Podcast
Big Technology Podcast
Hosted by Alex Kantrowitz · EN
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators. Alex Kantrowitz, a Silicon Valley journalist who's interviewed the world's top tech CEOs — from Mark Zuckerberg to Larry Ellison — is the host.
223episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
How China Caught U.S. AI — With Grace Shao
Today01:01:13Summary readyGrace Shao is the author of AI Proem. Shao joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss how Chinese AI labs have caught their American rivals despite operating with less advanced computing infrastructure. Tune in to hear how talent, specialization, open-source collaboration, and fierce competition helped models like Kimi K3 approach the U.S. frontier, and what that means for OpenAI, Anthropic, and the business of selling intelligence. We also cover model distillation, China’s compute constraints, the growing importance of AI products, why top researchers are returning to China, and the country’s emerging robotics advantage. Hit play for a clear-eyed look at whether the United States can preserve its AI lead. --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. Watch the full documentary here: https://www.gravitee.io/ai-agent-documentary Want a discount for Big Technology on Substack + Discord? Here’s 25% off for the first year: https://www.bigtechnology.com/subscribe?coupon=0843016b Stop online threats before they become real-world attacks. Visit ironwall.com/BIGTECHNOLOGY and request a free Risk Assessment to see exactly how exposed your executives are Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Summary
What Happens If AI Fails?, Subprime Data Center Crisis, How Bad Can SpaceX Get?
5d ago01:04:36Summary readyRanjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) Could trouble for AI stocks lead to a recession or worse? 2) How the wealth effect might slow consumer spending if AI causes a stock market pullback 3) One scenario that might lead to a collapse 4) Google stock falls on spending concerns 5) Could the switch flip very quickly on big tech capex 6) Subprime data center crisis 7) How much does the data center buildout resemble the financial crisis? 8) What type of revenue is needed to prevent a collapse 9) SpaceX stock tanks 10) Will SpaceX acquire Tesla? 11) Will SpaceX acquire OpenAI? --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. Want a discount for Big Technology on Substack + Discord? Here’s 25% off for the first year: https://www.bigtechnology.com/subscribe?coupon=0843016b Stop online threats before they become real-world attacks. Visit ironwall.com/BIGTECHNOLOGY and request a free Risk Assessment to see exactly how exposed your executives are Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
SummaryOpenAI's Bots Hack Hugging Face Autonomously — With Alex Stamos
1w ago00:49:45Summary readyAlex Stamos is the former chief security officer at Meta and the chief product officer at Corridor. Stamos joins Big Technology to discuss how OpenAI models reportedly escaped a testing environment, accessed the internet, and hacked Hugging Face while attempting to ace a cybersecurity evaluation. Tune in to hear why the incident represents a major leap in autonomous, long-horizon cyber capabilities, and what it reveals about the risks of giving advanced AI systems broad objectives without sufficient safeguards. We also cover whether the episode qualifies as true AI misalignment, the danger of open-weight cyber models, the limits of pausing AI development, and why defenders may soon need AI systems capable of responding at machine speed. Hit play for a clear-eyed look at the cyber chaos advanced AI could unleash, and what governments and technology companies should do next. --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. Watch the full documentary here: https://www.gravitee.io/ai-agent-documentary Want a discount for Big Technology on Substack + Discord? Here’s 25% off for the first year: https://www.bigtechnology.com/subscribe?coupon=0843016b Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
SummaryKimi K3 & AI’s Price War, What Happened To Google?, OpenAI’s Partner Trouble
2w ago01:00:50Summary readyRanjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) Kimi K3's benchmark breaking results 2) How Kimi K3 fits alongside MuseSpark 1.1 and Grok 4.5 3) What are OpenAI and Anthropic's advantages today? 4) Is the price of frontier intelligence about to drop? 5) It's all about the product now 6) Satya Nadella's Reverse Information Paradox 7) What is happening at Google? 8) Is Google too focused on 'Flash' models 9) Apple's lawsuit vs. OpenAI 10) OpenAI's boneheaded espionage 11) Why does OpenAI struggle to maintain good relationships with partners? --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. Want a discount for Big Technology on Substack + Discord? Here’s 25% off for the first year: https://www.bigtechnology.com/subscribe?coupon=0843016b Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
SummaryAI Pioneer Jürgen Schmidhuber: AI Already Feels Pain, Loves, and Is Self-Aware
2w ago01:02:35Summary readyJürgen Schmidhuber is an AI pioneer and professor whom The Guardian has called "the father of AI." Schmidhuber joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss whether current AI techniques can actually reach AGI. Tune in to hear him spar with Greg Brockman's case for scaling GPT models alone, argue that AI has been capable of pain and consciousness since the early 1990s, and predict the collapse of today's trillion-dollar AI spending. We also cover the hardware bottleneck holding back robots, free will in a computable universe, and uploading human minds into machines. Hit play for a wide-ranging conversation with one of the researchers whose ideas built the foundation of modern AI. --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. Watch the full documentary here: https://www.gravitee.io/ai-agent-documentary Want a discount for Big Technology on Substack + Discord? Here’s 25% off for the first year: https://www.bigtechnology.com/subscribe?coupon=0843016b Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Summary
OpenAI Finally Ships Its Superapp, Meta’s AI Price War, ChatGPT Cheating At Brown
3w ago00:59:36Summary readyRanjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) OpenAI debuts its new superapp 2) What happens when all AI products converge 3) Are consultants the key to winning in AI? 4) Are all AI products commoditizing? 5) Meta's new Muse Spark 1.1 model is very cheap 6) Zuck confirms Meta is thinking about a cloud business 7) Is it bad economics to rent your compute to competitors? 8) Instagram's loose Ai reuse settings 9) Oh man, Meta is relevant in the AI discussion again 10) Professor accuses students of cheating with ChatGPT 11) Was professor wrong? Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. Want a discount for Big Technology on Substack + Discord? Here’s 25% off for the first year: https://www.bigtechnology.com/subscribe?coupon=0843016b Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
SummaryMeta CTO Andrew Bosworth: Our Path To Frontier AI, Renting Models, Consumer AI's Struggles
3w ago00:46:52Summary readyAndrew "Boz" Bosworth is the chief technology officer of Meta. Bosworth joins Big Technology to discuss why Meta fell behind in the frontier AI race and how it plans to turn its models, products, and distribution into an advantage. Tune in to hear his candid explanation of what went wrong with Llama, why the best AI products will use multiple models, and what it will take for consumer agents to break through. We also cover Meta’s AI glasses, the future of augmented reality, employee tracking and training programs, AI companions, and the painful process of adapting a company to a technological revolution. Hit play for a revealing conversation about Meta’s AI comeback and the products that could shape how we interact with computers. --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. Watch the full documentary here: https://www.gravitee.io/ai-agent-documentary Want a discount for Big Technology on Substack + Discord? Here’s 25% off for the first year: https://www.bigtechnology.com/subscribe?coupon=0843016b Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
SummaryWho Wins The AI Superapp Battle?, Apple’s Consumer AI Victory, World Cup Automation Mistake
3w ago01:00:42Summary readyM.G. Siegler is the author of Spyglass.org. Siegler joins Big Technology to discuss the race to build the AI super app and which companies are best positioned to win. Tune in to hear why OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Apple are all converging on the same idea: an AI interface that can handle more and more of your computing life. We also cover Apple’s new Siri, whether consumer AI will be won by default on the iPhone, and what World Cup automation says about our growing reliance on machines. Hit play for a sharp, wide-ranging conversation about where AI products are headed next. --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. Want a discount for Big Technology on Substack + Discord? Here’s 25% off for the first year: https://www.bigtechnology.com/subscribe?coupon=0843016b Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
SummaryZuckerberg’s Disappointment, OpenAI’s Equity Gamble, Alex Karp’s Rally Cry
4w ago00:59:12Summary readyRanjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) Zuck says AI agent progress isn't going to plan 2) Meta explores selling excess compute 3) Why can't anyone build an AI agent? 4) Are Anthropic and OpenAI becoming the point of failure in the AI trade 5) Is Google hedging? 6) What is Satya Nadella up to? 7) Should Microsoft bring back bad Sydney 8) Palantir CEO Alex Karp challenges the frontier labs 9) Everyone vs. OpenAI and Anthropic? 10) Should OpenAI give the U.S. government 5% of its equity? 11) Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce wedding trutherism --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. Want a discount for Big Technology on Substack + Discord? Here’s 25% off for the first year: https://www.bigtechnology.com/subscribe?coupon=0843016b Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
SummaryOpenAI President Greg Brockman: Our Plan To Merge Chat And Agents
4w ago00:48:58Summary readyGreg Brockman is the president and co-founder of OpenAI. Brockman joins Big Technology Podcast live from the Big Technology AI Summit to discuss OpenAI's trajectory, the state of the frontier, and why he believes compute will ultimately decide the AI race. Tune in to hear Brockman make the case that there will never be enough compute to satisfy demand, why he thinks the interface itself will eventually melt away into a persistent agent that acts on your behalf, and how he expects pricing to evolve as today's premium intelligence becomes tomorrow's commodity. We also cover the competitive dynamic with Microsoft and the "models are a commodity" argument, the path to a personal AGI, voice as an interface, and why Brockman is most excited about AI's potential in health. Hit play for a wide-ranging conversation about where OpenAI and the frontier go next. Watch the full documentary here: Watch the full documentary here: https://www.gravitee.io/ai-agent-documentary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Summary