You can’t ignore Google Zero anymore
You can’t ignore Google Zero anymore

The web and Google once had a deal: Google collects data and indexes webpages and in exchange sends oceans of traffic to websites. The deal wasn’t perfect and certainly made Google more money than it made the websites, but it worked for a long time. Now, however, the deal seems to be dead. And the […]

Apple’s OpenAI lawsuit is about who gets to define the post-smartphone era
Apple’s OpenAI lawsuit is about who gets to define the post-smartphone era

Today on Decoder, I’m talking with Hayden Field, The Verge’s senior AI reporter, about the major trade secrets lawsuit between Apple and OpenAI and what this tells us about OpenAI’s future. By now I’m sure most Decoder listeners are familiar with Apple’s allegations in this case. The company says a number of ex-Apple employees at […]

Dr. Jill Lepore on why AI backlash is vital for the future
Dr. Jill Lepore on why AI backlash is vital for the future

Today, I’m talking with Harvard professor and New Yorker staff writer Dr. Jill Lepore about her new book, The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State, which comes out on August 25. Jill is one of the best writers there is at identifying institutional patterns in history, and Decoder is a show about systems, so […]

The Clapper was a bad smart home gadget — and a viral sensation
The Clapper was a bad smart home gadget — and a viral sensation

Clap on. Clap off. Well, more like, Clap, pause for half a beat but no longer because otherwise it’ll stop hearing you, clap again because you waited too long, clap louder and faster, that didn’t work, clap two more times, and suddenly: on. The Clapper didn’t always work – and even when it did, it […]

Apple’s plot to crush OpenAI
Apple’s plot to crush OpenAI

Apple is suing OpenAI. The complaint is readable and intense, as these things often are, though many experts seem to think many of the allegations are just the ways things are done. So what does Apple really want here, and why is it picking such a public fight with OpenAI? On this episode of The […]

‘No company is going to go to jail for you’: Proton’s CTO on balancing privacy, policy, and trust
‘No company is going to go to jail for you’: Proton’s CTO on balancing privacy, policy, and trust

Today on Decoder, we’ve got the first of a two-part series on the systems that run the world: I’m talking with Bart Butler, the CTO of Proton, the company that makes private and secure productivity software. You probably know it best for Proton Mail, which is encrypted by default, but the company also has docs, […]

Even Nvidia’s head of automotive fights with Nvidia for compute
Even Nvidia’s head of automotive fights with Nvidia for compute

Today, I’m talking with Xinzhou Wu, who is the head of automotive at Nvidia.  Nvidia is obviously in the news constantly because of the AI boom — it’s one of the most valuable companies in the world, because the AI industry can’t get enough of the company’s GPUs. But Nvidia is also a key supplier […]

How Philips Hue got the smart home right
How Philips Hue got the smart home right

The state of the smart home can be frustrating, because it is just so obvious how things ought to work. You should be able to control everything from everywhere. Your spaces should adapt to what you’re doing and how you’re feeling. Making your home smart shouldn’t require renovating, and the smarts should be mostly invisible. […]

Netflix is turning into YouTube
Netflix is turning into YouTube

Netflix has shows and movies. And video games. And live sports. And podcasts. And also, apparently, YouTube videos? For a company that used to seem like the next big thing in TV, it all feels a little frenetic, and maybe a tad desperate. For a company that sees sleep as its primary competitor, it might […]

Comcast is breaking up with NBCU. Why did it ever buy it in the first place?
Comcast is breaking up with NBCU. Why did it ever buy it in the first place?

Today on Decoder, I’m talking with Peter Kafka, who is chief correspondent at Business Insider and host of Channels, a podcast about the media industry. And it’s a big week for the media industry — Comcast just announced that it’s splitting itself up, into the Comcast broadband company and the NBCUniversal entertainment company. That’s after […]