Times Tech

Is AI making it easier to find love? Two-thirds of UK singles say they’ve used AI in their dating lives, according to Match Group research. Yoel Roth, head of trust and safety at the company behind Tinder and Hinge, joins Katie Prescott to discuss how AI is changing online dating.

The former Twitter safety chief also reflects on X four years after leaving, why social media companies have taken a step back from online safety and why he thinks existential fears about AI are overblown.

The Interview is our weekly conversation with the people shaping the future of technology.

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Get in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.uk
Guest: Yoel Roth, Head of Trust & Safety at Match
Presenters:
Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The Times
Danny Fortson, US West Coast Correspondent, The Sunday Times
Producer: Marnie Duke
Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia
Video Producer: Super Llama
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do the US midterms mean for Big Tech?

While the elections have been dubbed a referendum on President Trump, in many states, tech bosses and AI were also on the ballot. Elon Musk became the Republicans’ most prominent financial backer, donating an incredible $446 million to the unsuccessful campaign.

But public backlash to data centres, fears about AI and the dislike for the billionaires developing it has turned the tech industry into a key battleground this election cycle.

Danny and Katie break down how Big Tech became the villain of the US midterms and ask if the defeat could threaten Silicon Valley’s grand plans for the AI buildout?

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Read more: The American dream is turning into a Silicon Valley nightmare
Get in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.uk
Presenters:
Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The Times
Danny Fortson, US West Coast Correspondent, The Sunday Times
Producer: Marnie Duke
Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia
Video Producer: Super Llama
Image: Getty
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Has Silicon Valley become “addicted to addiction”? Computer scientist and futurist Jaron Lanier joins Danny Fortson to discuss why he thinks AI companies are repeating the mistakes of social media - and why treating chatbots as a new species is taking the industry in the wrong direction.

He explains why he’s sceptical of promises of AI-powered abundance, shares his alternative idea to addictive chatbots, and questions why some tech workers have to quit their jobs to speak openly about their concerns.

The Interview is our weekly conversation with the people shaping the future of technology.

Watch on YouTube

Read more: ‘AI psychosis’ warps reality in Silicon Valley

Get in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.uk
Guest: Jaron Lanier, Computer Scientist and Futurist.
Presenters:
Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The Times
Danny Fortson, US West Coast Correspondent, The Sunday Times
Producer: Robert Wallace and Marnie Duke
Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia
Video Producer: Super Llama
Image: Getty
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anthropic has launched its historic IPO filing ahead of its blockbuster stock market debut. It offers the first glimpse inside the company’s finances, including both the mountain of money it’s sitting on and spending. So what do the numbers tell us? Is Anthropic really worth $2 trillion?

Beyond the finances, the S-1 offers a rare look inside Anthropic and the unusual power structures that govern it. Danny and Katie discuss what this tells us about the sector more broadly and question whether tech bosses are becoming “emperors” of their own companies.

Plus, both Meta and SpaceX have also announced they’re raising tens of billions of dollars to support AI build-outs. So, who will win the AI race?

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Read more: Anthropic: What you need to know about the high-stakes IPO
Get in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.uk
Presenters:
Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The Times
Danny Fortson, US West Coast Correspondent, The Sunday Times
Producer: Marnie Duke
Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia
Image: Getty
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Humanoid robots are all over social media: making beds, doing backflips, even outrunning Usain Bolt. But how much of it is real and how much is hype?

This week, Danny and Katie are joined by roboticist and co-founder of Bear Robotics Bren Pierce. He’s been building humanoid robots for more than twenty years.

They discuss how AI is finally giving robots ‘brains’ to understand the physical world, why China is winning the robot race and how long it will be until robots are folding laundry in our homes.

The Interview is our weekly conversation with the people shaping the future of technology.

Guest: Brennand Pierce, Co-founder and Chief Robotics Officer of Bear Robotics
Presenters:
Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The Times
Danny Fortson, US West Coast Correspondent, The Sunday Times
Producer: Marnie Duke
Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia
Image: Bear Robotics
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.