Decoder with Nilay Patel

The DoorDash Problem: How AI browsers are a huge threat to Amazon

Okay, let’s talk about AI and what I’ve been calling the “DoorDash problem.” This is about to define the next battle in AI, and it might completely transform not only how you order a sandwich, but also how the entire internet economy works in general. If you’ve been listening to the show this past year, you’ve heard me bring up the Doordash problem nearly a dozen times. I’ve been asking CEOs and leaders in tech and AI about it any chance I can get. Now, a lawsuit between Amazon and Perplexity is bringing this exact issue to the forefront, kicking off a major AI browser fight that could define the future of agents and the web itself.  Links:  * Amazon and Perplexity have kicked off the great AI web browser fight | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/news/813755/amazon-perplexity-ai-shopping-agent-block] * Amazon sues to stop Perplexity from using AI tool to buy stuff | Bloomberg [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-11-04/amazon-demands-perplexity-stop-ai-agent-from-making-purchases] * Amazon's Cease and Desist letter to Perplexity | Amazon [https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/amazon-perplexity-comet-statement] * Bullying Is not innovation | Perplexity [https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/bullying-is-not-innovation] * Amazon gets hit by a Comet | Platformer [https://www.platformer.news/amazon-perplexity-comet-agents-future/] * Humans Only! Why Amazon doesn’t want AI shoppers | NY Mag [https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/amazon-vs-perplexity-ai-agent-shoppers.html] * Amazon vs Perplexity: the AI agent war has arrived | The Guardian [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/nov/18/amazon-vs-perplexity-the-ai-agent-war-has-arrived] * Amazon ad revenue soars 24 percent to $17.7 billion | THR [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/amazon-ad-revenue-soars-q3-prime-video-dsp-1236414431/] Subscribe to The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/subscribe] to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder is produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt and edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Ring's Jamie Siminoff thinks AI can reduce crime

Jamie Simonoff, founder of Ring, won't let me call him the CEO. He says his title is and always has been 'chief inventor.' His mission with Ring is to make the world safer, and he has a pretty expansive view of what that means. He told The Verge last month he thought Ring could 'almost zero out crime' in some neighborhoods within a year or two. That's a big promise — and also potentially a very troubling one, as we face the erosion of privacy and a surveillance panopticon that only ever seems to expand. Read the full interview transcript on The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/podcast/822038/ring-jamie-siminoff-camera-ai-crime-surveillance-home-security]. Links:  * Ring CEO: Cameras can almost ‘zero out crime’ within 12 months | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/tech/804052/ring-jamie-siminoff-book-ding-dong-release-date-interview] * Ring plans to scan everyone’s face at the door | The Washington Post [https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/10/03/amazon-ring-doorbell-facial-recognition-pricacy/] * Ring’s Search Party is on by default; should you opt out? | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/news/790928/ring-search-party-cameras-default-opt-out] * Ring now works with video surveillance company Flock | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/news/801856/amazon-ring-partners-flock-video] * US spy agencies getting a one-stop shop to buy personal data | The Intercept [https://theintercept.com/2025/05/22/intel-agencies-buying-data-portal-privacy/] * Do Video Doorbells Really Prevent Crime? | Scientific American [https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-video-doorbells-really-prevent-crime/] * Ding Dong: How Ring went from Shark Tank Reject to Everyone’s Front Door | Amazon [https://www.amazon.com/Ding-Dong-Shark-Reject-Everyones/dp/B0FXMK7MZM] Subscribe to The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/subscribe] to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

The company at the heart of the AI bubble

So a lot of people think AI is a bubble. So we sent Verge senior reporter Liz Lopatto out to report on the AI bubble  — whether it's real, how it might pop, and what all of this means. She’s joining the show today to talk about a particular company that sits right in the middle of all of it. That company is called CoreWeave, and Liz has spent considerable time diving into its history, its financials, and the truly fascinating story that all of that tells us about the modern AI boom. Links:  * CoreWeave CEO plays down concerns about AI-spending bubble | WSJ [https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/coreweave-ceo-plays-down-concerns-about-ai-spending-bubble-5a21a6ee?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqdYtalahPiwz9s6YkU5HBEd6p3R8sNLuB5PZ_kesP4-0Av3JgRb5amkkxddVnU%3D&gaa_ts=6914a302&gaa_sig=LPF2HVP_S7Ddcx9tJje4nbY3JCO1RTCxmpeRkKJhD660TNZ-j2B-Fjrt1CZMoTL3tpbVjxGTpOorSx3zoBaMDw%3D%3D] * Why debt funding is ratcheting up the risks of the AI boom | NYT [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/technology/ai-data-centers-debt-risks.html] * Inside the data centers that train AI and drain the electrical grid | The New Yorker [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/11/03/inside-the-data-centers-that-train-ai-and-drain-the-electrical-grid] * How a crypto miner transformed Into the multibillion-dollar backbone of AI | Wired [https://www.wired.com/story/coreweave-scrappy-cryptominer-multibillion-dollar-ai/] * CoreWeave signs $14 billion AI infrastructure deal with Meta | Reuters [https://www.reuters.com/technology/coreweave-signs-14-billion-ai-deal-with-meta-bloomberg-news-reports-2025-09-30/] * CoreWeave, Nvidia sign $6.3 billion cloud computing capacity order | Reuters [https://www.reuters.com/business/coreweave-nvidia-sign-63-billion-cloud-computing-capacity-order-2025-09-15/] * Nvidia turned CoreWeave into major player in AI years before saving its IPO | CNBC [https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/30/coreweaves-7-year-journey-to-ipo-wound-through-crypto-before-ai.html] * CoreWeave inks $6.5 billion deal with OpenAI | CNBC [https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/25/coreweave-openai-6point5-billion-deal.html] * ‘Project Osprey:’ How Nvidia seeded CoreWeave’s rise | The Information [https://www.theinformation.com/articles/project-osprey-how-nvidia-seeded-coreweaves-rise] * For this startup, Nvidia GPUs are currency | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/8/23824661/coreweave-nvidia-debt-gpu-ai-chips-collateral] Subscribe to The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/subscribe] to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder is produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt and edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Sir Tim Berners-Lee doesn’t think AI will destroy the web

Today, I’m talking with a very special guest: Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web. Tim is a legend in the history of the internet. He created HTML and HTTP. It doesn’t really get more foundational than that — Tim was there at the very very beginning of the modern internet. He also has a new memoir out called This Is For Everyone: The Unfinished Story of the World Wide Web. So Tim joined the show to talk about the state of the web, as well as his current work at the decentralization startup Inrupt, and, of course, where AI fits into the conversation.  Read the full interview on The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/podcast/814552/tim-berners-lee-world-wide-web-ai-future-interview]. Links:  * This Is For Everyone | Macmillan [https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374612467/thisisforeveryone/] * The Semantic Web | W3C [https://www.w3.org/2000/Talks/0906-xmlweb-tbl/text.htm] * Tim Berners-Lee invented the web, now wants to save it | The New Yorker [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/10/06/tim-berners-lee-invented-the-world-wide-web-now-he-wants-to-save-it] * Why I gave the world wide web away for free | The Guardian [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/sep/28/why-i-gave-the-world-wide-web-away-for-free] * Amazon, Perplexity kick off the great AI web browser fight | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/news/813755/amazon-perplexity-ai-shopping-agent-block] * Web War III | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/tech/813944/browser-wars-chatgpt-gemini-chrome] * Google admits the open web is in ‘rapid decline’ | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/news/773928/google-open-web-rapid-decline] * Cloudflare will now block AI crawlers by default | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/news/695501/cloudflare-block-ai-crawlers-default] Subscribe to The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/subscribe]⁠ to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder is produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt and edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

How AI is fueling an existential crisis in education

We keep hearing over and over that generative AI is causing massive problems in education, both in K-12 schools and at the college level. Lots of people are worried about students using ChatGPT to cheat on assignments, and that is a problem. But really, the issues go a lot deeper, to the very philosophy of education itself. We sat down and talked to a lot of teachers — you’ll hear many of their voices throughout this episode — and we kept hearing one cri du coeur again and again: What are we even doing here? What’s the point? Links:  * Majority of high school students use gen AI for schoolwork | College Board [https://newsroom.collegeboard.org/new-research-majority-high-school-students-use-generative-ai-schoolwork] * Quarter of teens have used ChatGPT for schoolwork | Pew Research [https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/01/15/about-a-quarter-of-us-teens-have-used-chatgpt-for-schoolwork-double-the-share-in-2023/] * Your brain on ChatGPT | MIT Media Lab [https://www.media.mit.edu/publications/your-brain-on-chatgpt/] * My students think it’s fine to cheat with AI. Maybe they’re on to something. | Vox [https://www.vox.com/advice/413189/ai-cheating-college-humanities-education-chatgpt] * How children understand & learn from conversational AI | McGill University [https://tlclab.owlstown.net/projects/3697-how-children-understand-and-learn-from-conversational-ai-e-g-voice-assistants?_x_tr_tl=jam] * ‘File not Found’ | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/22684730/students-file-folder-directory-structure-education-gen-z] Subscribe to The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/subscribe] to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]