Hard Fork

This week, we took a field trip to the Phoenix suburbs to see Amazon’s newest iteration of drone delivery service in action. We toured the facility where these drones are in operation, spoke with the vice president and general manager of Prime Air, David Carbon, and watched from a local backyard as our own order dropped from the sky. Guest: * David Carbon, vice president and general manager of Amazon Prime Air. We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com [hardfork@nytimes.com]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/hardfork] and TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@hardfork]. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts [http://nytimes.com/podcasts] or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Last Friday, a panel of federal judges denied TikTok’s petition to overturn the law that could force the ban of the app in the United States. We walk through the judges reasoning and explain why TikTok’s First Amendment argument was unsuccessful. Then, Julian Kelly, the director of quantum hardware at Google Quantum AI, explains how close we are to quantum computers that can solve practical problems. Finally, we talk about a new sentiment sweeping Silicon Valley: affection for the chatbot Claude.   Guest: * Julian Kelly [https://research.google/people/105027/], director of quantum hardware at Google Quantum AI.   Additional Reading:  * TikTok Faces U.S. Ban After Losing Bid to Overturn New Law [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/06/business/media/tiktok-ban-court-decision.html] * Quantum Computing Inches Closer to Reality After Another Google Breakthrough [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/09/technology/google-quantum-computing.html] * Cult of Claude [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/13/technology/claude-ai-anthropic.html] * DealBook Summit Podcast: The A.I. Revolution [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-a-i-revolution/id1718472373?i=1000679993384]    We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com [hardfork@nytimes.com]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/hardfork] and TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@hardfork]. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts [http://nytimes.com/podcasts] or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

This week, Pat Gelsinger stepped down as chief executive of Intel. We talk with The New York Times’s Don Clark about why Gelsinger was ousted, what it means for the chip industry and how his departure could affect national security. Then, Kevin and Casey report back from an artificial intelligence conference, where experts debated how long it would take to build a structure around the sun to capture the star’s energy — also known as a Dyson sphere. And finally, gift guides have taken over the internet. We dig into why, and offer up suggestions for gear dads, home cooks and even tech billionaires in our first ever Hard Fork gift guide.   Guest: * Don Clark [https://www.nytimes.com/by/don-clark], New York Times contributor covering the chips industry.     Additional Reading:  * Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger Steps Down Amid Chipmaker’s Struggles [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/02/technology/intel-ceo-pat-gelsinger.html] * Nvidia Rules A.I. Chips, but Amazon and AMD Emerge as Contenders [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/03/technology/nvidia-ai-chips.html]   We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com [hardfork@nytimes.com]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/hardfork]and TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@hardfork]. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts [http://nytimes.com/podcasts] or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

This week, we’re bringing you a Thanksgiving special that’s great for a long car ride, a day of cooking or avoiding conversation with your family. We’re counting down the 100 most iconic technologies of all time, starting with No. 100: Boats. Our definitive list was carefully crafted using an advanced methodology of vibes-only decision-making. By “iconic,” we mean technologies that have either changed the world, ruined it or at the very least made life a little more interesting. And because we love chaos, we’ll explain why we chose each one in roughly 30 seconds or less.   Additional Reading: This episode was inspired by the Iconic 400 [https://podcasts.apple.com/dk/podcast/the-iconic-400-part-i/id1092361338?i=1000672040447] list compiled by the podcast “Las Culturistas”; check it out.   We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com [hardfork@nytimes.com]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/hardfork] and TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@hardfork]. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts [http://nytimes.com/podcasts] or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

This week, President-elect Donald Trump picked Brendan Carr to be the next chairman of the F.C.C. We talk with The Verge’s editor in chief, Nilay Patel, about what this could mean for the future of the internet, and for free speech at large. Then, a new study found that ChatGPT defeated doctors at diagnosing some diseases. One of the study’s authors, Dr. Adam Rodman, joins us to discuss the future of medicine. And finally, court is back in session. It’s time for the Hard Fork Crimes Division.   One more thing: We want to learn more about you, our listeners. Please fill out our quick survey: nytimes.com/hardforksurvey [https://nyt.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_be05M7VLZzD3bzo?respondent_source=PodcastShownotes].   Guests: * Nilay Patel [https://www.theverge.com/authors/nilay-patel], co-founder of The Verge and host of the podcasts Decoder [https://www.theverge.com/decoder-podcast-with-nilay-patel] and The Vergecast. [https://www.theverge.com/the-vergecast] * Adam Rodman [https://cmecatalog.hms.harvard.edu/faculty-staff/adam-rodman], internal medicine physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and one of the co-authors of a recent study [https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2825395] testing the effectiveness of ChatGPT to diagnose illnesses.   Additional Reading: * Trump Picks Brendan Carr to Lead F.C.C. [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/17/technology/fcc-nominee-brendan-carr-trump.html] * A.I. Chatbots Defeated Doctors at Diagnosing Illness [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/17/health/chatgpt-ai-doctors-diagnosis.html] * Gary Wang, a Top FTX Executive, Is Given No Prison Time [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/20/technology/gary-wang-ftx-sentence.html]   We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com [hardfork@nytimes.com]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/hardfork] and TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@hardfork]. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts [http://nytimes.com/podcasts] or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.