Hard Fork

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,...

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 Buzz...

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...

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 id...

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...

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....

“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 taki...

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 th...

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 l...

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 e...

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 yo...

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 W...

“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...

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...

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...

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 a...

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.” Addi...

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...

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...

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 arr...

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...

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 Twitt...

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 wi...

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 i...

“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. Mus...