Is Google Breaking Up? + Seasteading Is Back + Tool Time
Listen to and follow ‘Hard Fork’Apple | Spotify | Amazon | YouTube | iHeartRadio This week, with big developments in two antitrust cases against Google, we discuss how the company…
Lawyers Seek Return of Migrants Deported Under Wartime Act
Over the past two weeks, immigration lawyers, scrambling from courthouse to courthouse, have secured provisional orders in five states stopping the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act, an…
Saying ‘Thank You’ to ChatGPT Is Costly. But Maybe It’s Worth the Price.
The question of whether to be polite to artificial intelligence may seem a moot point — it is artificial, after all. But Sam Altman, the chief executive of the artificial…
Elon Musk and DOGE’s Savings May Be Erased by New Costs
President Trump and Elon Musk promised taxpayers big savings, maybe even a “DOGE dividend” check in their mailboxes, when the Department of Government Efficiency was let loose on the federal…
Google Parent Alphabet Reports 12% Increase in Revenue
Google might be threatened with a breakup after losing two antitrust cases, but in the meantime it can console itself with piles of money. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, posted results…
U.S. Officials to Cut Funding for Landmark Study of Women’s Health
Federal health officials plan to cut funding to the Women’s Health Initiative, effectively shuttering one of the largest and longest studies of women’s health ever carried out. Its findings changed…
Trump Cuts Threaten Agency Running Meals on Wheels
Every Monday, Maurine Gentis, a retired teacher, waits for a delivery from Meals on Wheels South Texas. “The meals help stretch my budget,” Ms. Gentis, 77, said. Living alone and…
Saying ‘Thank You’ to Chat GPT Is Costly. But Maybe It’s Worth the Price.
The question of whether to be polite to artificial intelligence may seem a moot point — it is artificial, after all. But Sam Altman, the chief executive of the artificial…
If A.I. Systems Become Conscious, Should They Have Rights?
One of my most deeply held values as a tech columnist is humanism. I believe in humans, and I think that technology should help people, rather than disempower or replace…
Chinese Factory Owners Make Appeals to Americans on TikTok: Buy Direct
Chinese manufacturers are flooding TikTok and other social media apps with direct appeals to American shoppers, urging people to buy luxury items straight from their factories. And amid the threats…