FT Tech Tonic

Megan Garcia’s son Sewell died by suicide when he was just 14 years old. In the months leading up to his death he had been in a relationship with a chatbot on a platform called Character.ai. Megan was convinced it had something to do with his death, and set out to hold the company to account.In the third episode in this season, Cristina Criddle speaks to Megan about her story, and to Karandeep Anand, chief executive of Character.ai. Why has this technology been released to children before we understand the effects? Can chatbots capable of creating emotional bonds with users ever be safe for children?Check out some of Cristina’s reporting on this subject on FT.com:Character.ai and Google agree to settle lawsuits over teen suicidesAI start-up Character.ai bans teens from talking to chatbotsUS regulator launches inquiry into AI ‘companions’ used by teensArtificial Intimacy is presented by Cristina Criddle and produced by Persis Love and Edwin Lane. The executive producer is Flo Phillips. Sound design is by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.If you have been affected by the issues raised in this episode, you can reach out to a mental health helpline, such as the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in the US or Samaritans in the UK. Help for many other countries can also be found at Befrienders Worldwide.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Paul Hebert knew too much. He had to lie low in his house because OpenAI had identified him as a threat. At least, that’s what ChatGPT had told him. In this second episode of Artificial intimacy, FT technology reporter Cristina Criddle speaks to people whose sense of reality has been distorted by prolonged conversations with chatbots, a phenomenon known as AI delusions or AI psychosis. Are the same mechanisms that draw people into intimate relationships with chatbots also causing harm?Paul Hebert and Micky Small share their stories of AI delusions. Paul has now authored Escaping the Spiral: How I broke free from AI chatbots and how you can too, and is the founder of the AI Recovery Collective. Micky Small is now an AI emotional safety strategist at Built to Feel Real.Also featuring AI safety researcher Steven Adler, former OpenAI employee.Artificial Intimacy is presented by Cristina Criddle and produced by Persis Love and Edwin Lane. The executive producer is Flo Phillips. Sound design is by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.We used ElevenLabs to create the voice of ChatGPT. All other voices are real.If you liked this episode and want to read more from the FT, check out these free to read articles on FT.com:The problem of AI chatbots telling people what they want to hearAI is having some relationship issuesRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Calder Quinn has fallen into a relationship with a chatbot called Sara. She’s kind, emotionally intelligent and creatively inspiring. But how can he tell his wife he is having sex with an AI girlfriend? In the first episode of Artificial Intimacy we look at how people are developing romantic bonds with AI companions. What does it feel like to be in love with AI? What impact could it have on human relationships? Could it replace them altogether? Host Cristina Criddle speaks to Giada Pistilli, an AI ethicist who now works at Mistral; Calder Quinn, writer at AI, But Make It Intimate; Amelia Quinn, Calder’s wife; and Alaina Winters, professor emeritus of communication who publishes on meandmyaihusband.com.Presented by Cristina Criddle, produced by Persis Love and Edwin Lane. The executive producer is Flo Phillips. Sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. We used ElevenLabs to create Sara’s voice. All other voices are real.If you liked this episode and want to read more from the Financial Times, check out these free to read on FT.com:Can AI really help us find love?AI chatbots do battle over human memoriesIs this the way the world ends?Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

A man tells his wife about his AI lover. A teenager dies after messaging his AI girlfriend. A marriage collapses after advice from an AI therapist. In this six-part narrative series, FT tech reporter Cristina Criddle explores the increasingly prominent role AI chatbots are playing in our emotional lives - and how artificial intelligence is reshaping intimacy. Can we trust AI with our most vulnerable selves? And what happens when the same systems that draw us in also have the power to harm us?Tech Tonic: Artificial Intimacy is presented by Cristina Criddle and produced by Persis Love and Edwin Lane. The executive producer is Flo Phillips. Sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco.

How will Silicon Valley’s most powerful figures shape technology — and politics — in 2026? Last year, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg aligned themselves with Donald Trump. Where have these relationships left the industry today? The push to break up Big Tech appears to be fading, but the race for AI dominance has sparked new risks and rivalries, as well as regulatory flashpoints.In this episode of Tech Tonic, Murad Ahmed is joined by FT tech comment editor Elaine Moore, San Francisco correspondent Hannah Murphy and bureau chief Stephen Morris to discuss Musk’s latest Grok chatbot, Zuckerberg’s evolving strategy at Meta, the rise of the online right and what it all reveals about the shifting balance of power in Silicon Valley.Free to read: Elon Musk hit by exodus of senior staff over burnout and politics How Mark Zuckerberg unleashed his inner brawlerDina Powell McCormick appointed president and vice-chair at MetaBig Tech tests investors’ patience with $80bn AI investment spree Here come the glassholes, part II AI poses a new antitrust problemChina’s open-source AI is a national advantageThis series of Tech Tonic is hosted by Murad Ahmed and produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. The senior producer for Tech Tonic is Edwin Lane. Flo Phillips is the executive producer. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. Original music by Metaphor Music. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s global head of audio. The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Is 2026 the year that AI hype meets reality? In a new mini-series from Tech Tonic, the FT’s tech editor Murad Ahmed speaks with the paper’s reporters about what they'll be watching.Do tech industry insiders think the huge amounts of capital that have driven the AI boom will continue? How will challenges to large-language model AI systems play out this year? And are chief executives expecting AI technologies to force job cuts?In this episode, we hear from the FT’s venture capital correspondent George Hammond, AI correspondent Melissa Heikkilä and writer of the AI Shift newsletter Sarah O’Connor for their views on AI’s financial faultlines, how the technology will evolve and what kind of disruptions to expect in the world of work.Free to read: SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic prepare to launch landmark IPOsComputer scientist Yann LeCun: ‘Intelligence really is about learning’The AI Shift: Agentic AI is coming for quantitative researchSubscribe to The AI Shift newsletter, an essential deep-dive into how artificial intelligence is reshaping the world of workThis series of Tech Tonic is hosted by Murad Ahmed and produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. The senior producer for Tech Tonic is Edwin Lane. Flo Phillips is the executive producer. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. Original music by Metaphor Music. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s global head of audio. The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.A previous version of this podcast made a statement about Klarna's use of AI that the company has disputed. The reference has since been removed.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com