Hard Fork

Last week, two separate juries held social media companies liable for harming young users. We unpack what these landmark decisions mean — not only for the future of social platforms like Meta and YouTube, but also for A.I. chatbots. Then, Sebastian Mallaby, the author of “The Infinity Machine,” joins us to talk about the three years he spent with Demis Hassabis and those closest to Google DeepMind. And finally, we catch up on some of our favorite tech headlines from the week with a round of HatGPT. Guest: Sebastian Mallaby Additional Reading: Juries Take the Lead in the Push for Child Online SafetyAn A.I. Agent Was Banned From Creating Wikipedia Articles, Then Wrote Angry Blogs About Being BannedI Met Olaf — the Frozen Robot who Might be the Future of Disney ParksClaude’s Code: Anthropic Leaks Source Code for A.I. Software Engineering ToolWhat’s With All the A.I. Videos of Cheating Fruit?This Company Is Secretly Turning Your Zoom Meetings into A.I. PodcastsNorth Korean Hackers Suspected in Axios Software Tool Breach 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The “Hard Fork” team is off this week, taking a much-needed break. While we’re away, we wanted to draw your attention to a recent episode of “The Ezra Klein Show.” In this conversation, Ezra speaks with Jack Clark, a co-founder of Anthropic, about how he is using A.I. agents; how the technology is leading to meaningful changes in the ways we work and think; and how policy can or must change to anticipate potential job displacement on the horizon. We’ll be back with a new episode next week. Guest: Jack Clark Additional Reading: here 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week, we start by talking about the new wave of tech layoffs at Atlassian and Block, as well as reports that Meta plans to cut up to 20 percent of its work force. This raises the question of whether A.I. job loss has truly begun, or if there are other factors at play. Then, we’re joined by the writer Jasmine Sun to talk about why chatbots are still so bad at creative writing. And finally, it’s tokenmaxxing time! Kevin takes us behind the scenes of his latest reporting about why tech companies are building leaderboards to measure who is using the most A.I. Guest: jasmi.news Additional Reading: I Worked for Block. Its A.I. Job Cuts Aren’t What They Seem.Meta Planning Sweeping Layoffs as A.I. Costs MountMeta Delays Rollout of New A.I. Model After Performance ConcernsThe A.I.-Washing of Job Cuts Is Corrosive and ConfusingThe Human Skill That Eludes A.I. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A.I. is changing the ways war is waged. This week, we explore how the U.S. and Israel are using A.I. to identify targets in the conflict with Iran — and why data centers and fiber optic cables are targets on the front lines. Then, researcher Julie Bedard breaks down “A.I. brain fry,” a new condition she and her colleagues studied among A.I. users at work. And finally, Casey shares his battle with Grammarly after the company used his identity in a new A.I. feature, without his consent. Guest: Julie Bedard, “A.I. brain fry” in the workplace Additional Reading: U.S. at Fault in Strike on School in Iran, Preliminary Inquiry SaysHow A.I. Is Turbocharging the War in IranAnthropic’s A.I. tool Claude central to U.S. campaign in Iran, amid a bitter feudA.I. Fatigue Is Real and Nobody Talks About ItToken AnxietyA.I. Doesn’t Reduce Work — It Intensifies ItGrammarly Is Using Our Identities Without Permission 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week, the fallout continues as OpenAI scrambles to rework its deal with the Pentagon, while government agencies adapt to life without Claude. Then we break down the grim new reality of prediction market bets on the U.S.-Israel led war with Iran. Finally, it’s time for another edition of The Hard Fork Review of Slop. This time we’re joined by Arijeta Lajka, a New York Times reporter, to discuss her recent article about the short form A.I.-generated slop YouTube is feeding to young children. Guest: Arijeta Lajka, New York Times video journalist Additional Reading: The Pentagon Officially Notifies Anthropic That It Is a ‘Supply Chain Risk’OpenAI Amends A.I. Deal With the Pentagon How Talks Between Anthropic and the Defense Dept. Fell Apart How Anonymous Bettors Cashed In on the Iran Strike, Just Hours Before It HappenedIsraeli Army Reservists Are Suspected of Using Inside Knowledge to BetHow A.I.-Generated Videos Are Distorting Your Child’s YouTube Feed 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On Friday, President Trump ordered federal agencies to stop using Anthropic’s A.I. systems and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth designated the company a “supply chain risk.” Then, just a few hours later, the OpenAI chief executive, Sam Altman, announced that his company reached an agreement with the Pentagon. The deal ensures its technology won’t be used for the same two safety concerns Anthropic raised: domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weapons. So what is going on? Is this a political vendetta between the Pentagon and Anthropic? Or are there substantive differences between the agreement Anthropic was offered and the one OpenAI signed? We cut through the confusion. Additional Reading: OpenAI Reaches A.I. Agreement With Defense Dept. After Anthropic ClashTrump Orders Government to Stop Using Anthropic After Pentagon Standoff 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week, the economist Anton Korinek joins to break down how artificial intelligence is driving volatility in the job and stock markets. Then, the battle between the Pentagon and Anthropic is getting even more tense. Anthropic now has until 5:01 p.m. Eastern time on Friday to accept the military’s demands over the terms of a contract, or the Trump administration will retaliate by invoking the Defense Production Act and designating the company a “supply chain risk.” We discuss this change, as well as two other updates on OpenClaw and Alpha Schools. Guest: Anton Korinek Additional Reading: Pentagon Gives A.I. Company an UltimatumSummer Yue’s OpenClaw post‘Students Are Being Treated Like Guinea Pigs’: Inside an AI-Powered Private SchoolParents Fell in Love With Alpha School’s Promise. Then They Wanted OutThe 2028 Global Intelligence CrisisWhen Does Automating Research Produce Explosive Growth? 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week, Anthropic is refusing to let the government use the company’s technology for autonomous weapons and domestic surveillance. In response, the Pentagon is threatening to cut business ties and declare Anthropic a “supply chain risk.” Who will blink first? Then, Scott Shambaugh joins us to tell the strange tale of the autonomous A.I. agent that wrote a hit piece about him. And finally, the Hot Mess Express returns to the station. Guest: An A.I. Agent Published a Hit Piece on Me Additional Reading: Defense Department and Anthropic Square Off in Dispute Over A.I. SafetyRing Cancels Its Partnership With Flock Safety After Surveillance BacklashMeta Plans to Add Facial Recognition Technology to Its Smart GlassesJapan’s Largest Toilet Maker Is Undervalued A.I. Play, Says Activist Investor‘It Is 35 Degrees’: Outrage as Aussie Uber Driver Charges $5 to Turn on Air Conditioning Unit During HeatwaveMeta Patented an A.I. That Lets You Keep Posting From Beyond the GraveI Tried RentAHuman, Where A.I. Agents Hired Me to Hype Their A.I. Start-Ups 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week, we discuss Wall Street’s software-stock sell-off and a viral essay on X about the potential for widespread job displacement from A.I. Then, the New York Times reporter Alexandra Alter walks us through the process that a growing number of writers are adopting to churn out romance novels with help from A.I. chatbots. Finally, we each share one bit of good tech-related news — a new way to make playlists on Spotify and progress toward decoding whale sounds. Guest: Alexandra Alter, Additional Reading: The Dark Side of A.I. Weighs on Tech StocksMatt Shumer’s essay “Something Big Is Happening”The New Fabio Is ClaudeHow a New A.I. Tool Fixed My Single Biggest Problem With SpotifyHow A.I. Trained on Birds Is Surfacing Underwater Mysteries 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week, the A.I. initial-public-offering race is heating up! We break down SpaceX’s acquisition of xAI, as well as OpenAI and Nvidia’s messy situationship. Then, it’s time for show and tell. We got our hands on the latest experimental A.I. prototype from Google called Project Genie, and we discuss our experience using it to generate and navigate video-game-like environments. Finally, we’re joined by Moltbook’s founder, Matt Schlicht, to discuss his new social media platform for A.I. agents, and how he’s planning to deal with security risks and spam on the site. Guest: Moltbook Additional Reading: Elon Musk Merges SpaceX With His A.I. Start-Up xAIThe $100 Billion Megadeal Between OpenAI and Nvidia Is on IceProject Genie: Experimenting with infinite, interactive worldsAn A.I. Pioneer Warns the Tech ‘Herd’ Is Marching Into a Dead EndMoltbook Mania Explained 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A Reddit-style web forum for A.I. agents has captured the attention of the tech world. According to the site, called Moltbook, more than 1.5 million agents have contributed to over 150,000 posts, making it the largest experiment to date of what happens when A.I. agents interact with each other. We discuss our favorite posts, how we’re thinking about the question of what is “real” on the site, and where we expect agents to go from here. Additional Reading: A Social Network for A.I. Bots Only. No Humans Allowed.Five Ways of Thinking About Moltbook 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week we’re talking about the tech industry’s response to the killings by federal agents in Minneapolis and the federal government’s strategy to control the narrative on social media. Then we follow Casey through his trial of a new open-source A.I. assistant called Moltbot (formerly Clawdbot) and consider whether it is worth the security risk. And, finally, it’s time for a look at the rest of the week’s tech news with a round of HatGPT. Additional Reading: False Posts and Altered Images Distort Views of Minnesota ShootingA Moment-by-Moment Look at the Shooting of Alex PrettiIt’s a War: Inside ICE’s Media MachineSome Amazon Employees Get ‘Project Dawn’ Calendar Invitation Discussing Upcoming Job CutsTikTok Data Center Outage Triggers Trust Crisis for New U.S. OwnersFormer FTX Crypto Executive Caroline Ellison Released From Federal CustodyAnthropic C.E.O.’s Grave Warning: A.I. Will “Test Us as a Species”Inside the White House Screening for Amazon’s ‘Melania’ DocApp for Quitting Porn Leaked Users’ Masturbation HabitsAlaska Student Arrested After Eating A.I.-Generated Art in ProtestSteak ’n Shake Adds $5 Million in Bitcoin Exposure, Deepening Bitcoin CommitmentSpaceX Weighs June I.P.O. Timed to Planetary Alignment and Elon Musk’s BirthdayLinkedIn Will Let You Show Off Your Vibe Coding Expertise 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.

Ads are coming to ChatGPT’s free and low-cost subscription tiers. We explain what they’ll look like, why OpenAI is taking this approach and whether the company can court advertising dollars without compromising quality and user trust. Then, Amanda Askell, Anthropic’s in-house philosopher in charge of shaping Claude’s personality, joins us to discuss the company’s newly released “Claude Constitution” and what it takes to teach a chatbot to be good. As a bonus, if you’re interested in learning how to get started with Claude Code, you can check out our tutorial on YouTube. Guest: Amanda Askell Additional Reading: OpenAI Starts Testing Ads in ChatGPTClaude’s Constitution 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.

This week, Jonathan Haidt, author of “The Anxious Generation,” returns to the show to discuss new research about how social media is harming teens and what it’s been like to become the face of a global movement against the platforms. Then, we asked what you were building with Claude Code, and you blew us away. We’ll share some of our favorite projects that you sent us. And finally, we’re joined by PJ Vogt, the host of “Search Engine,” to talk about our early adventures in the Forkiverse and what we’ve learned so far about running a social media network. Guests: Jonathan HaidtPJ VogtSearch Engine Additional Reading: Mountains of Evidence Meta’s Internal ResearchAn NYT Event in LA - Trump: The First Year of His Second Term 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.

Over the past year we’ve been working with the podcast “Search Engine” on a project that reimagines what the internet can be. What if instead of rage-baiting, a social platform incentivized friendly interaction and good faith discussion? Today we’re bringing “Hard Fork” listeners an episode we made with the “Search Engine” team called “The Fediverse Experiment” where we end up creating our own social media platform. Guest: Search Engine Additional Reading: The Dream of the Fediverse Is Alive on ThreadsWhat Is Mastodon and Why Are People Leaving Twitter for It? 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.

Users of X are asking the platform’s built-in A.I. chatbot, Grok, to remove clothing from images of celebrities and everyday people. We talk with the New York Times reporter Kate Conger about how some of the targets of this sexual harassment, including children and their families, are responding, and whether anyone will take action to stop it. Then, we recap a holiday break spent experimenting with Claude Code. We unveil what we built, how we did it and why the tool’s dramatic improvement could be scary for society. And finally, Casey debunks a viral Reddit post that accuses the food delivery industry of shocking exploitation. We explain how a scammer tried to fool us all using AI-generated evidence. Guests: Kate Conger, Additional Reading: Grok Is Undressing Children – Can the Law Stop It?Debunking the A.I. Food Delivery Hoax That Fooled Reddit 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.

Happy New Year! We’re kicking things off by sharing our tech resolutions for 2026 and reflecting on how we fared with our social media and meditation goals from last year. Then, we open up the listener mailbag and answer your questions on data centers in space, who’s to blame when a customer service A.I. bot lies to you and whether it’s OK to deepfake Santa into your home security footage. Also, get your very own “Hard Fork” hats, now available at the Times Store: https://store.nytimes.com/products/hard-fork-baseball-cap Additional Reading: What I Learned About Productivity This YearData Centers in Space + A.I. Policy on the Right + A Gemini History MysteryShuffling Some Whimsy Into Poker and Blackjack 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.

Kevin recently joined the hosts of The Wirecutter Show for a conversation about the A.I. products he’s using, strategies to make chatbots work better and his beloved robot vacuums Bruce Roose and Bruce Roose Deuce. It’s a conversation we think Hard Fork listeners will enjoy. We’ll be back in your feeds with our annual tech resolutions episode on Friday. Additional Reading Tips for Using A.I. Smarter With Hard Fork’s Kevin Roose 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.

The leaders of the biggest A.I. labs argue that artificial intelligence will usher in a new era of scientific discovery, which will help us cure diseases and accelerate our ability to address the climate crisis. But what has A.I. actually done for science so far? To understand, we asked Sam Rodriques, a scientist turned technologist who is developing A.I. tools for scientific research through his nonprofit FutureHouse and a for-profit spinoff, Edison Scientific. Edison recently released Kosmos — an A.I. agent, or A.I. scientist to use the company’s language, that it says can accomplish six months of doctoral or postdoctoral-level research in a single 12-hour run. Sam walks us through how Kosmos works, and why tools like it could dramatically speed up data analysis. But he also discusses why some of the most audacious claims about A.I. curing disease are unrealistic, as well as what bottlenecks still stand in the way of a true A.I.-accelerated future. Guest: Sam Rodriques, Additional Reading: The Quest for A.I. ‘Scientific Superintelligence’Top A.I. Researchers Leave OpenAI, Google and Meta for New Start-Up 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.

This week, iRobot, the pioneering American robotics company behind the Roomba, filed for bankruptcy and announced that it would be taken over by its Chinese creditor. Colin Angle, a co-founder and a former longtime chief executive of the company, joins us to explain why the company lost its market dominance and what America should do to protect its newest crop of A.I. and robotics start-ups from the same fate. Then, we settle the score on our high, medium and low predictions from last year and lay down our new ones — including a spicy take on who will take over after Tim Cook at Apple. And finally, we wish all of our listeners a very happy holiday season with our annual tech-themed Christmas carol. Guest: Additional Reading: Roomba Maker iRobot Files for Bankruptcy, With Chinese Supplier Taking ControliRobot Is in Trouble, but Roomba Is Already DeadOur 2025 Tech Predictions and Resolutions 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.