There’s been a whole lot of organizational and structural change at NBCUniversal since the last time Matt Strauss joined Decoder. First, Comcast spun most of the cable channels off into something called Versant, and Matt became the chairman of the entire NBCU Media Group. Next year, Comcast is splitting off NBCU into an entirely separate company. That's a lot to have going on all at once — and Matt's the guy who has to make sure broadcast, Peacock, and every other platform keeps making you watch. Read the full interview transcript on The Verge. Links: * Comcast plans major layoffs as it preps for NBCU spinoff | Variety * YouTube Premium will include Peacock starting next year | The Verge * Pipes dream: Why Comcast gave up on NBCU | Decoder * Langley, Strauss unveil new executive structures at NBCU | Variety * NBCU’s streaming chief isn’t worried about you cancelling cable | Decoder Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder is produced by Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. The show is editors by Ursa Wright and Xander Adams. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, I’m joined by Joey Brookhart, an analyst at the chip and AI research firm SemiAnalysis, to help me dig into the story inside the massive Anthropic IPO filing. This isn’t just about a single company’s financials, or its lofty ambitions or frankly ludicrous risk factors, which include maybe automating every job or, you know, killing everyone. It’s also the clearest look yet at how the business of frontier AI actually works and who’s really paying for it. Read the full interview transcript on The Verge. Links: * Anthropic files for its IPO | The Verge * Five weird details from Anthropic’s IPO filing | The Verge * Anthropic’s elaborate plan to keep Wall Street at bay | The Verge * Anthropic revenue jumps to $16.8B in quarter before IPO | Bloomberg * Anthropic raises concerns | Matt Levine * Anthropic reveals skyrocketing growth in IPO filing | NYT * The Anthropic IPO financials sneak peak | SemiAnalysis Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder’s producers are Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

My guest today is Kevin Roose, a journalist and author of the new book The AGI Chronicles. Kevin was a longtime New York Times reporter and host of the popular podcast Hard Fork, but he and friend of the show Casey Newton just left The Times to start the all-new tech podcast Machine Gods, which launched last week. Kevin and I talked about launching Machine Gods and what it’s like to go from mainstream media to being an independent creator. Of course, we also talked about his book, which is excellently reported dive into the companies racing to build machine intelligence. Read the full interview transcript on The Verge. Links: * The AGI Chronicles | Kevin Roose * Can AI replicate in your smart TV? | Machine Gods (YouTube) * Introducing Machine Gods | Platformer * Inside the biggest feud in artificial intelligence | The Atlantic * The essay that started the AI race | Kevin Roose * A conversation with Bing’s chatbot left me deeply unsettled | NYT Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder’s producers are Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by Kabir Chopra. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

My guest today is Bill Gates, co-founder and former CEO of Microsoft and chairman of the Gates Foundation. You may have noticed Bill in the news more lately — he’s been on something of a tour for the past few months talking about AI risk, and how crucial it is that we start taking this seriously. So I was excited to sit down with him and really dig into this subject. I came with many questions, about AI policy, the technical aspects of alignment, and what it means for future generations that we’re building something this disruptive and potentially dangerous. Read the full interview transcript on The Verge. Links: * The turbulent AI era is here. The choices we make now are critical. | Bill Gates * "OG" Bill Gates returns to wage war on AI risks | Axios * Bill Gates’s blunt warning on AI | The Ezra Klein Show * Ben Horowitz criticizes Bill Gates, Anthropic over AI safety | All-In Pod * Does Anthropic think Claude is alive? Define ‘alive’ | The Verge * Microsoft AI CEO says Anthropic is making AI risks worse | Decoder * Bill Gates has a good feeling about AI | The Verge (2024) * The risks of AI are real but manageable | Bill Gates (2023) Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder’s producers are Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, has a lot of thoughts about AI, tech, and privacy. Those issues are driving a big and maybe kind of unexpected political realignment — and with the midterms coming up next month, and early voting already underway in a lot of places, the stakes are pretty high right now. And as he notes, some problems are just collective action problems that require a government. We can’t solve everything one at a time, or even one state at a time. And of course, I had to ask him: Are the Bears gonna stay in Illinois? Links: * How ordinary Utahns fought the biggest data center in the world | The Verge * New York Gov. Kathy Hochul thinks AI should be ‘less evil’ | Decoder * YouTube CEO: ‘We’re focused on internal safety efforts’ | CNN * Pritzker signs landmark AI regulation bill | Capitol News Illinois * Pritzker establishes AI Cabinet amid calls for regulation | NPR Ilinois Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder’s producers are Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by [TK EDITOR]. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

My guest today is Walter Piecyk, a telecom analyst at LightShed Partners, and we’re discussing SpaceX’s plan to become a major wireless carrier. Last week, the company agreed to buy a big chunk of low-band spectrum in its bid to build “the world’s most advanced mobile network.” So I wanted to dig into whether SpaceX can pull this off, why Walt thinks the existing telecoms have fumbled their response to Starlink’s growing threat, and what happens when Elon Musk’s rocket company jumps headfirst into a business everyone loves to hate. Read the full interview transcript on The Verge. Links: * SpaceX announces plan to become a ‘major mobile carrier’ | The Verge * SpaceX has a plan. Do the telcos? | LightShed Partners * EchoStar offloads satellite spectrum to SpaceX for $17 billion | The Verge * FCC Grants SpaceX Approval for 15,000 Direct-to-Device Satellites | Via Satellite * AT&T CEO says Elon Musk's SpaceX phone strategy not "viable" | Axios * SpaceX Sends Telecom Providers a Shot Across the Bow | WSJ * Verizon: No to an MVNO with Starlink | Fierce Network Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder’s producers are Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by Eileen Felix. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, I’m talking with Benn Jordan, musician, YouTuber, researcher, and investigative journalist. In the last couple of years, Benn has become a high-profile face in the creator and media spaces for his work investigating Flock Safety, the maker of automatic license plate readers and the software that powers them. Benn recently testified in front of Congress at a hearing dedicated to Flock and other ALPR systems. So of course I wanted to dig into all of that with Benn, not just because of his role as a Flock critic, but because he’s also become in some ways the face of a new front in the broader debate about surveillance and privacy. Read the full interview transcript on The Verge. Links: * Benn Jordan testifies in front of Senate | Benn Jordan (YouTube) * Flock values their privacy. Oh well | Benn Jordan (YouTube) * We Hacked Flock Safety Cameras in under 30 Seconds | Benn Jordan (YouTube) * Lawmakers introduce multiple laws to curb Flock | 404 Media * The fight over Flock and other ALPRs | The Verge * Sanders, AOC, Merkley propose bill to ban Flock cameras | Politico * Cities terminate Flock contracts at record pace in August | Ars Technica * Flock to cut several hundred jobs amid backlash | Reuters Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder’s producers are Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey everybody, it’s Nilay. We’re off today for the holiday, and we’ll be back this Thursday with new episodes. In the meantime, we wanted to revisit a conversation from earlier this year I had with investigative journalist and New Yorker contributor Ronan Farrow, all about the in-depth feature on OpenAI CEO Sam Altman he co-authored with Andrew Marantz. The conversation holds up remarkably well, and I think it tells us a lot about the current moment, as calls for meaningful federal AI oversight have ground to a halt yet again. Enjoy. Links: * Sam Altman May Control Our Future—Can He Be Trusted? | The New Yorker * Ronan Farrow on Sam Altman’s ‘unconstrained’ relationship with the truth | Decoder * Does AI need an antitrust exemption so it doesn’t kill everyone? | Decoder * Inside the suddenly explosive world of AI safety | The Verge * Here’s what AI leaders are saying about Trump’s new safety plan | The Verge Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder is produced by Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. The show is edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Acquiring Warner Bros. never goes well for anyone. AOL failed, AT&T failed, and Discovery failed — although it did succeed in flipping the assets to David Ellison’s Skydance. So I’m talking to Peter Kafka, Business Insider chief correspondent and host of Channels, to see if Skydance has a chance at succeeding where nobody else has yet. Spoiler alert: Peter doesn’t think Skydance has a clear business plan, either. But he’s got some really good guesses about what might come next. Read the full interview transcript on The Verge. Links: * CNN boss remains as Paramount, WBD merge into Skydance | The Verge * Skydance CEOs: Layoffs will be coming | Variety * Ynon Kriez, the new Skydance co-CEO | Business Insider * Skydance sets leadership across games, experiences | Variety * Paramount settles lawsuit blocking $110B WBD merger | The Verge * Larry Ellison’s big dumb gift to his large adult son | The Verge * Weiss’ ratings wipeout | Status Decoder is a Signal Awards finalist in the Business category! You can vote to help us win her. Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder’s producers are Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

My guest today is Hayden Field, The Verge’s senior AI reporter, and we're discussing the new wave of consumer friendly AI agents. AI enthusiasts have been using agents for a minute now, but the launch of Meta’s Muse, OpenAI’s Dots, and XAI’s Grok Bot has brought easy to use agents to millions. Muse, notably, is free, while Dots is not, and you’ll hear Hayden and me get into why Meta, which still doesn't have a frontier model of its own, might have a meaningful edge here because it's much better at making and distributing consumer products. And wrapped up in this heated agent race are a lot of really big ideas — about AI capability, privacy, and trust. Read the full interview transcript on The Verge. Links: * OpenAI’s new agent is a shot at Meta — but can it compete with free? | The Verge * The AI Tamagotchis are coming | The Verge * Muse escapes containment | 404 Media * Meta’s Muse AI sent a YouTuber’s address to a stranger | The Verge * It’s sinister that Meta’s Muse AI mascot is so cute | The Verge * Muse sure looks a lot like OpenClaw | The Verge Decoder is a Signal Awards finalist in the Business category! You can vote to help us win here. Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder’s producers are Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

California Sen. Adam Schiff sits on a bunch of the committees that do tech and AI oversight, so I really wanted to ask him about how we might regulate anything related to the tech industry at this moment in time. He started our conversation by talking about the self-dealing and corruption present all through our politics now — right against the backdrop of President Trump gathering AI CEOs to the White House to pinky-swear they'll try to keep AI safe. Read the ⁠full interview transcript on The Verge.⁠ Links: * How tech will self-police AI safety under Trump deal | The Verge * Supreme Court ruling kneecaps federal regulators | The Verge * Does AI need an antitrust exemption so it doesn’t kill everyone? | Decoder * Flock, Axon dodge Senate hearing | CNBC * Trump admin illegally blacklisted Anthropic, court rules | The Verge Decoder is a Signal Awards finalist in the Business category! You can vote to help us win here. Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder’s producers are Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by Eileen Felix. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey everybody, it’s Nilay. We’ve got a little bonus drop for you today — I was recently interviewed about AI safety by Shumita Basu for Apple News In Conversation, and I enjoyed the conversation so much I asked if we could share it with you all. We’ve actually got a few bonus drops coming up this month; we’ve been having a lot of great conversations lately, and we want to get them out to you on the news cycle. And of course, nothing is moving as fast as the AI safety news cycle. So enjoy this one, and we’ll see you next time. Links: * Apple News In Conversation | Apple Podcasts * Inside the suddenly explosive world of AI safety | The Verge * Here’s what AI leaders are saying about Trump’s new safety plan | The Verge * One company is at the center of a wave of rogue AI attacks | The Verge * Microsoft AI CEO says AI threats are real, and Anthropic is making it worse | Decoder * Does AI need an antitrust exemption so it doesn’t kill everyone? | Decoder Subscribe to The Verge⁠ to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder is produced by Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. The show is edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

My guest today is Mike Cannon-Brookes, who is co-founder and CEO of Atlassian. Atlassian is one of those companies that every other company runs on — it makes important platform tools like Jira and Trello. This means Atlassian is also right in the middle of the way AI is changing how all these companies work. Or, if you buy the idea of the so-called SaaSpocalypse, AI might just build all of these tools for you, destroying this entire category of businesses. Obviously, Mike had a lot of thoughts pushing back on this narrative, so we spent time really digging in and talking through what AI is doing to enterprise software. Links: * How Australia became the test bed for tech regulation | Decoder (2021) * Building a $45B company far from Silicon Valley’s ‘froth and bubbles’ | Semafor * Atlassian CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes on Atlassian and AI | Stratechery * How Atlassian shook off the 'SaaSpocalypse' for a big rally | IBD * Atlassian acquires The Browser Company, maker of the Arc browser | The Verge * Atlassian Co-CEO resigns, leaving Cannon-Brookes as sole chief | Bloomberg * Atlassian cuts 1,600 jobs amid AI push | Forbes Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder’s producers are Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinde Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cloudflare discovered in June that bots already make up more than half of internet traffic — and CEO Matthew Prince says that bots could outnumber humans a thousand to one within five years. That's a huge change to the internet, and if the web is going to keep existing, it needs a huge change to its business model. Can Cloudflare use its place in the ecosystem to direct the money back to the people who make content? Read the full interview transcript on The Verge. Links: * How I choose which Cloudflare employees to replace with AI | Wall Street Journal * Why Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince is the internet’s unlikely defender | Decoder (2024) * Cloudflare will now block AI crawlers by default | The Verge * Patreon partners with Cloudflare to block AI crawlers | 404 Media * Sony and Warner sue Anthropic in latest AI music lawsuit | Billboard * Trump administration supports OpenAI in NYT copyright lawsuit | The Verge * Google Zero is here — now what? | The Verge (2024) Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder’s producers are Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by Kabir Chopra. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s a big week for Meta. The company has its big Connect conference, and the new Muse AI agent appears to be an early hit. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been doing a lot of interviews about it all — so of course we asked for him to be on Decoder. Meta declined, for whatever reason. But luckily Mark just did a big interview with our friend and former colleague Alex Heath on the Sources podcast. So I figured we could highlight some moments from that conversation to point out some obvious gaps in what Mark is saying about Meta and hopefully inspire the next set of people who talk to him with some follow-up questions. Read the full interview transcript on The Verge. Links: * Mark Zuckerberg interview | Sources Podcast * How Meta got everything it wanted in secret data center deal | New York Times * Can you forget how you feel about Meta? | The Verge * Zuck doesn’t want to press pause on AI | The Verge * Meta glasses are a workplace menace | The Verge * Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t understand how to live | The Verge * Four takeaways from Mark Zuckerberg’s massive AI manifesto | The Verge * Meta says US states are seeking $1.4 trillion in penalties | Reuters Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder’s producers are Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices