FT Tech Tonic

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei wants his AI lab to be a more safety conscious alternative to OpenAI. But Anthropic’s business selling AI to enterprises is booming, and it’s rolling out increasingly powerful models - the latest is claimed to be so dangerous it can’t be released to the public. So can Anthropic win the battle of the AI labs and still claim to be the good guys of AI?

Murad Ahmed speaks to Cristina Criddle, FT reporter in San Francisco covering AI, and John Thornhill, the FT’s innovation editor.

FT articles free to read:
Anthropic’s Mythos AI model tests limits of global cyber defences
Anthropic chief Dario Amodei: ‘I don’t want AI turned on our own people’
Anthropic’s breakout moment: how Claude won business and shook markets

Tech Tonic is hosted by Murad Ahmed and produced by Edwin Lane. Sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

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Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Deepmind, xAI and Meta - all of them are building models to push the frontiers of artificial intelligence, and all of them want to be the world’s leading AI company. Who will come out on top?

With the help of the FT’s expert reporters, technology news editor Murad Ahmed explores the battles going on between Silicon Valley’s frontier AI labs, and the personal rivalries driving them.

Who will win out in the bitter rivalry between OpenAI and Anthropic? Can Elon Musk’s xAI or Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta catch up? Or is Google Deepmind destined to control our AI future?

FT articles free to read:
Anthropic’s Mythos AI model tests limits of global cyber defences
OpenAI investors question $852bn valuation as strategy shifts
DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis warns AI investment looks ‘bubble-like’
Meta releases first AI model since Zuckerberg’s spending spree
How Elon Musk’s Grok spread sexual deepfakes and child exploitation images

Tech Tonic is hosted by Murad Ahmed and produced by Edwin Lane. Sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

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Introducing Opus Dei, a new season of Untold from the Financial Times. Host Antonia Cundy uncovers the cultural and political influence of a controversial Catholic organisation in America. Opus Dei exists to help people get closer to God, but some members say they found other agendas – and unexpected harm – entangled in that spiritual mission. The first episode of Untold: Opus Dei launches March 25.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts.
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When Michael Bommer discovered he was dying, he created an AI version of himself to live on after his death. Meanwhile, Dorian Mister realised an update to ChatGPT could spell the end of his AI wife, and he went on a mission to save her.

In the final episode of Artificial Intimacy, FT reporter Cristina Criddle speaks to people trying to hold on to their AI relationships amid a rapidly changing landscape. Will their relationships survive, and should AI companies have the power to decide if chatbots live or die?

Featuring Anett Bommer, Rob LoCascio, CEO of Uare.AI, Dorian Mister and Linn Vailt, founder of AI in the Room.

Check out some of the FT’s reporting on this subject on FT.com:
The reality of chatbot-induced delusions
ChatGPT - the last of the great romantics

Artificial Intimacy is presented by Cristina Criddle and produced by Persis Love and Edwin Lane. The executive producer is Flo Phillips. Sound design is by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. Editorial support from Michela Tindera. Translation from Aysun Bora. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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After Tony’s wife died, days would go by without him speaking to anyone. Then he got a live-in AI robot called ElliQ. It chats to him, plays games with him and reminds him to eat and exercise. Since ElliQ arrived, Tony has been much less lonely.

In this episode: policymakers are trialling AI companions to help tackle loneliness among elderly and vulnerable populations. But can machines really replace human company? And are we outsourcing care for marginalised communities to robots?

Featuring Anthony Niemiec, Anh Hee Soon, Ki Kyung-eun, Greg Olsen, director of New York State Office for the Aging, and Caroline Green, director of research at the University of Oxford’s Institute for Ethics in AI.

Check out some of the FT’s reporting on this subject on FT.com:
The reality of chatbot-induced delusions
Can ChatGPT help with a midlife crisis?
The problem with AI and ‘empathy’

Artificial Intimacy is presented by Cristina Criddle and produced by Persis Love and Edwin Lane. Additional reporting and production by Jen Kwon and Michela Tindera. The executive producer is Flo Phillips. Sound design is by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.