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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

Talking Platform Power and 15 years of App Store arguments, with topics including Ben's memories from Microsoft, the difference between regulating platforms and aggregators, and the case for intervening in the App Store today. Then: Eddy Cue testifies that Apple is exploring AI search options for Safari, and a New York Magazine feature on ChatGPT in colleges sparks thoughts on tech, higher education, and Blue Books.

Apple and the Power of Platforms, AI Comes for Google Search, ChatGPT Comes for Higher Education

Reactions to a revamped app and the expanded ambitions of Airbnb, an excellent email about practical considerations for leaders if AI accelerates a bifurcation of society, and thoughts on HBO's rebrand and ESPN's new streaming app.

(Preview) Airbnb and Its Varied Ambitions, The High Agency Golden Era, HBO Max and the End of an Error

A question about generative AI and the hardware powering voice assistants, projecting the GPU future with the dot com bubble as context, and thoughts on Amazon’s capital expenditures and the state of AWS and Amazon Supply Chain. At the end: An Elon hater reviews the Cybertruck.

Generative AI and Hardware Upgrades, Google History and the Dark GPU Theory, Amazon’s Logistics Long Play

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

After last week's conversation about AI for companionship, Ben and Andrew answer emails about the future of personalized LLM answers, speculative costs and benefits, the tension between building trust and building a product with 3 billion customers, and much more.

(Preview) All About AI Companions: Personalization Upsides, Dystopian Downsides, AI Therapy, Advertising Tension, and Lots More

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