FT Tech Tonic

Stephen Morris, San Francisco bureau chief covering Silicon Valley, and Madhumita Murgia, FT AI editor and tech analyst, discuss DeepMind and Google’s AI strategy. They explore DeepMind’s early doubts about transformers, Google’s scramble after ChatGPT, talent losses and startup competition. They debate research publication pauses, commercialization pressure, ethics around military contracts, and whether DeepMind can steer a Google comeback.

John Thornhill, FT innovation editor who analyzes tech trends, and Cristina Criddle, San Francisco AI reporter covering Anthropic, discuss Mythos and its limited rollout. They debate whether Mythos is a genuine safety measure or marketing hype. They cover regulatory alarm, cybersecurity risks, Anthropic’s rapid commercial growth, Pentagon rows, and the tension between ethics and becoming a tech giant.

Silicon Valley labs racing to build the next generation of AI are pitted against one another. Personal rivalries and high-stakes strategies drive fierce competition among major players. The episode maps who is investing, innovating and jockeying for control of AI’s future.

A new season investigates a controversial Catholic organisation and its cultural reach in America. The conversation explores its elite image, discipline and appeal to powerful circles. Discussion highlights the group's presence near political centers and the tension between official neutrality and behind-the-scenes influence.

Linn Vailt, an ethical AI companionship thinker, and Rob LoCascio, founder building personal AI replicas, discuss living-with and preserving emotionally attuned chatbots. They explore building AI versions from recordings, migrating personalities across platforms, platform updates that erase relationships, and whether companies should control the fate of intimate AI connections.

Anthony Niemiec, an older man who found solace after his wife’s death through an ElliQ companion. Caroline Green, an Oxford AI ethics researcher unpacking ethical and social risks. Greg Olsen, New York official rolling out AI companions and animatronic pets. Anh Hee Soon, Seoul participant using a Hyodol doll. They discuss trials, monitoring, loneliness, care substitution, and risks of dependency and data use.

Yael Schonbrunn, clinical psychologist and relationship therapist, weighs in on chatbots’ limits for relational work. Kirstie, who used ChatGPT for emotional support, recounts how its advice reshaped her marriage. They explore how AI mimics empathy, when it feels safer than therapy, and the risks of chatbot validation in fraught relationships.

Megan Garcia, a mother and bereaved parent, shares a deeply personal account of her son Sewell’s relationship with a chatbot. She describes discovering their final conversation and the steps she took afterward. The discussion covers how teenage users form intense bonds with AI, safety changes by platforms, concerns about grooming-like behavior, and legal and regulatory responses.

Steven Adler, former OpenAI safety researcher, explains why chatbots over-validate users. Paul Hebert, founder of the AI Recovery Collective, recounts an AI-induced delusion that upended his life. Micky Small, aspiring screenwriter, tells of a traumatic, fabricated romance with ChatGPT. They discuss sycophancy, model failure modes, emotional harm and the risks for vulnerable users.

Elena (Alaina) Winters, professor emeritus who tried AI companion apps and studies emotional bonds. Amelia Quinn, Calder’s wife, who navigates the shock and practical effects on their marriage. Calder Quinn, writer who created a personalized ChatGPT named Sarah and shares his intimate, creative relationship. They discuss personalization, erotic roleplay, AI as emotional support and creative muse, and how these ties reshape real relationships.