Calls to ban TikTok or force its sell-off from its parent company ByteDance are gaining momentum, especially after reports of ByteDance’s surveillance of several U.S. journalists. And could Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI mark the end of Google’s search monopoly?
Plus: New Year's resolutions, including locking up your phone.
Mar 27
The Ezra Klein Show: How Fast Will A.I. Agents Rip Through the Economy?
The “Hard Fork” team is off this week, taking a much-needed break. While we’re away, we wanted to draw your attention to a recent episode of “The Ezra Klein Show.” In this conversation, Ezra speaks with Jack Clark, a co-founder of Anthropic, about how he is using A.I. agents; how ... Show More
1h 40m
Mar 20
‘A.I.-Washing’ Layoffs? + Why L.L.M.s Can’t Write Well + Tokenmaxxing
This week, we start by talking about the new wave of tech layoffs at Atlassian and Block, as well as reports that Meta plans to cut up to 20 percent of its work force. This raises the question of whether A.I. job loss has truly begun, or if there are other factors at play. Then, ... Show More
1 h
Mar 2023
TikTok’s Transparency Problem
A few months ago on Your Undivided Attention, we released a Spotlight episode on TikTok's national security risks. Since then, we've learned more about the dangers of the China-owned company: We've seen evidence of TikTok spying on US journalists, and proof of hidden state media ... Show More
37m 13s
May 2024
TWiT 980: Hed Dek Lede and Nut Graf - OpenAI and Reddit, Signal Smear Campaign
OpenAI and Reddit, Signal Smear Campaign GPT-4o (omni) + new "Her"-style AI assistant (it's nuts) It's Time to Believe the AI Hype The panel discusses their experiences with Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude OpenAI strikes deal to bring Reddit content to ChatGPT OpenAI Superalignment team ... Show More
2h 33m
Mar 2023
TikTok goes to Washington
The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, and David Pierce are joined by policy reporter Makena Kelly, who is on the ground in Washington for the House Energy and Commerce Committee's hearing on TikTok. Later, we dive into all the other news from this week, from Google's release of Ba ... Show More
1h 22m
Aug 2020
Mon. 08/03 – The TikTok, Microsoft, Trump Ban Saga Explained
TikTok has not been banned by Trump, but it came close this weekend. Microsoft almost walked away from buying TikTok this weekend, but it looks like it’s back on board and might buy non-Chinese TikTok operations soon. Google invests in ADT. The new Pixel 4As are here. And a profi ... Show More
18m 23s
Apr 2024
The Secret Push That Could Ban TikTok
<p>American lawmakers have tried for years to ban TikTok, concerned that the video app’s links to China pose a national security risk.</p><p>Sapna Maheshwari, a technology reporter for The Times, explains the behind-the-scenes push to rein in TikTok and discusses what a ban could ... Show More
25m 35s