Hard Fork

Data Centers in Space + A.I. Policy on the Right + A Gemini History Mystery

This week, we talk about Google’s new plan to build data centers in space. Then, we’re joined by Dean Ball, a former adviser at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Ball worked on the Trump administration’s A.I. Action Plan, and he shares his inside view on how those policies came together. Finally, Professor Mark Humphries joins us to talk about a strange Gemini model that offered mind-blowing results on a challenging research problem.   Guests: * Dean Ball [https://www.hyperdimensional.co/], senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation and former White House senior policy adviser for artificial intelligence and emerging technology * Mark Humphries [https://generativehistory.substack.com/], professor of history at Wilfrid Laurier University Additional Reading:  * Towards a Future Space-Based, Highly Scalable A.I. Infrastructure System Design [https://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/suncatcher_paper.pdf] * What It's Like to Work at the White House  [https://www.hyperdimensional.co/p/what-its-like-to-work-at-the-white] * Has Google Quietly Solved Two of AI’s Oldest Problems? [https://generativehistory.substack.com/p/has-google-quietly-solved-two-of]   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]. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts [http://nytimes.com/podcasts] or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher [https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher]. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

We Met NEO, the Viral Humanoid Robot + HatGPT

This week, we’re joined by Bernt Bornich, chief executive of 1X. We talked with him about NEO, his company’s new humanoid robot, which has the internet buzzing. Then we meet NEO itself, and compare notes on the experience. Finally, we close the week with a roundup of tech news headlines: It’s time for some HatGPT. Guests: * Bernt Bornich [https://www.1x.tech/], chief executive of 1X Additional Reading:  * I Tried the Robot That’s Coming to Live With You. It’s Still Part Human. [https://www.wsj.com/tech/personal-tech/i-tried-the-robot-thats-coming-to-live-with-you-its-still-part-human-68515d44] * Invasion of the Home Humanoid Robots [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/04/technology/humanoid-robots-1x.html] * There Are More Robots Working in China Than the Rest of the World Combined [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/25/business/china-factory-robots.html] * Trump Pardons Founder of the Crypto Exchange Binance [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/technology/trump-pardons-cz-binance.html] * For Podcasters, a Voice Clone Is a Double-Edged Sword [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/31/arts/podcast-ai-voices-clones.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]. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts [http://nytimes.com/podcasts] or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher [https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher]. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Character.AI’s Teen Chatbot Crackdown + Elon Musk Groks Wikipedia + 48 Hours Without A.I.

This week, Character.AI announced that it would soon be taking its A.I. companions away from teens. We explain why this is a major development in the world of chatbots and child safety and how we expect other companies to respond. Then, Elon Musk has built a Wikipedia clone called “Grokipedia.” We discuss what it means for the control of knowledge on the web. And finally, we’re joined by A.J. Jacobs to talk about his 48-hour experiment in which he tried to avoid all forms of artificial intelligence. We ask why that led him to collect rainwater and forage for food in Central Park. Guests: * A.J. Jacobs [https://ajjacobs.com/], author, journalist and host of the podcast “The Puzzler [https://www.thepuzzler.com/]”   Additional Reading:  * Character.AI to Bar Children Under 18 From Using Its Chatbots [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/technology/characterai-underage-users.html] * Elon Musk Challenges Wikipedia With His Own A.I. Encyclopedia [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/27/technology/grokipedia-launch-elon-musk.html] * 48 Hours Without A.I.  [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/style/48-hours-without-ai.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]. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts [http://nytimes.com/podcasts] or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher [https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher]. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Celebrities Fight Sora + Amazon’s Secret Automation Plans + ChatGPT Gets a Browser

Backlash to OpenAI’s video generation app Sora has reached a new tipping point. We discuss two big changes the company is making, after Bryan Cranston and the family of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. complained about deepfakes. Then, New York Times reporter Karen Weise joins us to discuss her scoop that Amazon plans to reduce its hiring needs by more than half a million workers, thanks to new improvements to warehouse automation. And finally, A.I. browsers are here. We offer our first impressions on ChatGPT Atlas and how it stacks up against alternatives like Perplexity’s Comet and The Browser Company’s Dia.   Guests: * Karen Weise [https://www.nytimes.com/by/karen-weise], New York Times technology reporter covering Amazon.  Additional Reading:  * OpenAI Blocks Videos of Martin Luther King Jr. After Racist Depictions [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/business/openai-sora-video-martin-luther-king-jr.html] * Amazon Plans to Replace More Than Half a Million Jobs With Robots [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/technology/inside-amazons-plans-to-replace-workers-with-robots.html] * The Robots Fueling Amazon’s Automation [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/technology/amazon-robotics-automation.html] * OpenAI Unveils Web Browser Built for Artificial Intelligence [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/technology/openai-web-browser-atlas.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]. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts [http://nytimes.com/podcasts] or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher [https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher]. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

California Regulates A.I. Companions + OpenAI Investigates Its Critics + The Hard Fork Review of Slop

This week, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California signed a big package of A.I. and social media bills into law — including the first state law in the United States to regulate A.I. companions. We talk through what stood out to us in the package and whether these protections will work. Then, the subpoena that has the whole tech world talking. Nathan Calvin, general counsel at Encode, an A.I. safety advocacy group that has been critical of OpenAI, talks with us about why he thinks the company is investigating him. And finally, grab your opera glasses. It’s time for the first edition of The Hard Fork Review of Slop. Guests: * Nathan Calvin [https://encodeai.org/team-members/nathan-calvin/], vice president of state affairs and general counsel at Encode Additional Reading: * California Regulates A.I. Companions [https://www.platformer.news/california-ai-companion-law-newsom-openai/] * OpenAI Thinks Its Critics Are Funded by Billionaires. Now It’s Going After Them. [https://sfstandard.com/2025/09/02/openai-sam-altman-elon-musk-ai-regulation/] 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]. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts [http://nytimes.com/podcasts] or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher [https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher]. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.