TechStuff

The Week in Tech is back and it’s growing. Starting this Friday, Oz will be joined by a panel of the brightest minds covering Silicon Valley. Each week, they will discuss the latest news, decode emerging trends and debate what actually matters for the future of technology and for us.
This week, TechStuff asked Taylor Lorenz, Stephen Witt and Nitasha Tiku to share a story. Nitasha catches us up on the drama unfolding between Anthropic and the Pentagon. Stephen covers another tragic case of AI psychosis with fatal consequences. And Taylor makes the case for why 'social media addiction' is a harmful framework — and how age-verification laws could lead to mass surveillance and censorship of adults and children alike.

Additional Reading:
Anthropic Sues Pentagon Over National Security Risk Label - The Washington Post
Gemini Said They Could Only Be Together if He Killed Himself. Soon, He Was Dead. - WSJ
Congress Is Considering Abolishing Your Right to Be Anonymous Online - The Intercept
The world wants to ban children from social media, but there will be grave consequences for us all | Taylor Lorenz | The Guardian
This episode contains mentions of suicide. If you or someone you know needs support, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988, or visit 988lifeline.org.
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This week, we're talking 'human technology' — specifically, neuro-linguistic programming, or NLP. If you have any interest in modern day cults like NXIVM or Twin Flames Universe, you may have heard of it. But did you know that NLP also has roots in therapeutic practices like Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy, or that Tony Robbins was an NLP practitioner before becoming a motivational speaker?

In the new podcast Mind Games, journalists and best friends Alice Hines and Zoë Lescaze investigate the origins of NLP, from its roots in the new age movement in 1970s California through the pick-up artist trend of the early 2000s. They even try their hand at hypnotizing themselves. But does it work?
Check out Mind Games from Kaleidoscope and iHeartPodcasts, wherever you get your podcasts.
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When documentary filmmaker Adam Bhala Lough set out to make a movie about OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman, he hoped to get an interview with his main character. But when that didn’t happen, Adam found a workaround — he created a chatbot version of Sam Altman. From San Francisco to India to Los Angeles, Adam takes “Sambot” and the audience on a journey through the possibilities of what can happen when you deepfake a real person, and that person becomes your friend.
Karah sat down with Adam to discuss the secretive, cult-like nature of OpenAI, Adam’s relationship with “Sambot,” and whether AI chatbots are the future of friendships.
If you’d like to see the film, check out deepfakingsamaltman.com/buy-tickets.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we’re bringing you an episode from the podcast No Such Thing. Join Manny, Noah, and Devan — three best friends and journalists — as they settle dumb arguments by actually doing the research.
Each week, they start with a debate or discussion. In this episode, they ask: what’s up with Tesla door handles? And why do microwaves have so many buttons? And why are couches so expensive, but so uncomfortable? They’re joined by experts to answer these questions, including friend of the pod, Dexter Thomas, host of kill switch.
For more information, please subscribe to their newsletter at www.nosuchthing.show. And if you have any questions you’d like Manny, Devan and Noah to get to the bottom of, email them at or leave a voicemail: ‪(860) 325-0286.
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Tilly Norwood caused quite a stir when she was introduced in late 2025. Her creator, actor-producer Eline Van der Velden, said she wanted Tilly to be the “Scarlett Johansson” of AI actors. But she immediately felt the backlash from Hollywood. Emily Blunt called Tilly “really, really scary,” and agencies said they wouldn’t sign her. But Eline is pushing forward, creating a TV show around Tilly, filled with all-new AI characters. Karah sat down with Eline to talk about how she created Tilly, how she taught her to “act,” and to discuss how Eline sees the future of AI in filmmaking.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.