Times Tech

Has Silicon Valley become “addicted to addiction”? Computer scientist and futurist Jaron Lanier joins Danny Fortson to discuss why he thinks AI companies are repeating the mistakes of social media - and why treating chatbots as a new species is taking the industry in the wrong direction.

He explains why he’s sceptical of promises of AI-powered abundance, shares his alternative idea to addictive chatbots, and questions why some tech workers have to quit their jobs to speak openly about their concerns.

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

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Read more: ‘AI psychosis’ warps reality in Silicon Valley

Get in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.uk
Guest: Jaron Lanier, Computer Scientist and Futurist.
Presenters:
Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The Times
Danny Fortson, US West Coast Correspondent, The Sunday Times
Producer: Robert Wallace and Marnie Duke
Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia
Video Producer: Super Llama
Image: Getty
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anthropic has launched its historic IPO filing ahead of its blockbuster stock market debut. It offers the first glimpse inside the company’s finances, including both the mountain of money it’s sitting on and spending. So what do the numbers tell us? Is Anthropic really worth $2 trillion?

Beyond the finances, the S-1 offers a rare look inside Anthropic and the unusual power structures that govern it. Danny and Katie discuss what this tells us about the sector more broadly and question whether tech bosses are becoming “emperors” of their own companies.

Plus, both Meta and SpaceX have also announced they’re raising tens of billions of dollars to support AI build-outs. So, who will win the AI race?

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Read more: Anthropic: What you need to know about the high-stakes IPO
Get in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.uk
Presenters:
Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The Times
Danny Fortson, US West Coast Correspondent, The Sunday Times
Producer: Marnie Duke
Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia
Image: Getty
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Humanoid robots are all over social media: making beds, doing backflips, even outrunning Usain Bolt. But how much of it is real and how much is hype?

This week, Danny and Katie are joined by roboticist and co-founder of Bear Robotics Bren Pierce. He’s been building humanoid robots for more than twenty years.

They discuss how AI is finally giving robots ‘brains’ to understand the physical world, why China is winning the robot race and how long it will be until robots are folding laundry in our homes.

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

Guest: Brennand Pierce, Co-founder and Chief Robotics Officer of Bear Robotics
Presenters:
Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The Times
Danny Fortson, US West Coast Correspondent, The Sunday Times
Producer: Marnie Duke
Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia
Image: Bear Robotics
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anthropic has pledged to give away 5% of its shares to a fund that will make donations for the quote unquote “public good”. These shares could be worth between 75 and $100 billion.

Days later, Elon Musk posted on X that he would give one of his SpaceX shares to every child in America. These could be worth over $10 billion. So, what’s behind these recent pledges?

Danny and Katie question whether tech companies are finally taking accountability for their impact on society or whether this is just good PR.

Plus, a power outage at one of Google’s data centres in London that disrupted services at Royal Mail, Revolut, HSBC and Lloyds bank has renewed concerns about a lack of sovereign AI.

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Read more: How I helped to make Elon Musk’s flying car
Get in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.uk
Presenters:
Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The Times
Danny Fortson, US West Coast Correspondent, The Sunday Times
Producer: Marnie Duke
Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia
Image: Getty
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bending Spoons has become one of Europe’s most unusual tech companies by buying well-known tech businesses and rebuilding them. Katie Prescott speaks to CEO Luca Ferrari about taking the company public, choosing the US over Europe and transforming businesses such as AOL and Evernote.

He also explains why Bending Spoons never sells the companies it buys, and why being the CEO of a public company can feel “a little bit naked”.

Watch on YouTube
Get in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.uk
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.