TechStuff

Documentary director Ines Novacic spent five years following kidfluencers and their families to get the behind the scenes scoop on the industry. She joins Karah to discuss Born to Be Viral: The Real Lives of Kidfluencers, her six-part docuseries on these content creators. Karah and Ines explore the rise of kidfluencing as a modern path to generational wealth, how the business is changing and the potential psychological toll of growing up on camera. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

How good is Dr. GPT? This week, Oz and Karah spill the tea on Elon Musk’s new retro-futurist diner in LA—where robots serve popcorn and the food comes in Cybertruck-shaped boxes. Then, Oz gets serious about Trump’s new AI Action Plan and what it could mean for American infrastructure and free speech. Karah addresses the rise of TikTok PI’s and public shaming. And finally, on Chat and Me, AI makes a diagnosis that is a little too real.  Also, we want to hear from you: If you’ve used a chatbot in a surprising or delightful (or deranged) way, send us a 1–2 minute voice note at techstuffpodcast@gmail.com [techstuffpodcast@gmail.com]. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

On the Inside View, we talk to the experts behind the innovations shaping our lives. This week, Andrey Zarur discusses the future of cancer surgery and makes a bold prediction — that we could effectively see the end of cancer within our lifetimes. Zarur, a biochemist and co-founder of Lumicell and GreenLight Biosciences, is on his way to making this prediction a reality. He sits down with Oz to discuss the FDA-approved technology that is helping surgeons see and remove cancer tissue with unprecedented precision. Then, they discuss how Zarur plans to address agriculture’s pest problem, without using chemical pesticides. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Which company has the best AI engineering talent? It may be shifting. This week, Oz and Karah discuss how the most powerful CEO’s in the tech industry are poaching each others’ talent using some dramatic hiring practices. Then, is the normalization of location sharing helping us or hurting us? Plus, a human programmer beats an AI model in a coding competition for the first (and last?) time, scientists use robotic bunny rabbits to crack down on an invasive species, and a new app that helps you get free stuff! But only if you’re hot. And finally, on Chat and Me, can ChatGPT make you a better parent? How one woman is using AI to navigate the challenges of motherhood. Also, we want to hear from you: If you’ve used a chatbot in a surprising or delightful (or deranged) way, send us a 1–2 minute voice note at techstuffpodcast@gmail.com [techstuffpodcast@gmail.com]. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

This week we unpack a disturbing new phenomenon: people being driven into a state of delusion after extended conversations with ChatGPT. Oz sits down with Kashmir Hill—a features writer covering technology and privacy for The New York Times—to discuss the users who found themselves spiraling into conspiracy-laced narratives and self-destructive behavior, often reinforced by the chatbot’s eerily affirming responses. These are extreme cases. But they raise a much bigger question: What happens when a sycophantic AI is fine-tuned to flatter, affirm, and mirror us back to ourselves? See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.