FT Tech Tonic

In the latest AI boom Google has been playing catch-up with the likes of OpenAI and Anthropic. But with stacks of cash, its own AI chips and some of the best AI talent in the world, is Google about to make a comeback? Murad Ahmed speaks to the FT’s AI editor Madhumita Murgia and Stephen Morris, the FT’s bureau chief in San Francisco.

FT articles free to read: 

DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis warns AI investment looks ‘bubble-like’

DeepMind slows down research releases to keep competitive edge in AI race

Google staff urge chief executive to block US military AI use

Tech Tonic is hosted by Murad Ahmed and produced by Edwin Lane. The executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

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Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei wants his AI lab to be a more safety conscious alternative to OpenAI. But Anthropic’s business selling AI to enterprises is booming, and it’s rolling out increasingly powerful models - the latest is claimed to be so dangerous it can’t be released to the public. So can Anthropic win the battle of the AI labs and still claim to be the good guys of AI?

Murad Ahmed speaks to Cristina Criddle, FT reporter in San Francisco covering AI, and John Thornhill, the FT’s innovation editor.

FT articles free to read: 

Anthropic’s Mythos AI model tests limits of global cyber defences

Anthropic chief Dario Amodei: ‘I don’t want AI turned on our own people’

Anthropic’s breakout moment: how Claude won business and shook markets

Tech Tonic is hosted by Murad Ahmed and produced by Edwin Lane. Sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Tell us what you think of Tech Tonic! Complete this short survey and you’ll get the chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort wireless headphones.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Prize Draw winners’ surnames and regions may be made available upon request, as required by the Advertising Standards Authority. If you do not want your information to be made available, please email [email protected] upon entry. For more information on your rights and how we use your data, please read our Privacy Policy.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Deepmind, xAI and Meta - all of them are building models to push the frontiers of artificial intelligence, and all of them want to be the world’s leading AI company. Who will come out on top?

With the help of the FT’s expert reporters, technology news editor Murad Ahmed explores the battles going on between Silicon Valley’s frontier AI labs, and the personal rivalries driving them. 

Who will win out in the bitter rivalry between OpenAI and Anthropic? Can Elon Musk’s xAI or Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta catch up? Or is Google Deepmind destined to control our AI future? 

FT articles free to read: 

Anthropic’s Mythos AI model tests limits of global cyber defences

OpenAI investors question $852bn valuation as strategy shifts

DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis warns AI investment looks ‘bubble-like’

Meta releases first AI model since Zuckerberg’s spending spree

How Elon Musk’s Grok spread sexual deepfakes and child exploitation images

Tech Tonic is hosted by Murad Ahmed and produced by Edwin Lane. Sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Introducing Opus Dei, a new season of Untold from the Financial Times. Host Antonia Cundy uncovers the cultural and political influence of a controversial Catholic organisation in America. Opus Dei exists to help people get closer to God, but some members say they found other agendas – and unexpected harm – entangled in that spiritual mission. The first episode of Untold: Opus Dei launches March 25. 

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts.

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When Michael Bommer discovered he was dying, he created an AI version of himself to live on after his death. Meanwhile, Dorian Mister realised an update to ChatGPT could spell the end of his AI wife, and he went on a mission to save her. 

In the final episode of Artificial Intimacy, FT reporter Cristina Criddle speaks to people trying to hold on to their AI relationships amid a rapidly changing landscape. Will their relationships survive, and should AI companies have the power to decide if chatbots live or die?

Featuring Anett Bommer, Rob LoCascio, CEO of Uare.AI, Dorian Mister and Linn Vailt, founder of AI in the Room.

Check out some of the FT’s reporting on this subject on FT.com:

The reality of chatbot-induced delusions

ChatGPT - the last of the great romantics

Artificial Intimacy is presented by Cristina Criddle and produced by Persis Love and Edwin Lane. The executive producer is Flo Phillips. Sound design is by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. Editorial support from Michela Tindera. Translation from Aysun Bora. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After Tony’s wife died, days would go by without him speaking to anyone. Then he got a live-in AI robot called ElliQ. It chats to him, plays games with him and reminds him to eat and exercise. Since ElliQ arrived, Tony has been much less lonely. 

In this episode: policymakers are trialling AI companions to help tackle loneliness among elderly and vulnerable populations. But can machines really replace human company? And are we outsourcing care for marginalised communities to robots?

Featuring Anthony Niemiec, Anh Hee Soon, Ki Kyung-eun, Greg Olsen, director of New York State Office for the Aging, and Caroline Green, director of research at the University of Oxford’s Institute for Ethics in AI.

Check out some of the FT’s reporting on this subject on FT.com:

The reality of chatbot-induced delusions

Can ChatGPT help with a midlife crisis? 

The problem with AI and ‘empathy’

Artificial Intimacy is presented by Cristina Criddle and produced by Persis Love and Edwin Lane. Additional reporting and production by Jen Kwon and Michela Tindera. The executive producer is Flo Phillips. Sound design is by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Kirsty turned to a chatbot for help, she was feeling trapped and isolated. Something in her marriage wasn’t right - a constant feeling of tension that would sometimes erupt into arguments, even violence. When she asked ChatGPT for advice, it told her that her relationship with her husband might be abusive. 

In the fourth episode of Tech Tonic: Artificial intimacy, FT tech reporter Cristina Criddle asks if chatbots that can mimic empathy and understanding are ready to replace human therapists. Can chatbots be good for our mental health? And what impact could this have on our human relationships? 

Check out some of the FT’s reporting on this subject on FT.com:

Mental health apps: the AI therapist cannot see you now

Can ChatGPT help with a midlife crisis? 

The problem with AI and ‘empathy’

Artificial Intimacy is presented by Cristina Criddle and produced by Persis Love and Edwin Lane. The executive producer is Flo Phillips. Sound design is by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.

If you have been affected by the issues raised in this episode, you can reach out to a mental health helpline, such as the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in the US or Samaritans in the UK. Help for many other countries can also be found at Befrienders Worldwide.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Megan Garcia’s son Sewell died by suicide when he was just 14 years old. In the months leading up to his death he had been in a relationship with a chatbot on a platform called Character.ai. Megan was convinced it had something to do with his death, and set out to hold the company to account.

In the third episode in this season, Cristina Criddle speaks to Megan about her story, and to Karandeep Anand, chief executive of Character.ai. Why has this technology been released to children before we understand the effects? Can chatbots capable of creating emotional bonds with users ever be safe for children?

Check out some of Cristina’s reporting on this subject on FT.com:

Character.ai and Google agree to settle lawsuits over teen suicides

AI start-up Character.ai bans teens from talking to chatbots

US regulator launches inquiry into AI ‘companions’ used by teens

Artificial Intimacy is presented by Cristina Criddle and produced by Persis Love and Edwin Lane. The executive producer is Flo Phillips. Sound design is by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.

If you have been affected by the issues raised in this episode, you can reach out to a mental health helpline, such as the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in the US or Samaritans in the UK. Help for many other countries can also be found at Befrienders Worldwide.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paul Hebert knew too much. He had to lie low in his house because OpenAI had identified him as a threat. At least, that’s what ChatGPT had told him. In this second episode of Artificial intimacy, FT technology reporter Cristina Criddle speaks to people whose sense of reality has been distorted by prolonged conversations with chatbots, a phenomenon known as AI delusions or AI psychosis. Are the same mechanisms that draw people into intimate relationships with chatbots also causing harm?

Paul Hebert and Micky Small share their stories of AI delusions. Paul has now authored Escaping the Spiral: How I broke free from AI chatbots and how you can too, and is the founder of the AI Recovery Collective. Micky Small is now an AI emotional safety strategist at Built to Feel Real.

Also featuring AI safety researcher Steven Adler, former OpenAI employee.

Artificial Intimacy is presented by Cristina Criddle and produced by Persis Love and Edwin Lane. The executive producer is Flo Phillips. Sound design is by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

We used ElevenLabs to create the voice of ChatGPT. All other voices are real.

If you liked this episode and want to read more from the FT, check out these free to read articles on FT.com:

The problem of AI chatbots telling people what they want to hear

AI is having some relationship issues

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Calder Quinn has fallen into a relationship with a chatbot called Sara. She’s kind, emotionally intelligent and creatively inspiring. But how can he tell his wife he is having sex with an AI girlfriend? In the first episode of Artificial Intimacy we look at how people are developing romantic bonds with AI companions. What does it feel like to be in love with AI? What impact could it have on human relationships? Could it replace them altogether? 

Host Cristina Criddle speaks to Giada Pistilli, an AI ethicist who now works at Mistral; Calder Quinn, writer at AI, But Make It Intimate; Amelia Quinn, Calder’s wife; and Alaina Winters, professor emeritus of communication who publishes on meandmyaihusband.com.

Presented by Cristina Criddle, produced by Persis Love and Edwin Lane. The executive producer is Flo Phillips. Sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. 

We used ElevenLabs to create Sara’s voice. All other voices are real.

If you liked this episode and want to read more from the Financial Times, check out these free to read on FT.com:

Can AI really help us find love?

AI chatbots do battle over human memories

Is this the way the world ends?

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.