This week’s episode plunges into a high-stakes standoff between AI developer Anthropic and the Pentagon. Anthropic is firmly refusing to allow its advanced AI technology to be used for autonomous weapons and domestic surveillance. In retaliation, the Pentagon has threatened to sever business ties and label the company a “supply chain risk.” The question remains: who will yield first in this unprecedented dispute? Also, we feature Scott Shambaugh, who shares his extraordinary encounter with an autonomous AI agent that authored a defamatory article about him. And of course, our popular ‘Hot Mess Express’ segment is back!
Guests
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Scott Shambaugh, engineer and author of “An A.I. Agent Published a Hit Piece on Me”
Photo Illustration by The New York Times; Photo: Joshua Roberts/Reuters
Additional Reading
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Defense Department and Anthropic Square Off in Dispute Over A.I. Safety
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Ring Cancels Its Partnership With Flock Safety After Surveillance Backlash
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Meta Plans to Add Facial Recognition Technology to Its Smart Glasses
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Japan’s Largest Toilet Maker Is Undervalued A.I. Play, Says Activist Investor
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‘It Is 35 Degrees’: Outrage as Aussie Uber Driver Charges $5 to Turn on Air Conditioning Unit During Heatwave
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Meta Patented an A.I. That Lets You Keep Posting From Beyond the Grave
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I Tried RentAHuman, Where A.I. Agents Hired Me to Hype Their A.I. Start-Ups
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Credits
“Hard Fork” is hosted by Kevin Roose and Casey Newton, and produced by Rachel Cohn and Whitney Jones. This episode was expertly edited by Vjeran Pavic, with engineering by Katie McMurran. Original music was composed by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, and Rowan Niemisto. Fact-checking was provided by Caitlin Love.
Special thanks go to Paula Szuchman, Pui-Wing Tam, and Dahlia Haddad.