Uncanny Valley | WIRED

Did China’s Moonshot AI Steal From Anthropic?; The U.S Army Burns Through AI Tokens

This week, the White House accused Chinese-owned Moonshot AI of distilling Anthropic's Fable 5 to build their much talked about Kimi K3 model. Zoë, Leah, and Brian break down whether this is a repeat of the DeepSeek moment and what it means for the AI race between the U.S and China. They also get into how the U.S Army — and plenty of Silicon Valley companies — are having to cut back AI usage after burning through their tokens. Plus, we discuss why you should check if you have an alarm that could make your car easier to hack, and how OpenAI briefly lost control of two AI models during a security test. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stanford Grads Say Big Tech Is Creating a 'Modern-Day Draft’

More than a hundred Stanford students left their own graduation to protest Google’s military contracts and deals with ICE. Two organizers, Amanda Campos and Eva Jones, tell us why. Join WIRED’s best and brightest on Uncanny Valley as they dissect the collision of tech, politics, finance, and business, from Alexis Ohanian’s newest tech venture to the effects of inaccurate information from artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots on social protests. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why Apple Sued OpenAI; New York Takes On Data Centers; Cyclosporiasis Outbreak

This week, the team discusses the details behind Apple suing OpenAI over alleged stolen hardware secrets. And the company's headaches don't stop there — a group of OpenAI employees just started a Super PAC to advocate for stronger AI guardrails. Plus, they discuss New York's first-in-the-nation data center moratorium and how the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is not telling how they used AI to shape housing policy. Later in the show, WIRED's Emily Mullin explaisn the cyclosporiasis outbreak spreading across the U.S. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We Interviewed a Puppet and It Made A Lot of Sense

Attitudes around social media are changing. A Pew Research study found that about half of teens surveyed in 2024 felt that social media had a mostly negative impact on their age group. A group advocating a more considered relationship to tech held what they called a Summer of Ludd Festival, named after the Industrial Revolution era workers movement, the Luddites. The festival in New York City featured tech-free activities ranging from meditation to a workshop on how to flirt in real life. But in 2026, is it really possible to live without the tech we’ve become so addicted to? Guest host Manisha Krishnan, WIRED’s senior culture editor, talks to Gowanus, the spokespuppet of a local Luddite movement, about the tenets of their group - and how they plan to grow it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meta’s Threads Rivals Musk’s X; Trump Phone Review; Maine's Senate Race Implodes

Threads recently hit 500 million monthly users, putting it on par with X — but is it really competing, or just filling a different niche? Meanwhile, the reviews have been coming in for the Trump-branded T1 phone in recent weeks as it finally started shipping after a year of delays. Plus: Leah explains the fast-moving crisis around Senate candidate Graham Platner, who stepped down this week after a long string of controversies. Articles mentioned in this episode: The Trump Phone Is Already a Lot Different From Last Week | WIRED Republicans Gleefully Celebrate Midterms Chaos in Maine | WIRED Join WIRED’s best and brightest on Uncanny Valley as they dissect the collision of tech, politics, finance, and business, from the newest ventures to the effects of inaccurate information from artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots on social protests. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices