Hard Fork

This week, Google introduced a new way to search, which could mean that Googling as we know it is on the way out. It’s called AI Mode and it is essentially the company’s response to the growing number of people turning to A.I. chat bots instead of Google search.

We walk through what this new product looks like, who can use it and what it could mean for the internet’s future. Then, we talk with the New York Times crypto reporter David Yaffe-Bellany about President Trump’s recent announcement concerning a national crypto reserve and why the news upset some of the biggest crypto advocates. Finally, we react to voice mail from listeners describing the tools they’ve vibecoded.

Guest: 

• David Yaffe-Bellany, New York Times reporter covering the crypto industry.

Additional Reading: 

• Trump Faces Blowback Over Plans for Crypto Reserve
• Not a Coder? With A.I., Just Having an Idea Can Be Enough.

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This week, Anthropic’s C.E.O., Dario Amodei, returns to the show for a candid, wide-ranging interview. We discuss Anthropic’s brand-new Claude 3.7 Sonnet model, the A.I. arms race against China, and his hopes and fears for this technology over the next two years. Then, we gather up recent tech stories, put them into a hat and close out the week with a round of HatGPT.

Guest:

• Dario Amodei, chief executive of Anthropic

Additional Reading:

• Inside the White-Hot Center of A.I. Doomerism
• Machines of Loving Grace
• Apple Removes Cloud Encryption Feature From U.K. After Backdoor Order

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This week, Elon Musk brought a new chatbot into the crowded A.I. universe — Grok 3, the latest model from his company xAI. We break down how it compares with other leading models and what it reveals about Musk’s larger ambitions. Then, Vlad Tenev, the chief executive of the investing platform Robinhood, lays out his vision for the future of investing and fields some difficult questions about his company’s role in fueling a culture of risky financial speculation. Finally, Kevin revisits his high school coding era and tries to make Casey a new software tool, with an A.I. assist.

Guest:

• Vlad Tenev, chief executive of Robinhood and co-founder of Harmonic.

Additional Reading:

• There Are Probably Too Many A.I. Companies Now
• An Investing Revolution Is Coming. The U.S. Isn’t Ready for It.
• Is Math the Path to Chatbots That Don’t Make Stuff Up?

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Kevin reports back from the A.I. Action Summit in Paris, where it was full speed ahead toward artificial general intelligence, with a conspicuous lack of action on the safety front. Also, Happy Valentine’s Day! We’re taking a look at A.I. on dating apps. First, our producer Rachel Cohn explains what happened when she applied all of the advice from Hinge’s new Prompt Feedback tool to her dating profile. Then, we’re joined by Hinge’s founder and C.E.O., Justin McLeod, to discuss how he thinks A.I. can help users find love.

Guests:

Rachel Cohn, Hard Fork producer, writer of the newsletter “Are You My Boyfriend?”

Justin McLeod, founder and C.E.O. of Hinge

Additional Reading:

• Macron Pitches Lighter Regulation to Fuel A.I. Boom in Europe
• Vance, in First Foreign Speech, Tells Europe That U.S. Will Dominate A.I.
• When Cupid Is a Prying Journalist

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This week, we’re joined by the Times reporter Jonathan Swan to discuss Elon Musk’s tech takeover of Washington, D.C. Then, Liz Pelly, author of a new book about Spotify, stops by to discuss “ghost musicians” and how Spotify’s algorithms are reshaping music culture. And finally — it’s Tool Time! We’ll tell you all about the new A.I. tools we’re using, plus the one that we wish existed.

Guests: 

• Jonathan Swan, a White House reporter for The New York Times
• Liz Pelly, author of “Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist”

Additional Reading: 

• Inside Musk’s Aggressive Incursion Into the Federal Government
• The Ghosts in the Machine
• ChatGPT's deep research might be the first good agent

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.

This week we go even deeper on DeepSeek. ChinaTalk's Jordan Schneider joins us to explain the Chinese A.I. industry and to break down the reaction inside of China to DeepSeek’s sudden success. Then … hello, Operator! We put OpenAI’s new agent software to the test. And finally, all aboard for another ride on the Hot Mess Express!

Guest:

• Jordan Schneider, founder and editor in chief of ChinaTalk

Additional Reading:

• Why DeepSeek Could Change What Silicon Valley Believes About A.I.
• OpenAI launches its agent
• Fable, a Book App, Makes Changes After Offensive A.I. Messages
• Amazon Pauses Drone Deliveries After Aircraft Crashed in Rain

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A Chinese firm called DeepSeek managed to upend global markets at the start of the week, to drag down chipmaker Nvidia — and to surge to No. 1 in the iPhone app store, all in basically no time at all.

Today, in this bonus episode, we talk through the news behind the freakout. How is a new A.I. model from one Chinese A.I. company making such a big splash? And what does it mean for the U.S. artificial intelligence industry?

We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

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This week, TikTok died, came back to life — and now exists in a kind of limbo state. We break down what that may signal for how tech does business with the new Trump administration. Then we pump up the fun with memecoins and explore how the Trump family is cashing in. And finally, MSNBC’s Chris Hayes joins us to discuss his new book about attention.

Guest:

• Chris Hayes,  Host of MSNBC's "All In With Chris Hayes" and author of “The Sirens’ Call”

Additional Reading:

• TikTok Comes Back From the Dead
• Trump’s Cryptocurrency Surges to Become One of the World’s Most Valuable
• Chris Hayes: I Want Your Attention. I Need Your Attention. Here Is How I Mastered My Own.
• The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century

We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

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The deadline for TikTok to sell or to face a ban is fast approaching. We discuss how Supreme Court justices — who opted on Friday to uphold the law — reacted to arguments in the case, whether the Chinese government might allow Elon Musk to buy the app, and why self-proclaimed TikTok refugees are rushing to a different Chinese app, called RedNote. Then, we talk with an A.I. industry insider about what we actually know about how bad artificial intelligence is for the environment. And finally, after Mark Zuckerberg’s recent appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast, Casey offers Kevin some ideas for how to bring more “masculine energy” to Meta.

Guest: 

• Sasha Luccioni, A.I and climate lead at Hugging Face.

Additional Reading: 

• Supreme Court Backs Law Requiring TikTok to Be Sold or Banned
• ‘Red Note,’ a Chinese App, Is Dominating Downloads, Thanks to TikTok Users
• China Weighs Sale of TikTok US to Musk as a Possible Option
• Matter of Opinion Podcast: How Democrats Drove Silicon Valley Into Trump’s Arms

We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

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This week, Meta announced a series of content moderation changes that will transform the way the social media company’s platforms deal with misinformation and hate speech. We break down what these changes will mean for users and why the company seems to be caving to the right’s arguments on censorship. Then, we’ll explain why 2025 is already shaping up to be a huge year in A.I. — with models like OpenAI’s o3, Google’s Gemini 2.0 and DeepSeek, from China, stirring discussion that superintelligence is near. And finally, we play a round of HatGPT.

Additional Reading:

• Meta Says It Will End Its Fact-Checking Program on Social Media Posts
• OpenAI Unveils New A.I. That Can ‘Reason’ Through Math and Science Problems
• Netflix’s WWE investment and the Future of Live Events on the Platform
• MegaLag’s Video Investigation Into Honey
• Los Angeles Man Is Trapped in Circling Waymo on Way to Airport: ‘Is Somebody Playing a Joke?’

We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. 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.