Leading AI firm Anthropic drew two red lines on their work with the newly renamed US 'Department of War': No mass surveillance of Americans, and no autonomous weapons. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hesgeth threatened to declare Anthropic a 'supply chain risk' (basically, an enemy of the state) unless they erased those red lines. Anthropic held fast - and that's changed the politics of AI. Plus: Let the app know you're not dead!

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RNZ replay 30 January 2026

In conversation with RNZ "Nine to Noon" host Kathryn Ryan, we look at the recent massive layoffs at Amazon, France's social media laws for under 15s, Microsoft giving the keys to your data kingdom to the FBI, and what happens when an organisation tasked with maintaining the safety of the airways turns to a computer to 'flood the zone' with regulation?

Thanks to RNZ - Nine To Noon

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is produced by Ampel and Myrtle and Pine  

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Abby Bloom, Catherine Ball and I (along with Sally Dominguez) are heading back to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to see the latest innovations in 'agetech' - technologies that help restore ability and increase agency as we age. Is agetech "the" solution to the crisis in care, or is it, instead, kit that helps support us as we transition toward a culture where care is a central and valued activity?

The second of two SXSW Sydney 2025 live recordings. 

https://cadense.com/ - grippy sneakers

Hapta

The Skip with Joy

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Abby Bloom wants us to face an uncomfortable truth: we need a lot more space and time for care in our culture. A rapidly aging population - living twenty to thirty years longer than the generations preceding - means we're going to have to rethink and redesign our lives, our work and our whole civilisation so that we don't disappear beneath a burden of care that no one can bear alone. How do we make that transition? Abby's new book "The Cost of Not Caring", offers some suggestions. It's the shadow looming over all our bright futures - and it's front and centre on THE NEXT BILLION SECONDS.

The first of two SXSW Sydney 2025 live recordings. 

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Could it be that the smartphone and social media brought us together only to make us completely intolerant? Research seems to be pointing that way - so what can we do? Also, fake receipts, fake voices and fake apologies - the more AI we use, the more we get faked out. Finally, 'mind captioning' - could bring a voice to those who can not use their own! Recorded live on Radio New Zealand's "Nine To Noon" show on Thursday 20 November 2025 - with big thanks to host Kathryn Ryan!

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is produced by Ampel and Myrtle and Pine  

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While the US put its car in reverse (at speed!) and European automakers chased their own tails about whether or not to abandon ICEs, the Chinese put the pedal to the metal in their high-tourque EVs, leaving everyone one else in the dust. A once-in-a-lifetime platform transition - without any international competitors! Co-host Sally Dominguez, Special Correspondent Drew Smith and host Mark Pesce discuss a world that already looks radically different from the beginning of the year, then make some predictions for 2026.

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What a difference a year makes. A transition to EVs that once seemed utterly inevitable has been thoroughly disrupted by a change of regime in the United States. Using every tool in its arsenal to bribe, cajole and even threaten its allies into dropping any support or incentives for electrification, the USA seems intent upon reviving a past where the internal combustion engine ruled unchallenged. Will it work? Co-host Sally Dominguez, Special Correspondent Drew Smith and host Mark Pesce go looking for answers on this special two part episodes of THE NEXT BILLION CARS.

Co-host Sally Dominguez and Mark Pesce reflect on something that should be easy, yet proves to be surprisingly difficult. Hosted by award-winning podcast creator, journalist & futurist Mark Pesce, The Next Billion Cars is everything you need to know about the future of cars.

For more information about this podcast and The Next Billion Seconds, please visit https://nextbillionseconds.com. The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is Executive Produced by Josh Butt at Ampel - https://ampel.com.au and produced with James Brettell.
Produced at Myrtle & Pine Studios in Sydney, Australia https://myrtleandpine.com

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Can a big business transform its processes and workflows using AI? With very few successful examples to follow, how does the Big End of Town even get started? L'Oreal Groupe - the biggest beauty products firm on Earth - got started three years ago. We sit down with L'Oreal Groupe ANZ CEO Alex Davison to explore how they did it, why they did it - and how it's changed their business. L'Oreal is rated by FORTUNE Magazine to be the #1 most innovative firm in the world - so maybe we can all learn something from them.

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is produced by Ampel and Myrtle and Pine  

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There's an elephant in the room along with artificial intelligence - its impact on the climate. Demand for electricity has skyrocketed as Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Google and Microsoft build vast new data centres to handle the anticipated global demand for AI products and services. Is that wise? In conversation with legendary entrepreneur and ClimateSalad CEO Mick Liubinskas, we explore whether we're approaching the age of AI with enough prudence.

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is produced by Ampel and Myrtle and Pine  

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Massive increases in productivity lure businesses into adopting artificial intelligence. But what if pursuit of that elusive 'superprodctivity' produces exactly the opposite? A rebroadcast of Radio New Zealand's Nine To Noon from16 October 2025, host Kathryn Ryan and I ask whether any business advantage can be gained by the 'promiscuous' use of AI.

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is produced by Ampel and Myrtle and Pine  

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