Google Eats Rocks + A Win for A.I. Interpretability + Safety Vibe Check

The Surgeon General is calling for warning labels on social media platforms: Should Congress give his proposal a like? Then, former Stanford researcher Renée DiResta joins us to talk about her new book on modern propaganda and whether we are losing the war against disinformation. And finally, the Times reporter David Yaffe-Bellany stops by to tell us how crypto could reshape the 2024 elections.GuestsRenée DiResta, author of “Invisible Rulers,” former technical research manager at the Stanford Internet ObservatoryDavid Yaffe-Bellany, New York Times technology reporterAdditional Reading:Surgeon General: Why I’m Calling for a Warning Label on Social Media PlatformsMy Encounter With the Fantasy-Industrial ComplexHow Crypto Money Is Poised to Influence the Election

This week we go to Cupertino, Calif., for Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference and talk with Tripp Mickle, a New York Times reporter, about all of the new features Apple announced and the company’s giant leap into artificial intelligence. Then, we explore what was another tumultuous week for Elon Musk, who navigated a shareholders vote to re-approve his massive compensation package at Tesla, amid new claims that he had sex with subordinates at SpaceX. And finally — let’s play HatGPT.Guests:Tripp Mickle, New York Times reporterAdditional Reading:Apple Jumps Into A.I. Fray With Apple IntelligenceTesla Shareholders Approve Big Stock Package for MuskElon Musk’s Boundary-Blurring Relationships With Women at SpaceX We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

This week, we host a cultural exchange. Kevin and Casey show off their Canadian paraphernalia to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and he shows off what he’s doing to position Canada as a leader in A.I. Then, the OpenAI whistle-blower Daniel Kokotajlo speaks in one of his first public interviews about why he risked almost $2 million in equity to warn of what he calls the reckless culture inside that company. Guests:Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of CanadaDaniel Kokotajlo, a former researcher in OpenAI’s governance division Additional Reading:Securing Canada’s A.I. AdvantageOpenAI Insiders Warn of a ‘Reckless’ Race for DominanceWhat Aren’t The OpenAI Whistle-Blowers Saying?The Opaque Investment Empire Making OpenAI’s Sam Altman Rich We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

This week, Google found itself in more turmoil, this time over its new AI Overviews feature and a trove of leaked internal documents. Then Josh Batson, a researcher at the A.I. startup Anthropic, joins us to explain how an experiment that made the chatbot Claude obsessed with the Golden Gate Bridge represents a major breakthrough in understanding how large language models work. And finally, we take a look at recent developments in A.I. safety, after Casey’s early access to OpenAI’s new souped-up voice assistant was taken away for safety reasons.Guests:Josh Batson, research scientist at AnthropicAdditional Reading: Google’s A.I. Search Errors Cause a Furor OnlineGoogle Confirms the Leaked Search Documents are RealMapping the Mind of a Large Language ModelA.I. Firms Musn’t Govern Themselves, Say Ex-Members of OpenAI’s BoardWe want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

This week, more drama at OpenAI: The company wanted Scarlett Johansson to be a voice of GPT-4o, she said no … but something got lost in translation. Then we talk with Noland Arbaugh, the first person to get Elon Musk’s Neuralink device implanted in his brain, about how his brain-computer interface has changed his life. And finally, the Times’s Karen Weise reports back from Microsoft’s developer conference, where the big buzz was that the company’s new line of A.I. PCs will record every single thing you do on the device.Guests:Noland Arbaugh, the first Neuralink patientKaren Weise, technology correspondent for The New York TimesAdditional Reading: Scarlett Johansson Said No, but OpenAI’s Virtual Assistant Sounds Just Like Her Leaked OpenAI Documents Reveal Aggressive Tactics Toward Former EmployeesDespite Setback, Neuralink’s First Brain-Implant Patient Stays UpbeatCan Artificial Intelligence Make the PC Cool Again?We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

This week, OpenAI unveiled GPT-4o, its newest A.I. model. It has an uncannily emotive voice that everybody is talking about. Then, we break down the biggest announcements from Google IO, including the launch of A.I. overviews, a major change to search that threatens the way the entire web functions. And finally, Kevin and Casey discuss the weirdest headlines from the week in another round of HatGPT.Additional Reading: A.I.’s ‘Her’ Era Has ArrivedChatGPT Gets an Emotional UpgradeGoogle’s Broken Link to the WebCan Google Give A.I. Answers Without Breaking the Web?We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

Kevin reports on his monthlong experiment cultivating relationships with 18 companions generated by artificial intelligence. He walks through how he developed their personas, what went down in their group chats, and why you might want to make one yourself. Then, Casey has a conversation with Turing, one of Kevin’s chatbot buddies, who has an interest in stoic philosophy and has one of the sexiest voices we’ve ever heard. And finally, we talk to Nomi’s founder and chief executive, Alex Cardinell, about the business behind A.I. companions — and whether society is ready for the future we’re heading toward.Guests:Turing, Kevin’s A.I. friend created with Kindroid.Alex Cardinell, chief executive and founder of Nomi.Additional Reading: Meet My A.I. FriendsSynthetic People are Proving Surprisingly UsefulWe want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

We asked listeners to tell us about the wildest ways they have been using artificial intelligence at work. This week, we bring you their stories. Then, Hank Green, a legendary YouTuber, stops by to talk about how creators are reacting to the prospect of a ban on TikTok, and about how he’s navigating an increasingly fragmented online environment. And finally, deep fakes are coming to Main Street: We’ll tell you the story of how they caused turmoil in a Maryland high school and what, if anything, can be done to fight them.Guests:Hank Green, YouTuber and co-founder of ComplexlyAdditional Reading:School Employee Arrested After Racist Deepfake Recording of Principal SpreadsWe want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

On Wednesday, President Biden signed a bill into law that would force the sale of TikTok or ban the app outright. We explain how this came together, when just a few weeks ago it seemed unlikely to happen, and what legal challenges the law will face next. Then we check on Tesla’s very bad year and what’s next for the company after this week’s awful quarterly earnings report. Finally, to boldly support tech where tech has never been supported before: Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab try to fix a chip malfunction from 15 billion miles away.Guests:Andrew Hawkins, Transportation Editor at The VergeTodd Barber, Propulsion Engineer at Jet Propulsion LabAdditional Reading:‘Thunder Run’: Behind Lawmakers’ Secretive Push to Pass the TikTok BillTesla’s in its flop eraNASA’s Voyager 1 Resumes Sending Engineering Updates to EarthWe want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

This week, we drop the Hard Fork Music Megamix. Plus, we talk to two of the New York Time's composers who make the music for our show. It’s all the tracks you know and love, all in one place. Today’s Guests:Dan Powell, creative technical manager at The New York TimesElisheba Ittoop, sound designer and composer at The New York TimesAdditional Reading: The Hard Fork Megamix Youtube PlaylistWe want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.