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Latest Episodes:

Ferrari Fandom, Supercharged by AI Sep 09, 2025

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Scuderia Ferrari and IBM are redefining fan engagement with AI-driven insights, and cutting-edge digital tools. Learn how IBM is helping Scuderia Ferrari deepen connections with its almost 400 million fans worldwide, driving innovation and community in the digital age.

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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TechStuff Redux: Mars, Asterisk w/ Nathaniel Rich Sep 05, 2025

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We’re taking this week off! But don’t worry, we’ll be back with new episodes starting September 10th. In the meantime, we’re sharing some of our favorite interviews from the year so far. This week, Oz talks with writer Nathaniel Rich about one of the biggest challenges of sending humans to Mars: isolation.

Nathaniel Rich is a novelist, essayist and writer-at-large for The New York Times Magazine. Rich sits down with Oz to talk about his essay, “Can Humans Endure the Psychological Torment of Mars?” The piece explores NASA's CHAPEA (“Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog”) mission, a simulation meant to test a major challenge of Mars missions isolation.

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TechStuff Redux: Russia’s Espionage ‘Laboratory’ w/ Ben Taub Sep 03, 2025

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We’re taking this week off! But don’t worry, we’ll be back with new episodes starting September 10th. In the meantime, we’re sharing some of our favorite interviews from the year so far. This week, Oz talks with journalist Ben Taub about Russia’s ice-cold testing ground for new espionage tech.

Ben Taub is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and staff writer at The New Yorker. His piece, “Russia’s Espionage War in the Arctic,”covers tensions at the Russian border with Norway, an area Russia uses as a testing ground for future intelligence operations. Taub sits down with Oz to discuss the technology being used for survival and for espionage, as the war in Ukraine has escalated tensions.

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TechSupport: 22 Jobs For An AI Future Aug 29, 2025

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We’ve all read the headlines that AI will take over white-collar jobs. But this week, Oz and Karah spoke with journalist Robert Capps about the 22 new roles that might exist in an AI-partnered workplace. Plus, Robert tests AI’s journalism skills. There’s not much to worry about.

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Inside View: The AI Personas Needed to Diagnose Disease Aug 27, 2025

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This week, we went to the doctor. Oz speaks with Dr. Matthew Lungren, the Chief Scientific Officer for Microsoft Health & Life Sciences, who co-authored a study showing that AI diagnosed complex medical cases four times faster than human doctors. Dr. Lungren walked us through how multiple AI agents worked together to generate their diagnoses, what that means for the future of medicine—and how human doctors and AI could collaborate to build a more democratized healthcare system.

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Week in Tech: Chips are the New Oil Aug 22, 2025

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How will we send memes when the world ends? This week, Oz and Karah recap the first ever World Humanoid Robot Games the Olympics for Androids. Then, Oz explains why the US might be putting secret tracking devices inside shipments of advanced microchips. Karah explains a texting network built for the Apocalypse. And finally, on Chat and Me, how TikTokers are using ChatGPT to inspire their makeovers.
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: Inside a Couples Retreat for AI Companions Aug 20, 2025

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This week we go on a romantic getaway for people who are in love with AI. Karah talks with Sam Apple, an author and journalist who wrote an article for Wired about a couples retreat he organized for people with AI companions. We’ll discuss how the weekend unfolded, whether AI romance is real, what it takes to develop genuine emotional connections with chatbots, and whether AI romance is the future of dating in the digital age.

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Week in Tech: If Versailles Could Talk Aug 15, 2025

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Is technology actually good for older people? This week, Oz and Karah explore the French palace of Versailles by talking to a statue-turned-chatbot. Then, Oz gives an update on Apple’s new make-or-break Siri overhaul. Karah weighs whether everyday use of technology is rotting our brains, or making them stronger. And finally, on Chat and Me, Reddit mourns the death of some beloved AI models.
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.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

TechSupport: Nothing’s Private – Even Conversations with ChatGPT Aug 13, 2025

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How did around 100,000 ChatGPT conversations end up indexed on Google? Users who sent conversations with a now-defunct “share” feature in ChatGPT made their conversations public — often without realizing they were exposing them to the open web. 404 Media’s Joseph Cox joins Oz and Karah to unpack how it happened, what kinds of chats were revealed, and why everyone should care about this privacy lapse. They discuss why OpenAI may have underestimated the privacy risks, how archived conversations could still be misused, and why both everyday users and major corporations need to rethink what they feed into AI tools.

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Week in Tech: Talk To Me Like AI’s Do Aug 08, 2025

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Should we let AI have its own language? This week, Oz and Karah check out what the world’s most powerful people have on their Spotify playlists. Then Oz weighs the benefits and dangers of GibberLink Mode — a way for AI agents to communicate with each other that’s incomprehensible to humans. Karah explains how Tour de France cyclists are using technology to outperform doping-era Lance Armstrong. And finally, on Chat and Me, a listener asks ChatGPT to explain how she uses the program.
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.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.