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. Watch on YouTube Get in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.ukGuest: Yoel Roth, Head of Trust & Safety at MatchPresenters: Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The TimesDanny Fortson, US West Coast Correspondent, The Sunday TimesProducer: Marnie DukeExecutive Producer: Priyanka DeladiaVideo Producer: Super Llama

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? Watch on YouTube 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 DeladiaVideo Producer: Super LlamaImage: Getty

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 ValleyGet in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.ukGuest: Jaron Lanier, Computer Scientist and Futurist.Presenters: Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The TimesDanny Fortson, US West Coast Correspondent, The Sunday TimesProducer: Robert Wallace and Marnie Duke Executive Producer: Priyanka DeladiaVideo Producer: Super LlamaImage: Getty

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?Watch on YouTube 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 DeladiaImage: Getty

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 RoboticsPresenters:Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The TimesDanny Fortson, US West Coast Correspondent, The Sunday TimesProducer: Marnie DukeExecutive Producer: Priyanka DeladiaImage: Bear Robotics

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 at one of Google’s data centres in London that disrupted services at Royal Mail, Revolut, HSBC and Lloyds bank has renewed concerns about a lack of sovereign AI. Watch on YouTube Read more: How I helped to make Elon Musk’s flying carGet 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 DeladiaImage: Getty

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”.Watch on YouTube Get in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.ukPresenters:Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The TimesDanny Fortson, US West Coast Correspondent, The Sunday TimesProducer: Marnie DukeExecutive Producer: Priyanka DeladiaVideo Producer: Bronwen LathamImage: Getty

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 and OpenAI. So, what does this tell us about the AI industry and the potential dangers it poses?Plus, after years of predictions that AI will replace white-collar workers, Anthropic is reportedly hiring a human personal assistant for a salary of £145,000.Watch on YouTube Read more: Chatbot developer Anthropic seeks PA — but only humans need applyGet in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.ukPresenters:Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The TimesDanny Fortson, US West Coast Correspondent, The Sunday TimesProducer: Marnie DukeExecutive Producer: Priyanka DeladiaImage: Getty

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.Watch on YouTube 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 DeladiaVideo Producer: Bronwen LathamImage: GettyClip: NBC News