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Kyle Law was quite the success on LinkedIn. His posts were getting regular engagement and he was invited to speak to LinkedIn’s marketing team. Then, he was banned from the site. Why? Because Kyle isn’t a person; Kyle is an AI agent. In Season 2 of the hit podcast, Shell Game, journalist Evan Ratliff had AI agents create and run a company and Kyle, the AI co-founder, spent a lot of time promoting that work on LinkedIn. Evan joins Oz Woloshyn to discuss Kyle’s posts, LinkedIn’s decision to kick him off the site and the future of AI-run companies.  Additional Reading:  My AI Agent ‘Cofounder’ Conquered LinkedIn. Then It Got Banned | WIRED  The Story: Will AI Agents Build a Unicorn?  EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/techstuff Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The HEINEKEN Company is one of the world’s pioneering global brewers. Founded in 1864, it continues to innovate as it pursues its ambition to become the world’s best‑connected brewer. For the Season 7 premiere of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell sits down with Surajeet Ghosh, HEINEKEN’s Chief AI Officer, in front of a live audience at SXSW to explore how the company is using data and AI to transform its operations. This is a paid advertisement from IBM. The conversations on this podcast don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies or opinions. Visit us at https://www.ibm.com/think/podcasts/smart-talks See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why would Anthropic let select companies use a product deemed too dangerous for the public? Nitasha Tiku (The Washington Post) helps us peek behind the curtain of Claude Mythos Preview and explores the scare tactics of AI CEOs. Taylor Lorenz (User Mag) breaks down the world of AI twins — how influencers, agencies, and tech moguls are creating their own digital avatars. And Kyle Chayka (The New Yorker) covers the FAA's latest hiring campaign for air traffic controllers: target gamers. Additional Reading:  US Urges Wall Street Banks to Test Anthropic’s Mythos AI Model | Bloomberg  Mega Influencers Are Replacing Themselves With AI Clones | Vanity Fair  Meta builds AI version of Mark Zuckerberg to interact with staff | Financial Times  To Fill Air Traffic Controller Shortage, F.A.A. Turns to Gamers | The New York Times   Air Traffic Control Hiring: It's Not a Game. It's a Career.  Download SAILY in your app store and use our code techstuff  at checkout to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase! For further details go to https://saily.com/techstuff See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What do frat boys, nepo babies and the Super Bowl have in common? Prediction markets. Wall Street Journal investigative reporter Katherine Long tells us how information from Jeff Bezos's stepson sparked a bet worth nearly a million dollars, and how a rumor loosely tied to Mark Wahlberg's daughter sent $24 million into a single market. And why college kids are betting in the first place. Kalshi and Polymarket have been quietly making themselves at home on college campuses, paying fraternities for new sign-ups, handing out branded beer pong sets, and recruiting influencers to spread the word. The pitch to students: this is just a fun way to make money off what you already know. With over $10 billion in monthly trading volume and almost no regulatory oversight, Polymarket and Kalshi are no longer a niche corner of the internet. Additional Reading:  ‘Is This Insider Information?’ The Prediction Market Bets Driving a Campus Frenzy - WSJ  EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/techstuff Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Smart Talks with IBM Season 7, Malcolm Gladwell reveals how global brands are applying AI and technology to reshape experiences and help solve complex challenges. Go behind the scenes with HEINEKEN, UFC, and Cleveland Clinic. New episodes drop April 21. This is a paid advertisement from IBM.Visit us at ibm.com/smarttalks See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

OpenAI dominated this week's headlines — and it wasn’t all flattering. Reed Albergotti (Semafor) breaks down the chaos: IPO drama and Ronan Farrow's probing New Yorker profile of Sam Altman paint a picture of a company under pressure, even as it remains the most talked-about name in AI. Taylor Lorenz (User Mag) tells us about the AI tools marketed to schools as safety solutions that end up tracking students in ways with real consequences for kids and adults alike. And Kyle Chayka (The New Yorker) reviews the new book, Techno-Negative, tracing the long, often misunderstood history of anti-technology movements. Spoiler: it goes way deeper than the Luddites. Additional Reading:  Leap of Faith | Semafor Sam Altman May Control Our Future—Can He Be Trusted? | The New Yorker OpenAI CEO and CFO Diverge on IPO Timing | The Information They're Putting AI on School Buses | User Mag The Age-Old Urge to Destroy Technology | The New Yorker  Download SAILY in your app store and use our code techstuff  at checkout to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase! For further details go to https://saily.com/techstuff See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

TBPN started with a simple premise: what if the tech world got the ESPN treatment? Eighteen months later, it is a profitable independent media company — until last week, when OpenAI acquired it for hundreds of millions of dollars.  Oz sits down with Emily Sundberg, author of the daily business newsletter Feed Me and frequent TBPN guest, to unpack what the deal actually means. They get into why OpenAI went shopping for a media company in the first place, what independence is really worth when a nine-figure offer lands in your inbox, and what this deal reveals about the strange new economy of attention. They also get into how Emily Sundberg built Feed Me into a thriving independent business — and why she's in no rush to follow TBPN out the door.Additional Reading:  You cannot compete with people who are having more fun than you.  Processing my San Francisco trip. - by Emily Sundberg    EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/techstuff Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week: Iranian propaganda gets a Lego makeover — and it's going viral. Kyle Chayka (The New Yorker) tracked down the collective behind the AI-animated videos flooding your feed. Nitasha Tiku (The Washington Post) was in a documentary, The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist, and the press tour feels like ChatGPT doomsday déjà vu. Reed Albergotti (Semafor) celebrates Apple’s 50th birthday, but wonders if the company is entering its Microsoft era. Plus: SpaceX files for IPO — it could be the largest in history.  Additional Reading:  The Team Behind a Pro-Iran, Lego-Themed Viral-Video Campaign | The New Yorker See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What drives a man to turn down half a million pounds at 18, test Mark Zuckerberg's sincerity over dinner, and wonder aloud if he can win a second Nobel Prize? For Demis Hassabis, co-founder and CEO of Google DeepMind, the answer is a lifelong pursuit of artificial general intelligence — and an unshakeable belief that the technology he's creating will change everything about what it means to be human. Oz speaks with journalist and author Sebastian Mallaby about his new book, The Infinity Machine: Demis Hassabis, DeepMind, and the Quest for Superintelligence, tracing Demis's extraordinary journey from chess prodigy to the man at the center of the most consequential technological race of our time. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Week in Tech is back with a new roundtable! Every Friday, Oz and three of the best writers covering tech will discuss the latest news, decode emerging trends and debate what actually matters for the future of technology and for us. This week: Big Tech loses in court. Twice. Nitasha Tiku (The Washington Post) breaks down what the verdicts mean for Meta and YouTube and why it seems like we’re living in the past. Reed Albergotti (Semafor) explains why OpenAI killed Sora, its video-generation tool, and what it reveals about the resource war quietly reshaping the entire global economy. Plus, Kyle Chayka (The New Yorker) found a weather app worth caring about. We're as surprised as you are. Additional Reading:  Verdicts against Meta, YouTube reshape legal protections  for Big Tech  A New Cost Crunch | Semafor  Why You Hate Your Weather App | The New Yorker See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A $30,000-a-year piece of software has tech and finance bros beefing on LinkedIn. The Bloomberg Terminal has a rabid Wall Street fanbase. So when some tech bros claimed to have vibe-coded a version of the terminal, with one prompt, there were some strong emotions among its finance superfans. Oz talked to Isabelle Bousquette, a tech reporter for The Wall Street Journal, to break down the drama and what it says about the future of software. Then, Isabelle updates us on Nvidia’s massive developer conference last week, the company’s new OpenClaw obsession and why making a claw almost broke her brain.  Additional Reaching:  Finance Bros to Tech Bros: Don’t Mess With My Bloomberg Terminal | Wall Street Journal See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Week in Tech is now a roundtable! Every Friday, Oz and three of the best writers covering Silicon Valley will discuss the latest news, decode emerging trends and debate what actually matters for the future of technology and for us. This week, guests Reed Albergotti (Semafor), Kyle Chayka (The New Yorker) and returning panelist Taylor Lorenz (User Mag) each share a story. Reed fills us in on what he saw at the Nvidia GTC conference in San Jose, and why we shouldn’t ignore OpenClaw. Taylor gives a primer on Section 230, the 30-year-old foundational internet law, and why there’s a campaign to repeal it. And finally, Kyle tells us what ‘taste’ means to Silicon Valley’s tech bros and why it may annoy you.  Additional Reading:  We’re all living inside Jensen Huang’s ‘triangle’ | Semafor  How Powerful People Became Obsessed w/ Section 230 | User Mag  Why Tech Bros Are Now Obsessed with Taste | The New Yorker See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Iran's Shahed drone costs $30,000 to build. The US missile sent to destroy it? Up to $4 million. Pulitzer Prize-winning conflict journalist Ben C. Solomon wants you to do the math. Oz sits down with Ben to break down the economics driving the conflict with Iran, why the Pentagon may already be making impossible choices about what to defend, and why Ukraine — largely abandoned by the West — has quietly become the world's leading authority on drone warfare. Additional Reading:  Ben C. Solomon Instagram: Just follow the money.  Pentagon acknowledges tough quest to counter Iranian drones | Military Times  US may not have capacity to take down full barrage of Iranian drones, officials warn | US-Israel war on Iran | The Guardian See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Week in Tech is back and it’s growing. Starting this Friday, Oz will be joined by a panel of the brightest minds covering Silicon Valley. Each week, they will discuss the latest news, decode emerging trends and debate what actually matters for the future of technology and for us. This week, TechStuff asked Taylor Lorenz, Stephen Witt and Nitasha Tiku to share a story. Nitasha catches us up on the drama unfolding between Anthropic and the Pentagon. Stephen covers another tragic case of AI psychosis with fatal consequences. And Taylor makes the case for why 'social media addiction' is a harmful framework — and how age-verification laws could lead to mass surveillance and censorship of adults and children alike.Additional Reading:  Anthropic Sues Pentagon Over National Security Risk Label - The Washington Post Gemini Said They Could Only Be Together if He Killed Himself. Soon, He Was Dead. - WSJ  Congress Is Considering Abolishing Your Right to Be Anonymous Online - The Intercept  The world wants to ban children from social media, but there will be grave consequences for us all | Taylor Lorenz | The Guardian  This episode contains mentions of suicide. If you or someone you know needs support, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988, or visit 988lifeline.org. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we're talking 'human technology' — specifically, neuro-linguistic programming, or NLP. If you have any interest in modern day cults like NXIVM or Twin Flames Universe, you may have heard of it. But did you know that NLP also has roots in therapeutic practices like Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy, or that Tony Robbins was an NLP practitioner before becoming a motivational speaker?In the new podcast Mind Games, journalists and best friends Alice Hines and Zoë Lescaze investigate the origins of NLP, from its roots in the new age movement in 1970s California through the pick-up artist trend of the early 2000s. They even try their hand at hypnotizing themselves. But does it work?  Check out Mind Games from Kaleidoscope and iHeartPodcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.