The Times Tech Podcast

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 Peryera, the Co-Founder of Harvey, the legal AI company named after the character in the TV drama Suits, about whether AI agents can really replace the jobs of lawyers. Plus, Anthropic eyes a potential trillion-dollar IPO.Could AI lawyers replace people? Get in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.ukProducer: Marnie DukeExecutive Producer: Priyanka DeladiaImage: GettyRead more: ‘Big Law’ is leaning in to AI

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? Get in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.ukProducer: Marnie Duke Executive Producer: Priyanka DeladiaImage: Getty

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 a deeper look at the world’s richest man and discuss why this massive valuation is raising eyebrows.Get in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.ukProducer: Marnie DukeExecutive Producer: Priyanka DeladiaImage: Getty

Sam Altman took the stand this week to defend himself and his company against a lawsuit by Elon Musk. The three-week long trial has featured some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley, including Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella and OpenAI cofounder and former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever. As the trial nears its end, Danny Fortson and Katie Prescott talk about why the stakes are so high and debate whether this is a case of sour grapes, or if OpenAI did actually “steal a charity” from Musk. Plus, the founder of Raspberry Pi on the future of AI and how he feels about his microcomputer being used to power AI agents such as OpenClaw.Get in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.ukProducer: Marnie DukeExecutive Producer: Priyanka DeladiaImage: Getty

The Met Gala has been dubbed the “Tech Gala” after a heavy Silicon Valley presence and sponsorship from Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez. But as tech billionaires try to win over culture, Elon Musk’s court battle with OpenAI is exposing the messy origins of the AI boom.Danny Fortson has been covering the California trial, now in its second week, where OpenAI president Greg Brockman has taken the stand. He and Katie Prescott discuss Big Tech’s cultural rebrand, the courtroom drama, and why companies from Coinbase to Meta are increasingly linking layoffs and restructuring to AI. Plus, Bebo co-founder Michael Birch on relaunching the social network and why he thinks AI could become an existential threat.Get in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.ukProducer: Marnie DukeExecutive Producer: Priyanka DeladiaImage: Getty

Alphabet, Google's parent company, has reportedly signed a deal allowing the Pentagon use of its AI for classified purposes. It's just one of many recent deals between Silicon Valley tech companies and the US military. Meanwhile, tech company Palantir says future AI warfare is inevitable and is calling on big tech bosses to "participate in the defence of the nation". Danny Fortson and Katie Prescott discuss this cultural shift, and whether AI is actually making us safer or enabling the rise of the ‘Big Brother’ state. Plus, Julian Cracknell, CTO of defence company BAE Systems, talks about the future of defence and killer robots. Get in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.ukProducer: Marnie DukeExecutive Producer: Priyanka DeladiaImage: Getty 

Meet Norman: the launch of the OpenClaw AI agent has "opened the next frontier of AI to everyone" says Jensen Huang, chief exec of the tech giant Nvidia. But as these agents start doing work that once got done by humans, this latest technological revolution has provoked questions about what the future of human work - and jobs - will look like. Katie Prescott has built her own agent, Norman, and in this episode she talks Danny Fortson through the pros and cons of having your very own digital butler.Plus, Box CEO Aaron Levie says there will soon be more AI agents than humans, and that the internet will have to be redesigned for them, not people.Do you have an AI agent? Get in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.ukRead more: AI agents are everywhere, but paying for them is becoming a problemProducer: Marnie DukeExecutive Producer: Priyanka DeladiaImage: Getty

The race among top AI companies to build ever more powerful systems is accelerating, and so are fears about losing control. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is at the centre of the debate, which came to a head last week after the New Yorker released an investigation about him, and a series of attacks took place near his home. Danny Fortson and Katie Prescott discuss how we got here and why Altman is becoming the face of global anxiety about AI. Plus, Bobby Healy of Manna Air Delivery on robotic dogs and drones delivering coffee in Dublin.Would you use a drone for parcel delivery? Get in touch techpod@thetimes.co.uk Image: Getty Producer: Marnie DukeExecutive Producer: Priyanka Deladia

Iran has been bombing US owned data centres in the Persian Gulf, damaging physical infrastructure and disrupting cloud services across the region. Meanwhile in the UK, the combined value of new data centres approved last year officially overtook office buildings. Katie Prescott and The Times's technology correspondent Mark Sellman look at how this critical infrastructure is reshaping energy, infrastructure and conflict around the world. They also hear from Lei Zhang, CEO of Envision, a Shanghai based green tech company who talks about energy security, trade wars and robot cities.Producer: Marnie DukeExecutive Producer: Priyanka DeladiaImage: Getty Images