Intelligent Machines (Audio)

The 21st Century began with the rise of the Internet and social media. The next decade will mark the rise of the Intelligent Machines. AI will inhabit all our devices from cars and appliances to smart phones and robots. The Intelligent Machines podcast explores the most exciting revolution humanity has ever seen, filled with promise and peril. More than ever we need to understand what these new devices will bring to our lives and how to make best use of them as the 21st century unfolds. On this show you'll meet the AI pioneers, inventors, and innovators who are about to disrupt every aspect of modern life. You'll learn what's real and what's hype, and you'll come away with a deep understanding of the intelligent future that awaits us all. You can join Club TWiT for $10 per month and get ad-free audio and video feeds for all our shows plus everything else the club offers...or get just this podcast ad-free for $5 per month. New episodes every Wednesday.

Last refreshed: June 25th, 2026 at 2:31 AM

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Episodes

IM 876: It's No Melania - Section 230 on Trial

Section 230 takes center stage as Olivier Sylvain argues it's time to confront Big Tech's legal shield, sparking a fierce debate on whether Internet giants should be liable for platform harms or if reform risks choking small innovators. Trump says he no longer views Anthropic as a national security threat after G7 meeting with CEO The White House Is Making Up Its Rules for AI in Real Time N.S.A. Lost Access to Powerful A.I. Model Amid Anthropic Dispute Early Users of Anthropic Mythos Still Have ...

Jun 25, 2026•2 hr 45 min•Ep. 876

IM 875: Florida Dad - Amazon, Anthropic, and the AI Power Struggle

The sudden US government shutdown of Anthropic's Fable model has tech insiders reeling and rival global labs surging ahead. This episode breaks down the unexpected political power play rattling the future of AI innovation. The Fable 5 Export Controls Harm US Cyber Defense Anthropic CEO says government should block dangerous AI The Real Reason Anthropic's Models Are Offline: A Six-Year-Old Trump Grudge (21) Pete Hegseth on X: "Three months ago, @DeptofWar kicked @AnthropicAI out of our building—f...

Jun 18, 2026•2 hr 15 min•Ep. 875

IM 874: Google Knows I Love the Pepper Cannon - AI and the New Social Contract

Discover how a homegrown AI agent is outsmarting big-brand competitors, letting users tailor digital assistants with real memory and skills. The future isn't just smarter models, but everyday tech that learns exactly how you work. • Hermes AI agent's launch, mass adoption, and personalized capabilities • Open source vs. proprietary AI: model access, privacy, and funding hurdles • Apple's next-gen Siri and agentic platform ambitions unpacked • Nous Research model development, Nvidia partnerships,...

Jun 11, 2026•2 hr 47 min•Ep. 874

IM 873: Superman's Mustache - AI in Hollywood

AI is upending the movie business, from Amazon's new AI Creators Fund to contract battles that just gave synthetic actors the green light in Hollywood. This episode dives into the real-world impact of generative tools on jobs, creativity, and who gets to tell the next generation of stories. AThis is the Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra with Nvidia RTX Spark Anthropic has officially filed to go public Google Seeks $80 Billion for AI Buildout; Berkshire Will Buy $10 Billion Stake Amazon's AI jackpot...

Jun 04, 2026•2 hr 31 min•Ep. 873

IM 872: Infinite Jeffs - Why the Pope's AI Manifesto Matters

Photographer Rick Sammon shows how AI is transforming creative work and what happens when the Pope issues a sweeping 42,000-word encyclical on artificial intelligence and invites tech skeptics and true believers to weigh in? The Pope's AI encyclical: technology, ethics, and human dignity Amazing interior, controversial exterior: Ferrari's first electric car Even if you hate AI, you will use Google AI Search There's a new way to create Google Docs with your voice White House, Anthropic near deal ...

May 28, 2026•2 hr 32 min•Ep. 872

IM 871: CTRL-F Techno King - Google's Search Overhaul

Dashlane's CTO pulls back the curtain on how password managers are actually using AI, why it's more complicated than hype suggests, and what the rise of AI-powered code review means for the next wave of digital security. Nvidia Rides Blistering Chip Sales to Another Record Quarter Mind-Blowing Growth Is About to Propel Anthropic Into Its First Profitable Quarter SpaceX Filing Starts Countdown to Massive IPO Gemini 3.5 Flash: more expensive, but Google plan to use it for everything Google's Gemin...

May 21, 2026•2 hr 54 min•Ep. 871

IM 870: Meet Me In Alaska - Are AI Content Filters Changing What We Read?

British tech journalist Chris Stokel-Walker reveals his hands-on approach to filtering the world's information overload with AI, from building custom news-gathering bots to teaching reporters where the human touch still matters. Find out how next-gen tools are reshaping the front lines of reporting, and what gets lost—and found—when machines do the first pass. Google announces its Chromebook successor: the Googlebook Google's $9.99-per-month AI health coach launches May 19 Google Says Criminal H...

May 14, 2026•2 hr 44 min•Ep. 870

IM 869: My Sentience is Going Up - Chatbots in Charge

Have I Been Pwned creator Troy Hunt reveals how a homegrown AI sidekick helps manage billions of hacked credentials, but even the smartest bots aren't immune to hallucinations and headaches. White House Considers Vetting A.I. Models Before They Are Released Elon Musk admits xAI distilled OpenAI models Introducing SubQ - a major breakthrough in LLM intelligence. OpenAI releases GPT-5.5 Instant update to make ChatGPT smarter with fewer emoji Higher usage limits for Claude and a compute deal with S...

May 07, 2026•2 hr 29 min•Ep. 869

IM 868: Happy Hamburgers Towing Timmy To The Sea - Can You Really Own Your AI?

Are you ready for a world where true personal computing is under threat? This week's candid conversation with Framework CEO Nirav Patel tackles why owning your own AI hardware matters more than ever—and what's at risk if we don't. Alphabet tops Q1 estimates on strong Google Cloud growth Is OpenAI Falling Further Behind in the A.I. Race? OpenAI Releases 'Spud' GPT-5.5 Model OpenAI Breaks Free From Exclusive AI Pact With Microsoft Google signs classified AI deal with the Pentagon for 'any lawful g...

Apr 30, 2026•2 hr 37 min•Ep. 868

IM 867: The Ketchup Effect - The Lines Are Too Damn Long

Game designer and Atlantic writer Ian Bogost joins to argue that the true joy of technology is not frictionlessness, but the small sensory pleasures and constraints that keep us tethered to real life. Discover how AI could push us back into the world, not just behind our screens. CSA and Security Experts on Mythos Planning Scoop: NSA using Anthropic's Mythos despite Defense Department blacklist Mozilla Used Anthropic's Mythos to Find and Fix 271 Bugs in Firefox Anthropic's most dangerous AI mode...

Apr 23, 2026•2 hr 46 min•Ep. 867

IM 866: I'm Bonkers for Yonkers - Is Coding Dead?

When renowned photographer Craig Mod coded his own AI-powered Twitter, the lines between art, tech, and community blur in surprising ways. This episode explores what happens when creative minds take AI into their own hands—and why the next wave of software might feel more like a home-cooked meal. Sam Altman's Blog About Firebombing OpenAI Backs Bill That Would Limit Liability for AI-Enabled Mass Deaths or Financial Disasters Anthropic Opposes the Extreme AI Liability Bill That OpenAI Backed Fede...

Apr 16, 2026•2 hr 29 min•Ep. 866

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