This week, we discuss Wall Street’s software-stock sell-off and a viral essay on X about the potential for widespread job displacement from A.I. Then, the New York Times reporter Alexandra Alter walks us through the process that a growing number of writers are adopting to churn out romance novels with help from A.I. chatbots. Finally, we each share one bit of good tech-related news — a new way to make playlists on Spotify and progress toward decoding whale sounds.

Guest:

• Alexandra Alter, a New York Times reporter covering books and publishing.

Additional Reading:

• The Dark Side of A.I. Weighs on Tech Stocks
• Matt Shumer’s essay “Something Big Is Happening”
• The New Fabio Is Claude
• How a New A.I. Tool Fixed My Single Biggest Problem With Spotify
• How A.I. Trained on Birds Is Surfacing Underwater Mysteries

We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. 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.

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This week, the A.I. initial-public-offering race is heating up! We break down SpaceX’s acquisition of xAI, as well as OpenAI and Nvidia’s messy situationship. Then, it’s time for show and tell. We got our hands on the latest experimental A.I. prototype from Google called Project Genie, and we discuss our experience using it to generate and navigate video-game-like environments. Finally, we’re joined by Moltbook’s founder, Matt Schlicht, to discuss his new social media platform for A.I. agents, and how he’s planning to deal with security risks and spam on the site.

Guest:

• Matt Schlicht, creator of Moltbook

Additional Reading: 

• Elon Musk Merges SpaceX With His A.I. Start-Up xAI
• The $100 Billion Megadeal Between OpenAI and Nvidia Is on Ice
• Project Genie: Experimenting with infinite, interactive worlds
• An A.I. Pioneer Warns the Tech ‘Herd’ Is Marching Into a Dead End
• Moltbook Mania Explained

We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. 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.

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Hosts Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore stories from the wild frontier of tech.

What’s real? What’s hype? “Hard Fork” is here to help you make sense of it. Tune in every Friday.

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.