Times Tech

Meta is on trial again in California over child safety.  

Various US states have clubbed together in a lawsuit against the social media company that could make it liable to pay hundreds of billions of dollars and significantly change how its platforms operate. Danny Fortson has been on the ground in Oakland. 

Back in the UK, Katie Prescott has been looking into why ‘gardening leave’ is stifling UK tech. She explains why some tech bosses are being forced to take up to three years off work and the impact it’s having on the AI race.

And as Anthropic rushes towards the world’s most valuable IPO, Danny explains why its new share structure – which grants super-voting power to its seven founders – is raising eyebrows.

Plus, Chinese robotics giant Unitree has gone public and released a terrifying new ‘Superman’ robot that can run faster than Usain Bolt and jump two metres into the air. 

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Read more: Big Tech’s $1trn court case beckons over social media harm  

Get in touch: [email protected] 

Producer: Marnie Duke 

Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia

Video Producer: Bronwen Latham

Image: Getty

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There’s a simmering concern on Wall Street about Nvidia and CEO Jensen Huang’s role as leader of the AI revolution. 

Despite bringing in billions of dollars in profit from the GPUs powering AI, investors are worried about the company’s recent “circular” deals with other tech companies, and some are asking if the chip giant is building the future of AI or inflating the next tech bubble. 

To better understand Huang, the man pulling the strings of this global AI boom, Danny Fortson and Mark Sellman revisit an interview with Stephen Witt, author of ‘The Thinking Machine’, a history of Jensen Huang and Nvidia. 

Stephen talks about how Huang hatched the idea for Nvidia in a diner, why getting rich was his biggest fear, and the time he got shouted at by the CEO. 

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Read more: Nvidia is becoming tech’s Bank of Mum and Dad 

Get in touch: [email protected] 

Producer: Marnie Duke 

Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia

Video Producer: Bronwen Latham

Image: Getty

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Elon Musk’s SpaceX is spending billions on AI data centres, rocket ships and moon ambitions but investors are asking how much it can burn before the bet pays off. Meanwhile, ‘AI slop’ is flooding social media. And new EU rules mean platforms will have to label AI-generated content. But can regulation keep up? Danny Fortson and Mark Sellman discuss SpaceX, Starlink, space junk and the growing fight over AI content online. 

Plus, Danny speaks to Ivan Zhao, co-founder and CEO of Notion, about AI agents, the future of work and why his company hired a 16-year-old high schooler. 

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Read more: Authors must prove their work is not AI

Producer: Harry Bligh, Marnie Duke, Shabnam Grewal 

Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia

Video Producer: Bronwen Latham

Image: Getty

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A fierce debate is taking place between Silicon Valley and Washington right now. 

After the release of KIMI K3 – China’s cheaper and powerful AI model – the Trump administration is showing signs of restricting open-source AI to maintain control over the technology. 

Danny Fortson and Mark Sellman, Tech Correspondent for The Times, discuss why tech bosses are worried, what it could mean for America’s lead in AI and whether open-source models could speed up the race to superintelligence. 

They also hear from Connor Leahy, CEO of AI safety research company Conjecture, who explains why frontier AI isn't just a superpower – it’s a superweapon.

Should Trump ban open-source models? Get in touch: [email protected] 

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Producer: Marnie Duke 

Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia

Video Producer: Bronwen Latham

Image: Getty

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OpenAI has revealed that one of their AI agents went rogue during a test and hacked a startup. Hugging Face reportedly had to use an open-source Chinese model to contain the cyber attack. 

It comes as Kimi K3, a powerful new Chinese AI model, is challenging OpenAI and Anthropic’s most capable systems on some benchmarks – calling America’s tech dominance into question. Danny Fortson and Katie Prescott discuss what this means for the global AI race and how it casts doubt over OpenAI and Anthropic’s mega IPOs.

But while the rest of the world is racing ahead to build the best AI, Britain’s new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has caused a stir by scrapping the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Katie explains why the tech community is concerned. 

Plus, they hear from James Morgenstern, the founder of MeatLayer, a marketplace where AI bots can hire humans to do small tasks. They talk about whether agents make better bosses than humans, and what the future of work looks like. 

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Read more: China’s cheap AI is a real threat to US tech giants 

Get in touch: [email protected] 

Producer: Marnie Duke 

Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia

Video Producer: Max Holden

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In this bonus episode of The Times Tech podcast, Katie Prescott shares her conversation with will.i.am about what comes after the AI boom. The musician and tech investor says the next big battle will be over personal data, privacy and power. Who owns your data? Where should it live? And can AI agents be built around people’s values and goals, rather than the business models of big platforms?

He's been sharing his views at the recent UN AI for Good Summit in Geneva and told Katie why he believes AI could still be a force for good if it does not repeat the mistakes made by social media.

Contains strong language.

Listen to Part 1 of the interview

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Producers: Shabnam Grewal & Marnie Duke

Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia

Image: Getty

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Will.i.am is not as worried about AI and artists. He tells Katie Prescott that the "creatives will be alright," but it's "the assistants, the sales clerks, the lawyers, the accountants" that we should be concerned about. 

As musicians, publishers and Silicon Valley debate over whether AI should be allowed to train on creative work, the Black Eyed Peas musician and tech investor offers a different take. He says music has always borrowed from what came before – from samplers to bass lines and rhymes. So what changes when machines start borrowing too?

Plus, Danny Fortson and Katie discuss Anthropic’s stark new AI advert, Demis Hassabis’s call for an AI watchdog, and whether governments can keep up with the pace of artificial intelligence.

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Producers: Marnie Duke & Shabnam Grewal

Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia

Image: Getty

Clip: Claude

Music Credit: Contains a sample of the recording "Billie Jean." 

Performed: Michael Jackson, 

Written: Michael Jackson. 

Published: Sony/ATV Songs LLC o/b/o Mijac Music

Courtesy: Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment.

Music Credit: Contains a sample of the recording "Caribbean Queen - No More Love on the Run”

Performed: Billy Ocean

Written: Billy Ocean, Keith Diamond

Published: Jive Records/ Sony Music Entertainment

Courtesy: Sony Music Entertainment

Music Credit: Contains a sample of the recording "Boom Boom Pow.”

Performed: Black Eyed Peas William Adams (will.i.am), Stacy Ferguson (Fergie), and Jaime Gomez (Taboo)

Writen: William Adams (will.i.am), Stacy Ferguson (Fergie), Allan Pineda (apl.de.ap), and Jaime Gomez (Taboo).

Published: Will.i.am Music Publishing, Jeepney Music, Headphone Junkie Publishing, Tab Magnetic Publishing, and EMI Music Publishing

Courtesy: Interscope Records.

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AI needs vast data centres to power it but communities around the world are increasingly pushing back against the large, ugly “sheds” appearing on their doorsteps.

In the US, one proposed Utah data centre is set to be larger than Manhattan. Meanwhile, architects in the UK are looking at ways to make data centres more attractive, functional and useful to local communities. So Danny Fortson and Katie Prescott ask whether better design, waste-heat reuse and local benefits could make AI infrastructure more acceptable.

Plus, Danny speaks to Jason Kelly, co-founder and CEO of Ginkgo Bioworks, who explains how AI and biology are coming together through autonomous “cloud labs” that could transform scientific discovery.

Would you hate data centres less if they were more beautiful? Get in touch: [email protected]

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Read more: Save our countryside from ugly AI data sheds: make them beautiful

Producer: Ethan Sills, Shabnam Grewal & Marnie Duke.

Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia

Video Producer: Bronwen Latham

Image: Getty

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This episode of The Times Tech Podcast is in paid partnership with IBM.

Wimbledon may be one of the most familiar events in British sport, but behind the tennis is a vast technology operation – from live match data and digital storytelling to AI tools designed to help fans follow the Championships in real time.

Katie Prescott is joined by Kameryn Stanhouse, Vice President of Sports and Entertainment Partnerships at IBM, and Chris Clements, Senior Manager of Digital Strategy and Products at the All England Club, to discuss how technology is changing the Wimbledon experience, both on the grounds and for fans around the world.

Image: Getty

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Affirm CEO, PayPal co-founder, original member of the 'PayPal Mafia' Max Levchin joins Danny Fortson and Katie Prescott to talk about moral moneylending, Elon Musk, mega-IPOs and why there are so many tech bosses in Washington. As he puts it – “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.”

Meanwhile, Anthropic has announced that Claude Fable 5 will be released again globally after the Trump administration's ban. Plus, Danny and Katie discuss the latest trend in Silicon Valley - the rise of voice AI and the death of the keyboard. Is it hot air or if we are really in a new era of "yapping, rather than tapping"? On that note, Norman, Katie's AI agent, finally (and terrifyingly), has a voice.

Would you swap your keyboard for voice-to-text software? Get in touch: [email protected]

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Read more: Is it time to say goodbye to the keyboard?

Producer: Marnie Duke

Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia

Video Producer: Bronwen Latham

Image: Getty

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