Crashed

Britain is changing prime minister again, which would be funny if the policy consequences were not so bleak. So this week on Crashed, Alex Hudson and Chris Stokel-Walker ignore the Westminster cosplay and ask the question that actually matters: what tech agenda does the next government inherit?From under-16 social media bans to VPN age-gating, facial age estimation at the border, AI regulation, digital ID, Anthropic’s incoming checks, bot paranoia and the collapsing line between public safety and private life, this is an episode about the same pattern appearing everywhere.Every new demand for safety seems to need another identity check. Every new AI panic seems to need another database. Every new political crisis seems to produce another reason why privacy has to give way.Also: hot podium guy, the King of the North, World Cup heat stress, whether blockchain can prove you are human, and the increasingly urgent question of what level of real-world harm society is prepared to tolerate to preserve a private digital life.

In this episode, presenters Alex Hudson and Chris Stokel-Walker delve into the complexities of social media regulation, government policies on youth online safety, and the influence of AI at the G7 summit. They explore the implications of recent policies, the role of framing in public opinion, and the future of tech regulation.They're joined by Genevieve Broadhead, global industry lead at cloud database platform MongoDB, to discuss who owns the information architecture underneath every AI answer, retail interaction and customer decision

Royal Mail can't even deliver mail to Post Offices... and there's literally no way to speak to a Parcelforce customer service operator directly, no matter how hard you try. Wasn't the delivery revolution meant to make everything better? The regulator keeps fining them for all the targets being missed. Presenters Alex Hudson and Chris Stokel-Walker talk about expensive stamps, the demise of Post Office branches and how hard it is to deliver post to the Post Office. Maybe they could organise a p*** up in a brewery? In the episode, we also cover the "aggressive" investment in British industry and why the iPhone is being blamed for the drop in birth rate.

This episode explores the recent experiences at South by Southwest (SXSW) London, the state of XR and AI markets, and the implications of upcoming IPOs in the tech industry, including the $135-a-share gamble with SpaceX that would make it the largest IPO ever and worth nearly $1.8 trillion. Hosts Alex Hudson and Chris Stokel-Walker share insights, critiques, and future predictions about the cultural and economic impact of these technological trends.Keywords: South by Southwest London, XR, AI, IPOs, tech industry, cultural impact, market analysis, innovation, technology trendskey topicsSouth by Southwest London experienceThe state of XR and extended realityUpcoming IPOs of AI and tech giants OpenAI, Anthropic and SpaceXMarket concentration and valuation concernsCultural and societal implications of XR and AI

This episode explores the complex issues of shadow banning, content moderation, and the influence of AI and religion on digital society. Featuring Dr. Carolina Are, of the LSE, presenters Alex Hudson and Chris Stokel-Walker get deep into platform policies, free speech, and the moral implications of AI development.Oh, and what “don’t be evil” did (or didn’t mean) to Google, how North Korea might be using AI and what on earth the UK might be doing about all this. Follow Dr. Carolina Are: https://www.instagram.com/bloggeronpole/?hl=en Keywords: shadow banning, social media moderation, AI ethics, free speech, platform regulation, digital rights, online harms, social media censorship, AI morality, religious influence on technologykey topicsShadow banning and content suppressionThe influence of AI and algorithms on societyThe role of religion and morality in AI development

Britain’s next-generation high-speed rail network (HS2) was going to lay 530km of track, offer speeds of up to 225mph, cost around £33bn, and launch in 2026, when it was announced in 2012. Now in 2026, it’ll cost up to £103bn, be under half the length (225km), slower, and won’t be completed until, potentially, 2043. It’s gone laughably wrong. Even the government calls it “the world’s most expensive slow-motion car crash”. Presenters Alex Hudson and Chris Stokel-Walker interview transport expert Adam Tyndall about how a slow-motion car crash is possible on a railway, exactly what’s gone wrong and why a bat tunnel costs £100m (yes, it does relate to HS2).Elsewhere, how much EU can an EU EU if an EU is in the EU? Brussels is preparing the Chips Act 2.0 for a reported launch on 27 May, as part of the wider Tech Sovereignty Package. They want to double Europe’s global semiconductor market share to 20% by 2030. Chris is heading to Europe to find out if that’s possible (though we both think we know the answer).Follow Adam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamtyndall/

Shein, the fast-fashion brand accused by many of stealing designs and ignoring copyright, accuses fast-fashion brand Temu of stealing designs and ignoring copyright. What is going on? And what does this mean for the future of copyright law?Presenters Alex Hudson get into that, the latest developments in AI regulation, the ongoing UK and EU legislative efforts, and whether Minstrels belong in popcorn (answer: they do).Alex and Chris explore complex topics with humour and insight, making sense of a rapidly evolving landscape.keywordsAI regulation, UK ICO, EU AI Act, fast fashion, copyright infringement, tech legislation, AI ethics, political predictionskey topicsUK ICO AI guidance and regulation gaps / EU AI Act delays and industry carve-out / Fast fashion industry and AI-driven IP theft / Political landscape and leadership uncertainties / Cultural biases in AI systems, Japan obsession

The trial between Elon Musk and Sam Altman has reached the courtroom. Well-known philanthropist Musk claims that OpenAI, which was set up as a charity, has been stolen, is no longer open source and is sufficiently non-profit. The tail is wagging the dog, Musk has said.Presenters Alex Hudson and Chris Stokel-Walker look at how this case might actually have a huge impact on the future of AI, the future of charity law and whether or not Musk has any chance of winning. We also get into why the Lib Dems need a sub editor, why all the major parties appear to agree on new AI sovereignty plans, and something about how terrible apps allowing to switch off social media are. *Editor's note: The Liberal Democrat press office responded to us after the recording. They didn't respond to the points raised but did say they are calling for "a National Online Crime Agency to combat the surge in AI-enabled fraud (fraud, more widely, now accounts for 44% of all reported UK crime)." This is different from the press release, but they also "attached the proposal too, which is correct." It was.*