Is A.I. Eating the Labor Market? + The Latest on the Pentagon, OpenClaw and Alpha School

This week, the economist Anton Korinek joins to break down how artificial intelligence is driving volatility in the job and stock markets. Then, the battle between the Pentagon and Anthropic is getting even more tense. Anthropic now has until 5:01 p.m. Eastern time on Friday to accept the military’s demands over the terms of a contract, or the Trump administration will retaliate by invoking the Defense Production Act and designating the company a “supply chain risk.” We discuss this change, as well as two other updates on OpenClaw and Alpha Schools.

Guest:

• Anton Korinek, economist studying the impact of A.I., at the University of Virginia.

Additional Reading:

• Pentagon Gives A.I. Company an Ultimatum
• Summer Yue’s OpenClaw post
• ‘Students Are Being Treated Like Guinea Pigs’: Inside an AI-Powered Private School
• Parents Fell in Love With Alpha School’s Promise. Then They Wanted Out
• The 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis
• When Does Automating Research Produce Explosive Growth?

We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.