Hard Fork

The New York Times

“Hard Fork” is a show about the future that’s already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Also, for more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

  1. 1 DAY AGO

    Are We Past Peak iPhone? + Eliezer Yudkowsky on A.I. Doom

    Apple’s yearly iPhone event took place this week, and it left us asking, Is Apple losing the juice? We break down all the new products the company announced and discuss where it goes from here. Then, Eliezer Yudkowsky, one of the most fascinating people in A.I., has a new book coming out: “If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies.” He joins us to make the case for why A.I. development should be shut down now, long before we reach superintelligence, and how he thinks that could happen. Guests: Eliezer Yudkowsky, founder of Machine Intelligence Research Institute and a co-author of “If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies” Additional Reading:  AI as Normal Technology, revisitedApple’s misunderstood crossbody iPhone strap might be the best I’ve seen  We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

    1h 12m

  2. 5 SEPT

    A.I. School Is in Session: Two Takes on the Future of Education

    This week, we check in on the state of artificial intelligence in education. We talk with a co-founder of Alpha Schools, MacKenzie Price, about how her private K-12 schools are using A.I. to generate personalized lesson plans and enabling teachers to spend their time motivating rather than teaching students. Then, the Princeton historian D. Graham Burnett joins us to discuss the existential threat that A.I. poses to the traditional humanities degree and why he believes we’ll see thousands of new schools emerge outside the university system to carry on the exploration of what it means to be a person in the world. And finally, we hear directly from students who are on the front line of technological change. Guests: MacKenzie Price, co-founder of Alpha SchoolsD. Graham Burnett, historian of science and technology at Princeton University Additional Reading: A.I.-Driven Education: Founded in Texas and Coming to a School Near YouWill the Humanities Survive Artificial Intelligence?OpenAI and Microsoft Bankroll New A.I. Training for TeachersWelcome to Campus. Here’s Your ChatGPT. We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

    1h 12m

  3. 29 AUG • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Intel’s New Deal + Waymo C.E.O. Tekedra Mawakana on Scaling Driverless Cars + Trumps in Tech

    President Trump announced this week that the U.S. government, in a highly unusual deal, had agreed to take a 10 percent stake in the chip maker Intel, and that he was considering similar investments in other companies. We discuss why Trump cares so much about Intel, what the government is trying to accomplish with this deal, and how people in Silicon Valley and elsewhere are reacting. Then Waymo’s co-chief executive Tekedra Mawakana joins us in the studio to discuss the company’s strategy for expanding its driverless car service to Miami, D.C. and the snowy Northeast. And finally, we introduce a new segment where we run through the most surprising technology projects the Trump family is getting involved in. Guests: Tekedra Mawakana, co-chief executive of Waymo. Additional Reading:  Intel Agrees to Sell U.S. a 10% Stake in Its BusinessFirst Lady Melania Trump Launches Nationwide Presidential AI Challenge  We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

    1h 3m

  4. 22 AUG • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Is This an A.I. Bubble? + Meta’s Missing Morals + TikTok Shock Slop

    Note: This episode contains sexually explicit music. This week, the whole tech world seemed to be asking: Are we in an A.I. bubble? We’ll explore the cases for and against, including who we think stands to lose most. Then we’re joined by the journalist Jeff Horwitz to discuss his blockbuster reporting about an internal Meta policy document that permit the company’s chatbots to engage in romantic role-playing with children. And finally, Casey introduces Kevin to a shocking new TikTok trend.   Guests: Jeff Horwitz, investigative technology reporter for Reuters Additional Reading: My Dinner With AltmanCompanies Are Pouring Billions Into A.I. It Has Yet to Pay OffMeta’s A.I. Rules Have Let Bots Hold ‘Sensual’ Chats With ChildrenWhy Is TikTok Overflowing With A.I. Country Music Erotica?  We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

    1h 7m

  5. 15 AUG • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    GPT-5 Backlash + Perplexity C.E.O. Aravind Srinivas on the Browser Wars + Hot Mess Express

    OpenAI spent the week responding to outcry from users who miss the behavior of the old ChatGPT, before the latest flagship model was released. We discuss the criticism, why it caught the company by surprise and what it indicates about the deepening emotional relationships that people are forming with chatbots. Then, Aravind Srinivas, the chief executive of Perplexity AI, joins us to discuss his company’s new artificial intelligence-powered browser, Comet; his company’s bid to buy Google Chrome; and what the future of the internet looks like when users turn to A.I. assistants to browse the web for them. Finally, to cap it all off, we rate the craziest tech stories of the week in our game Hot Mess Express. Guests: Aravind Srinivas, chief executive of Perplexity AI.Additional Reading: Chatbots Can Go Into a Delusional Spiral. Here’s How It Happens.Three Big Lessons From the GPT-5 BacklashA.I. Start-Up Perplexity Offers to Buy Google’s Chrome Browser for $34.5 BillionElon Musk Threatens to Sue Apple Over Claims It Favors OpenAIU.S. Government to Take Cut of Nvidia and AMD A.I. Chip Sales to China Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

    1h 11m

  6. 8 AUG • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    GPT-5 Arrives, and We Try the New Alexa+

    “Sam Altman in his remarks said that this is a major upgrade,” but he also said that “we’re not at A.G.I. yet.”

    1h 13m

  7. 1 AUG • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Age-Gating the Internet + Cloudflare Takes On A.I. Scrapers + HatGPT

    This week, we look at the fallout from a sweeping internet age-verification law that went into effect in Britain. We explain why age restrictions are suddenly popping up all over the internet — and how some might create more problems than they solve. Then Matthew Prince, chief executive of Cloudflare, returns to the show to discuss his company’s new plan to help publishers fight back against A.I. scrapers and potentially to create a new online marketplace for quality content in the process. Finally, we round up some headlines from around the tech world in the latest round of HatGPT. Guests: Matthew Prince, chief executive of Cloudflare Additional Reading: Supreme Court Upholds Texas Law Limiting Access to PornographyThe U.K.’s age gates are coming to AmericaCloudflare Introduces Default Blocking of A.I. Data Scrapers Also, you can still get a special-edition “Hard Fork” hat! For a limited time, you’ll receive one when you purchase an annual New York Times Audio subscription for the first time (U.S. only). Go to nytimes.com/hardforkhat. We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

    1h 12m

  8. 25 JUL • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Trump Fights ‘Woke’ A.I. + We Hear Out Our Critics

    On Wednesday, President Trump signed three A.I.-related executive orders, and the White House released “America’s A.I. Action Plan.” We break down what’s in them, how the federal government intends to target “political bias” in chatbot output, and whether anyone will stand up against it. Then, do we hype up A.I. too much? Are we downplaying potential harms? We reached out to several prominent researchers and writers and asked for their critiques about how we cover A.I.   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: Brian Merchant, author of the book and newsletter “Blood in the Machine”Alison Gopnik, professor at the University of California, BerkeleyRoss Douthat, New York Times opinion columnist and host of the podcast “Interesting Times”Claire Leibowicz, head of A.I. and media integrity at the Partnership on AIMax Read, author of the newsletter “Read Max” Additional Reading: Trump Plans to Give A.I. Developers a Free HandThe Chatbot Culture Wars Are Here  We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.   Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

    1h 6m
See All (155)

Trailer

Shows with Subscription Benefits

Subscribe via The NYT app to access past episodes.

View Subscription FAQs

Hosts & Guests

About

“Hard Fork” is a show about the future that’s already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Also, for more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Information

  • Channel
    The New York Times
  • Creator
    The New York Times
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2025
  • Episodes
    155
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2022 THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY; The New York Times encourages the use of RSS feeds for personal use in a news reader or as part of a non-commercial blog, subject to your agreement to our Terms of Service.
  • Show Website
    Hard Fork
  • Provider
    The New York Times Company

More From The New York Times

You Might Also Like