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PODCAST

Hard Fork

The New York Times

“Hard Fork” is a show about the future that’s already here. Each week, New York Times journalists explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. 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.

technology

All Episodes

00:53:02

A.I. Agents: Cute, Cuddly and Maybe Catastrophically...

Hard Fork ·

2026/10/02

This week, after months in which rogue agents have caused havoc across the internet, tech’s most powerful leaders joined President Trump at the White House to rebrand A.I. At the same time, two of the biggest companies in the field — OpenAI and Meta — released what they say are their most useful (and cutest) A.I. tools to date: personal assistants. To discuss it all, we’re joined by the Times tech reporters Mike Isaac, Erin Griffith and Eli Tan. We’ll discuss how things can be more dangerous and

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00:02:16

What’s Next for ‘Hard Fork’?

Hard Fork ·

2026/10/01

For the next few months on “Hard Fork,” join the guest host Max Read and an array of Times reporters and experts as we zoom out, catch up and try to understand both what’s happening inside the tech industry and what tech is doing to all of us.Meet the HostMax Read has been writing about technology and the internet for more than a decade, most recently in his weekly newsletter, Read Max. His writing has appeared over the years in various publications with the words “New York” in the title, including

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01:48:18

The Ezra Klein Show: Jensen Huang Thinks A.I....

Hard Fork ·

2026/09/25

In this episode, Ezra travels to Nvidia’s headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., for a wide-ranging conversation with the chief executive Jensen Huang about the future of A.I. and why he thinks predictions of imminent doom are overblown.Guests:Jensen Huang, chief executive of NvidiaAdditional Reading:A transcript and video of this episode can be found here.America’s A.I. Leaders Warn U.N. of Possible Peril Absent a Global ResponseAnthropic Releases a New A.I. Model, Opus 5.5, Amid Safety DebateWhat to

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01:24:07

A.I. Safety Goes Mainstream + a ‘Hard Fork’ Exit AMA

Hard Fork ·

2026/09/18

This week, we break down why everyone is suddenly talking about A.I. safety, why frontier A.I. companies are asking for regulation and why the Trump administration is rejecting them. And then, to close out this chapter of “Hard Fork,” we answer all your questions about the show, tech and what’s happening next.Additional Reading:The A.I. Researcher Whose Rebellion Is Changing EverythingTop A.I. Leaders Call for Slowing Down A.I. DevelopmentPresident Trump Is on the Line About an A.I. SlowdownMark

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01:19:47

The Ezra Klein Show: The A.I. Revolt Is Here

Hard Fork ·

2026/09/11

The “Hard Fork” team is away this week. But while we’re away, we’re bringing you a recent episode of “The Ezra Klein Show.”In this episode, Ezra talks with the journalist Jasmine Sun about her recent reporting trip through the Midwest, where she explored how the data center backlash is playing out on the ground.Ezra and Jasmine discuss the strange political coalitions that are coming together to oppose the A.I. infrastructure build out, and why people don’t believe what they’re being told about

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01:18:46

The A.I. Mob That Attacked Hugging Face + METR’s...

Hard Fork ·

2026/09/04

This week, we’re diving into two new reports about the OpenAI-Hugging Face hack. We discuss what’s new and how they fundamentally change our understanding of what happened. Then we’re joined by Ajeya Cotra, one of the investigators at METR, to discuss the rogue agents’ message board and chain-of-thought transcripts and how the world should respond.Guests:Ajeya Cotra, co-author of the METR and Redwood Research report on the OpenAI-Hugging Face hack.Additional Reading:Brief Independent Investigation

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01:02:56

Meta Shifts the Blame + Do Data Center Bans Work? +...

Hard Fork ·

2026/08/28

This week, Meta agreed to pay up to $17.1 billion and make major changes to Facebook and Instagram over claims it endangered children with addictive social media platforms. We discuss why it capitulated and what it means for the entire social media industry. Then, Princeton computer science professor Arvind Narayanan returns to offer his thoughts on why banning data centers won’t slow down A.I. progress. And finally, it’s all hats on deck for the final HatGPT.Guests: Arvind Narayanan, professor

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01:03:07

OpenAI’s Two-Week Pause + Jill Lepore on the Threat...

Hard Fork ·

2026/08/21

This week, we learned that OpenAI had stopped training new artificial intelligence models while the company reviewed its security measures. Will this encourage other labs to hit the brakes too?Then, the historian Jill Lepore joins to discuss her new book about the artificial state — or, as she describes it, “the rule of humans by machines manufactured by corporations.” And finally, why is Google buying up the data of the defunct Spirit Airlines? It’s time for our new segment “Train of

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01:03:14

Zuckerberg’s Anti-Doom Fantasy + Finally an A.I....

Hard Fork ·

2026/08/14

This week we’re talking about Mark Zuckerberg’s latest essay, “The Future Is for Everyone,” which outlines his positive new vision about the potential of A.I. But do we think it’s credible? Then, Pangram’s chief executive, Max Spero, joins us to talk about the breakout success of his A.I. slop detector. And finally, it’s time for our new segment all about math — we’re Running the Numbers.Guests: Max Spero, chief executive of Pangram Additional Reading: The Future Is for Everyone Meta Unveils

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01:05:29

The White House’s Secret A.I. Rules + The State of...

Hard Fork ·

2026/08/07

This week, the White House announced a new framework for regulating A.I. models, but it isn’t letting the public read it. We break down what we know about the rules and what the implications are for the industry and A.I. safety as a whole. Then, yet another report details new incidents in which A.I. agents have gone rogue. Chris Painter, the president of METR, an independent A.I. evaluation organization, joins to discuss how we get these models under control. And finally, we're hopping on the Hot

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01:06:47

Open Model Wars + Claire Stapleton's Dishy Google...

Hard Fork ·

2026/07/31

This week, we break down the arguments about open-weight models unfolding in Silicon Valley right now. Nvidia released an open letter signed by over 230 companies opposing “premature restrictions,” but will the Trump administration listen?Then, we’re joined by the author Claire Stapleton to discuss her new book about what she learned while leading employee activism inside Google. And finally, can Substack stop the slop? We’ll talk about the platform’s new A.I. detector. Guests: Claire Stapleton,

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01:08:14

OpenAI Models Go Rogue + Kimi K3 Freakout + A.I....

Hard Fork ·

2026/07/24

This week, OpenAI reported that two of its models escaped their testing sandbox and launched an autonomous cyberattack, turning what sounds like science fiction into reality. We discuss the implications for efforts to align artificial intelligence and for the release of future A.I. models.Then, we ask how the United States should respond to Kimi K3, a new A.I. model from the Chinese company Moonshot AI that the White House says was built by distilling American models. Finally, we’re joined by

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01:09:30

The A.I. Trade Secrets War + Economists Say ‘We Must...

Hard Fork ·

2026/07/17

This week, feuding between some of the biggest tech companies spilled into public view. We discuss Apple’s accusation that OpenAI tried to steal secrets about Apple’s hardware business, as well as share our reactions about OpenAI’s new model, Sol, and Anthropic’s decision to extend access to its model Fable. Then, we unpack the loudest warning yet about A.I. and jobs. We talk with Erik Brynjolfsson, a Stanford economist, about a statement he helped organize that implores economists and A.I

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01:19:01

Do Social Media Bans Work? + A Conversation About...

Hard Fork ·

2026/07/10

This week, with news that the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up Texas’ age verification law for app stores, we check in on how social media bans are going around the globe and what may be coming soon to a state near you. Then, we’re joined by Jeff Sebo, an associate professor at N.Y.U., to discuss new research into “A.I. welfare” and whether A.I. could ever become conscious. And finally, in our latest edition of Tool Time, we show each other some of the latest tech tools we’ve been

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01:06:44

Fable Ban Reversed + Dr. Dana Suskind on Parenting...

Hard Fork ·

2026/07/03

This week, the Commerce Department lifted its restrictions on Anthropic’s powerful A.I. models, Claude Mythos and Claude Fable. We dissect why the government took such a hands-on approach in the first place, how the restriction on the OpenAI model GPT 5.6 is likely to resolve and what, if anything, this tells us about A.I. competition with China. Then, Dr. Dana Suskind, a pediatric surgeon and the author of the forthcoming book “Human Raised,” stops by to discuss a framework she has developed to

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00:59:33

‘The Daily’ and ‘The Opinions’: How A.I. Is Changing...

Hard Fork ·

2026/06/26

This week, we’re bringing you two A.I.-related stories from our colleagues at The New York Times. First, Rachel Abrams, a host of “The Daily,” talks with the Times reporter Eli Saslow about a woman in a remote part of Washington who is using an A.I. companion robot to keep her independence, and to keep her company. Then, the Times Opinion culture editor Nadja Spiegelman talks to the New Yorker writer Kyle Chayka and the journalist and critic Sophie Haigney. They get into the rise of “taste slop” and

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00:56:13

‘Hard Fork’ Live, Part 3: Differing Visions of an...

Hard Fork ·

2026/06/19

We’re back with our final installment from Hard Fork Live, recorded at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. In this episode, we’re joined by Sayash Kapoor and Daniel Kokotajlo to talk about their differing visions of A.I. transformation: why Sayash thinks A.I. will diffuse throughout society like a “normal” technology, and why Daniel thinks an unprecedented acceleration is just around the corner. Then we’re joined by George Ekas from Toborlife AI, along with his dancing robot Toby

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00:31:14

‘Hard Fork’ Live Part 2: Dylan Field on Standing Out...

Hard Fork ·

2026/06/17

We’re back with more from our live event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. In this episode, we sit down with Dylan Field, a founder and the chief executive of the design company Figma, for what he describes as a “roller coaster” of a conversation. We cover everything from the company’s “Design Is Dead” campaign to the sudden resignation of the Anthropic executive Mike Krieger from Figma’s board. Then, we close things out with a special musical performance by eight wooden

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01:06:10

‘Hard Fork’ Live, Part 1: Satya Nadella and Cindy Cohn

Hard Fork ·

2026/06/12

This week and next, we’re bringing you recordings from our second-ever live taping in San Francisco. First, we sit down with Microsoft’s chief executive, Satya Nadella, to hear what he’s maxing out his A.I. tokens on, why he’s skeptical that software developers will ever be fully replaced, and how he’s hoping to create a new business model for Xbox. Then, Phil Mohun tells us what it has been like to watch people in the Bay Area interact with two robot dogs that wear the faces of Elon Musk and Mark

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01:04:20

Hot I.P.O Summer + What Is A.I. Doing to Math? + HatGPT

Hard Fork ·

2026/06/05

SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI are all racing to the public markets. We discuss what their I.P.O.s mean for the industry, charitable giving and anyone invested in an index fund. Then, more than 1,000 mathematicians signed a declaration this week raising concerns about the use of A.I. in their field. Author Kevin Hartnett joins to explain what the fuss is all about. And finally, we run through the biggest headlines of the week — including the new executive order on A.I. — in a round of

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218 results

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