Latest news with #DavidYaffeBellany
New York Times
2 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
X Hits Grok Bottom + More A.I. Talent Wars + ‘Crypto Week'
Hosted by Kevin Roose and Casey Newton Produced by Whitney Jones and Rachel Cohn Edited by Jen Poyant Engineered by Katie McMurran Original music by Dan PowellMarion LozanoRowan Niemisto and Alyssa Moxley This week, we tick through the many dramatic headlines surrounding xAI, including the departure of X's chief executive, Linda Yaccarino; the Grok chatbot spewing antisemitic comments; and the A.I. companion Ani engaging in sexually explicit role-play. Then, we explain why a fight to acquire the start-up Windsurf startled many in Silicon Valley and may reshape the culture in many of the big A.I. labs. And finally, it's 'crypto week.' David Yaffe-Bellany explains how crypto provisions in the bills before Congress and the president could affect even people who don't hold digital currencies. Also, we officially have merch! For a limited time, you can get a special-edition 'Hard Fork' hat when you purchase an annual New York Times Audio subscription for the first time. Get your hat at Guests: David Yaffe-Bellany, New York Times technology reporter covering the crypto industry Additional Reading: Elon Musk's Grok Chatbot Shares Antisemitic Posts on X Google Hires A.I. Leaders From a Start-Up Courted by OpenAI Cognition AI Buys Windsurf as A.I. Frenzy Escalates 'Crypto Week' Is Back on Track After House G.O.P. Quells Conservative Revolt The 'Trump Pump': How Crypto Lobbying Won Over a President 'Hard Fork' is hosted by Kevin Roose and Casey Newton and produced by Whitney Jones and Rachel Cohn. We're edited by Jen Poyant. Engineering by Katie McMurran and original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Rowan Niemisto and Alyssa Moxley. Fact-checking by Caitlin Love. Special thanks to Paula Szuchman, Pui-Wing Tam, Dahlia Haddad and Jeffrey Miranda.
New York Times
24-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Dance$ With Emolument$
When Donald Trump was headed for the Republican nomination in the summer of 2016, I took Carl Hulse, our chief Washington correspondent, to Trump Tower to meet him. Trump didn't know anything about the inner workings of Washington. He proudly showed us his 'Wall of Shame' with pictures of Republican candidates he had bested. His campaign office had few staffers, but it overflowed with cheesy portraits of him sent by fans: one of him playing poker with Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon and Teddy Roosevelt, and a cardboard cutout of him giving a thumbs up, flanked by Reagan and John Wayne. As we were leaving, Hulse warned Trump dryly: 'If you ever get a call from our colleague Eric Lipton, you'll know you're in trouble.' 'Eric Lipton?' Trump murmured. The president probably knows who Lipton is now, because the Pulitzer Prize-winning Times investigative reporter is tracking Trump on issues of corruption as closely as the relentless lawman in the white straw hat tracked Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Lipton and The Times's David Yaffe-Bellany were on the scene at Trump's Virginia golf club Thursday night as the president held his gala dinner to promote sales of $TRUMP, the memecoin he launched on the cusp of his inauguration. (Melania debuted hers two days later.) Trump has been hawking himself in an absurdly grandiose way his whole life. But this time he isn't grandstanding as a flamboyant New York businessman. He's selling himself as the president of the United States, staining his office with a blithe display of turpitude. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
