The deadline for TikTok to sell or to face a ban is fast approaching. We discuss how Supreme Court justices reacted to arguments in the case, whether the Chinese government might allow Elon Musk to buy the app, and why self-proclaimed TikTok refugees are rushing to a different Chinese app, called RedNote. Then, we talk with an A.I. industry insider about what we actually know about how bad artificial intelligence is for the environment. And finally, after Mark Zuckerbergs recent appearance on Jo...
Jan 17, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Ep 118•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Meta announced a series of content moderation changes that will transform the way the social media companys platforms deal with misinformation and hate speech. We break down what these changes will mean for users and why the company seems to be caving to the rights arguments on censorship. Then, well explain why 2025 is already shaping up to be a huge year in A.I. with models like OpenAIs o3, Googles Gemini 2.0 and DeepSeek, from China, stirring discussion that superintelligence is ne...
Jan 10, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Ep 117•Transcript available on Metacast This week, its our yearly tech predictions. Well review what we got right and wrong about 2024, and tell you what we think is going to happen in 2025. Then well discuss how we want to interact with tech in the new year. Plus, well answer some of your listener questions. 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...
Jan 03, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Ep 116•Transcript available on Metacast Happy Holidays, everybody! We are off this week, but we wanted to bring you a recent episode from another New York Times podcast: The Wirecutter Show. Its called Kitchen Gear That Lasts a Lifetime (or Extremely Close) and features Michael Sullivan, one of the senior staff writers on Wirecutters kitchen team. Michael walks through tips and tricks for finding kitchen gear that will last, whats worth spending money on, what you can buy used and how to make cast iron last a lifetime. We want to hear...
Dec 27, 2024•41 min•Ep 115•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we took a field trip to the Phoenix suburbs to see Amazons newest iteration of drone delivery service in action. We toured the facility where these drones are in operation, spoke with the vice president and general manager of Prime Air, David Carbon, and watched from a local backyard as our own order dropped from the sky. Guest: David Carbon, vice president and general manager of Amazon Prime Air. We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com . Find Hard Fork on YouTube a...
Dec 20, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep 114•Transcript available on Metacast Last Friday, a panel of federal judges denied TikToks petition to overturn the law that could force the ban of the app in the United States. We walk through the judges reasoning and explain why TikToks First Amendment argument was unsuccessful. Then, Julian Kelly, the director of quantum hardware at Google Quantum AI, explains how close we are to quantum computers that can solve practical problems. Finally, we talk about a new sentiment sweeping Silicon Valley: affection for the chatbot Claude. ...
Dec 13, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep 113•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Pat Gelsinger stepped down as chief executive of Intel. We talk with The New York Timess Don Clark about why Gelsinger was ousted, what it means for the chip industry and how his departure could affect national security. Then, Kevin and Casey report back from an artificial intelligence conference, where experts debated how long it would take to build a structure around the sun to capture the stars energy also known as a Dyson sphere. And finally, gift guides have taken over the intern...
Dec 06, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Ep 112•Transcript available on Metacast This week, were bringing you a Thanksgiving special thats great for a long car ride, a day of cooking or avoiding conversation with your family. Were counting down the 100 most iconic technologies of all time, starting with No. 100: Boats. Our definitive list was carefully crafted using an advanced methodology of vibes-only decision-making. By iconic, we mean technologies that have either changed the world, ruined it or at the very least made life a little more interesting. And because we love c...
Nov 29, 2024•1 hr 27 min•Ep 111•Transcript available on Metacast This week, President-elect Donald Trump picked Brendan Carr to be the next chairman of the F.C.C. We talk with The Verges editor in chief, Nilay Patel, about what this could mean for the future of the internet, and for free speech at large. Then, a new study found that ChatGPT defeated doctors at diagnosing some diseases. One of the studys authors, Dr. Adam Rodman, joins us to discuss the future of medicine. And finally, court is back in session. Its time for the Hard Fork Crimes Division. One m...
Nov 22, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep 110•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we explore how the 2024 election paved the way for a new crypto-friendly Congress and what that means for the future of crypto. Then, for ChatGPTs second birthday, Nick Turley, ChatGPT head of product at OpenAI, stops by to tell us where it goes from here and share some of his favorite chatbot hacks. Finally, a listener emailed us last week asking what social network he should be using in 2024. Well share our thoughts on which text-based platforms are the least annoying. One more thin...
Nov 15, 2024•1 hr 18 min•Transcript available on Metacast As of this week, we have a new president-elect. We discuss how the incoming administrations approach to technology will affect Elon Musk, a TikTok ban, Big Techs antitrust challenges and the speed of A.I. progress. Then, Kashmir Hill, a technology reporter for The Times, joins to discuss her weeklong experiment of letting A.I. make every decision in her life. And finally, we play a round of election-free HatGPT! Guest: Kashmir Hill , technology reporter for The New York Times. Additional Reading...
Nov 08, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep 108•Transcript available on Metacast Last week, Jeff Bezos canceled the Washington Post editorial boards 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 expl...
Nov 01, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep 107•Transcript available on Metacast Note: This episode contains mentions of suicide. This week, how Elon Musk became a main character in this years 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 Suic...
Oct 25, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep 106•Transcript available on Metacast 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 companys 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...
Oct 18, 2024•2 hr 55 min•Ep 105•Transcript available on Metacast This week, in the wake of recent natural disasters, we dig into the rise of A.I.-generated slop thats 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: Its once again time to board the Hot Mess Expre...
Oct 11, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep 104•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Informations Julia Black joins to discuss the baby craze thats sweeping Silicon Valley, including investment in some wild new fertility technologies. An...
Oct 04, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep 103•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Casey reports back from a wild day at Meta Connect, discussing whats new with Metas 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 companys new hit NotebookLM, which uses A.I. to turn even boring PDFs, such as user manuals and Kevins bank records, into chatty, disturbingly good podcasts. Finally, so much happened in tech news this...
Sep 27, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep 102•Transcript available on Metacast 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: Kare...
Sep 20, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 were calling the Hard Fork Crimes Division. W...
Sep 13, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Transcript available on Metacast Over the weekend, X was banned in Brazil. We talk with The New York Timess 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, were 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 stu...
Sep 06, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Transcript available on Metacast Telegrams founder, Pavel Durov, was arrested in France and charged with several crimes connected to his operation of the platform. Well 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 epi...
Aug 30, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Ep 98•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we discuss why so few campaigns seem to be experimenting with A.I. The Timess 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 fin...
Aug 23, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep 97•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we debate whether Elon Musks recent stumping and fund-raising for former President Trump could help him get re-elected. Then, former Microsofts chief executive, Steve Ballmer, stops by to discuss his effort to depolarize our politics using government data. And finally, This Week in A.I. returns: We run down some of the biggest recent stories that caught our attention. Guest: Steve Ballmer, former chief executive of Microsoft, founder of USAFacts Additional Reading: Inside Donald Trump...
Aug 16, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep 96•Transcript available on Metacast 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, its 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 tra...
Aug 09, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep 95•Transcript available on Metacast 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 teams new A.I. models just hit a silver medal score on the International Mathematical Olympiad exam. And finally, its time for a new round of HatGPT! This time, its a speci...
Aug 02, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep 94•Transcript available on Metacast This week, the memes didnt just fall out of coconut trees a rundown of the social media reaction to Kamala Harriss 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...
Jul 26, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep 93•Transcript available on Metacast 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 weeks Republican National Convention in Milwaukee about the wave of Silicon Valley billionaires stepping up to back Trump. And finally, we talk to The Timess Styles reporter Callie Holtermann about facial fitness gum, a jawmaxxing product targeted at teen boys online. Guests: Theodore Schleifer , New York Tim...
Jul 19, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep 92•Transcript available on Metacast Throw down a picnic blanket, and grab some snacks and drinks: Its time for some Hard Questions with the food writer, YouTuber and podcaster Alison Roman. We tackle quandaries like, Should you sign away your childrens image rights in order to get them into your preferred day care? Is hacking people for fun ever OK? And does it matter if were rude to our digital assistants? Guest : Alison Roman , cook, writer and author Additional Reading : Why Deleting Your Period Tracker Wont Protect Your Privac...
Jul 12, 2024•52 min•Ep 91•Transcript available on Metacast Were off for the Fourth of July, but whats a better tribute to America than a conversation about the technology that enables us to endlessly stream TV from the couch? This week, were bringing you an episode we enjoyed from the recently debuted New York Times podcast The Interview. Lulu Garcia-Navarro interviews Ted Sarandos, co-chief executive of Netflix, about his early days working in a video store, shows to fold your laundry to and the future of the entertainment industry. Guest : Ted Sarando...
Jul 05, 2024•41 min•Ep 90•Transcript available on Metacast 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 speci...
Jun 28, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep 89•Transcript available on Metacast 
