FT Tech Tonic

The FT’s Innovation editor John Thornhill and San Francisco tech correspondent Hannah Murphy have in the past both met and interviewed Pavel Durov, the secretive founder of Telegram who was arrested in France for alleged failure to address criminality on the messaging app. In the first episode of a two-part series, they discuss how Durov went from free speech hero to a wanted man, and what the charges against him mean for the future of Telegram – and Big Tech – and the limits of free speech. Does his arrest flag a turning point in the regulation of social media platforms? Want more?Pavel Durov, Telegram’s self-mythologising founderHow Telegram chief Pavel Durov miscalculated on moderationEmmanuel Macron hits back at claims Telegram chief’s arrest is politicalThe Durov case is not about free speechRussian lawmakers hit back at arrest of Telegram chief Pavel Durov in FranceThis episode of Tech Tonic is presented by John Thornhill and Hannah Murphy. The producer is Persis Love. Edwin Lane is senior producer. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound engineering by Breen Turner. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Anita was scrolling on Twitter when she found someone had made deepfake porn of her, without her permission. But that was just the start of her problems; she found it was difficult and expensive to get the deepfakes taken down and nigh-on impossible to prevent their proliferation online. So, what guardrails can regulators and tech companies put in place to prevent the spread of deepfakes and protect those whose likeness has been stolen without their consent? Technological fixes, such as deepfake detection software and deepfake watermarking exist, but can the technology keep up with the ever-improving capacities of generative AI?Host Hannah Murphy speaks to Hany Farid, digital forensics expert at the University of California, Berkeley; Nina Schick, CEO and founder of Tamang Ventures, author and Qlik AI Council member; and Sweet Anita, Twitch streamer.Tell us what you think of Tech Tonic and you could be in with a chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort 35 Wireless Headphones. Complete the survey here.Want more?Google upgrades search in drive to tackle deepfake pornIndia tells tech giants to police deepfakes under ‘explicit’ rulesPolitical deepfakes top list of malicious AI use, DeepMind findsClips: sweet_anita TwitchSince publication, Mastercard, one of the companies mentioned in this episode, sent the following response: 'Purchases of nonconsensual deepfake content are not allowed on our network. When we see or are made aware of specific instances of such activity, we investigate the allegations and take action to ensure compliance with both local laws and our rules and standards.'This series of Tech Tonic is presented by Hannah Murphy. The producer is Persis Love. The senior producer is Edwin Lane. Our executive producer Manuela Saragosa. Additional production help from Josh Gabert-Doyon. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. Original music by Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

A new breed of AI generated fake pictures, videos and audio clips is spreading across the internet - content anyone with an internet connection can generate. And some of these deepfakes are now so convincing that even experts struggle to tell the difference between what’s real and what has been created using artificial intelligence. In a new series, Hannah Murphy, the FT’s tech reporter in San Francisco, examines the potential of deepfakes to cause chaos and asks how worried we should be and what’s being done to combat their proliferation. In the first of this two-part series she hears from Kimberly Ton Mai, AI researcher at University College, London; Hany Farid, digital forensics expert at the University of California, Berkeley; and Paul Carpenter, magician and hypnotist. Tell us what you think of Tech Tonic and you could be in with a chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort 35 wireless headphones. Complete the survey here.Want more?Audio deepfakes emerge as weapon of choice in election disinformationThe rising threat to democracy of AI-powered disinformationThe FT View: Deepfakes and disinformationThe danger of deepfakes is not what you thinkClips: Fox News, AP, @mentallyhyp TikTok, The Telegraph, The Guardian, France 24 English, Sky NewsThis series of Tech Tonic is presented by Hannah Murphy. The producer is Persis Love. The senior producer is Edwin Lane. Executive producer Manuela Saragosa. Additional production help from Josh Gabert-Doyon. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. Original music by Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

China is pushing the frontiers of scientific research, launching missions to the Moon and exploring the remotest places on Earth. It’s part of China’s grand plan to be the world leader in science and technology. But why are science and tech so important to Beijing, and is China’s rise as the next tech superpower inevitable? James Kynge concludes this season of Tech Tonic with Eleanor Olcott, the FT’s China tech correspondent, Matthew Funaiole from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Matt Sheehan from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Yasheng Huang, professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Clips: BBC News, Sky News Australia, DW NewsPresented by James Kynge. Edwin Lane is the senior producer. The producer is Josh Gabert-Doyon. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco, with original music from Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Since the emergence of chatbots like ChatGPT, China has made building its own advanced AI a priority. But to build AI it needs the most advanced computer chips, and the US has banned companies from selling them to China. The FT’s James Kynge visits China to find out how the country is turning to smuggling to get its hands on high-end chips for AI research. And he visits Chinese tech giant Huawei — one of the companies at the vanguard of China’s efforts to start making its own advanced AI chips. Presented by James Kynge. Edwin Lane is the senior producer. The producer is Josh Gabert-Doyon. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco, with original music from Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

In China, you can find robots serving food in restaurants, delivering room service in hotels, and cleaning floors in office buildings. But it’s in factories where China wants robots to make the biggest difference. China’s population is starting to shrink. With the number of workers set to plummet, will robots be able to fill the gap? The FT’s James Kynge visits Chinese robot makers in Shenzhen, and speaks to demography expert Wang Feng about the scale of the demographic challenge facing China today. Presented by James Kynge. Edwin Lane is the senior producer. The producer is Josh Gabert-Doyon. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco, with original music from Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Introducing Power for Sale, a new season of Untold from the Financial Times. In Untold: Power for Sale, host Valentina Pop and a team of FT correspondents from all over Europe investigate what happened in the Qatargate scandal, where EU lawmakers were accused of accepting payments from Qatar to whitewash its image.Subscribe and listen on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode, long-time FT China correspondent James Kynge travels to Lagos to hear about the success of Chinese-backed companies in Nigeria – and some of the looming concerns. We hear about Transsion, a massive Chinese mobile phone company that perfected its business model in the street markets of Nigeria, and the Chinese-owned online lending apps that are facing scrutiny from regulators. James speaks to Yang Wang, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research, Babatunde Irukera, former director-general of Nigeria’s Consumer Protection Council, Adedeji Olowe, board chair at Paystack, and Moses Nmor, co-founder of BFREE Africa.Presented by James Kynge. Edwin Lane is the senior producer. The producer is Josh Gabert-Doyon. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco, with original music from Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

China’s BYD has become one of the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturers, thanks to its low production costs. The US has slapped a 100% tariff on Chinese EV imports to protect its own sector but BYD has its sights set on Europe. The FT’s James Kynge reports from Germany to find out what established European carmakers make of this burgeoning competition, and how the EU is handling it. We hear from the FT’s June Yoon, automobile analyst Stefan Bratzel, European Commission spokesperson for trade Olof Gill, and Manuel Kallweit, chief economist at German car lobby group VDA. Presented by James Kynge. Edwin Lane is the senior producer. The producer is Josh Gabert-Doyon. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco, with original music from Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.Clips: Bloomberg, CNBC, DWRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com