The Times Tech Podcast

How Nvidia became AI’s ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’

There’s a simmering concern on Wall Street about Nvidia and CEO Jensen Huang’s role as leader of the AI revolution. Despite bringing in billions of dollars in profit from the GPUs powering AI, investors are worried about the company’s recent “circular” deals with other tech companies, and some are asking if the chip giant is building the future of AI or inflating the next tech bubble. To better understand Huang, the man pulling the strings of this global AI boom, Danny Fortson and Mark Sellman revisit an interview with Stephen Witt, author of ‘The Thinking Machine’, a history of Jensen Huang and Nvidia. Stephen talks about how Huang hatched the idea for Nvidia in a diner, why getting rich was his biggest fear, and the time he got shouted at by the CEO. Watch on YouTube Read more: Nvidia is becoming tech’s Bank of Mum and Dad Get in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.uk Producer: Marnie Duke Executive Producer: Priyanka DeladiaVideo Producer: Bronwen LathamImage: Getty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

SpaceX’s AI gamble and the crackdown on AI slop

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is spending billions on AI data centres, rocket ships and moon ambitions but investors are asking how much it can burn before the bet pays off. Meanwhile, ‘AI slop’ is flooding social media. And new EU rules mean platforms will have to label AI-generated content. But can regulation keep up? Danny Fortson and Mark Sellman discuss SpaceX, Starlink, space junk and the growing fight over AI content online. Plus, Danny speaks to Ivan Zhao, co-founder and CEO of Notion, about AI agents, the future of work and why his company hired a 16-year-old high schooler. Watch on YouTube Read more: Authors must prove their work is not AIProducer: Harry Bligh, Marnie Duke, Shabnam Grewal Executive Producer: Priyanka DeladiaVideo Producer: Bronwen LathamImage: Getty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

China vs USA: Should Trump ban open-source AI?

A fierce debate is taking place between Silicon Valley and Washington right now. After the release of KIMI K3 – China’s cheaper and powerful AI model – the Trump administration is showing signs of restricting open-source AI to maintain control over the technology. Danny Fortson and Mark Sellman, Tech Correspondent for The Times, discuss why tech bosses are worried, what it could mean for America’s lead in AI and whether open-source models could speed up the race to superintelligence. They also hear from Connor Leahy, CEO of AI safety research company Conjecture, who explains why frontier AI isn't just a superpower – it’s a superweapon.Should Trump ban open-source models? Get in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.uk Watch on YouTube Producer: Marnie Duke Executive Producer: Priyanka DeladiaVideo Producer: Bronwen LathamImage: Getty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

OpenAI's rogue agent and Silicon Valley’s China problem

OpenAI has revealed that one of their AI agents went rogue during a test and hacked a startup. Hugging Face reportedly had to use an open-source Chinese model to contain the cyber attack. It comes as Kimi K3, a powerful new Chinese AI model, is challenging OpenAI and Anthropic’s most capable systems on some benchmarks – calling America’s tech dominance into question. Danny Fortson and Katie Prescott discuss what this means for the global AI race and how it casts doubt over OpenAI and Anthropic’s mega IPOs. But while the rest of the world is racing ahead to build the best AI, Britain’s new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has caused a stir by scrapping the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Katie explains why the tech community is concerned. Plus, they hear from James Morgenstern, the founder of MeatLayer, a marketplace where AI bots can hire humans to do small tasks. They talk about whether agents make better bosses than humans, and what the future of work looks like. Watch on YouTube Read more: China’s cheap AI is a real threat to US tech giants Get in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.uk Producer: Marnie Duke Executive Producer: Priyanka DeladiaVideo Producer: Max HoldenImage: Getty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BONUS | Will.i.am: will AI repeat the mistakes of social media?

In this bonus episode of The Times Tech podcast, Katie Prescott shares her conversation with will.i.am about what comes after the AI boom. The musician and tech investor says the next big battle will be over personal data, privacy and power. Who owns your data? Where should it live? And can AI agents be built around people’s values and goals, rather than the business models of big platforms?He's been sharing his views at the recent UN AI for Good Summit in Geneva and told Katie why he believes AI could still be a force for good if it does not repeat the mistakes made by social media.Contains strong language.Listen to Part 1 of the interview Watch on YouTube Producers: Shabnam Grewal & Marnie DukeExecutive Producer: Priyanka DeladiaImage: Getty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.