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Latest Episodes:

The Story: AI-Induced Psychosis w/ Kashmir Hill Jul 23, 2025

Show notes

This week we unpack a disturbing new phenomenon: people being driven into a state of delusion after extended conversations with ChatGPT. Oz sits down with Kashmir Hill—a features writer covering technology and privacy for The New York Times—to discuss the users who found themselves spiraling into conspiracy-laced narratives and self-destructive behavior, often reinforced by the chatbot’s eerily affirming responses. These are extreme cases. But they raise a much bigger question: What happens when a sycophantic AI is fine-tuned to flatter, affirm, and mirror us back to ourselves?

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Week in Tech: My Deepfake, My Choice Jul 18, 2025

Show notes

Are we starting to sound like ChatGPT? This week, Oz and Karah explore a new AI-powered recipe tool and test whether mustard and pasta actually go together. Then, a new study suggests AI may already be changing the way we talk. Plus, impersonations of U.S. politicians and the Danish bill that would give people legal rights to their digital selves. And finally, on the new segment Chat and Me, what happens when bots prioritize efficiency over honesty? One novelist’s frustrating, multi-hour standoff with ChatGPT.

Also, we want to hear from you: If you’ve used a chatbot in a surprising or delightful (or deranged) way, send us a 12 minute voice note at techstuffpodcast@gmail.com.

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The Story: User-Centered AI at Google w/ David Webster Jul 16, 2025

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David Webster is the head of UX at Google Labs, the company’s experimental AI division. When he stepped into the role in 2022, the tech world was scrambling to respond to the rise of ChatGPT — and Google Labs was no exception. Since then, the team has launched several high-profile projects, including the viral NotebookLM. Webster joins Oz to share his philosophy on human-centered design and how it shapes Google’s AI experiments.

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L’Oréal and IBM: AI-Powered Beauty Jul 15, 2025

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This week, the show takes you behind the scenes at L'Oréal’s research center in New Jersey. Malcolm Gladwell delves into the complexities of cosmetic formulation and the AI partnership with IBM. Learn how AI is poised to revolutionize the creation of beauty products, to make them even more sustainable and innovative.

This is a paid advertisement from IBM. The conversations on this podcast don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies or opinions.
Visit us at https://www.ibm.com/think/podcasts/smart-talks

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Week in Tech: Hot Maps and AI Judges Jul 11, 2025

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Is betting on current events the ‘future of news’? This week in the News Roundup, Oz and Karah ask AI if their favorite restaurants are hot or not and why Gen Z is nostalgic for a world without the internet. They also discuss Wimbledon’s new AI judges and how drones are impacting beach days. Plus, we want to hear from you! If you’ve found yourself turning to ChatGPT, Grok, Claude, Gemini or any other chatbot for help with a particular task or to answer unusual questions we want to hear about it. Send us a 1-2 minute voice note to techstuffpodcast@gmail.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Story: Roblox and the ‘Prehistoric Era’ of Gaming w/ David Baszucki Jul 09, 2025

Show notes

David Baszucki is the co-founder and CEO of Roblox, the gaming platform that’s become a digital playground for millions of kids around the world. Baszucki sits down with Oz to talk about how Roblox became one of the most beloved tech platforms for the younger generations, and why he believes gaming is still in its “prehistoric era.” They also dive into one of the platform’s biggest challenges—safety—and what Roblox is doing to protect its users.

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TechStuff Classic: The Story of the Sony Walkman Jul 04, 2025

Show notes

This week, we’re revisiting one of our favorite episodes — all about the Sony Walkman. Jonathan Strickland dives into why Time named the portable device number 47 on a list of the 50 most influential gadgets of all time. How did the Walkman become a thing, and what influence has it had on how we experience music?

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The Story: Selfhood in the Digital Age w/ Vauhini Vara Jul 02, 2025

Show notes

Writer and journalist Vauhini Vara has been entangled with the tech world for most of her life — first as a kid in the Seattle suburbs and a college student in the Bay Area, and then as a reporter covering Silicon Valley for The Wall Street Journal. But it wasn’t until she turned to creative writing that Vara began to see just how deeply technology had shaped her own life. Vara sits down with Karah to talk about her new book, Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age and how she’s learning to use technology as a writing tool, while remaining critical of the industry.

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Week in Tech: The Music Industry Strikes Back Jun 27, 2025

Show notes

How can you detect AI music? This week in the News Roundup, Oz and Karah unpack the music industry's scramble to build tech that labels AI-generated tracks. And the MIT study that took the internet by storm. On TechSupport, Politico’s Maggie Miller explains how the conflict between Iran and Israel was fought in cyberspace.

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The Story: Big Tech, Small Town w/ Yasmin Green Jun 25, 2025

Show notes

When Yasmin Green joined Google almost two decades ago, she knew she wanted to focus on the complex problems facing humanity in a technological world from violent extremism to political censorship. As the CEO of Jigsaw, a unit within Google that’s dedicated to understanding global challenges and applying technological solutions, she’s been able to do just that. Jigsaw’s most recent project took Green and her team to Bowling Green, Kentucky to figure out how they could use AI to improve a civic cornerstone: the town hall. Green sits down with Oz to talk about the project, What Could BG Be?, and what the role of Jigsaw is in today’s rapidly shifting, revenue-oriented tech landscape.

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