Charlie Kirk and Online Rage + Inside Trump’s Chip Flip + This Week in A.I.
This week, we discuss the assassination of Charlie Kirk, freedom of speech and the terrifying new reality of extremely online violence. Then The Times’s David Yaffe-Bellany brings us inside the blockbuster New York Times investigation into a $2 billion investment in Trump’s crypto company World Liberty Financial and a controversial deal to send the most powerful A.I. chips to the United Arab Emirates. And finally, it’s time to round up This Week in A.I.
Guests:
David Yaffe-Bellany, New York Times technology reporter covering the crypto industry
Additional Reading:
Trump Administration Wields Its Full Toolbox to Bring Media to Heel
Social Platforms Duck Blame for Inflaming Divisions Before Charlie Kirk’s Death
In Giant Deals, U.A.E. Got Chips, and Trump Team Got Crypto Riches
A Teen Was Suicidal. ChatGPT Was the Friend He Confided In.
OpenAI’s Risky Step to Protect Teens
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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X Hits Grok Bottom + More A.I. Talent Wars + ‘Crypto Week’
This week, we tick through the many dramatic headlines surrounding xAI, including the departure of X’s chief executive, Linda Yaccarino; the Grok chatbot spewing antisemitic comments; and the A.I. companion Ani engaging in sexually explicit role-play. Then, we explain why a fight to acquire the start-up Windsurf startled many in Silicon Valley and may reshape the culture in many of the big A.I. labs. And finally, it’s “crypto week.” David Yaffe-Bellany explains how crypto provisions in the bills before Congress and the president could affect even people who don’t hold digital currencies.
Also, we officially have merch! For a limited time, you can get a special-edition “Hard Fork” hat when you purchase an annual New York Times Audio subscription for the first time. Get your hat at nytimes.com/hardforkhat
Guests:
David Yaffe-Bellany, New York Times technology reporter covering the crypto industry
Additional Reading:
Elon Musk’s Grok Chatbot Shares Antisemitic Posts on X
Google Hires A.I. Leaders From a Start-Up Courted by OpenAI
Cognition AI Buys Windsurf as A.I. Frenzy Escalates
‘Crypto Week’ Is Back on Track After House G.O.P. Quells Conservative Revolt
The ‘Trump Pump’: How Crypto Lobbying Won Over a President
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Is Google Search Cooked? + We’re Getting a U.S. Crypto Reserve? + What You’re Vibecoding
This week, Google introduced a new way to search, which could mean that Googling as we know it is on the way out. It’s called AI Mode and it is essentially the company’s response to the growing number of people turning to A.I. chat bots instead of Google search.
We walk through what this new product looks like, who can use it and what it could mean for the internet’s future. Then, we talk with the New York Times crypto reporter David Yaffe-Bellany about President Trump’s recent announcement concerning a national crypto reserve and why the news upset some of the biggest crypto advocates. Finally, we react to voice mail from listeners describing the tools they’ve vibecoded.
Guest:
David Yaffe-Bellany, New York Times reporter covering the crypto industry.
Additional Reading:
Trump Faces Blowback Over Plans for Crypto Reserve
Not a Coder? With A.I., Just Having an Idea Can Be Enough.
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Billionaire Game Theory + We Are Not Ready for A.G.I. + Election Betting Markets Get Weird
Last week, Jeff Bezos canceled the Washington Post editorial board’s 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 explore the rise of Polymarket, a crypto-powered betting platform, and discuss whether prediction markets can tell us who is going to win the election.
Guests:
Miles Brundage, former OpenAI senior adviser for A.G.I. readiness.
David Yaffe-Bellany, technology reporter for The New York Times.
Additional Reading:
Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and the Billions of Ways to Influence an Election
Miles Brundage’s on Why He’s Leaving OpenAI
The Crypto Website Where the Election Odds Swing in Trump’s Favor
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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A Surgeon General Warning + Is Disinformation Winning? + The CryptoPACs Are Coming
The Surgeon General is calling for warning labels on social media platforms: Should Congress give his proposal a like? Then, former Stanford researcher Renée DiResta joins us to talk about her new book on modern propaganda and whether we are losing the war against disinformation. And finally, the Times reporter David Yaffe-Bellany stops by to tell us how crypto could reshape the 2024 elections.
Guests
Renée DiResta, author of “Invisible Rulers,” former technical research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory
David Yaffe-Bellany, New York Times technology reporter
Additional Reading:
Surgeon General: Why I’m Calling for a Warning Label on Social Media Platforms
My Encounter With the Fantasy-Industrial Complex
How Crypto Money Is Poised to Influence the Election
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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The AI Election + Bitcoin’s Wall Street Debut + TikTok’s Doodad Era
OpenAI has released its plan to fight disinformation in elections in 2024, but will its policies be consequential compared to those of other generative A.I. companies? Then, a watershed moment had crypto fans celebrating for the first time in maybe more than a year. And finally, what one writer’s attempt to sell a used mechanical pencil on TikTok says about how the platform is changing.
Today’s guests:
David Yaffe-Bellany covers the crypto industry for The New York Times
John Herrman covers technology for New York Magazine
Additional Reading:
How OpenAI is approaching 2024 worldwide elections
$4 Billion of New Bitcoin Funds Change Hands in First Trading Day
What I Learned Selling a Used Pencil on TikTok Shop
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com.
Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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What’s Next for OpenAI + Binance Is Binanceled + A.I. Is Eating the Internet
Warning: This episode contains some explicit language.
The drama at OpenAI is not over. Kevin and Casey take stock of new information they’ve gathered since last week, and look at how other artificial intelligence companies are trying to capitalize on the debacle. Then, why people are still buying cryptocurrency even after Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, and its founder pleaded guilty to money laundering violations. And finally, three ways A.I. is ruining web search. Or is it?
Today’s guest: David Yaffe-Bellany covers crypto for The New York Times.
Additional Reading:
Casey has new details from the OpenAI board fight.
Changpeng Zhao, the Binance founder, agreed to pay a $50 million fine and step down from his role as chief executive.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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S.B.F Goes to Jail + Back to School with A.I. + Self-Driving Car Update
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.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Apple’s Face Computer + Crypto Chaos + How Teens Really Feel About Social Media
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.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Everyone Pivots to A.I. + Bad News for Crypto
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.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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SBF Arrested + 2023 Predictions + Your Questions Answered
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.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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