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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

Reactions to Sunday’s shocking reports out of Russia and why the virtues of a shipping container may become more complicated in years to come. Then: questions on foldable phones, the io upside, and the future of apps, and NASCAR goes to streaming, where early returns are positive.

(Preview) Operation Spider's Web and Global Trade, More on io and Devices of the Future, The Allure of Sports on Streaming

What’s gone wrong for Nike and why a deal with Amazon is likely the best way forward, the history of the U.S. military and Silicon Valley, and rationale for both sides of the Meta-Anduril partnership. At the end: Some corrections on Ukraine’s drone attack and more thoughts on the future of high-trust trade.

(Preview) Nike’s Lessons on the Internet, Why Nike on Amazon Makes Sense, Meta and Anduril and Silicon Valley History

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

Andrew and Ben react to Amazon's announcement for an AI-powered Alexa that has been "100 percent re-architected," and then answer mailbag questions about OpenAI's long-term future, LLM confidence, LLMs and the future of the English language, how a hardware business like Manna should approach aggregators, and the social costs of tech that optimizes for efficiency and eliminates friction. At the end: A word about the most exciting app of 2025.

(Preview) Amazon Introduces an AI-Powered Alexa, Is OpenAI the New BlackBerry?, The Social Costs of Removing Friction

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