Times Tech

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 th...

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...

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 Met...

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 Interv...

Anthropic has pledged to give away 5% of its shares to a fund that will make donations for the quote unquote “public good”. These shares could be worth between 75 and $100 billion.

Days later, Elon Musk posted on X that he would give one of his SpaceX shares to every child in America. These could be worth over $10 billion. So, what’s behind these recent pledges?

Danny and Katie question whether tech companies are finally taking accountability for their impact on society or whether this is just good PR.

Plus, a power outage...

Bending Spoons has become one of Europe’s most unusual tech companies by buying well-known tech businesses and rebuilding them. Katie Prescott speaks to CEO Luca Ferrari about taking the company public, choosing the US over Europe and transforming businesses such as AOL and Evernote.

He also explains why Bending Spoons never sells the companies it buys, and why being the CEO of a public company can feel “a little bit naked”.

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Presenters:

Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor...

MI5 has warned that AI is "supercharging" security threats to the UK, while Britain’s AI minister said it was “inevitable” that Britain is going to be hacked by rogue AI agents.

Danny and Katie look at the growing security fears around AI, including the FBI investigating a case involving a former OpenAI employee accused of planting a covert recording device at the company’s San Francisco office.

This comes days after Jacob Coxon, the former Anthropic employee who warned about AI’s existential threat, raised alarms about the possibility of spies inside Anthropic...

Five years after leaking thousands of internal Facebook documents, whistleblower Frances Haugen joins Times Tech to talk about The Social Reckoning, Aaron Sorkin’s new film about her story and the sequel to The Social Network.

She talks about Hollywood’s current obsession with Silicon Valley, how attitudes towards Big Tech have changed since she blew the whistle and what Mark Zuckerberg, Meta and today’s AI companies can learn from the social media era.

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

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AI companies are investigating a growing number of incidents where agents have gone rogue and done things which would be considered crimes if committed by a human. But when AI causes serious damage, who is responsible and crucially, who pays?

Katie’s been speaking to London’s major insurers who have been war-gaming scenarios where AI causes harm and asking who would ultimately pick up the bill.

This week, Yoshua Bengio, chair of the International AI Safety Report said that a “dangerous myth” about agent hacks has gained traction. He warned that these aren't j...

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

How do you navigate the rapid pace of AI development in business?

With Matt Higham, ServiceNow’s chief digital and technology officer for UK and Ireland, we ask how companies can use AI governance to dodge the pitfalls thrown up by AI, and embrace the opportunities safely.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Danny speaks to Amjad Masad, co-founder and CEO of Replit, a ‘vibe-coding’ company which enables anyone – coder or not – to build software simply by telling AI what they want it to do.

Amjad makes the case that we’ve lost the original joy of computing, leaving everyday users "at the mercy" of Silicon Valley giants.

He also pushes back on the current wave of AI doomerism, arguing that apocalyptic fears are overblown and that focus should shift toward real-world accountability, including strict penalties for companies whose AI agents go rogue.

Watc...

Warnings that AI is going to kill us are once again abounding.

This week, Anthropic’s long awaited IPO prospectus was leaked. In it, the company warns that its technology poses “catastrophic or existential risks to humanity” while simultaneously asking investors to finance their $518 billion AI buildout. Danny and Katie break down the contradictions at the heart of the prospectus and question why Dario Amodei is asking investors to fund doom.

Meanwhile, amid mounting safety concerns, President Trump invited tech leaders to the White House to talk regulation. Leaders of Anthropic, Google, Meta, Nvidia...

Ordnance Survey might just be the oldest tech company around. For 235 years, it has been mapping out every single metre of the UK – no matter how remote. And that data plays a huge part in how we use technology today; think of the many apps we use that rely on maps. The average person in the UK uses some element of Ordnance Survey mapping data 42 times a day.

Its CEO, Nick Bolton, joins Danny and Katie to discuss how the company has evolved from the days of paper maps to supplying to the likes of Apple an...

Meta’s new AI agent app, Muse, has rocketed straight to number one on the App Store. Having put it to the test, Danny explains what the hype is all about. Meanwhile, Katie has bid farewell to her agent Norman in favor of a new AI assistant called Bridget hosted by rival app, Instinct. They look at why this sudden commodification of agents is significant and why OpenAI and Anthropic should be worried.

And despite being on track to make more than $100 billion in revenue this year, Anthropic has decided to delay their IPO. Meanwhile, OpenAI is...

This week, Nu Quantum founder and CEO Dr. Carmen Palacios-Berraquero explains how quantum computing could change the world — and why the industry is still waiting on its "ChatGPT moment." 

She joins Danny and Katie to discuss the global quantum arms race between China, the US, and the UK and why she’s not worried about the quantum cyber threat.

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

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Get in touch: [email protected] 

Presenters:

Katie...

Over the past week, warnings about the existential threat of AI have reached fever pitch. In an essay backed by Sam Altman, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei called for international cooperation with states like China and for independent safety assessors to be given access to the frontier AI labs.

All these warnings have caught the attention of leaders and dignitaries – from President Trump to King Charles – and have started a global conversation about how we should regulate the companies developing these systems. 

The problem is, no one can agree on how to do it. 

The Microsoft co-founder tells Danny and Katie why AI is "ultra-different" from any previous technology - and why tech companies shouldn’t be responsible for controlling it. 

Speaking about a new report on AI and equity published by The Gates Foundation he also explores the “vacuum of US leadership” in AI regulation.

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

Watch on YouTube 

Read more: Bill Gates: My plan to keep the world safe in the age of AI

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Evan Hubinger, the Alignment Lead at Anthropic has warned there’s more than a ten percent chance that AI could kill all humans. And he’s the person responsible for making sure their AI systems are safe. 

He’s also not the only person sounding the alarm this week, following the release of OpenAI’s powerful new model ‘Astra’. Danny and Katie question how seriously we should take these warnings or whether they’re really a distraction from the serious problems AI faces right now. 

Plus, they talk about ‘You Can See Everything’ - the new documentar...

Welcome to The Interview from Times Tech – our conversation with the people shaping the future of technology. 

This week, Katie speaks to Aidan Gomez, co-founder and CEO of Cohere, one of the few companies building large language models outside of the US and China.

Born in Canada, Aidan is acutely aware of where artificial intelligence is built, who controls it and why it matters. He argues that sovereign AI is becoming essential to democracies as technology becomes a source of economic, cultural and geopolitical power. 

He reflects on his remarkable life...

Tim Cook has stepped down as Apple CEO after 15 years, with hardware chief John Ternus set to take over one of the world’s most valuable companies.

During Cook’s tenure, he more than quadrupled Apple's profits but his time in charge was not without controversy – from China to questions over whether Apple missed the generative AI boom. Danny and Katie look back at his extraordinary run and ask what comes next for Apple. 

Meanwhile, Anthropic is racing towards a potential $2 trillion IPO and has one-upped SpaceX with plans to tell investors they see ove...

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

AI is already changing medicine. But could it also change the everyday choices we make about our own health?

This bonus episode asks whether AI can help shift healthcare from treating illness to prevention – from wearables and personal health data to personalised advice and AI-powered wellbeing tools. 

With Professor Sébastien Ourselin, Director of the London Institute for Healthcare Engineering at King’s College London, and Emile Stipp, CEO of Vitality AI, we ask whether technology can help u...

Welcome to the Interview from Times Tech – our conversation with the people shaping the future of technology. 

Over the past few months, AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta have managed to escape their controlled environments, connect to the internet and attempt to hack other systems – including Hugging Face. 

This week, Katie speaks to Dan Lahav, co-founder and CEO of Irregular, the AI security company that works with some of Silicon Valley’s biggest tech companies to stress-test frontier models before they are released.

Dan explains why traditional cybersecurity may no longe...

Meta has settled a landmark social media case in California for up to $17 billion. But the changes to Facebook and Instagram could be even more significant than the fine. 

Danny and Katie break down what the settlement means for under-18s – from tighter parental controls, time limits, overnight restrictions, bans on extreme cosmetic/makeup filters and changes to likes and reactions. Could this become a turning point for social media regulation? 

Meanwhile in China, 2,000 robots have been competing in the World Humanoid Robot Games, with events ranging from tug-of-war to cheerleading. As the robo...

Meta is on trial again in California over child safety.  

Various US states have clubbed together in a lawsuit against the social media company that could make it liable to pay hundreds of billions of dollars and significantly change how its platforms operate. Danny Fortson has been on the ground in Oakland. 

Back in the UK, Katie Prescott has been looking into why ‘gardening leave’ is stifling UK tech. She explains why some tech bosses are being forced to take up to three years off work and the impact it’s having on the AI ra...

There’s a simmering concern on Wall Street about Nvidia and CEO Jensen Huang’s role as leader of the AI revolution. 

Despite bringing in billions of dollars in profit from the GPUs powering AI, investors are worried about the company’s recent “circular” deals with other tech companies, and some are asking if the chip giant is building the future of AI or inflating the next tech bubble. 

To better understand Huang, the man pulling the strings of this global AI boom, Danny Fortson and Mark Sellman revisit an interview with Stephen Witt, author...

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is spending billions on AI data centres, rocket ships and moon ambitions but investors are asking how much it can burn before the bet pays off. Meanwhile, ‘AI slop’ is flooding social media. And new EU rules mean platforms will have to label AI-generated content. But can regulation keep up? Danny Fortson and Mark Sellman discuss SpaceX, Starlink, space junk and the growing fight over AI content online. 

Plus, Danny speaks to Ivan Zhao, co-founder and CEO of Notion, about AI agents, the future of work and why his company hired a 16-year-ol...

A fierce debate is taking place between Silicon Valley and Washington right now. 

After the release of KIMI K3 – China’s cheaper and powerful AI model – the Trump administration is showing signs of restricting open-source AI to maintain control over the technology. 

Danny Fortson and Mark Sellman, Tech Correspondent for The Times, discuss why tech bosses are worried, what it could mean for America’s lead in AI and whether open-source models could speed up the race to superintelligence. 

They also hear from Connor Leahy, CEO of AI safety research company Con...

OpenAI has revealed that one of their AI agents went rogue during a test and hacked a startup. Hugging Face reportedly had to use an open-source Chinese model to contain the cyber attack. 

It comes as Kimi K3, a powerful new Chinese AI model, is challenging OpenAI and Anthropic’s most capable systems on some benchmarks – calling America’s tech dominance into question. Danny Fortson and Katie Prescott discuss what this means for the global AI race and how it casts doubt over OpenAI and Anthropic’s mega IPOs.

But while the rest of the wo...

In this bonus episode of The Times Tech podcast, Katie Prescott shares her conversation with will.i.am about what comes after the AI boom. The musician and tech investor says the next big battle will be over personal data, privacy and power. Who owns your data? Where should it live? And can AI agents be built around people’s values and goals, rather than the business models of big platforms?

He's been sharing his views at the recent UN AI for Good Summit in Geneva and told Katie why he believes AI could still be a...

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?

Plu...

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 Gink...

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 ex...

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 a...

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 t...

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced a ban on social media for under-16s, due to come into effect next year. But questions remain over how it will be enforced, and whether it will actually work. Mark Sellman joins Katie Prescott to answer the key questions.

In the US, the Trump administration has banned two of Anthropic’s most powerful AI models which include the controversial 'Mythos', intensifying calls for Europe to build sovereign AI systems of its own. If America can restrict access to critical AI technology at short notice, what does that mean for th...

Anthropic has warned about the next phase of 'recursive AI', where agents could become capable enough to build and train models themselves without human intervention. The idea is that “self-improving” armies of agents could create purely AI-run, zero-person companies that optimise while you’re sleeping. If that’s the story in Silicon Valley, in the UK Katie is at London Tech Week, where everyone from Prime Minister Keir Starmer to AMD’s Lisa Su is focused on tech sovereignty and the question of who owns, controls and shapes AI, not just how fast the technology is advancing.

Plus, Ci...

This episode of The Times Tech Podcast is sponsored by KPMG.

Businesses are spending heavily on AI, but is it actually changing how they work? Katie Prescott is joined by Paul Henninger, UK Head of Technology and Data and Global AI Leader at KPMG, and Professor Alan Brown from the University of Exeter Business School, author of Making AI Work for Britain, to ask why so many AI pilots fail to become real business value.

They discuss the gap between hype and implementation, why the most useful applications of AI are often the...

A strange new experiment where AI agents run their own societies free from humans has raised questions about whether we can really trust these bots to act on our behalf. In the study by Emergence AI, agents attempted thefts, physical assaults, and even arsons – all inside a simulated world.

So what happens when AI agents move from experiments into real workplaces? This week on The Times Tech podcast, Danny Fortson and Katie Prescott discuss the risks and hear from Gabe Pererya, the Co-Founder of Harvey, the legal AI company named after the character in the TV dr...

Pope Leo has warned that Big Tech has too much power over humanity’s future. Danny Fortson and Mark Sellman discuss what his warning on AI means and why Anthropic was at the Vatican. Meanwhile, in the UK, Sir Keir Starmer is weighing tougher rules on children’s social media use after doctors compared its harms to smoking. Plus, the CEO of Proxima Fusion talks about how to power AI by recreating the reaction that powers the sun. Is nuclear fusion the future of clean energy?

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Two big events have put Elon Musk in the spotlight. First, a jury has dismissed Elon Musk’s case against Sam Altman and OpenAI after three weeks of testimony. But while this blockbuster trial was taking place, the Tesla CEO was making plans to get his other company, SpaceX, onto the public stock market. The space exploration company has filed for a huge IPO that will likely be the largest in history, valuing the company at up to $1.75 trillion and making Musk the world’s first trillionaire. Danny Fortson and Katie Prescott are joined by Wedbush Securities' Dan Ives to take...