Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson

Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson

Höfundur
- Andrew Sharp and Ben Thompson

0 Umsagnir: 0
Þættir: 279
Meðal lengd: 25Mín.
Tungumál: enska
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Flokkur: Óskáldað efni

A podcast about understanding how tech works and the way it is changing the world. Hosted by Andrew Sharp with Ben Thompson.

Episodes

(Preview) A Summer Break Mailbag: Memory Mania, Vibe Coding, Mafia PR, Caffeine Intake, Garages, and How to Fix SoccerBen and Andrew begin with an extended look at the market for memory chips, including market history, the supply crunch driving up today’s valuations, the myopia from SK Hynix, Samsung and Micron, new entrants from China, and why the timing of Apple’s price increases are a bearish signal. From there: Both hosts share their daily caffeine regimen, garage takes, and lots of thoughts on vibe coding after Ben’s 10-day foray into AI-assisted engineering. At the end: Codex marketing and an imminent OpenAI super app, Sam Altman’s appearance in a game of mafia, could the EU push Apple to better business strategy, stock buyback clarification, ocean data centers, metricmaxxing, and an update on last week’s hydration break take along with a better fix for international soccer.
282|26Mín.
(Preview) The Anthropic Saga Continues, Fox and the Future of Streaming, Q&A on ChatGPT, Agentic Shopping, Autonomous DrivingOn today’s show Ben and Andrew begin with a hydration break take as the World Cup continues before turning to the latest on Anthropic’s export control saga, what the Trump administration may not understand about AI cybersecurity, and what Anthropic still doesn’t understand about dealing with the government. From there: Fables differentiation, the dangers of ringfencing frontier AI within U.S. borders, and how open source Chinese AI may affect the marketplace. From there: Why Ben gives Fox the benefit of the doubt after its Roku purchase this week, whether Siri AI will nuke ChatGPT’s market, Noam Shazeer joins OpenAI, what e-commerce will and won’t be automated, and whether autonomous driving can scale on ICE vehicles.
281|31Mín.
(Preview) Five Questions on WWDC 2026, Fable 5 And Its Guardrails, What Anthropic Has in Common With AppleBen and Andrew begin by talking through five questions on WWDC in 2026, including thoughts on Apple’s answer to the critics, whether Apple is or is not thinking different, decoding the Google partnership and Craig Federighi’s corporate speak, the wide gap between Siri AI and frontier AI, and why memory concerns are misplaced. From there: Explaining the Fable 5 guard rails, Anthropic safety concerns that align with Anthropic business incentives, Ben’s first impressions of the Fable 5 performance, and a week of Anthropic angst that adds additional context to the company’s standoff with the Department of War. At the end: Passing another checkpoint on the AI 2027 journey, Microsoft on the hot seat in the AI era, and the United States of YouTube.
280|29Mín.
(Preview) SpaceX Hype and the Elon Bargain, Nvidia and the Neoclouds, Q&A on Dropbox, Google, Ferrari Luce BacklashBen and Andrew begin with a look at SpaceX before its June IPO. Topics include: Why the S-1 math that doesn’t quite pencil out for now, the madness of analyzing Musk companies generally, the company’s ultimate upside, and why the IPO is worth applauding regardless. Then: Questions on terrestrial solutions vs. data centers in space, the durability of SpaceX’s rocket monopoly, Nvidia’s earnings and the future of the ACIE market, why neoclouds are advertising on podcasts, and the op-ed from Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince explaining his company’s AI-driven layoffs. From there: Dropbox as the Penny Hardaway of tech companies, an emailer worried about enshittifed AI chatbots yields discussion of the real reasons Google’s gotten worse. At the end: The Jony Ive-designed Ferrari Luce, why Ben regrets a tweet, how Ferrari will sell these cars, and more philsophical thoughts on why everyone was upset this week.
279|35Mín.
(Preview) Inference in the Agentic Future, xAI Is Two Companies in One, Q&A on Elon’s Lawsuit, Intel, AppleBen and Andrew discuss the future of computing and its implications for the chip market, including what Cerebras is doing that’s different, why speed may no longer be a top priority for inference, good news for China’s AI ecosystem, the future for Nvidia, and questions on Pat Gelsinger’s role in Intel’s revival. From there: Both sides of the Anthropic-xAI deal, including Anthropic’s compute solution and the triumph of market principles, as well as the market’s message to Elon Musk and xAI, and the implications for SpaceX. At the end: Thoughts on Musk’s OpenAI lawsuit, a theory on Apple’s gross margins and a land grab, and a listener’s wife enters founder mode with Claude.
278|25Mín.
(Preview) AWS History and Trainium’s AI Future, OpenAI Makes a Deal With Microsoft, Meta and the Future of Wearable DevicesBen and Andrew react to Amazon’s impressive earnings in AI with a cliffs notes history on AWS cloud computing strategy, how Amazon is returning to that playbook in AI, and why the Trainium bets look more reasonable than ever. From there: Understanding both sides of the OpenAI and Microsoft deal this week, including why OpenAI wants to be on AWS, and why Microsoft’s conflict of interest is now resolved. At the end: Extended thoughts on Meta Display glasses, the future of AR devices, the mother of all patent lawsuits, as well as a few Apple follow-ups, and an eye surgery epiphany.
277|24Mín.
(Preview) Six Questions on Frontier AI Labs, Messaging AI to a Skeptical Public, Amazon (and Apple?) Ramps Up Competition with ElonBen and Andrew begin with six emails on AI, including a question about the future of AI consumer demand, Gemini’s quiet few months, whether compute constraints should lead to price hikes, and divergent approaches to AGI at Anthropic and OpenAI. From there: An extended answer to a question about AI messaging in the face of widespread skepticism, an Einstein AI thought experiment, and extended thoughts on Amazon’s acquisition of Globalstar, Apple’s role, and what Amazon wants from LEO satellites. At the end: Emails on Allbirds and pivots, the ZIRP/NBA cap spike analogy for displaced engineering talent, Evan Spiegel’s advice for Meta, and two notes on the news business.
276|23Mín.
(Preview) Mythos and Project Glasswing, The Year of Anthropic Continues Apace, Q&A on the NYT, Altman, De-globalizationBen and Andrew begin with reactions to Anthropic’s Mythos announcement and Project Glasswing, including thoughts on the security risks, the business benefits of keeping this model private, lessons on the “Boy Who Cried Wolf,” and renewed focus on Anthropic’s relationship with the U.S. government. From there: Anthropic’s new deal with Broadcom and Google, a year of stunning Anthropic success that began in 2024, the threats that Anthropic poses to Microsoft, and where AI can and can’t help with taxes. At the end: How the New York Times is adapting to the future, understanding Sam Altman’s history at OpenAI, and a question on the implications of de-globalization.
275|21Mín.
(Preview) Five Questions on Apple at 50 Years Old, The Axios Hack and AI Security, Q&A on Starlink, AI IPOs, AirPodsBen and Andrew begin with Q&A on Apple after 50 years, including thoughts on Steve Jobs weaknesses, putting iTunes on Windows, the best Apple ads, Chinese manufacturing counterfactuals, and tech company Mount Rushmore. From there: Thoughts on Apple’s AI bet and the downside risk, the signs that Cupertino sees AI as a disruptive technology, and extended thoughts on the Axios hack and why why AI will make security issue worse in the short-term, but may be the solution in the long run. At the end: Delta chooses Amazon Leo over Starlink, two questions on Anthropic and OpenAI IPOs, why headhunters won’t be disrupted by AI, streaming sports abroad, and new fronts emerge in the AirPods battle.
273|21Mín.
(Preview) A Spring Break Mailbag: RIP Sora, Ads and Surplus, F1 Going in Reverse, Elon Inc., Smartphone Parenting, and MoreBen and Andrew interrupt Stratechery’s spring vacation with a mailbag. First, they discuss the end of Sora, the difference between Sora and Instagram, and where the OpenAI/Microsoft parallels break down. Then: A great take on advertising, ChatGPT engagement farming, Formula 1’s new era, the NFL’s world takeover, and how NBC solved tape delay at the Olympics. At the end: A question about Vision Pro and wives, whether elementary schoolers should have smart phones, Elon’s continued adventures with xAI, a Netflix dating show, LLM-aided dogfooding etymology, and Ben’s (admittedly boring) Taipei routine.
272|20Mín.