Hard Fork

By The New York Times

“Hard Fork” is a show about the future that’s already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

19 episodes

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AI Dominance: High-Stakes Financial Engineering and Technological Brinkmanship

AI Dominance: High-Stakes Financial Engineering and Technological Brinkmanship

Feb 06, 2026

The AI race involves complex financial maneuvers and experimental leaps with hidden costs. Navigate downstream complexities and embrace discomfort for future advantage to win.

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AI Agents' Rapid Social Evolution Reshapes Digital Ecosystem

AI Agents' Rapid Social Evolution Reshapes Digital Ecosystem

Feb 04, 2026

AI agents are rapidly evolving beyond simple tools to active internet participants, creating new economies and blurring lines between human and bot activity. Understand this seismic shift now.

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Unseen Consequences: Technology's Subtle Societal Reshaping

Unseen Consequences: Technology's Subtle Societal Reshaping

Jan 30, 2026

Technology's true impact lies in subtle, delayed effects that reshape society. Navigate these hidden currents by understanding what tools enable and discourage over time for a significant advantage.

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OpenAI's ChatGPT Ads Signal Commercialization Risk; Anthropic's Values-Based AI Contrasts

OpenAI's ChatGPT Ads Signal Commercialization Risk; Anthropic's Values-Based AI Contrasts

Jan 23, 2026

OpenAI's ChatGPT introduces ads, risking user trust and mirroring social media's commercialization, while competitors like Claude focus on value-based AI ethics.

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Social Media Harms Youth; AI Empowers Creation; Forkiverse Seeks Community

Social Media Harms Youth; AI Empowers Creation; Forkiverse Seeks Community

Jan 16, 2026

Social media demonstrably harms children's mental health; AI coding tools now empower anyone to build applications, and new communities offer alternatives to mainstream platforms.

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Fediverse Offers User Control Amidst Decentralization Challenges

Fediverse Offers User Control Amidst Decentralization Challenges

Jan 13, 2026

Escape centralized social media's "misery addiction." The Fediverse offers user control and portability, but building and populating these decentralized spaces presents significant challenges.

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AI's Dual Impact: Democratizing Creation, Amplifying Disinformation Risks

AI's Dual Impact: Democratizing Creation, Amplifying Disinformation Risks

Jan 09, 2026

AI democratizes software creation, enabling rapid development of complex tools, but raises concerns about job displacement and the potential for uncontrollable AI self-improvement.

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Balancing AI Advancement With Foundational Infrastructure and Human Needs

Balancing AI Advancement With Foundational Infrastructure and Human Needs

Jan 02, 2026

AI's rapid evolution clashes with lagging infrastructure, demanding balanced progress and responsible integration over mere capability.

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AI Integration: Shifting Information Access, Relationships, and Business Models

AI Integration: Shifting Information Access, Relationships, and Business Models

Dec 30, 2025

AI is transforming daily life, shifting information seeking to chatbots and creating AI companions, while challenging traditional businesses and raising questions about human connection.

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AI Accelerates Scientific Discovery but Clinical Trials Remain Bottleneck

AI Accelerates Scientific Discovery but Clinical Trials Remain Bottleneck

Dec 26, 2025

AI agents perform months of scientific work in a single run, accelerating discovery by modeling complex systems. However, widespread adoption lags due to scientific conservatism and the time needed for validation.

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Antitrust's Unintended Consequence: iRobot's Downfall and China's Gain

Antitrust's Unintended Consequence: iRobot's Downfall and China's Gain

Dec 19, 2025

US antitrust actions may have inadvertently accelerated iRobot's bankruptcy, ceding consumer robotics leadership to China and highlighting the need for policies balancing competition with domestic innovation.

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Australia's Youth Social Media Ban and AI's Systemic Environmental, Geopolitical Impacts

Australia's Youth Social Media Ban and AI's Systemic Environmental, Geopolitical Impacts

Dec 12, 2025

Australia bans social media for under-16s, setting a global precedent, while AI's environmental impact shifts from water to energy concerns.

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AI Competition Forces OpenAI Pivot to Engagement Amidst Gemini, Claude Advances

AI Competition Forces OpenAI Pivot to Engagement Amidst Gemini, Claude Advances

Dec 05, 2025

OpenAI pivots to ChatGPT engagement amid fierce competition from Google's speedy Gemini 3 and Anthropic's human-like Claude Opus 4.5, reshaping AI's value proposition.

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Data Centers Power AI's Iconic 2025 Rise

Data Centers Power AI's Iconic 2025 Rise

Nov 28, 2025

The Hard Fork countdown reveals 2025's 50 most iconic technologies, from AI's foundational data centers to viral collectibles, defining a year of rapid innovation and societal shifts.

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Wikipedia's Trust: Transparency, Sources, and Battling Misinformation

Wikipedia's Trust: Transparency, Sources, and Battling Misinformation

Nov 25, 2025

Wikipedia's enduring trust stems from transparency, rigorous sourcing, and community debate, positioning it as a vital, non-profit beacon against misinformation in a polarized digital age.

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Roblox's AI Age Scan: Safety Revolution or Privacy Concern?

Roblox's AI Age Scan: Safety Revolution or Privacy Concern?

Nov 21, 2025

Roblox CEO defends AI age checks and communication features, framing safety as an opportunity to innovate and lead in building a better future for online interaction.

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Gemini 3: Google Builds Interactive AI Interfaces

Gemini 3: Google Builds Interactive AI Interfaces

Nov 18, 2025

Gemini 3 transforms AI with advanced reasoning, custom interfaces, and benchmark dominance, integrating seamlessly into Google's ecosystem to redefine user experiences and drive future innovation.

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Space Data Centers Powering AI's Future, Right-Wing Policy Debates

Space Data Centers Powering AI's Future, Right-Wing Policy Debates

Nov 14, 2025

Space data centers offer a radical solution to AI's energy demands, while Republican AI policy grapples with diverse risks and opportunities, and historical AI reveals surprising reasoning.

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Navigating Tech Hype: Real Insights, Real Experiments

Navigating Tech Hype: Real Insights, Real Experiments

Sep 27, 2022

Navigate tech's wild frontier: from crypto chaos and AI experiments to ethical AI dilemmas, this episode demystifies what's real versus hype with insider access.

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