AI Backlash Intensifies, Nvidia GTC Preview, Meta’s Embarrassing Delay

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) Backlash against AI & specifically Sam Altman's comments about AI as a utility 2) Is this because people are worried about AI taking their jobs? 3) NBC poll shows AI is one of the least popular things in the U.S. 4) YouGov poll shows broadly negative feelings toward AI 5) Pew finds datacenters are very unpopular 6) Consequences of AI's unpopularity 7) Nvidia GTC preview: A rallying cry for AI 8) Could Jensen Huang be the guy that turns this around? 9) Amazon's AI code is messing things up 10) McKinsey's AI tool hacked 11) Meta can't get its act together with Avocado delayed 12) Should Meta's AI use Google's Gemini tech --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. Want a discount for Big Technology on Substack + Discord? Here’s 25% off for the first year: https://www.bigtechnology.com/subscribe?coupon=0843016b Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Olivia Moore is an AI partner at Andreessen Horowitz. Moore joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss whether startups still have a real shot at competing with the biggest AI chatbots as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini grow more capable. Tune in to hear why she believes the AI economy will be more distributed than many expect, where startups can still win, and how agentic products like OpenClaw could reshape software and work. We also cover AI’s image and video app shakeout, chatbot memory, AI companions, enterprise adoption, and what happens to incumbents as every company is pushed to become AI-native. Hit play for a sharp conversation about where value in the AI economy is actually headed. --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. Want a discount for Big Technology on Substack + Discord? Here’s 25% off for the first year: https://www.bigtechnology.com/subscribe?coupon=0843016b Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) OpenAI hits $25 billion ARR, Anthropic hits $19 billion ARR 2) Are ARR numbers trustworthy? 3) OpenAI's insane revenue expectations 4) Did Apple actually play this perfectly? 5) We need a Tim Cook with claw hands Apple ad 6) AI lab IPOs are brewing, what will the S-1s look like? 7) Anthropic's still talking with the Pentagon 8) Dario's internal memo 9) Wait, was this actually marketing for Anthropic? 10) Or was it a real worry about AI-enabled surveillance? 11) McDonald's CEO's unwitting viral moment --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. Want a discount for Big Technology on Substack + Discord? Here’s 25% off for the first year: https://www.bigtechnology.com/subscribe?coupon=0843016b Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Horowitz is the former deputy assistant secretary of defense for force development and emerging capabilities at the Department of Defense, and currently a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Horowitz joins Big Technology to discuss the Anthropic–Pentagon rupture and what it signals about how the U.S. government wants to use frontier AI. Tune in to hear his inside view on how models like Claude actually get deployed in defense workflows, why a contract fight over “mass surveillance” language escalated, and what the trust breakdown says about the future of AI partnerships with the state. We also cover autonomous weapon systems vs. “fully autonomous weapons,” what today’s AI can and can’t do on the battlefield, and how AI is likely to reshape warfare over time. Hit play for a clear-eyed look at where Silicon Valley and the national security establishment collide—and what happens next. --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. Want a discount for Big Technology on Substack + Discord? Here’s 25% off for the first year: https://www.bigtechnology.com/subscribe?coupon=0843016b Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

M.G. Siegler of Spyglass is back for our monthly tech news discussion. Siegler joins us to discuss the latest on the Pentagon’s clash with Anthropic, why OpenAI stepped in to take the deal, and what comes next for Anthropic and its CEO Dario Amodei. Tune in to hear what the “supply chain risk” label could mean and AI’s growing role in defense work. We also cover Apple’s rumored trio of AI devices, Siri’s latest delays, and the Netflix–Warner Bros. Discovery deal falling apart as Paramount jumps in. --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. Want a discount for Big Technology on Substack + Discord? Here’s 25% off for the first year: https://www.bigtechnology.com/subscribe?coupon=0843016b Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) The origins of Anthropic's stare-down with the Pentagon 2) Claude's use in the operation to capture Venezuela president Nicolas Maduro 3) Was Claude really being used for autonomous warfare or mass surveillance, and did the military seek it out? 4) Maybe this is just a culture clash 5) Anthropic's marketing win 6) Should AI be used for autonomous warfare? 7) OpenAI raises $110 billion 8) Is that money real? 9) Block to cut nearly half its staff 10) Can AI be helpful in managing large companies? 11) Another science fiction story leads to a market panic. --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. Want a discount for Big Technology on Substack + Discord? Here’s 25% off for the first year: https://www.bigtechnology.com/subscribe?coupon=0843016b Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Pollan is the author of A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness. Pollan joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss whether AI can ever become conscious and what that question reveals about the nature of mind. Tune in to hear a nuanced debate about whether consciousness is computable, where today’s LLMs fall short, and how researchers might actually test machine consciousness in the future. We also cover materialism vs. spirituality, the “hard problem” of consciousness, psychedelic experiences, and the emerging science of plant sentience. Hit play for a thoughtful, surprising conversation that brings the AI consciousness debate back down to earth while opening up some of its strangest possibilities. --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. Want a discount for Big Technology on Substack + Discord? Here’s 25% off for the first year: https://www.bigtechnology.com/subscribe?coupon=0843016b Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Box CEO Aaron Levie joins for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) OpenAI's anticipated $100 billion fundraise 2) Does OpenAI's big forthcoming raise settle questions about its competitiveness 3) What's going on with OpenAI and NVIDIA? 4) Hype or True: Big Proclamations from the India AI Impact Summit 5) Why can't Sam And Dario hold hands? 6) Anthropic's powerful new model 7) OpenAI acquires OpenClaw 8) What the acquisition portends 9) If software is an API, what is software? 10) Wait, is AI not increasing productivity? --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. Want a discount for Big Technology on Substack + Discord? Here’s 25% off for the first year: https://www.bigtechnology.com/subscribe?coupon=0843016b EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/bigtech  Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! Take back your personal data with Incogni! Go to incogni.com/bigtechpod and Use code bigtechpod at checkout, our code will get you 60% off on annual plans. Go check it out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lila Ibrahim is the COO of Google DeepMind. James Manyika is the senior Vice President for Research, Technology, and Society at Google. The two join Big Technology Podcast to discuss how Google's AI effort operates and runs experiments. In this conversation, we discuss the fundamental operating structure of DeepMind, how Google proper has become more experimental with the revival of Labs and other programs, and how the company is thinking about AI and education. We also cover weather and flood prediction at global scale, and training AI in space. Hit play for a deep inside look at the mechanics behind Google’s AI research machine and the big ideas it’s betting on next. EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/bigtech  Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! Take back your personal data with Incogni! Go to incogni.com/bigtechpod and Use code bigtechpod at checkout, our code will get you 60% off on annual plans. Go check it out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We're also joined by Steven Adler, ex-OpenAI safety researcher and author of Clear-Eyed AI on Substack. We cover: 1) The Viral "Something Big Is Happening" essay 2) What the essay got wrong about recursive self-improving AI 3) Where the essay was right about the pace of change 4) Are we ready for the repercussions of fast moving AI? 5) Anthropic's Claude Opus 4.6 model card's risks 6) Do AI models know when they're being tested? 7) An Anthropic researcher leaves and warns "the world is in peril" 8) OpenAI disbands its mission alignment team 9) The risks of AI companionship 10) OpenAI's GPT 4o is mourned on the way out 11) Anthropic raises $30 billion --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. Want a discount for Big Technology on Substack + Discord? Here’s 25% off for the first year: https://www.bigtechnology.com/subscribe?coupon=0843016b EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/bigtech.  Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices