The latest legislative push to address TikTok’s relationship to ByteDance, Ben’s 2020 analysis of the threats posed by the app, the arguments and interests opposing a ban, and why US freedoms may ultimately be the best defense against a foreign influence campaign.
A closer look at Elon Musk’s lawsuit, why it will probably fail, and the OpenAI concerns Musk highlights that remain relevant. Then: Apple’s latest App Store crusade, some amateur psychology, and an emailer’s Google observation yields a Microsoft history lesson.
The challenges posed by AI as aggregators like Meta and Google deploy models around the around, why personalized LLM output might be a long term solution, and reactions to the latest release from Anthropic and the current pace of AI progress. At the end: A word about Perplexity.
The letter from Sundar Pichai in the wake of a Gemini’s disastrous week, the relationship between TSMC and Nvidia (and why Intel is part of the conversation), and an emailer asks Ben to compare Apple’s now-abandoned car ambitions with Google’s investment in Waymo. At the end: A Vision Pro question and a new Formula One season.
An email about AI losers spawns a check-in on the AI efforts of the big five, Google’s Gemini rollout prompts a history lesson and questions about the culture, while the debates over Gemini highlight the limits of chatbots and signal another step toward bifurcation between the physical and virtual world.
How the gaming market went from PlayStation to Microsoft Game Pass, the fundamental tensions underlying Microsoft’s current strategy in games, and thoughts on the future for Sony and Meta’s Quest 3 as a gaming console.
A look at the questions surrounding the sports streaming bundle that’s coming from Fox, Disney, and Warner Brothers Discovery, including the challenge of targeting video ads on the internet, why Disney’s bet on sports is a bet on ads, and why Andrew is bearish on the joint venture. At the end: Mark Zuckerberg on the Vision Pro, and Ben takes to Twitter to talk Vision Pro on an airplane.
Ben and Andrew begin with a note about a recent Stratechery announcement before to turning their attention to a variety of emails about the Apple Vision Pro.
Ben and Andrew share first impressions after Andrew demos a Vision Pro and Ben spends 24 hours exploring the AVP at home. Plus: Venting about Apple’s user-hostile guest mode process.
A new mailbag featuring a comparison between the Vision Pro and night vision goggles, Ben’s process for digesting quarterly earnings news, and some final thoughts on Apple’s approach to the App Store.
A question about AI video and what sectors it might disrupt, and the latest attempt at Apple regulation promos a conversation about Apple’s property rights and the future of the App Store.
Introducing the Sharp Tech YouTube Channel, understanding why Netflix choose the WWE for its first live rights partner in sports, more on the Vision Pro and watching sports in VR, and recapping Ben’s week in Switzerland at the World Economic Forum.
Apple’s new App Store rules inspire plenty of familiar complaints, while some of the biggest tech companies in the world tell Apple to launch Vision Pro without them.
Peacock makes history as the first streaming service to broadcast an NFL playoff game, an emailer asks Chat GPT licensing deals, and Boeing follow-up spawns questions on the future of free markets and humans vs. software.
The latest failures at Boeing invite fresh scrutiny of the incentive structure, strategy lessons embedded in the company's decline, and why Boeing exemplifies the same mistakes and challenges that the rest of the American industrial base will confront in the years to come. At the end: ESPN eyes an even bigger college football investment and a release date for the Vision Pro.
A word about the Packers and microchips, and then reactions to the New York Times suing OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement, the similarities and differences between past copyright cases with Google and Napster, and a question about automated copyright enforcement.
Celebrating the end of the year with a few reactions to Wednesday’s Paramount-Warner Brothers rumors and a wide variety of mailbag questions. Happy holidays from the entire Sharp Tech team!
The patent dispute that has Apple ready to take Apple Watches off the market, the expanding powers of the EU regulatory regime, why the Adobe-Figma acquisition raised legitimate competition concerns, and the uncertainty for the startup ecosystem as mergers become more difficult across tech.
Epic vs. Google spawns a victory lap for Ben and some obligatory arguments with Andrew, a closer look at the FinTech revolution that never quite materialized, and the AI possibilities in journalism and Hollywood. At the end: Shohei Ohtani's bizarre contract, a Christmas song correction, and a call to emailers for year-end awards categories.
Bull and bear cases for Google's long term prospects, why navigating the AI era may require leadership and culture changes, and thoughts on college football's success and Mark Cuban's sale of the Dallas Mavericks. At the end: Select wisdom from Charlie Munger.
Ben’s article on “Regretful Accelerationism,” the differences between today’s Internet and that of 10 years ago, AI articles at Sports Illustrated as digital media continues its decline, and why the increasingly bleak outlook for social media might be healthy for society itself.
Elon Musk has some choice words for advertisers who abandon his platform, a look at longstanding advertising deficiencies at X and more recent flaws in Musk’s business strategy, and thoughts on Musk and the good, bad and maddening aspects of his social impact.
What appears to be a resolution to last weekend’s OpenAI saga, plus questions about who controls the future of AI, why governments are reliant on private actors in this area, and whether Q* is the first major step toward AGI. At the end: a Netflix take and a Crown complaint.
Reactions to one of the most extraordinary weekends in the history of the tech industry, the blindspots that were exposed among both the OpenAI board and Microsoft, the non-profit model for development and OpenAI's recruiting prowess, and a groundswell of support for Sam Altman as a variety of questions remain.
After one year of Sharp Tech and Sharp China, a summit with Ben Thompson, Bill Bishop and Andrew Sharp to discuss podcasting, the chip ban, the US-China relationship and beyond.
An emailer makes the argument for text over voice as the AI interface of the future, the introduction of Humane's AI pin, and questions for Apple and OpenAI as the AI ecosystem evolves. At the end: A few clarifications from listeners and more thoughts on tech and the real estate market.
The possibilities of a universal chatbot for the future, the challenges for any new consumer tech company trying to match the scale of incumbents, and the strategic questions facing OpenAI as its leadership allocates resources and considers a move into hardware.
A verdict in Missouri portends big changes in the real estate industry, why real estate is a natural fit for an aggregator, and divergent outcomes from two tech-adjacent price-fixing cases. At the end: The NBA and streaming, and Ronald Reagan’s version of Mission: Impossible.
The White House executive order on AI, the accidental lesson of all the analogies to nuclear technology, what Steve Jobs and Bill Gates can teach us about innovation, and a look at the competing systemic priorities that create AI questions without clear answers.
Celebrating 100 episodes of Sharp Tech with quick thoughts on Monday night's Apple event, a second look at GM's foray into software, the tech CEO that should be the next NBA commissioner, and more emails from listeners.
