This week, we learned that OpenAI had stopped training new artificial intelligence models while the company reviewed its security measures. Will this encourage other labs to hit the brakes too? Then, the historian Jill Lepore joins to discuss her new book about the artificial state — or, as she describes it, “the rule of humans by machines manufactured by corporations.” And finally, why is Google buying up the data of the defunct Spirit Airlines? It’s time for our new segment “Train of Thought.” Guests: Jill Lepore, professor of history and law at Harvard University, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of the new book “The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State.” Additional Reading: OpenAI Slows Model Training to Bolster Security After Hugging Face Hack A Government for the People, but Not by People Google to Buy Spirit Airlines Business Data for $10 Million A.I.’s New Training Data: Your Old Work Slacks and Emails We Tracked a Shipment of Rare Books. It Ended at an Amazon A.I. Training Facility. We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
This week we’re talking about Mark Zuckerberg’s latest essay, “The Future Is for Everyone,” which outlines his positive new vision about the potential of A.I. But do we think it’s credible? Then, Pangram’s chief executive, Max Spero, joins us to talk about the breakout success of his A.I. slop detector. And finally, it’s time for our new segment all about math — we’re Running the Numbers. Guests: Max Spero, chief executive of Pangram Additional Reading: The Future Is for Everyone Meta Unveils an Open Version of Its Most Powerful A.I. Model Meta Ordered to Pay $567 Million in New Mexico Child Safety Case Sick of A.I.-Generated Content? The ‘Slop Janitor’ Is Here to Help. Learning more about Claude's mathematical capabilities Airtable Acquisition Is ‘Kick in the Gut’ for Software Unicorns and Their Backers The Dating Scene That’s Suddenly Dominated by Chip Nerds We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Hosts Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore stories from the wild frontier of tech. What’s real? What’s hype? “Hard Fork” is here to help you make sense of it. Tune in every Friday. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.