The Interface

"Am I really real?"
Tom runs a simple test, involving his dear Aunt Eleanor, with far‑reaching consequences: can a real human prove they’re not a machine? The experiment was sparked by two viral moments; Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu scrambling to show he was alive after a suspected fake image, and a too‑perfect “MAGA dream girl” who convinced millions she was real. We explore the “liar’s dividend”, where the flood of AI‑made images and videos lets anyone dismiss inconvenient truths as fakes. And if “seeing is believing” no longer holds, what should replace it?
Also this week:
Tech and the brain; what is a brain implant (a brain‑computer interface), and what can it actually do today? China has cleared a device called NEO for wider use beyond clinical trials, a huge milestone. We set that against Elon Musk’s Neuralink, decades of research, and new advances decoding speech and complex thoughts for people with paralysis or neurodegenerative illness. It’s life‑changing medicine - but what if funding dries up and implants no longer work? Would you want a chip in your head that someone else controls? We explore the benefits and risks — and why mass‑market “mind tech” is still a long way off.
AI’s supply chain under fire; how the war in Iran exposes the fragility of artificial intelligence. The Strait of Hormuz matters for more than oil: training models and running data centres are energy‑hungry and rely on liquefied natural gas and global supply line. A ceasefire won’t rebuild damaged infrastructure quickly, and many AI companies are already laden with debt. With trillions bet on AI, could AI failures sink the wider economy quicker than an oil crisis?
The Interface is your weekly guide to the tech rewiring your week and our world. Hosted by journalists Thomas Germain, Karen Hao, and Nicky Woolf, each episode unpacks, week by week, the unfolding story of how technology is shaping all of our futures. No guests. No jargon. Just three sharp voices debating the tech stories that matter — whether they shook a government, broke the internet, or quietly tipped the balance of power.
New episodes drop every Thursday on BBC Sounds in the UK. Outside the UK, find us on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts, or watch the video version on YouTube (search “The Interface podcast”).
To get in touch with the team: [email protected]
The Interface is a BBC Studios production.
Producer: Natalia Rodriguez Ford
Executive Editor: Philip Sellars

When we play a game or fill in a form, are we training robots without knowing it - and would we consent if asked?
Remember Pokémon Go? The company behind it is repurposing the 30 billion images players captured to help robots navigate the real world. It’s the tip of a bigger trend: turning play into data collection. From CAPTCHAs to viral stunts like the Mannequin Challenge, our seemingly harmless online challenges are being quietly funnelled into AI training sets. It’s clever, but it raises awkward questions about consent, transparency, and who profits when our leisure becomes free labour for automation.
Also this week: the meme‑ification of war: games companies, anime producers and pop culture stars bristle at alleged use of their IP in pro‑war White House memes, we look at how politicians are using memes to lessen the severity of the war in Iran - and their role in a new kind of political campaigning. And the personality of AI: Alexa’s new “adult” mode isn’t sexy; it’s sassy. How tech firms craft voice, gender and tone for assistants - what feels inclusive, what feels exploitative, and what feels just downright weird?
The Interface is your weekly guide to the tech rewiring your week and our world. Hosted by journalists Thomas Germain, Karen Hao, and Nicky Woolf, each episode unpacks, week by week, the unfolding story of how technology is shaping all of our futures. No guests. No jargon. Just three sharp voices debating the tech stories that matter — whether they shook a government, broke the internet, or quietly tipped the balance of power.
New episodes drop every Thursday on BBC Sounds in the UK. Outside the UK, find us on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts, or watch the video version on YouTube (search “The Interface podcast”).
To get in touch with the team: [email protected]
The Interface is a BBC Studios production.
Producer: Natalia Rodriguez Ford
Executive Editor: Philip Sellars

What happens when the tools built to protect children risk exposing everyone else, and who should decide which parts of the internet are “safe” enough to access without showing ID?
As lawmakers in the US push forward with the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), a much bigger battle over the future shape of the internet is coming into view. At the heart of the debate is age verification, a measure designed to protect children from pornography and harmful content, but one that could force all of us to prove who we are every time we go online. Digital‑rights advocates warn that tying government‑issued ID to everyday browsing could usher in unprecedented levels of state and corporate surveillance, fundamentally altering how the internet works and how we behave on it. 
Also this week: as Meta said subcontracted workers might sometimes review content, including films and images, captured by its AI smart glasses for the purpose of improving the "experience", we ask, who can see what you can see, and do you want them seeing it? And we untangle the mystery of the unlikely resurgence of wired headphones - from security concerns to cultural nostalgia. And, crucially, we ask which sound best, wired or bluetooth?
The Interface is your weekly guide to the tech rewiring your week and our world. Hosted by journalists Thomas Germain, Karen Hao, and Nicky Woolf, each episode unpacks week-by-week the unfolding story of how technology is shaping all of our futures. No guests. No jargon. Just three sharp voices debating the tech stories that matter - whether they shook a government, broke the internet, or quietly tipped the balance of power.
New episodes drop every Thursday on BBC Sounds in the UK. Outside the UK, find us on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts, or watch the video version on YouTube (search “The Interface podcast”).
To get in touch with the team - email us at [email protected]
The Interface is a BBC Studios production.
Producer: Natalia Rodriguez Ford
Executive Editor: Philip Sellars

As Washington moved toward a joint US and Israeli response to Iran, a parallel fight over military access to frontier AI broke into the open. Anthropic, maker of Claude, refused a Pentagon demand for “unrestricted” use of its models, citing red lines on domestic mass surveillance and fully autonomous weapons. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth then labelled the firm a “supply chain risk,” a designation intended to bar defence contractors from using Anthropic’s tools. Within hours, OpenAI announced a deployment deal with the Pentagon, then hurried to revise and clarify its safeguards after a backlash.
The consumer response was immediate. Users posted cancellations under “Cancel ChatGPT,” third‑party trackers reported a sharp spike in uninstalls, and Anthropic’s Claude climbed the app charts.
We ask why the military wants large‑scale AI, what it is already using it for, and what this showdown reveals about democratic oversight, privacy and accountability when state demand meets platform power.
Also this week: are prediction sites, where anyone can bet on future events, being abused by users with inside knowledge — and are these platforms now shaping events rather than merely forecasting them?
The Interface is your weekly guide to the tech rewiring your week and our world. Hosted by journalists Thomas Germain, Karen Hao, and Nicky Woolf, each episode unpacks week-by-week the unfolding story of how technology is shaping all of our futures. No guests. No jargon. Just three sharp voices debating the tech stories that matter - whether they shook a government, broke the internet, or quietly tipped the balance of power.
New episodes drop every Thursday on BBC Sounds in the UK. Outside the UK, find us on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts, or watch the video version on YouTube (search “The Interface podcast”).
To get in touch with the team - email us at [email protected]
The Interface is a BBC Studios production.
Producer: Natalia Rodriguez Ford
Executive Editor: Philip Sellars

In 2016, diplomats reported a strange burst of sound — followed by months of debilitating symptoms. “Havana Syndrome” sparked questions and conspiracy theories across the web about a possible unseen weapon. Now, new reports from Norway describe a scientist experiencing similar effects after testing a microwave device. Host Nicky Woolf asks: if such technology exists, who owns it and what are they doing with it next?
Also on The Interface this week: At the landmark trial in LA, social media companies like WhatsApp, Facebook and YouTube are defending their platforms against the accusation that they are addictive to young people; we ask what the fallout from the trial will be and what legal clause, Section 230, that dates from 1934 really means in the social media age. Plus, host Karen Hao has spent the week rubbing shoulders with the great and the good from the AI companies at the AI Impact Summit in Delhi, but what really goes on the shadowy meeting rooms around the fringe?
The Interface is your weekly guide to the tech rewiring your week and our world. Hosted by journalists Thomas Germain, Karen Hao, and Nicky Woolf, each episode unpacks week-by-week the unfolding story of how technology is shaping all of our futures. No guests. No jargon. Just three sharp voices debating the tech stories that matter - whether they shook a government, broke the internet, or quietly tipped the balance of power.
New episodes drop every Thursday on BBC Sounds in the UK. Outside the UK, find us on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts, or watch the video version on YouTube (search “The Interface podcast”).
To get in touch with the team - email us at [email protected]
The Interface is a BBC Studios production.
Producer: Natalia Rodriguez Ford
Executive Editor: Philip Sellars