Times Tech

This week, Danny speaks to Amjad Masad, co-founder and CEO of Replit, a ‘vibe-coding’ company which enables anyone – coder or not – to build software simply by telling AI what they want it to do.

Amjad makes the case that we’ve lost the original joy of computing, leaving everyday users "at the mercy" of Silicon Valley giants.

He also pushes back on the current wave of AI doomerism, arguing that apocalyptic fears are overblown and that focus should shift toward real-world accountability, including strict penalties for companies whose AI agents go rogue.

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Get in touch: [email protected]

Presenters:

Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The Times

Danny Fortson, US West Coast Correspondent, The Sunday Times

Producer: Marnie Duke

Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia

Video Producer: Bronwen Latham

Image: Replit

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Warnings that AI is going to kill us are once again abounding.

This week, Anthropic’s long awaited IPO prospectus was leaked. In it, the company warns that its technology poses “catastrophic or existential risks to humanity” while simultaneously asking investors to finance their $518 billion AI buildout. Danny and Katie break down the contradictions at the heart of the prospectus and question why Dario Amodei is asking investors to fund doom.

Meanwhile, amid mounting safety concerns, President Trump invited tech leaders to the White House to talk regulation. Leaders of Anthropic, Google, Meta, Nvidia, OpenAI and SpaceXAI agreed to sign a voluntary self-policing pact and to rebrand AI as “super intelligence”. But when Silicon Valley sets its own rules, can we ensure they will keep us safe?

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Get in touch: [email protected]

Presenters:

• Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The Times
• Danny Fortson, US West Coast Correspondent, The Sunday Times

Producer: Marnie Duke

Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia

Video Producer: Bronwen Latham

Clip: Saturday Night Live

Image: Getty

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Ordnance Survey might just be the oldest tech company around. For 235 years, it has been mapping out every single metre of the UK – no matter how remote. And that data plays a huge part in how we use technology today; think of the many apps we use that rely on maps. The average person in the UK uses some element of Ordnance Survey mapping data 42 times a day.

Its CEO, Nick Bolton, joins Danny and Katie to discuss how the company has evolved from the days of paper maps to supplying to the likes of Apple and Google, why it’s building a map you can talk to, and how AI is changing geospatial mapping.

The Interview is our weekly conversation with the people shaping the future of technology.

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Get in touch: [email protected]

Presenters:

• Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The Times
• Danny Fortson, US West Coast Correspondent, The Sunday Times

Producer: Marnie Duke

Video Producer: Bronwen Latham

Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia

Image: Ordnance Survey

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Meta’s new AI agent app, Muse, has rocketed straight to number one on the App Store. Having put it to the test, Danny explains what the hype is all about. Meanwhile, Katie has bid farewell to her agent Norman in favor of a new AI assistant called Bridget hosted by rival app, Instinct. They look at why this sudden commodification of agents is significant and why OpenAI and Anthropic should be worried.

And despite being on track to make more than $100 billion in revenue this year, Anthropic has decided to delay their IPO. Meanwhile, OpenAI is trying to convince investors they’re worth $1.5 trillion as losses balloon. The question is who will come out on top?

Plus, what does Donald Trump’s ‘AI Force’ mean? And what should we make of the China-US AI hotline pitched during his meeting with Chinese Premier Xi Jinping.

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Get in touch: [email protected]

Presenters:

Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The Times

Danny Fortson, US West Coast Correspondent, The Sunday Times

Producer: Marnie Duke

Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia

Video Producer: Bronwen Latham

Image: Getty

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

This week, Nu Quantum founder and CEO Dr. Carmen Palacios-Berraquero explains how quantum computing could change the world — and why the industry is still waiting on its "ChatGPT moment." 

She joins Danny and Katie to discuss the global quantum arms race between China, the US, and the UK and why she’s not worried about the quantum cyber threat.

The Interview is our weekly conversation with the people shaping the future of technology.

Watch on YouTube 

Get in touch: [email protected] 

Presenters:

Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The Times 

Danny Fortson, US West Coast Correspondent, The Sunday Times 

Producer: Marnie Duke 

Video Producer: Bronwen Latham

Image: Nu Quantum

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Over the past week, warnings about the existential threat of AI have reached fever pitch. In an essay backed by Sam Altman, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei called for international cooperation with states like China and for independent safety assessors to be given access to the frontier AI labs.

All these warnings have caught the attention of leaders and dignitaries – from President Trump to King Charles – and have started a global conversation about how we should regulate the companies developing these systems. 

The problem is, no one can agree on how to do it. 

Watch on YouTube 

Get in touch: [email protected] 

Presenters:

Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The Times 

Danny Fortson, US West Coast Correspondent, The Sunday Times 

Producer: Marnie Duke 

Video Producer: Bronwen Latham

Image: Getty

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

The Microsoft co-founder tells Danny and Katie why AI is "ultra-different" from any previous technology - and why tech companies shouldn’t be responsible for controlling it. 

Speaking about a new report on AI and equity published by The Gates Foundation he also explores the “vacuum of US leadership” in AI regulation.

The Interview is our weekly conversation with the people shaping the future of technology.

Watch on YouTube 

Read more: Bill Gates: My plan to keep the world safe in the age of AI

Get in touch: [email protected] 

Presenters:

Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The Times 

Danny Fortson, US West Coast Correspondent, The Sunday Times 

Producer: Marnie Duke 

Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia

Video Producer: Bronwen Latham

Image: Getty

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

Evan Hubinger, the Alignment Lead at Anthropic has warned there’s more than a ten percent chance that AI could kill all humans. And he’s the person responsible for making sure their AI systems are safe. 

He’s also not the only person sounding the alarm this week, following the release of OpenAI’s powerful new model ‘Astra’. Danny and Katie question how seriously we should take these warnings or whether they’re really a distraction from the serious problems AI faces right now. 

Plus, they talk about ‘You Can See Everything’ - the new documentary about Elizabeth Holmes, disgraced boss of Silicon Valley tech company Theranos. The film has lit a conversation about the problems of mixing powerful tech with human weakness, and offers a sobering message about this current AI moment.  

Watch on YouTube 

Get in touch: [email protected] 

Presenters:

Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The Times 

Danny Fortson, US West Coast Correspondent, The Sunday Times 

Producer: Marnie Duke 

Executive Producer: Dan Box

Video Producer: Bronwen Latham

Image: Getty

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Welcome to The Interview from Times Tech – our conversation with the people shaping the future of technology. 

This week, Katie speaks to Aidan Gomez, co-founder and CEO of Cohere, one of the few companies building large language models outside of the US and China.

Born in Canada, Aidan is acutely aware of where artificial intelligence is built, who controls it and why it matters. He argues that sovereign AI is becoming essential to democracies as technology becomes a source of economic, cultural and geopolitical power. 

He reflects on his remarkable life, from growing up in an off-grid log cabin in rural Ontario, to emailing Nobel Laureate Geoff Hinton as an undergrad, securing a job at Google Brain, and now running Canada’s leading AI company.

Watch on YouTube 

Get in touch: [email protected] 

Presenter: Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The Times

Producer: Marnie Duke 

Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia

Video Producer: Bronwen Latham

Image: Cohere

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Tim Cook has stepped down as Apple CEO after 15 years, with hardware chief John Ternus set to take over one of the world’s most valuable companies.

During Cook’s tenure, he more than quadrupled Apple's profits but his time in charge was not without controversy – from China to questions over whether Apple missed the generative AI boom. Danny and Katie look back at his extraordinary run and ask what comes next for Apple. 

Meanwhile, Anthropic is racing towards a potential $2 trillion IPO and has one-upped SpaceX with plans to tell investors they see over $30 trillion in potential revenue opportunities – roughly equivalent to America’s GDP. But how are they justifying these massive numbers? 

Plus, SB Energy, a data centre company, is also preparing for an IPO and hoping for a valuation of more than $50 billion. The only problem: they don’t have any data centres. 

Watch on YouTube 

Get in touch: [email protected] 

Presenters:

• Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The Times 
• Danny Fortson, US West Coast Correspondent, The Sunday Times 

Producer: Marnie Duke 

Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia

Video Producer: Bronwen Latham

Image: Getty

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