Hard Fork – Details, episodes & analysis

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.

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This week, we tick through the many dramatic headlines surrounding xAI, including the departure of X’s chief executive, Linda Yaccarino; the Grok chatbot spewing antisemitic comments; and the A.I. companion Ani engaging in sexually explicit role-play. Then, we explain why a fight to acquire the start-up Windsurf startled many in Silicon Valley and may reshape the culture in many of the big A.I. labs. And finally, it’s “crypto week.” David Yaffe-Bellany explains how crypto provisions in the bills before Congress and the president could affect even people who don’t hold digital currencies.

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Guests:

• David Yaffe-Bellany, New York Times technology reporter covering the crypto industry

Additional Reading:

• Elon Musk’s Grok Chatbot Shares Antisemitic Posts on X
• Google Hires A.I. Leaders From a Start-Up Courted by OpenAI
• Cognition AI Buys Windsurf as A.I. Frenzy Escalates
• ‘Crypto Week’ Is Back on Track After House G.O.P. Quells Conservative Revolt
• The ‘Trump Pump’: How Crypto Lobbying Won Over a President

We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

On Wednesday, President Trump signed three A.I.-related executive orders, and the White House released “America’s A.I. Action Plan.” We break down what’s in them, how the federal government intends to target “political bias” in chatbot output, and whether anyone will stand up against it. Then, do we hype up A.I. too much? Are we downplaying potential harms? We reached out to several prominent researchers and writers and asked for their critiques about how we cover A.I.

For a limited time, you can get a special-edition “Hard Fork” hat when you purchase an annual New York Times Audio subscription for the first time. Get your hat at nytimes.com/hardforkhat

Guests:

• Brian Merchant, author of the book and newsletter “Blood in the Machine”
• Alison Gopnik, professor at the University of California, Berkeley
• Ross Douthat, New York Times opinion columnist and host of the podcast “Interesting Times”
• Claire Leibowicz, head of A.I. and media integrity at the Partnership on AI
• Max Read, author of the newsletter “Read Max”

Additional Reading:

• Trump Plans to Give A.I. Developers a Free Hand
• The Chatbot Culture Wars Are Here

We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.