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Hard Fork

Tech Grapples With ICE + Casey Tries Clawdbot, a Risky New A.I. Assistant + HatGPT

1/30/20261 hr 11 min

This week we’re talking about the tech industry’s response to the killings by federal agents in Minneapolis and the federal government’s strategy to control the narrative on social media. Then we follow Casey through his trial of a new open-source A.I. assistant called Moltbot (formerly Clawdbot) and consider whether it is worth the security risk. And, finally, it’s time for a look at the rest of the week’s tech news with a round of HatGPT.

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Clips

Nothing Is True, Everything Possible
Phone-to-Phone Battle With ICE
A Genie Inside Your Computer
Silicon Valley CEOs Speak Softly
Frozen Productivity Hack

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Thomas Gibbons-Neff0:00

    My name is Thomas Gibbons-Neff. I'm a journalist at The New York Times. [gentle music] I served in the Marine Corps as an infantryman. When it comes to reporting on the front line, I think nothing is more important than talking to the people involved, you know, hearing their stories, and being able to connect that with people thousands of miles away. Anything that can make something like this more personal, I think is well worth the risk. New York Times subscribers make it possible for us to keep doing this vital coverage. If you'd like to subscribe, you can do that at nytimes.com/subscribe.

  2. Kevin Roose· Host0:31

    I'm going monk mode. That's what I'm calling it when, uh- Monk mode! ... when I, uh, 'cause I need to finish this book, so I'm like- So you're embracing celibacy? [laughing] Um, no, I'm, I'm locking myself, uh, in an Airbnb, and I'm writing 14 hours a day.

  3. Casey Newton· Host0:47

    Wi- And now that's actually the premise of The Shining- [laughing] Yeah ... the Stephen King novel.

  4. Kevin Roose· Host0:50

    [laughing] Yes.

  5. Casey Newton· Host0:50

    So how is it working out for you?

  6. Kevin Roose· Host0:52

    It's not great.

  7. Casey Newton· Host0:52

    Are you seeing any- It's not great ... rivers of blood flowing down the hallways yet?

  8. Kevin Roose· Host0:56

    [laughing] [laughing] Red rum. [laughing] Um, but no, it's going well. Uh, I'm, I'm in the home stretch now.

  9. Casey Newton· Host1:02

    Mm-hmm.

  10. Kevin Roose· Host1:03

    I can sort of see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it's very nice.

  11. Casey Newton· Host1:06

    And, and tell us about the experience of, like... 'Cause I've, I've, you know, been in similar situations where you sort of look yourself in the mirror, and you're like, "All right, Newton, shape up." [laughing] "Now, time to buckle down!"

  12. Kevin Roose· Host1:16

    Yes.

  13. Casey Newton· Host1:16

    [laughing] "No more visiting your little comfort websites anymore. You actually gotta, you know, make the clicky-clacky noise on the keyboard."

  14. Kevin Roose· Host1:22

    Yes.

  15. Casey Newton· Host1:22

    Does that actually work for you?

  16. Kevin Roose· Host1:23

    Yes, I've figured out a productivity stack that works for me. Let me tell you about it.

  17. Casey Newton· Host1:27

    Tell us the stack.

  18. Kevin Roose· Host1:29

    So I bring my, my

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