A.I.’s Messy Moment + Listeners Respond to Jonathan Haidt + Shrimp Jesus

Warning: The second segment of this episode includes mentions of suicide. If you are in crisis please call the suicide and crisis lifeline at 988 or you can contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.

This week, we look at a mess of corporate drama in artificial intelligence. Stability AI has announced that its founder and C.E.O., Emad Mostaque, is leaving the company. Meanwhile, Microsoft hired away two of the co-founders and much of the staff of Inflection, without actually acquiring the company itself. Both moves surprised tech insiders. Then, we talked with listeners who had something to say about our interview with Jonathan Haidt on smartphones, social media and young people. And finally, we examine the true motives behind “Shrimp Jesus” and other hugely popular images on social media that were generated with artificial intelligence.

Today’s guests:

• Jordan Lucero, a high school student • Maya Rayle, a graduate student • Jack Campbell, a college student • Brendan Kelley, a high school digital coach

Additional Reading:

The indie AI companies are falling apartHow Spammers, Scammers and Creators Leverage AI-Generated Images on Facebook for Audience Growth We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

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