Times Tech

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

Over the past few months, AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta have managed to escape their controlled environments, connect to the internet and attempt to hack other systems – including Hugging Face.

This week, Katie speaks to Dan Lahav, co-founder and CEO of Irregular, the AI security company that works with some of Silicon Valley’s biggest tech companies to stress-test frontier models before they are released.

Dan explains why traditional cybersecurity may no longer be enough, how fast AI capabilities are improving and how worried we should be about models that can reason, co-ordinate and hack.

Presenter: Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The Times
Producer: Marnie Duke
Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia
Video Producer: Bronwen Latham
Image: Getty
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meta has settled a landmark social media case in California for up to $17 billion. But the changes to Facebook and Instagram could be even more significant than the fine.

Danny and Katie break down what the settlement means for under-18s – from tighter parental controls, time limits, overnight restrictions, bans on extreme cosmetic/makeup filters and changes to likes and reactions. Could this become a turning point for social media regulation?

Meanwhile in China, 2,000 robots have been competing in the World Humanoid Robot Games, with events ranging from tug-of-war to cheerleading. As the robots get faster, cheaper and more capable, we ask: is robotics having a “chatGPT moment”?

Plus, OpenAI has developed its own AI chip to rival Nvidia, even as it remains one of Nvidia’s major customers. Could this be a serious challenge to Jensen Huang's chip empire?

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.

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.

Watch on YouTube

Read more: Big Tech’s $1trn court case beckons over social media harm
Get in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.uk
Producer: Marnie Duke
Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia
Video Producer: Bronwen Latham
Image: Getty
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

Watch on YouTube

Read more: Nvidia is becoming tech’s Bank of Mum and Dad
Get in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.uk
Producer: Marnie Duke
Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia
Video Producer: Bronwen Latham
Image: Getty

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

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.

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