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Ben Thompson

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

Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson

First, a follow-up to Ben's article on Gen AI and the future of user interfaces, and then emails on architecture and structural incentives, Bob Noyce and American lithography, Blue Origin and Amazon, the role of capitalism in the declining birth rate around the world, and thoughts on 'X' and its Reels-ification in 2024.

(Preview) Mailbag: Building Toward Self-Driving Computers, Capitalism and Its Trade-Offs, The Reels-ification of 'X'

Unpacking a quietly significant announcement from Anduril this week, the future of hardware and software in the U.S. defense industry, and checking in with OpenAI as the company announces a new subscription tier for ChatGPT.

(Preview) Anduril and the Lattice Partner Program, A New Direction for Defense Tech, OpenAI Introduces ChatGPT Pro

A high level read on Google's quantum computing announcement and Google's R&D efforts generally, a listener's question about drones as a platform, follow-up on last week's conversation about Anduril and the future of the U.S. defense industry, and questions on the near term concerns surrounding an AI Manhattan project, Clayton Christensen’s theory of integration and modularity as applied to Silicon Valley, and housing prices in the Bay Area.

(Preview) Google’s Willow Chip, Drones as a Platform and Anduril Follow-Up, Building Inside and Outside Silicon Valley

Ending the year with a slew of great emails from listeners, including questions about the next U.S. flagship to fail, Google's advantages in AI, an iOS 18 autopsy, the classes that Ben and Andrew would teach as professors, AI for chip production, TSMC mugs, recommendations for X usage, and the return of the TikTot segment to discuss tutoring and children. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the whole Sharp Tech family!

Holiday Mailbag: The Next Intel, Google’s AI Revival, Modern Sportswriting, TSMC Mugs, Tutoring Takes, and Lots More

Ben and Andrew return from the holidays to check in on the AI landscape. Topics include: Aggregation Theory and the return of marginal costs for hyperscalers, the architecture of OpenAI’s o3 model, the murky future for software engineers and SaaS companies, and whether Scarlett Johansson fumbled the bag. At the end: In praise of learning to ski as a middle-aged beginner.

(Preview) What AI Could Mean for Aggregation Theory, o3 and Moore’s Law, More Questions Than Answers as Tech Enters 2025

Meta’s new approach to moderation questions, the context for an apparent shift to the right among tech leadership, and lessons from the last several years of moderation challenges and mistakes. At the end: Mark Zuckerberg offers his assessment of Apple in the modern era.

(Preview) Meta’s Moderation Changes, Tech’s Evolving Political Calculus, The Importance and Difficulty of Maintaining Principles on the Internet

Looking to digital advertising history for clues about AI’s impact on the economy, proposed frameworks for AGI and ASI, and why AI benefits are likely to be unevenly distributed in the near term. Then: The logic and continued uncertainty surrounding a TikTok ban in the United States, the delights of Xiaohongshu mania, and a word about TikTok and conflicting principles.

AI’s Uneven Arrival, TikTok’s Potential Departure, Xiaohongshu and the Delights of Cultural Exchange

Reactions to 48 hours of TikTok twists and turns, and what the weekend’s news might tell us about the next several years (or decades) in Washington and beyond. At the end: Facebook tries to market to TikTokers, a question about tech companies as governments unto themselves, and reviewing a tweet about LeBron James as an iPhone.

(Preview) A Long Weekend for TikTok, Preparing for Trump and an Era of Upheaval, LeBron James as an iPhone

On their 200th episode of the show(!), Ben and Andrew discuss the Stargate Project and what clarifies about the dynamics between OpenAI and Microsoft. Then: the risks inherent to Stargate investments, the rationale for the corporate structure announced this week, PhD-level agents in 2-3 years, and various lessons from the success of DeepSeek and its latest models.

(Preview) The End of OpenAI and Microsoft, Risks and Rationale of the Stargate Project, DeepSeek-R1 and Bitter Lessons for the Future

Unpacking several days of dizzying reactions to DeepSeek, including a closer look at the costs of model development, why the heightened scrutiny looks like a coping mechanism, DeepSeek’s efficiency breakthroughs, the implications for big tech, and the future of export controls on semiconductors.

(Preview) 72 Hours of DeepSeek Hysteria, What DeepSeek Means for Big Tech, Lessons on the Efficacy of Chip Controls

Thoughts on both X and xAI in the wake of Friday’s announcement from Elon Musk, Chat GPT’s image capabilities and whether AI-adjacent SaaS companies will ever have a moat, and emailers offer counterpoints on Sam Altman’s ads answer and the notion that Google can’t make great products anymore. At the end: Should Substack serve ads?, answers on Israeli cybersecurity, and more on Steve Jobs and Studio Ghibli.

(Preview) xAI Buys X, The Bitter Lesson for Everyone, Everywhere, Google’s Only Hope in AI

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