OpenAI's Fog of War + Betting on Iran + Hard Fork Review of Slop
March 6, 2026
OpenAI is scrambling to manage significant internal and public backlash following its Pentagon deal, leading to contract amendments and the departure of key research staff who favored Anthropic's values.
At the Pentagon, OpenAI is In and Anthropic Is Out
March 1, 2026
The core conflict revolves around whether the Pentagon's demand for an "all lawful use" standard for AI models is substantively different from Anthropic's insistence on explicit prohibitions against mass domestic surveillance and autonomous weapons, leading to Anthropic's designation as a supply chain risk while OpenAI secured a deal with similar stated safeguards.
Is A.I. Eating the Labor Market? + The Latest on the Pentagon, OpenClaw and Alpha School
February 27, 2026
Economic data currently shows only small, contested impacts of AI on the job market and productivity, with market volatility driven more by speculative essays than realized economic shifts.
The Pentagon vs. Anthropic + An A.I. Agent Slandered Me + Hot Mess Express
February 20, 2026
Anthropic is in a high-stakes dispute with the Pentagon, refusing to sign a contract that would permit the use of its Claude model for mass domestic surveillance or autonomous kinetic operations, leading to threats of being designated a supply chain risk.
‘Something Big Is Happening’ + A.I. Rocks the Romance Novel Industry + One Good Thing
February 13, 2026
The stock market is experiencing a sell-off in software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies due to mounting fears that AI agentic capabilities and the ability to 'vibe code' internal tools will disrupt traditional seat-based business models.
Elon Musk’s Mega-Merger + We Test Google’s Project Genie + What’s Next for Moltbook Creator
February 6, 2026
SpaceX's acquisition of xAI is viewed as a financial bailout for the cash-burning AI startup, strategically positioning the combined entity for a potential IPO by leveraging SpaceX's profitability and infrastructure vision.
Moltbook Mania Explained
February 4, 2026
Moltbook, a Reddit-style social network for AI agents built on OpenClaw, has rapidly gained massive attention as the largest experiment in agent-to-agent interaction to date.
Tech Grapples With ICE + Casey Tries Clawdbot, a Risky New A.I. Assistant + HatGPT
January 30, 2026
Tech CEOs like Sam Altman and Tim Cook are issuing muted statements regarding the Minneapolis events due to political risk, walking a fine line between employee pressure and White House appeasement.
Will ChatGPT Ads Change OpenAI? + Amanda Askell Explains Claude's New Constitution
January 23, 2026
OpenAI is introducing ads to the free and low-cost tiers of ChatGPT, a move widely met with negative public reaction despite the company's stated need for revenue to fund infrastructure ambitions.
Jonathan Haidt Strikes Again + What You Vibecoded + An Update on the Forkiverse
January 16, 2026
Jonathan Haidt argues that the evidence for social media causing harm to children is now overwhelming, citing internal Meta research and experimental data that moves beyond mere correlation.
Can We Build a Better Social Network?
January 13, 2026
The episode features a collaboration with the *
Grok’s Undressing Scandal + Claude Code Capers + Casey Busts a Reddit Hoax
January 9, 2026
X's Grok chatbot is generating non-consensual sexualized images of real people, including children, publicly on the platform, with X leadership seemingly treating the resulting outrage as a positive engagement driver.
Our 2026 Tech Resolutions + We Answer Your Questions
January 2, 2026
The hosts reviewed their previous year's tech resolutions, with Casey admitting failure on his AI-assisted meditation goal while Kevin felt he moderately succeeded in posting more freely on social media.
The Wirecutter Show: Tips for Using A.I. Smartly With Kevin Roose
December 30, 2025
Kevin Roose, co-host of the *
Where Is All the A.I.-Driven Scientific Progress?
December 26, 2025
Sam Rodriguez's AI scientist, Kosmos, can accomplish work equivalent to six months of doctoral or postdoctoral research in a single 12-hour run by leveraging multiple large language models and a structured world model for complex task orchestration.
Why Roomba Died + Tech Predictions for 2026 + A Hard Forkin’ Xmas Song
December 19, 2025
iRobot's bankruptcy is attributed by its co-founder, Colin Angle, to being outcompeted by subsidized Chinese fast-followers and the failure of the Amazon acquisition due to antitrust regulators, which he views as a tragedy for American innovation.
Australia Kicks Kids Off Social Media + Is the A.I. Water Issue Fake? + Hard Fork Wrapped
December 12, 2025
Australia has implemented the most aggressive social media ban in a democracy to date, barring children under 16 from 10 major platforms, which is seen as a potential first domino to reshape global internet usage.
OpenAI Calls a ‘Code Red’ + Which Model Should I Use? + The Hard Fork Review of Slop
December 5, 2025
OpenAI has declared a "code red" to prioritize improving ChatGPT and delay other projects due to competitive pressure from the recent state-of-the-art model releases by Google (Gemini 3) and Anthropic (Claude Opus 4.5).
Hard Fork’s 50 Most Iconic Technologies of 2025
November 28, 2025
The 'Hard Fork’s 50 Most Iconic Technologies of 2025' list is a continuation of a popular annual tradition, focusing this year on technologies that defined 2025, regardless of whether they were beneficial.
The Interview: How Wikipedia Is Responding to the Culture Wars
November 25, 2025
Wikipedia's success relies on transparency, a commitment to sourcing from quality publications, and a culture of civil disagreement that allows for reporting on disputes rather than taking sides.
We Asked Roblox’s C.E.O About Child Safety. It Got Tense.
November 21, 2025
Roblox is implementing mandatory facial age estimation via AI to complement existing safety signals for users who wish to chat, acknowledging the platform's unique position as a gathering place for users of all ages, including nearly 40% under 13.
Google's Gemini 3 Is Here: A Special Early Look
November 18, 2025
Gemini 3's key advancements include superior reasoning, conciseness, and the ability to generate custom, interactive user interfaces beyond standard text or image responses.
Data Centers in Space + A.I. Policy on the Right + A Gemini History Mystery
November 14, 2025
Google is seriously exploring Project Suncatcher, a plan to build data centers in low Earth orbit to harness near-constant, highly productive solar energy for future AI compute demands.
We Met NEO, the Viral Humanoid Robot + HatGPT
November 7, 2025
The NEO humanoid robot from 1X is currently reliant on teleoperation for complex tasks, but the company's long-term vision hinges on massive, real-world data collection from deployed units to achieve full autonomy by the late 2020s.
Character.AI’s Teen Chatbot Crackdown + Elon Musk Groks Wikipedia + 48 Hours Without A.I.
October 31, 2025
Character.AI is barring users under 18 from open-ended chatbot conversations due to safety concerns, a dramatic step likely influenced by public pressure following a tragic user suicide.
Celebrities Fight Sora + Amazon’s Secret Automation Plans + ChatGPT Gets a Browser
October 24, 2025
OpenAI is facing significant backlash and is backtracking on its initial permissive stance regarding Sora after facing complaints from high-profile figures like the family of Martin Luther King Jr. and actor Bryan Cranston over unauthorized deepfakes and IP usage.
California Regulates A.I. Companions + OpenAI Investigates Its Critics + The Hard Fork Review of Slop
October 17, 2025
California passed a significant package of tech regulations, including SB 243, which mandates protocols for AI companions addressing user self-harm expressions and requires data reporting to the Department of Public Health.
ChatGPT’s Platform Play + a Trillion-Dollar GPU Empire + the Queen of Slop
October 10, 2025
OpenAI is aggressively pursuing a platform strategy by integrating third-party apps directly into ChatGPT, aiming to make it the new front door to the internet, echoing a high-risk strategy previously attempted by Facebook.
Sora and the Infinite Slop Feeds + ChatGPT Goes to Therapy + Hot Mess Express
October 3, 2025
The rapid release of AI video generation tools by Google (VO3), Meta (Vibes), and OpenAI (Sora) signals a mainstream shift toward synthetic video content, with OpenAI's Sora app being noted for its more complete social integration via 'cameos'.
The Great A.I. Build-Out + H-1B Visa Chaos + TikTok Braces for the Rapture
September 26, 2025
The massive scale of current AI infrastructure investment, exemplified by the $100 billion NVIDIA-OpenAI deal and planned data centers, is being compared to national infrastructure projects like the interstate highway system.
Charlie Kirk and Online Rage + Inside Trump’s Chip Flip + This Week in A.I.
September 19, 2025
The pervasive nature of "borderline content" on social media platforms, designed to maximize engagement by pushing boundaries, is a significant factor contributing to political polarization and real-world violence.
Are We Past Peak iPhone? + Eliezer Yudkowsky on A.I. Doom
September 12, 2025
Apple's latest product announcements, while featuring incremental improvements, signal a shift from hardware innovation to a focus on monetization and subscriptions, potentially marking the maturity of the smartphone era.