The Times Tech Podcast

Will.i.am is not as worried about AI and artists. He tells Katie Prescott that the "creatives will be alright," but it's "the assistants, the sales clerks, the lawyers, the accountants" that we should be concerned about.

As musicians, publishers and Silicon Valley debate over whether AI should be allowed to train on creative work, the Black Eyed Peas musician and tech investor offers a different take. He says music has always borrowed from what came before – from samplers to bass lines and rhymes. So what changes when machines start borrowing too?

Plus, Danny Fortson and Katie discuss Anthropic’s stark new AI advert, Demis Hassabis’s call for an AI watchdog, and whether governments can keep up with the pace of artificial intelligence.

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Producers: Marnie Duke & Shabnam Grewal
Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia
Image: Getty

Clip: Claude

Music Credit: Contains a sample of the recording "Billie Jean."
Performed: Michael Jackson,
Written: Michael Jackson.
Published: Sony/ATV Songs LLC o/b/o Mijac Music
Courtesy: Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment.

Music Credit: Contains a sample of the recording "Caribbean Queen - No More Love on the Run”
Performed: Billy Ocean
Written: Billy Ocean, Keith Diamond
Published: Jive Records/ Sony Music Entertainment
Courtesy: Sony Music Entertainment

Music Credit: Contains a sample of the recording "Boom Boom Pow.”
Performed: Black Eyed Peas William Adams (will.i.am), Stacy Ferguson (Fergie), and Jaime Gomez (Taboo)
Writen: William Adams (will.i.am), Stacy Ferguson (Fergie), Allan Pineda (apl.de.ap), and Jaime Gomez (Taboo).
Published: Will.i.am Music Publishing, Jeepney Music, Headphone Junkie Publishing, Tab Magnetic Publishing, and EMI Music Publishing
Courtesy: Interscope Records.
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AI needs vast data centres to power it but communities around the world are increasingly pushing back against the large, ugly “sheds” appearing on their doorsteps.

In the US, one proposed Utah data centre is set to be larger than Manhattan. Meanwhile, architects in the UK are looking at ways to make data centres more attractive, functional and useful to local communities. So Danny Fortson and Katie Prescott ask whether better design, waste-heat reuse and local benefits could make AI infrastructure more acceptable.

Plus, Danny speaks to Jason Kelly, co-founder and CEO of Ginkgo Bioworks, who explains how AI and biology are coming together through autonomous “cloud labs” that could transform scientific discovery.

Would you hate data centres less if they were more beautiful? Get in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.uk

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Read more: Save our countryside from ugly AI data sheds: make them beautiful

Producer: Ethan Sills, Shabnam Grewal & Marnie Duke.
Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia
Video Producer: Bronwen Latham
Image: Getty
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode of The Times Tech Podcast is in paid partnership with IBM.

Wimbledon may be one of the most familiar events in British sport, but behind the tennis is a vast technology operation – from live match data and digital storytelling to AI tools designed to help fans follow the Championships in real time.

Katie Prescott is joined by Kameryn Stanhouse, Vice President of Sports and Entertainment Partnerships at IBM, and Chris Clements, Senior Manager of Digital Strategy and Products at the All England Club, to discuss how technology is changing the Wimbledon experience, both on the grounds and for fans around the world.

Image: Getty
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Affirm CEO, PayPal co-founder, original member of the 'PayPal Mafia' Max Levchin joins Danny Fortson and Katie Prescott to talk about moral moneylending, Elon Musk, mega-IPOs and why there are so many tech bosses in Washington. As he puts it – “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.”

Meanwhile, Anthropic has announced that Claude Fable 5 will be released again globally after the Trump administration's ban. Plus, Danny and Katie discuss the latest trend in Silicon Valley - the rise of voice AI and the death of the keyboard. Is it hot air or if we are really in a new era of "yapping, rather than tapping"? On that note, Norman, Katie's AI agent, finally (and terrifyingly), has a voice.

Would you swap your keyboard for voice-to-text software? Get in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.uk

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Read more: Is it time to say goodbye to the keyboard?
Producer: Marnie Duke
Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia
Video Producer: Bronwen Latham
Image: Getty
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who really controls the future of AI? A rare warning from the Five Eyes intelligence alliance says powerful AI models capable of devastating cyberattacks on governments and businesses could be just months away. At the same time, the Trump administration’s decision to block foreign access to Anthropic’s most advanced AI models has intensified fears that Europe and the UK are dangerously dependent on Silicon Valley.

Danny Fortson and Katie Prescott ask what an AI “kill switch” could mean for Europe – and whether the race for AI sovereignty is now impossible to ignore.

And as the race towards Artificial General Intelligence intensifies, so too has the talent war between AI labs, after two leading Google DeepMind researchers – Noam Shazeer and John Jumper – left for OpenAI and Anthropic.

Plus, Judith Dada, AI adviser to the German government and Senior Partner at Visionaries, joins them to discuss Europe’s AI future, tech sovereignty, and what losing the AI race could mean.

Producer: Marnie Duke
Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia
Image: Getty
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.