Hard Fork - The New York Times

Breaking Bard + Who Owns Your Face? + Gamer News! Sep 22, 2023

Today’s Guests:

Kashmir Hill is a Times business reporter covering technology and privacy.

Additional Reading:

Google unveiled new features for its A.I. chatbot, Bard.
Kashmir Hill’s “Your Face Belongs to Us” tracks the rise of Clearview AI, a facial recognition start-up.

Casey v. Kevin on US v. Google + Walter Isaacson on Two Years With Elon Musk Sep 15, 2023

Is Google allowed to spend billions of dollars to make its search product the default browser? That is the question at the center of U.S. et al. v. Google — the most important tech trial of the modern internet era — and Kevin and Casey disagree on the answer.

Then, a conversation with the journalist who spent the last two years shadowing Elon Musk.

Today’s guest:

Walter Isaacson is a writer and author of the forthcoming biography “Elon Musk.”

Additional reading:

Google’s antitrust lawsuit against the U.S. government brings the first major tech trial since U.S. v. Microsoft which began in 1998.
“Elon Musk,” by Walter Isaacson.

Escape From Burning Man + Musk vs. the A.D.L. + Listener Questions Sep 08, 2023

This week: How tech executives’ favorite place to take their pants off turned into a muddy hellscape. We talk to one executive who couldn’t just call a helicopter to escape.

Then, Jonathan Greenblatt, C.E.O. of the Anti-Defamation League, on how his organization went from having a “productive” meeting with X’s C.E.O., Linda Yaccarino, last week to being threatened with a lawsuit by Elon Musk on Monday.

Plus, Kevin and Casey answer your questions.

Additional Information:

Burning Man left behind a sea of “moop” in the desert.
Research from the Center for Countering Digital Hate, the Anti-Defamation League and other groups found that hate speech had increased on Twitter after it was purchased by Elon Musk.
Snapchat’s My AI freaked users out after the chatbot appeared to go rogue.

The Secretive Billionaires Building a Tech Utopia + Casey’s External Brain + HatGPT Sep 01, 2023

A group of tech titans is gobbling up land north of San Francisco with aspirations to alleviate the Bay Area’s housing crisis, promote innovation, and experiment with new forms of governance. It’s not the first time ultra-wealthy people have tried to build the place of their dreams. Will this time be any different?

Then, note-taking apps claim to make us smarter. Usually, they don’t. Casey Newton, a productivity cult member, on how A.I. could change that.

Plus, Kevin and Casey play HatGPT.

Additional Information:

Tech billionaires want to build a new city. A political fight is coming.
Casey takes a look at note-taking platforms and why they usually don’t live up to their promise.
An Air Force program is embracing A.I. in aerial combat.
The S.E.C. took action against a NFT project
YouTube will waive content violation warnings if the creators in violation attend a class.
Google Meet’s new A.I. program will take notes for users in real time.
A smart contact lens can be charged with human tears.

N.Y.C. Says Airbn-bye + How Far Would You Go for a GPU? + The A.I. Songs of the Summer Aug 25, 2023

Are New York City’s new rules for short-term rentals like Airbnb effectively a ban? And will they accomplish what proponents want them to? Then, The New York Times tech reporter Erin Griffith on Silicon Valley’s mad dash for GPUs. And finally, we take stock of the A.I. songs of the summer and discuss YouTube and Universal Music Group’s plan to make synthetic voices profitable.

On Today’s Episode:

Erin Griffith is a New York Times journalist based in the San Francisco bureau, where she reports on technology start-ups and venture capital.

Additional Information:

New York City’s new regulations for short-term rentals go into effect soon.

Start-ups are on a “desperate hunt” for GPUs. (There’s even a song about it.)

Creators are using A.I. voices to imitate Freddie Mercury, Johnny Cash, Eric Cartman from “South Park,” and others.

Google and YouTube have different approaches to compensating creators whose work is used to train A.I. tools.

S.B.F Goes to Jail + Back to School with A.I. + Self-Driving Car Update Aug 18, 2023

When Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested in December, he was confined to his parents’ house — but he was left free to roam the internet. Today, the New York Times reporter David Yaffe-Bellany talks about how access to the cyberworld allowed Mr. Bankman-Fried to violate his bail terms and land himself in jail.

Then, how universities can manage a generative A.I. world.

Plus: another look at autonomous vehicles.

On Today’s Episode:

David Yaffe-Bellany, a cryptocurrency and financial technology reporter for The New York Times.
Ethan Mollick, an associate professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania who is experimenting with generative A.I. in the classroom.

Additional Information:

Sam Bankman-Fried was sent to jail after violating his bail terms. The court dispute over his bail focused on a New York Times article that described writings by Caroline Ellison, an FTX executive who had also dated Mr. Bankman-Fried.
A driverless car got stuck in wet concrete in San Francisco this week.

Don't Scrape Me, Bro + The Activists Sabotaging Self-Driving Cars + How Reddit Beat a Rebellion Aug 11, 2023

Users are protesting Zoom’s liberal data-collection policy. Authors are shutting down websites that scrape their work. And, in a concession to users, OpenAI is allowing websites to opt out of web scraping. The era of A.I. backlash has begun.

Then, street activists are deterring self-driving cars by placing traffic cones on the hoods of vehicles.

Plus: How Reddit has squashed the Reddit Revolt.

Today’s Guests:

Adam Egelman and Mingwei Samuel are organizers with Safe Street Rebel, an activist group trying to get cars off the streets.

Additional Reading:

The publication StackDiary exposed that Zoom’s updated terms of service permitted the training of artificial-intelligence models on user content.
Benji Smith took down his website prosecraft.io, a database that contained the works of over 25,000 books, after authors discovered that their works were being used to power the website without their consent.

Superconductor Superconfusion, KOSA’s Hidden Costs and HatGPT Aug 04, 2023

Researchers in Korea claim they’ve identified a material that could unlock a technological revolution: the room temperature superconductor. Material scientists are skeptical, but enthusiasts on Twitter are enthusiastic. Why is the internet so excited about superconductors?

Then, the Kids Online Safety Act is headed to the Senate floor. Would it actually keep children safe? And how would it change the internet?

Plus: Kevin and Casey play HatGPT.

Additional Reading:

South Korean researchers released a video they claimed was a superconductor showing levitation at room temperature. Scientists were skeptical.
The New York Times reporter Kashmir Hill profiled Mike Masnick, who wasn’t so sure about KOSA.

Elon's X Machina + Crypto Orbs + A Visit to Google’s Robot Lab Jul 28, 2023

On Sunday night, a crane arrived in downtown San Francisco to take down the Twitter sign from the company’s office building. The crane’s arrival marked the death of Twitter, the brand, and the start of X, Elon Musk’s everything app. Today, why Elon’s acquisition feels more and more like cultural vandalism and what, if anything, will replace the global town square.

Then, is Sam Altman’s universal basic income cryptocurrency app Worldcoin an iris scanning tool to save humanity, or just another attempt to get rich on crypto?

Plus: a trip to Google’s robotics lab, where artificial intelligence models are creating breakthroughs.

Additional reading:

Casey breaks down Twitter’s rebrand.
The launch of Worldcoin — and the story of how it recruited the first half a million users.
Kevin’s column is a deep dive into Google’s new robotics model, which melds A.I. with robots.

Dario Amodei, C.E.O. of Anthropic, on the Paradoxes of A.I. Safety and Netflix’s ‘Deep Fake Love’ Jul 21, 2023

Dario Amodei has been anxious about A.I. since before it was cool to be anxious about A.I. After a few years working at OpenAI, he decided to do something about that anxiety. The result was Claude: an A.I.-powered chatbot built by Anthropic, Mr. Amodei’s A.I. start-up.

Today, Mr. Amodei joins Kevin and Casey to talk about A.I. anxiety and why it’s so difficult to build A.I. safely.

Plus, we watched Netflix’s “Deep Fake Love.”

Today’s Guest:

Dario Amodei is the chief executive of Anthropic, a safety-focused A.I. start-up

Additional Reading:

Kevin spent several weeks at Anthropic’s San Francisco headquarters. Read about his experience here.
Claude is Anthropic’s safety-focused chatbot.

Help! My Boss Won’t Stop Using ChatGPT Jul 14, 2023

This week, we answer more of your questions, like: What is ChatGPT’s carbon footprint? Why are engineers so sure artificial intelligence will keep getting better? And, why are there so many venture capital bros?

Special Episode: Meta’s Twitter Rival Arrives, with Adam Mosseri Jul 06, 2023

Instagram is no stranger to taking product ideas from other companies and turning them into their own successes. Just ask Snapchat about Instagram Stories or TikTok about Instagram Reels. This time, the company is coming for Twitter with Instagram Threads.

Today, the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, on why the company now wants to take on Twitter.

Today’s guest:

Adam Mosseri is the head of Instagram.

Additional reading:

Meta announced a new app called Threads intended to rival Twitter.

Is A.I. Poisoning Itself? + Billionaire Cage Fight + Cooking With ChatGPT Jun 30, 2023

Whether it’s on TikTok or Twitter, A.I.-generated content is already flooding the web. So, what happens when the technology — prone to confidently making things up — starts ingesting itself?

Then, the New York Times reporter Joe Bernstein talks about why Mark Zuckerberg wants to fight Elon Musk in a cage match.

Plus, we put ChatGPT’s recipe generation to the test with A.I. cocktails.

Today’s guests:

Joe Bernstein is a Styles reporter at The New York Times.
Priya Krishna is a Food staff reporter at The New York Times.

Additional reading:

Generative A.I. is already changing the web and potentially harming itself.
The Times’s Cooking team tried cooking recipes made by ChatGPT. The results were mixed.
Mark Zuckerberg has been working out — and he’d like you to know about it.

A.I. Beach + Vibes-Based R.T.O. + the ‘Black Mirror’ Quamputer Jun 23, 2023

This week, advertisers swarmed the beaches of southern France for the Cannes Lions advertising festival. Kevin says artificial intelligence is all anyone there can talk about, but admits the conference is making him rethink how quickly generative A.I. will take over the industry — despite the buzz.

Then, the New York Times reporter Emma Goldberg on when remote work stopped being the future for tech companies.

And finally: What does the newest season of “Black Mirror” tell us about what’s next for TV?

Reddit Revolts + MrBeast’s YouTube Empire + Peak Trust and Safety? Jun 16, 2023

Moderators on Reddit have shut down their forums in protest of a new policy that charges users for access to the site’s API. The revolt has put Kevin in child care-wisdom-withdrawal (RIP r/daddit) — and left many other users without their favorite subreddits. But does the incident say something more about the future of the internet?

Then, the MrBeast Philanthropic-Industrial Complex.

Plus: Platforms are already fumbling the ball on misinformation.

Today’s guest:

Max Read is a journalist, screenwriter, editor and the owner-operator of Read Max.

Additional information:

Casey examines the Reddit revolt and why the company isn’t backing down on shutting down third-party apps.
Max Read on MrBeast’s rise as a viral philanthropist.
Following the algorithm doesn’t always lead to philanthropy, as Kevin explored in a 2019 article on PewDiePie.
Platforms are backing away from peak trust and safety.

Apple’s Face Computer + Crypto Chaos + How Teens Really Feel About Social Media Jun 09, 2023

Apple kicked off the week with the announcement of a mixed-reality headset: the Apple Vision Pro. Putting a computer on your face may seem weird AF, but if there’s one company that knows how to make nerdy stuff into the thing that everyone wants, it’s Apple. Will these fancy goggles be the next Apple revolution?

Then, crypto had (another) terrible week after the S.E.C. filed lawsuits against the cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and Binance.

Plus: Our teenage listeners on how they feel about social media.

This week:

David Yaffe-Bellany, a cryptocurrency and financial technology reporter for The New York Times.

Additional Reading:

Why Kevin won’t bet against Apple’s Vision Pro and why Casey thinks Apple has an edge on Meta’s Metaverse.
The S.E.C. accused Coinbase of illegally allowing users to trade unregistered securities a day after it sued the international crypto exchange Binance.
This Teenage Life (TTL) is a podcast about teenagers being teenagers.

A.I.'s Inner Conflict + Nvidia Joins the Trillion-Dollar Club + Hard Questions Jun 02, 2023

A few days after a lawyer used ChatGPT to write a brief filled with made-up cases, a group of A.I. experts released a letter warning of the “risk of extinction” from the technology. But will A.I. ever be good enough to pose such a threat?

Then, FAANG is now MAAAN, with the addition of Nvidia. Here’s how the GPU company became a trillion-dollar behemoth.

Plus: Kevin, Casey and the New York Times tech reporter Kate Conger answer Hard Questions from listeners.

Today’s Guest:

Kate Conger is a technology reporter in the San Francisco bureau of The New York Times.

Additional Reading:

A lawyer used ChatGPT the same week that A.I. leaders released a 22-word statement about the existential risk A.I. poses to humanity.
The chip company Nvidia hit a $1 trillion market cap, powered by A.I. demand.
The podcast “Acquired” did a two-part series on the history of Nvidia.

The Surgeon General’s Social Media Warning + A.I.’s Existential Risks May 26, 2023

The U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, says social media poses a “profound risk of harm” to young people. Why do some in the tech industry disagree?

Then, Ajeya Cotra, an A.I. researcher, on how A.I. could lead to a doomsday scenario.

Plus: Pass the hat. Kevin and Casey play a game they call HatGPT.

On today’s episode:

Ajeya Cotra is a senior research analyst at Open Philanthropy

Additional reading:

The surgeon general issued an advisory about the risks of social media for young people.
Ajeya Cotra has researched the existential risks that A.I. poses unless countermeasures are taken.
Binance commingled customer funds and company revenue, former insiders told Reuters.
BuzzFeed announced Botatouille, an A.I.-powered kitchen assistant.
A Twitter bug caused the platform to restore deleted tweets.
Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida announced his presidential campaign in a Twitter Spaces event rife with glitches.
Two former rivals, Uber and Waymo, are teaming up to bring driverless ride-hailing to Phoenix.

Mr. Altman Goes to Washington + Casey Goes on This American Life May 19, 2023

In a congressional hearing this week, OpenAI’s chief executive, Sam Altman, appeared to be on the same page as lawmakers: It’s time to regulate A.I. But like so many other proposals to regulate tech, will it actually happen? The Times’s technology reporter Cecilia Kang helps us understand whether Congress will actually act, and what that could look like.

Then, Casey talks with Twitter’s former head of trust and safety, Yoel Roth, before and after Elon Musk took over the company.

On today’s episode:

Cecilia Kang is a reporter at The New York Times covering technology and regulation.
Yoel Roth is the former head of trust and safety at Twitter.

Additional reading:

Sam Altman urged Congress to pass legislation to regulate A.I., including the proposal that A.I. developers should be required to get licenses from the U.S. government to release their models.
Casey Newton reported for This American Life on Roth’s time at Twitter, before and after Musk took over.

Google’s A.I. Bonanza + Driverless Car Talk With Cruise C.E.O. Kyle Vogt May 12, 2023

At its biggest event of the year, Google announced an avalanche of A.I. product releases: A.I. in search, A.I. that writes emails and A.I. that generates slides. Is Google pulling ahead in the A.I. arms race?

And, after years of hype, self-driving cars are finally hitting the streets of American cities. Kevin and Casey take a ride through San Francisco in Banana Slug — an autonomous vehicle from the self-driving car company Cruise. After their ride, they sit down with Cruise’s chief executive, Kyle Vogt, to discuss the role he thinks self-driving cars will play in the future of transportation.

On today’s episode:

Kyle Vogt is the chief executive of Cruise, a self-driving car company.

Additional reading:

At their annual conference, Google announced dozens of A.I. products and features
In a leaked memo, a Google researcher argued that the company did not have a strong A.I. moat because of open-source A.I. companies.
Self-driving cars are expanding their footprint.

Bluesky Has the Juice + A.I. Jobs Apocalypse + Hard Questions May 05, 2023

The Twitter look-alike Bluesky, started by the former Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey, is doing the impossible: making social media fun again.

Then, A.I. is coming for jobs but not in the way you think.

Plus: Kevin and Casey moonlight as advice columnists in a new Hard Fork segment called Hard Questions.

Additional reading:

Bluesky is vying to replace Twitter.
IBM announced a pause in hiring, anticipating that A.I. would replace thousands of jobs at the company in the coming years.
The chief executive of the education company Chegg said student interest in the chatbot ChatGPT was hurting its sales.

Deepfake Drake + HatGPT + Ben Smith on the End of the BuzzFeed Era Apr 28, 2023

A song featuring A.I.-generated versions of Drake and the Weeknd went viral — before being taken down by streaming services. Is censorship of A.I.-generated songs the way forward? Or can singers benefit from synthetic voices, as some artists like Grimes are suggesting?

Then, HatGPT: Kevin and Casey pull headlines out of a hat and generate their own takes on the news.

And Ben Smith, the former BuzzFeed News editor, discusses the end of the 2010s digital media era.

On today’s episode:

Ben Smith is a journalist and co-founder of the digital media company Semafor. He was a New York Times media columnist and the first editor in chief of BuzzFeed News.

Additional reading:

An A.I.-generated song made to sound like Drake and the Weeknd went viral before being taken down by streaming services.
Grimes invited fans to make songs using A.I.-generated versions of her voice.
Snapchat saw a spike in one-star reviews after users criticized its “My AI” feature.
Taylor Swift did not invest in FTX, the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange company.
Researchers turned a goldfish into a cyborg.
The Republican National Committee released an A.I.-generated ad slamming President Biden.
The U.K. blocked Microsoft’s $69 billion bid for the video game company Activision.
Ben Smith’s book, “Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral,” is an origin story of digital media.
A BuzzFeed article set off a viral debate on the color of a dress.

Hard Fork Presents: The Most Amazing – And Dangerous – Technology In the World Apr 21, 2023

Today we’re bringing you an episode on chips. No, not potato chips. Kevin has been pitching an episode on the truly fascinating world of chips and semiconductors for quite a while, but our friends at the The Ezra Klein Show got to it first. This week on Hard Fork: Ezra Klein’s engrossing conversation with historian Chris Miller. It’s a must listen. Thank you to Ezra for beating us in our quest for a great chips episode.

We'll be back with our regularly scheduled tech coverage, with Kevin and Casey next week.

Additional reading:

“The Problem With Everything-Bagel Liberalism” by Ezra Klein
Book Recommendations:The World For Sale by Javier Blas and Jack Farchy; Nexus by Jonathan Reed Winkler; Prestige, Manipulation and Coercion by Joseph Torigian

Inside the Hunt for the Discord Leaker + Twitter Chaos Updates Apr 14, 2023

Aric Toler untangles the web of teens, gamers and memes at the heart of the latest intelligence scandal.

Then, an update on Twitter — where things have gone from bad to worse.

Plus: How A.I. is bringing us closer to “Westworld.”

On today’s episode:

Aric Toler is the director of research and training at Bellingcat, the Dutch investigative site. He worked with journalists at The New York Times to identify the man who allegedly leaked top secret documents on Discord, a social media chat platform.

Additional reading:

A 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard was arrested for his alleged role in the leak of military intelligence on Discord.
A Discord member shared details with The Washington Post about how the hundreds of pages of classified material were leaked.
Twitter took steps to block Substack newsletters from circulating on the platform after Substack, a publishing start-up, started a Twitter-like service.
NPR announced it was suspending all use of Twitter.
Researchers at Stanford used generative A.I. agents to simulate human behavior.

A.I. Vibe Check With Ezra Klein + Kevin Tries Phone Positivity Apr 07, 2023

The New York Times Opinion columnist Ezra Klein has spent years talking to artificial intelligence researchers. Many of them feel the prospect of A.I. discovery is too sweet to ignore, regardless of the technology’s risks.

Today, Mr. Klein discusses the profound changes that an A.I.-powered world will create, how current business models are failing to meet the A.I. moment, and the steps government can take to achieve a positive A.I. future.

Also, radical acceptance of your phone addiction may just help your phone addiction.

On today’s episode:

Ezra Klein is a columnist at The New York Times and host of “The Ezra Klein Show.”

Additional reading:

Ezra Klein outlined the dramatic shifts that A.I. will enable.
In a 2022 survey of A.I. researchers, nearly half of the respondents said that there was a 10 percent or greater chance that the long-run effect of advanced A.I. on humanity would be “extremely bad.” This year, an A.I. researcher argued that natural selection favors A.I. over humans.
A 2017 article in The New Yorker said that, for some, the risks of artificial intelligence are outweighed by the prospect of discovery.
Meghan O’Gieblyn’s book “God, Human, Animal, Machine” explores the human experience in the age of artificial intelligence.
The White House released a Blueprint for an A.I. Bill of Rights to guide the development of A.I. technology.

Google C.E.O. Sundar Pichai on Bard, A.I. ‘Whiplash’ and Competing With ChatGPT Mar 31, 2023

For years, Google was seen as one of the most cutting-edge developers of A.I. But, with OpenAI’s release of ChatGPT, and other chatbots beating Google to market, is that distinction still the case? Google’s chief executive is in an unenviable position: Scramble to catch up or, in the face of potentially harmful technology, move slowly.

Today, Sundar Pichai on Google’s delicate balance between A.I. innovation and safety.

On today’s episode:

Sundar Pichai is the chief executive of Google.

Additional reading:

The launch of ChatGPT caused a ‘code red’ inside Google and prompted the release of Google’s Bard.
More than 1,000 technology leaders and researchers signed onto an open letter calling for a pause in the development of A.I.

Bard Fork + How to Talk So Chatbots Will Listen Mar 24, 2023

“It’s different because it’s Google.” Bard, Google’s answer to ChatGPT, could prove to be more consequential than any large language model to date — but it isn’t there yet.

Then, we hear from listeners on how they are using A.I. to negotiate their rent, understand medical results and affirm their gender identity.

Plus: Why Spotify’s A.I. D.J. may be a tipping point for artificial intelligence taking control of our lives.

You can sign up for On Tech: A.I. at nytimes.com/newsletters.

Additional reading:

Google released a new chatbot, Bard. Here’s what it does well — and not so well.
After a conversation with Google’s executives, Casey Newton answers six questions about the large language model.
Interior AI is a design tool that makes interior design mock-ups using artificial intelligence.
Spotify unveiled a new A.I.-powered D.J.
In his book “Futureproof,” Kevin Roose outlines the concept of “machine drift” — the concept that people will gradually turn over more of their life to the decisions of algorithms.

BONUS: Hard Fork Live! Big Tech’s Arch Nemesis + Bot, or Not? Mar 20, 2023

Jonathan Kanter, who heads up the Justice Department’s antitrust division, believes that antitrust laws are critical for innovation — from ad tech to A.I. The assistant attorney general is bringing a new philosophy to enforcing those laws. So, how is his new approach to protecting competition playing out?

Plus: Can you guess whether that was a bot, or not?

On today’s episode:

Jonathan Kanter is the assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s antitrust division.

Additional reading:

Jonathan Kanter has long been a critic of big tech.
The Justice Department has accused Google of abusing a monopoly over online advertising.

GPT-4 Is Here + The Group Chat Bank Run Mar 17, 2023

It’s acing standardized tests, building websites and hiring TaskRabbits — GPT-4 is “equal parts fascinating and terrifying.” OpenAI has released its latest model, alongside A.I. announcements from Meta, Google and other industry players. The A.I. arms race is only accelerating.

Then, what Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse means for the future of start-ups, and what Mark Zuckerberg has learned about layoffs

Additional reading:

OpenAI released ChatGPT-4. It is exciting and scary.
With its release of GPT-4, OpenAI shared a system card — a paper outlining how OpenAI tried to get GPT-4 to do dangerous things.
Silicon Valley Bank collapsed. “The Daily” explained how.
In his newsletter, Byrne Hobart wrote a post pointing out S.V.B.’s insolvency challenge.
S.V.B.’s collapse followed a deregulatory push from its own Chief Executive.
Meta announced it planned to lay off about 10,000 employees.

A Congressman Goes to A.I. School + How to Ban TikTok Mar 10, 2023

Representative Don Beyer thinks artificial intelligence is “the most amazing technology since fire.” So what does it mean that most of Congress seems not to understand it? Then our colleague David McCabe discusses a bill that could dramatically expand the Biden administration’s power to ban TikTok.

Plus: what can the video game character Waluigi tell us about A.I. chatbots gone rogue?

On today’s episode:

Don Beyer is a U.S. representative for Virginia’s 8th Congressional District.
David McCabe is a reporter at The New York Times covering technology policy.

Additional reading:

Lawmakers are trying to understand the technology behind A.I.
The White House is pushing Congress to regulate TikTok.
A number of countries are trying to ban TikTok.
The Waluigi effect is a theory about why chatbots behave erratically.

Everyone Pivots to A.I. + Bad News for Crypto Mar 03, 2023

Snapchat launches a chatbot. Meta plans to “turbocharge” its A.I. work. Elon Musk explores “BasedAI.” At this point, who isn’t making an A.I. play?

Plus: Is crypto finally dead? Also, a new TikTok filter is making people terrifyingly hot.

On today’s episode:

David Yaffe-Bellany, a cryptocurrency and financial technology reporter for The New York Times.

Hard Fork listeners! We want to hear from you. How is A.I. showing up in your everyday life? In your job, school and families? What are you using it for? Email us a voice memo at hardfork@nytimes.com.

Additional reading:

Snapchat launched “My AI” to paid subscribers.
Mark Zuckerberg announced a high-level group to “turbocharge” Meta’s work with generative A.I.
Meta AI released LLaMA to researchers.
The science fiction and fantasy magazine “Clarkesworld” was flooded with chatbot-generated submissions. The writing is “bad in spectacular ways,” its editor said.
Elon Musk is considering starting his own A.I. company.
An FTX co-founder pleaded guilty to criminal charges and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors investigating Sam Bankman-Fried.
A “flurry” of fines, lawsuits and policy statements are spooking crypto executives.
Gary Gensler, the chair of the S.E.C., said that in crypto “everything other than Bitcoin” should be treated as a security.
Some TikTok users are worried by how realistic its new filters can seem.

Kevin Killed Sydney + Reddit’s C.E.O. Defends Section 230 Feb 24, 2023

Bing AI isn’t sentient. But it’s more than glorified autocomplete. How do we talk about — and understand — the power of today’s large language models? Then, Reddit’s C.E.O., Steve Huffman, on Section 230 and why the future of the internet lies with the Supreme Court.

Plus: Meta is charging for blue checks.

On today’s episode:

Steve Huffman is the chief executive of Reddit.

Additional reading:

A Washington Post reporter asked Bing AI its opinion of Kevin Roose. Its response was eerie.
Microsoft made changes to Bing’s chatbot capabilities after the Chatbot’s unsettling behavior with some users. The company is already loosening some of those restrictions.
The Supreme Court heard a case challenging Section 230. Reddit is among many social media companies that have filed “friend of the court” amicus briefs against changes to the law.
Facebook plans to sell “Meta verified” accounts.

The Bing Who Loved Me + Elon Rewrites the Algorithm Feb 17, 2023

“I’m Sydney, and I’m in love with you. 😘”

A conversation with Bing AI (aka Sydney) turns romantic and bizarre. Why Microsoft’s AI search tool appears more powerful — and unsettling — than we thought. Then, inside Elon Musk’s quest to be the most popular user on Twitter.

Plus: It’s not just you. Online ads have gotten much worse.

On today’s episode:

Tiffany Hsu is a technology reporter at The New York Times who covers misinformation and disinformation.
Zoë Schiffer is the managing editor of Platformer.

Additional reading:

Bing AI appeared to have a split personality in a conversation with Kevin Roose, a “Hard Fork” co-host.
Elon Musk ordered changes to Twitter’s algorithm after his Tweets did not perform as well as he desired.
Why digital ads are so bad these days.

Bing’s Revenge + Google’s AI Faceplant Feb 10, 2023

Microsoft’s release of a ChatGPT-powered Bing signifies a new era in search. Then, a disastrous preview of Bard — Google’s answer to ChatGPT — caused the company’s stocks to slide 7 percent. The A.I. arms race is on.

Plus: What “Nothing, Forever,” the 24/7, A.I.-generated “Seinfeld” parody, says about bias in A.I.

On today’s episode:

Sam Altman is the chief executive of OpenAI.
Kevin Scott is the chief technology officer of Microsoft.

Additional reading:

Microsoft integrated OpenAI's technology into its search engine and kicked off an A.I. arms race.
Google released Bard, a rival chatbot to ChatGPT.
“Nothing, Forever” was temporarily banned on Twitch.

A Trip to TikTok + ChatGPT’s Origin Story + Kevin Systrom’s Comeback Feb 03, 2023

TikTok is opening up a “Transparency and Accountability Center” to try to win over skeptics. Is the company’s strategy working? Then, the origin story of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and how the company kicked off an A.I. arms race.

Plus: A co-founder of Instagram, Kevin Systrom, hopes to make a “TikTok for text.”

On today’s episode:

Kevin Systrom is an entrepreneur and the co-founder of Instagram.

Additional reading:

TikTok is taking a more aggressive approach toward lobbying.
Inside OpenAI’s race to build ChatGPT.
Kevin Systrom is starting a new A.I.-powered news app.

Meta’s Trump Calculus + Regime Change at Netflix Jan 27, 2023

What does Donald Trump’s reinstatement on Facebook and Instagram mean for our politics and platforms? Then, Netflix in its post-Reed era.

Plus: How the Bored Ape Yacht Club went from being the Disney of Web3 to handing out sewer passes for their new video game.

On today’s episode:

Lucas Shaw is an entertainment industry reporter for Bloomberg.

Additional reading:

Meta reinstated Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.
Trump looked to get out of a deal with his own social media site, Truth Social
The Jan. 8 riots in Brazil mirrored aspects of the U.S. Capitol Riots, including the use of tech platforms to organize rioters.
Donald Trump used Truth Social to attack former Georgia election worker Ruby Freeman.

Elon's Crumbling Empire + Generative A.I. Goes to Court Jan 20, 2023

Nearly three months into Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter, things are in a "shambolic" state. Is the rest of Elon’s empire also in trouble? Then, an artist fighting generative A.I. sets the stage for a legal clash.

Plus: what goes wrong when A.I. becomes a reporter.

On today’s episode:

Sarah Andersen, a cartoonist and the illustrator of a semi-autobiographical comic strip, “Sarah’s Scribbles.”

Additional reading:

A look inside Elon Musk’s first 90 days as chief executive of Twitter.
The artist Sarah Andersen on finding her art in the databases behind text-to-image A.I. platforms.
Three artists, including Ms. Andersen, filed a class-action lawsuit against the creators of Midjourney, Stable Diffusion and DreamUp.
CNET’s A.I.-written articles contained errors.

ChatGPT Transforms a Classroom + Is 'M3GAN' Real? Jan 13, 2023

A high school teacher on how the new chatbot from OpenAI is transforming her classroom — for the better. And, “M3GAN” may be closer than you think.

Plus: Why Gen Z is chasing the digital camera aesthetic.

On today’s episode:

Cherie Shields is a high school English teacher in Sandy, Ore.
Kalley Huang is a technology reporting fellow based in San Francisco.

Additional reading:

Gen Z is bringing back the digital camera, and teenagers in Brooklyn are rejecting smartphone culture.
Researchers at Columbia University are trying to build conscious robots.
The case for using ChatGPT in schools.

TikTok’s Spying Scandal + ChatGPT Puts Google on Notice + Phone Jail Jan 06, 2023

Calls to ban TikTok or force its sell-off from its parent company ByteDance are gaining momentum, especially after reports of ByteDance’s surveillance of several U.S. journalists. And could Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI mark the end of Google’s search monopoly?

Plus: New Year's resolutions, including locking up your phone.

On today’s episode:

Emily Baker-White, a technology reporter at Forbes who reports on TikTok.

Additional reading:

An inside view into Project Texas, TikTok’s plan to limit access to sensitive U.S. user data.
ByteDance used TikTok to track the location of journalists including Emily Baker-White.
On TikTok, Chinese state media outlets pushed divisive videos about U.S. politicians.
Shou Zi Chew, TikTok’s chief executive, is navigating the limits of his power.
The federal government and several states have banned TikTok on government-issued devices.
ChatGPT is a “code red” for Google Search.
Microsoft and OpenAI are working on a ChatGPT-powered version of Bing.

SBF Arrested + 2023 Predictions + Your Questions Answered Dec 16, 2022

The year of the “mini-Musk” chief executive, the end of homework as we know it, a crackdown on TikTok and other predictions for 2023.

Also, Sam Bankman-Fried’s arrest and answers to our listener questions.

On today’s episode:

David Yaffe-Bellany, a cryptocurrency and financial technology reporter for The New York Times.

Additional reading:

Bankman-Fried, the former chief executive of FTX, was arrested and denied bail by a judge in the Bahamas. Prosecutors accused him of engaging in widespread fraud.
John J. Ray III, the new chief executive of FTX, described an “unprecedented” lack of record keeping at the company.
Scientists used a quantum computer to simulate a pair of black holes.

Can ChatGPT Make This Podcast? Dec 09, 2022

It’s writing podcast scripts, finishing students’ homework and correcting mistakes in computer code: ChatGPT, the A.I. chatbot from OpenAI, is suddenly everywhere. Who should decide how it’s built? What could go wrong? And what could go right?

On today’s episode:

Aviv Ovadya, a technologist and affiliate at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society and a visiting scholar at Cambridge University Leverhulme Center for the Future of Intelligence.

Additional reading:

ChatGPT is inspiring awe and fear among users.
Aviv Ovadya proposes governing tech platforms democratically through “platform democracy.”
Meta’s Cicero AI is getting good at negotiating with humans.
Researchers are diagnosing Parkinson’s using a phone, a patient’s voice and a machine learning model.

Elon’s Two-Day War with Apple + How to Beat an A.I. Censor + S.B.F.’s ‘Bad Month’ Dec 02, 2022

Elon Musk accuses Apple of trying to sabotage Twitter. But after his visit with Apple’s C.E.O., Tim Cook, things are … good? Then, the New York Times reporter Paul Mozur on the tactics Chinese protesters are deploying to avoid the most sophisticated censorship apparatus in the world.

Plus: S.B.F. says it’s been a “bad month.”

Additional Reading:

Elon Musk accused Apple of threatening to pull Twitter from its App Store and tweeted about Apple’s “secret 30 percent tax” on developers for in-app purchases. The company has again delayed the launch of Twitter Blue as it seeks a way to avoid paying Apple’s 30 percent fee for the service.
Later, Musk said the “misunderstanding” with Apple had been resolved after he met with the company’s C.E.O., Tim Cook, at Apple’s headquarters.
Layoffs at Twitter gutted the company’s child safety team, which is responsible for removing child exploitation.
Musk offered a “general amnesty” for over 60,000 banned accounts on Twitter.
Protests in China rippled throughout the country, and citizens found ways to get around the Chinese censorship apparatus.
On Wednesday, Sam Bankman-Fried appeared for an interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin at the DealBook Summit.

We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Follow “Hard Fork” on TikTok: @hardfork

A Hard Fork in the Road: FTX’s Unraveling and Elon’s Loyalty Oath Nov 18, 2022

The balance sheet contains an apology, the in-house coach is concerned that company executives are “undersexed” and billions in customer funds remain in jeopardy. The wreckage at FTX goes from bad to worse.

Plus: Elon’s “extremely hardcore” plan for Twitter 2.0.

Additional Resources:

George K. Lerner, FTX’s in-house performance coach, said he was shocked by the collapse of FTX.
In an interview with Matt Levine, a Bloomberg columnist, Sam Bankman-Fried described his strategy to restore faith in the crypto ecosystem.
Bankman-Fried reflected on his actions as chief executive of FTX in a series of Twitter messages with Kelsey Piper, a Vox reporter.
Elon Musk told Twitter employees in an email that the company would become an “extremely hardcore” operation. Employees were asked to click yes to be part of the new Twitter or take severance.
Musk’s social calendar includes courting comedians and hopping on yachts.

We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Follow “Hard Fork” on TikTok: @hardfork

A Verified Mess: Turmoil from Twitter to FTX Nov 11, 2022

This week, we go inside Elon Musk’s “dire” warnings, FTX’s spectacular collapse and Meta’s big layoffs. Has the tech industry lost its mind?

“Hard Fork” listeners: We want to hear your questions about the tech industry. Send them to hardfork@nytimes.com. Also, check us out on TikTok: @hardforkpod

Additional Resources:

Elon Musk told Twitter employees the company faced a bleak financial picture in a meeting with staff on Thursday and in his first companywide emails.
The world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, said it had reached a deal to buy its competitor FTX, which was on the verge of collapse. The news about FTX had left crypto investors scrambling.
Is the collapse of FTX crypto’s Lehman Brothers moment?
Meta announced layoffs of 11,000 employees, accounting for about 13 percent of its work force.

Life Under Musk: Two Twitter Employees Speak Out Nov 04, 2022

“We cross our fingers and hope to make it through another day.” Twitter hasn’t spoken publicly since Elon Musk bought the company a week ago. But inside, employees describe a mood of fear, chaos, stress and bizarre requests to print out code.

Additional Resources:

Members of Elon Musk’s inner circle, including the podcast hosts David Sacks, Jason Calacanis and Sriram Krishnan, are advising Mr. Musk on changes at Twitter.
Engineers at Twitter were told to print out their most recent software code to show to Mr. Musk.
Under pressure to increase revenue, Mr. Musk considered making Twitter users pay to keep their verification badges. The acclaimed horror author Stephen King was not thrilled by the idea.
Twitter’s chief customer officer, Sarah Personette, and several other executives have left the company in recent days.
Mr. Musk faces financial challenges in owning Twitter.

Emergency Pod: Elon Musk Owns Twitter Oct 28, 2022

We look into the company’s weird new future with Times tech reporter Kate Conger. Plus, how Apple is single-handedly deciding the future of the digital economy, and a social media death watch.

Guest today:

Kate Conger, a technology reporter in the San Francisco bureau of The New York Times

Additional resources:

Elon Musk has closed the $44 billion deal to own Twitter.
In the lead up to the deadline to complete the acquisition of the social media service, Elon Musk visited Twitter’s San Francisco office and sought to reassure advertisers about his plans for the platform through a Tweet.
Spotify has struggled to bring audiobooks onto its platform after Apple rejected Spotify’s new app three times.
The CEO of Altimeter Capital, the hedge fund and Meta shareholder, wrote a critical open letter to Meta and Mark Zuckerberg.

Generative AI is Here. Who Should Control It? Oct 21, 2022

We sit down with the founder of Stability AI, Emad Mostaque, on the heels of his $101 million fund-raising round. His open-source Stable Diffusion image generator is the key to unlocking creativity, he says, and “one of the ultimate tools for freedom of expression” — as long as it stays out of the hands of a few censorious tech giants. So what’s this former hedge fund manager turned tech mogul thinking about how this technology could be used — or misused? Plus: A.I. Kevin and A.I. Casey stop by.

On today’s episode

Emad Mostaque, the chief executive of Stability AI

Additional resources

“Eshoo Urges N.S.A. & O.S.T.P. to Address Unsafe A.I. Practices” (Press Release, Representative Anna Eshoo of California)
“This artist is dominating A.I.-generated art. And he’s not happy about it.” (Melissa Heikkilä, M.I.T. Technology Review)
“A Coming-Out Party for Generative A.I., Silicon Valley’s New Craze” (Kevin Roose, The New York Times)

Legs Are Coming + $36 Burritos + Shocking AI News Oct 14, 2022

Meta is in the fight of its life — and Mark Zuckerberg hopes VR is the answer. Hmmm. Plus, an existential threat to the gig economy and the wildest news in artificial intelligence.

Elon’s Hidden Motives + A Meetup in the Metaverse Oct 07, 2022

The $44 billion Twitter deal is back on the table — and Casey isn’t buying it. Kevin looks for friends in the Metaverse. And the “Hard Fork Transparency Report” debuts.

You can read Kashmir Hill’s story here: "This Is Life in the Metaverse."