logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2024
49m 36s

OpenAI CTO Mira Murati on ScarJo Controv...

VOX MEDIA
About this episode

Kara interviews Mira Murati, Chief Technology Officer at OpenAI, and one of the most powerful people in tech. Murati has helped the company skyrocket to the forefront of the generative AI boom, and Apple’s recent announcement that it will soon put ChatGPT in its iPhones, iPads and laptops will only help increase their reach. 

But OpenAI's rapid ascent has included its fair share of growing pains. There was “the blip,” as company insiders refer to the brief ousting of Sam Altman as CEO. (Murati became CEO for two days.) There have also been high-profile departures, an open letter accusing the company of putting product over safety, questions about highly restrictive NDAs, and even controversy over whether the company had stolen Scarlett Johansson's voice. On top of that, many fear that generative AI tools, like ChatGPT, will be used to fuel disinformation during the upcoming presidential election. Kara and Murati talk about all this, and more.

This interview was recorded live at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center in Washington, DC as part of their new Discovery Series.

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Up next
Jul 7
The 2024 Election Post-Mortem: How Trump Beat the Odds
Despite the chaos of January 6th, 34 felony convictions, and his party’s underperformance in the 2022 midterms, Donald J. Trump is once again president. How did he defy political gravity to win again? Why did former President Joe Biden run despite overwhelming evidence that voter ... Show More
57m 55s
Jul 3
The Red Scare Returns? Lessons from McCarthyism in the Age of Trump 2.0
President Trump and other Republicans keep throwing around the C-word — Communist — to smear anyone slightly progressive, including Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s new Democratic mayoral candidate. But right-wing fearmongering isn’t the only reason it feels like McCarthyism is on ... Show More
1h 2m
Jun 30
Jerrod Carmichael on Truth in Comedy, Coming Out Late & Religion
Kara Swisher sits down with Emmy-winning comedian Jerrod Carmichael for a raw and revealing conversation about truth, family, faith — and the art of standup. They dig into Carmichael’s work, including his deeply personal special “Rothaniel,” his genre-bending documentary “The Jer ... Show More
52m 43s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2024
Investments by OpenAI’s CEO Raise Questions About Conflicts
Many companies backed by Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, do business with the ChatGPT maker and benefit from the artificial intelligence boom driven by the blockbuster startup. That’s raising questions about conflicts. WSJ reporter Berber Jin joins host Zoe Thomas to discuss Altma ... Show More
13m 12s
Nov 2023
Emergency podcast: chaos at OpenAI
The Verge's Nilay Patel and Alex Heath join David Pierce after a long, winding weekend reporting on the dramatic shakeup at OpenAI, still in progress. Further reading: Turmoil at OpenAI: after firing Sam Altman, what's next for the creators of ChatGPT? Sam Altman fired as CEO of ... Show More
1h 9m
Jan 2024
Why OpenAI’s Customers Are Eyeing Its Competitors
Major companies like Walmart have already embraced AI tools and made them an important part of their business operations. And OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has been leading that field for a while. But after the turmoil inside the company late last year, some customers reali ... Show More
12m 44s
Nov 2023
The messy human drama behind OpenAI
The company behind ChatGPT pushed out its CEO Sam Altman on Friday. OpenAI's board gave the public little insight into its controversial decision. On Sunday, Microsoft announced it was hiring Sam Altman. By Monday morning, hundreds of OpenAI employees are threatening to leave unl ... Show More
9m 29s
Nov 2023
Sam Altman Returns as OpenAI CEO Amid Chaos
Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Technology Analyst Mandeep Singh and Bloomberg Technology Executive Editor Tom Giles discuss Sam Altman heading back to lead OpenAI less than five days after he was pushed out of one of the world’s most valuable startups, setting off a shock back-and ... Show More
42m 51s
Apr 2024
Sam Altman & the Battle for OpenAI | Is OpenAI Out of the Woods? | 4
A lot has happened at OpenAI since that whiplash week in November 2023 when the board ousted its chief executive. There was an investigation to determine whether Sam Altman’s firing was just, and a lawsuit from OpenAI co-founder Elon Musk. Meanwhile, the company’s competition has ... Show More
41m 32s
May 2020
Facebook pushes e-commerce business, Uber in trouble, eyes on Amazon Media Group… and a prediction: Sonos gets acquired
Kara and Scott talk about Facebook earnings during the pandemic and the company's push into e-commerce. They discuss Uber's reported lay-offs and other issues facing the ride-share company as their longtime CTO steps down. In Listener Mail and fan from New Zealand asks what the U ... Show More
51m 35s
Apr 2024
Inside Amazon’s Secret Project to Gather Intel on Competitors
In 2015, Amazon launched an operation called Project Curiosity to gather information about its competitors’ operations. The company took extraordinary measures to keep it secret. WSJ reporter Dana Mattioli tells host Alex Ossola more about the project. Plus, big tech companies th ... Show More
12m 3s