The Vergecast

It's a big week for new ideas about computers, so David and Nilay spend some time on Samsung's vision for foldables and Mark Zuckerberg's vision for AI agents that do absolutely everything. Then they talk about the fallout from last week's OpenAI Hugging Face hack, and whether all this talk about AI safety will actually amount to anything. Finally, it's time for Brendan Carr is a Dummy, the vertical video takeover, and the smashing success of the Ferrari Luce.

Further reading:

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 feels like the future

Apple launches ‘Upgrade’ program to lease new devices

What’s the catch with the Apple Upgrade program?

Mark Zuckerberg is planning a big push into personal AI agents

Mark Zuckerberg wrote an op-ed about AI for the WSJ.

We’re running out of reasons to ignore AI safety

OpenAI reportedly didn’t notice its AI agent hacking Hugging Face until a week later.

Nvidia, Microsoft launch open AI security alliance — without OpenAI, Google, or Anthropic

OpenAI’s rogue AI agent didn’t stop at hacking Hugging Face

AI leaders sign a statement asking the government to do something about automated AI

Former FCC chairs blast Carr’s early renewal of ABC licenses as an ‘assault on free speech.’

ABC demands FCC drop its ‘punitive’ early license renewal of its stations

Qualcomm is raising phone chip prices starting September 1st

The Ferrari Luce reportedly already hit its 2026 sales target

Samsung’s smartphone biz posts first ever loss, but profit still soars 1,300 percent on RAM.

Facebook considers giving up and becoming TikTok

YouTube Premium will include Peacock starting next year

HBO Max is putting on vertical shorts

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(Timestamps are approximate.)

00:00:00 Intro

00:03:00 Baby Announcement

00:06:00 Galaxy Z Fold

00:12:00 Apple Leasing Program

00:15:00 Kill Switch Concerns

00:19:00 Zuck Agent Future

00:34:00 AI Safety Week Recap

00:42:00 Regulation Versus China

00:49:00 Winning AI Race

00:53:00 Security Arms Race

00:57:00 Brendan Carr Is a Dummy

01:07:00 Facebook Becomes TikTok

01:12:00 Ramageddon Price Hikes

01:16:00 HBO Max Shorts

01:23:00 Ferrari Luce Buzz

01:26:00 Wrap Up and Plugs
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A new study from the Oversight Board found that leading AI systems are less likely to criticize authoritarian governments than democratic ones. It's a wild finding — but wait? Why is the Oversight Board studying systems from OpenAI and Anthropic in the first place? Suzanne Nossel, who sits on the board, joined us to discuss the findings and why the Oversight Board's future might involve looking at more than just Meta.

Further reading:

Zoox can now charge for rides in its steering-wheel-free robotaxis

Spotify Running Mode helps match tunes to tempo

Friend re-launches its AI pendant with a speaker that talks to you, for twice the price

⁠How Facebook undercut the Oversight Board⁠

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.
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The wide foldable is here, and it's glorious. The Verge's Dominic Preston has been reviewing Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8, and joins the show to explain what this shorter, wider device gets right, what it's still missing, and why this looks like the right kind of foldable for most people. (Once the price comes down, anyway.) With a similar foldable iPhone likely coming soon, it's shaping up to be a fun year of foldables.

Further reading:

OpenAI’s rogue AI agent didn’t stop at hacking Hugging Face | The Verge

The US is banning foreign robots | The Verge

DoorDash is going airborne with new drone delivery division

Willie Nelson is pushing back against data centers in his hometown.

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 feels like the future

Huawei beats Samsung and Apple to market with the first wide foldable

A wide foldable iPhone dummy emerges amid rumors of a delay

So long, small phones

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.
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The team at Light has been working on minimalist phones for more than a decade. Its last device had a lot in common with a smartphone, but the newest model, the Light Flip, is something very different. Light CEO Kaiwei Tang explains why Light made a flip phone, how the world's opinion of smartphones is changing, and whether you can cure your tech problems with more tech.

Further reading:

⁠Apple launches ‘Upgrade’ program to lease new devices⁠

⁠Apple’s reported ‘HomePad’ may launch as early as October⁠

⁠X Money is launching in the US starting today⁠

⁠The Light Flip is a minimalist flip phone with a point to prove⁠

⁠Light Phone III review: everything in moderation⁠

⁠The high hopes of the low-tech phone⁠

⁠There’s no perfect minimalist phone — yet⁠

⁠Subscribe to The Verge⁠ for unlimited access to ⁠theverge.com⁠, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ⁠ad-free podcast feed⁠.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to ⁠vergecast@theverge.com⁠ or call us at 866-VERGE11.
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Some of the biggest players in AI — in particular OpenAI, SpaceX, and Amazon — are heavily invested in creating a world after smartphones. They're also all rumored to be building devices that sound a lot like smartphones. Verge contributor David Imel helps us figure out what these companies might actually be building, what an AI smartphone looks like, and whether anyone can unseat Apple and Google.

Links:

Elon Musk denies a report about SpaceX’s AI phone prototype

OpenAI is reportedly launching a phone for ChatGPT

Amazon is making an Alexa phone

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.
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