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Decoder with Nilay Patel: Daily Summaries Delivered
by The Verge
Decoder is a show about big ideas — and other problems. Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel talks to a diverse cast of innovators and policymakers at the frontiers of business and technology to reveal how they’re navigating an ever-changing landscape, what keeps them up at night, and what it all means for our shared future.
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- 3 days ago1h 8m
Kevin Roose is AGI-pilled. Why aren't you?
My guest today is Kevin Roose, a journalist and author of the new book The AGI Chronicles. Kevin was a longtime New York Times reporter and host of the popular podcast Hard Fork, but he and friend of the show Casey Newton just left The Times to start the all-new tech podcast Machine Gods, which launched last week. Kevin and I talked about launching Machine Gods and what it’s like to go from mainstream media to being an independent creator. Of course, we also talked about his book, which is excellently reported dive into the companies racing to build machine intelligence. Read the full interview transcript on The Verge. Links: The AGI Chronicles | Kevin Roose Can AI replicate in your smart TV? | Machine Gods (YouTube) Introducing Machine Gods | Platformer Inside the biggest feud in artificial intelligence | The Atlantic The essay that started the AI race | Kevin Roose A conversation with Bing’s chatbot left me deeply unsettled | NYT Subscribe to The Verge 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’s producers are Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by Kabir Chopra. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
- 1 weeks ago1h 16m
Bill Gates says to prepare for 20 years of ‘tumultuous’ AI disruption
My guest today is Bill Gates, co-founder and former CEO of Microsoft and chairman of the Gates Foundation. You may have noticed Bill in the news more lately — he’s been on something of a tour for the past few months talking about AI risk, and how crucial it is that we start taking this seriously. So I was excited to sit down with him and really dig into this subject. I came with many questions, about AI policy, the technical aspects of alignment, and what it means for future generations that we’re building something this disruptive and potentially dangerous. Read the full interview transcript on The Verge. Links: The turbulent AI era is here. The choices we make now are critical. | Bill Gates "OG" Bill Gates returns to wage war on AI risks | Axios Bill Gates’s blunt warning on AI | The Ezra Klein Show Ben Horowitz criticizes Bill Gates, Anthropic over AI safety | All-In Pod Does Anthropic think Claude is alive? Define ‘alive’ | The Verge Microsoft AI CEO says Anthropic is making AI risks worse | Decoder Bill Gates has a good feeling about AI | The Verge (2024) The risks of AI are real but manageable | Bill Gates (2023) Subscribe to The Verge 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’s producers are Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. This episode was 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
- 1 weeks ago59 min
JB Pritzker thinks AI could help us live to 100 — or threaten us like nukes
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, has a lot of thoughts about AI, tech, and privacy. Those issues are driving a big and maybe kind of unexpected political realignment — and with the midterms coming up next month, and early voting already underway in a lot of places, the stakes are pretty high right now. And as he notes, some problems are just collective action problems that require a government. We can’t solve everything one at a time, or even one state at a time. And of course, I had to ask him: Are the Bears gonna stay in Illinois? Links: How ordinary Utahns fought the biggest data center in the world | The Verge New York Gov. Kathy Hochul thinks AI should be ‘less evil’ | Decoder YouTube CEO: ‘We’re focused on internal safety efforts’ | CNN Pritzker signs landmark AI regulation bill | Capitol News Illinois Pritzker establishes AI Cabinet amid calls for regulation | NPR Ilinois Subscribe to The Verge 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’s producers are Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by [TK EDITOR]. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
- 1 weeks ago53 min
Why Elon Musk wants to sell you cell service
My guest today is Walter Piecyk, a telecom analyst at LightShed Partners, and we’re discussing SpaceX’s plan to become a major wireless carrier. Last week, the company agreed to buy a big chunk of low-band spectrum in its bid to build “the world’s most advanced mobile network.” So I wanted to dig into whether SpaceX can pull this off, why Walt thinks the existing telecoms have fumbled their response to Starlink’s growing threat, and what happens when Elon Musk’s rocket company jumps headfirst into a business everyone loves to hate. Links: SpaceX announces plan to become a ‘major mobile carrier’ | The Verge SpaceX has a plan. Do the telcos? | LightShed Partners EchoStar offloads satellite spectrum to SpaceX for $17 billion | The Verge FCC Grants SpaceX Approval for 15,000 Direct-to-Device Satellites | Via Satellite AT&T CEO says Elon Musk's SpaceX phone strategy not "viable" | Axios SpaceX Sends Telecom Providers a Shot Across the Bow | WSJ Verizon: No to an MVNO with Starlink | Fierce Network Subscribe to The Verge 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’s producers are Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by Eileen Felix. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
- 2 weeks ago1h 2m
Benn Jordan thinks the surveillance problem is much bigger than Flock
Today, I’m talking with Benn Jordan, musician, YouTuber, researcher, and investigative journalist. In the last couple of years, Benn has become a high-profile face in the creator and media spaces for his work investigating Flock Safety, the maker of automatic license plate readers and the software that powers them. Benn recently testified in front of Congress at a hearing dedicated to Flock and other ALPR systems. So of course I wanted to dig into all of that with Benn, not just because of his role as a Flock critic, but because he’s also become in some ways the face of a new front in the broader debate about surveillance and privacy. Links: Benn Jordan testifies in front of Senate | Benn Jordan (YouTube) Flock values their privacy. Oh well | Benn Jordan (YouTube) We Hacked Flock Safety Cameras in under 30 Seconds | Benn Jordan (YouTube) Lawmakers introduce multiple laws to curb Flock | 404 Media The fight over Flock and other ALPRs | The Verge Sanders, AOC, Merkley propose bill to ban Flock cameras | Politico Cities terminate Flock contracts at record pace in August | Ars Technica Flock to cut several hundred jobs amid backlash | Reuters Subscribe to The Verge 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’s producers are Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. This episode was 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
- 2 weeks ago55 min
Rewind: Ronan Farrow on Sam Altman’s ‘unconstrained’ relationship with the truth
Hey everybody, it’s Nilay. We’re off today for the holiday, and we’ll be back this Thursday with new episodes. In the meantime, we wanted to revisit a conversation from earlier this year I had with investigative journalist and New Yorker contributor Ronan Farrow, all about the in-depth feature on OpenAI CEO Sam Altman he co-authored with Andrew Marantz. The conversation holds up remarkably well, and I think it tells us a lot about the current moment, as calls for meaningful federal AI oversight have ground to a halt yet again. Enjoy. Links: Sam Altman May Control Our Future—Can He Be Trusted? | The New Yorker Ronan Farrow on Sam Altman’s ‘unconstrained’ relationship with the truth | Decoder Does AI need an antitrust exemption so it doesn’t kill everyone? | Decoder Inside the suddenly explosive world of AI safety | The Verge Here’s what AI leaders are saying about Trump’s new safety plan | The Verge Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder is produced by Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. The show is 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
- 2 weeks ago45 min
Another billionaire thinks he can fix Warner Bros.
Acquiring Warner Bros. never goes well for anyone. AOL failed, AT&T failed, and Discovery failed — although it did succeed in flipping the assets to David Ellison’s Skydance. So I’m talking to Peter Kafka, Business Insider chief correspondent and host of Channels, to see if Skydance has a chance at succeeding where nobody else has yet. Spoiler alert: Peter doesn’t think Skydance has a clear business plan, either. But he’s got some really good guesses about what might come next. Links: CNN boss remains as Paramount, WBD merge into Skydance | The Verge Skydance CEOs: Layoffs will be coming | Variety Ynon Kriez, the new Skydance co-CEO | Business Insider Skydance sets leadership across games, experiences | Variety Paramount settles lawsuit blocking $110B WBD merger | The Verge Larry Ellison’s big dumb gift to his large adult son | The Verge Weiss’ ratings wipeout | Status Subscribe to The Verge 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’s producers are Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. This episode was 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
- 3 weeks ago45 min
OpenAI has a Muse problem
My guest today is Hayden Field, The Verge’s senior AI reporter, and we're discussing the new wave of consumer friendly AI agents. AI enthusiasts have been using agents for a minute now, but the launch of Meta’s Muse, OpenAI’s Dots, and XAI’s Grok Bot has brought easy to use agents to millions. Muse, notably, is free, while Dots is not, and you’ll hear Hayden and me get into why Meta, which still doesn't have a frontier model of its own, might have a meaningful edge here because it's much better at making and distributing consumer products. And wrapped up in this heated agent race are a lot of really big ideas — about AI capability, privacy, and trust. Links: OpenAI’s new agent is a shot at Meta — but can it compete with free? | The Verge The AI Tamagotchis are coming | The Verge Muse escapes containment | 404 Media Meta’s Muse AI sent a YouTuber’s address to a stranger | The Verge It’s sinister that Meta’s Muse AI mascot is so cute | The Verge Muse sure looks a lot like OpenClaw | The Verge Decoder is a Signal Awards finalist in the Business category! You can vote to help us win here. Subscribe to The Verge 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’s producers are Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. This episode was 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
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About Decoder with Nilay Patel
Decoder is a show about big ideas — and other problems. Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel talks to a diverse cast of innovators and policymakers at the frontiers of business and technology to reveal how they’re navigating an ever-changing landscape, what keeps them up at night, and what it all means for our shared future.
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