer of the newsletter “Are You My Boyfriend?”
Justin McLeod, founder and C.E.O. of Hinge
Additional Reading:
Macron Pitches Lighter Regulation to Fuel A.I. Boom in Europe
Vance, in First Foreign Speech, Tells Europe That U.S. Will Dominate A.I.
When Cupid Is a Prying Journalist
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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The Musketeers Take Washington + Spotify's Ghost Music + Tool Time
7 februari 2025 · 1 uur 23 min
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. Lees meer
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”
Additional Reading:
Inside Musk’s Aggressive Incursion Into the Federal Government
The Ghosts in the Machine
ChatGPT's deep research might be the first good agent
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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DeepSeek DeepDive + Hands-On With Operator + Hot Mess Express!
31 januari 2025 · 1 uur 6 min
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! Lees meer
Guest:
Jordan Schneider, founder and editor in chief of ChinaTalk
Additional Reading:
Why DeepSeek Could Change What Silicon Valley Believes About A.I.
OpenAI launches its agent
Fable, a Book App, Makes Changes After Offensive A.I. Messages
Amazon Pauses Drone Deliveries After Aircraft Crashed in Rain
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Your Guide to the DeepSeek Freakout: an Emergency Pod
27 januari 2025 · 24 min
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. Lees meer
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?
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
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Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Quantum TikTok + Memecoin Mania + Chris Hayes on the Attention Wars
24 januari 2025 · 1 uur 12 min
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. Lees meer
Guest:
Chris Hayes, Host of MSNBC's "All In With Chris Hayes" and author of “The Sirens’ Call”
Additional Reading:
TikTok Comes Back From the Dead
Trump’s Cryptocurrency Surges to Become One of the World’s Most Valuable
Chris Hayes: I Want Your Attention. I Need Your Attention. Here Is How I Mastered My Own.
The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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