It's not even the end of January and there's already so much crap going on in the world of tech. We're spoiled for choice here. In this two-parter, we're tackling the various stories that have sprung up around the inauguration of Donald Trump — everything from TikTok to meme coins to Project Stargate and Chinese AI.

In this first part, we're looking at the latest on the TikTok ban, as well as DeepSeek, the Chinese AI shop that has everyone's attention. Want to get the second part? Join Down Round Premium today.

It's not even the end of January and there's already so much crap going on in the world of tech. We're spoiled for choice here. In this two-parter, we're tackling the various stories that have sprung up around the inauguration of Donald Trump &mdash; everything from TikTok to meme coins to Project Stargate and Chinese AI.
In this first part, we're looking at the latest on the TikTok ban, as well as DeepSeek, the Chinese AI shop that has everyone's attention. Want to get the second part? <a href="https://www.downround.net">Join Down Round Premium</a> today.

The number one podcast about tech business and culture, from James "JR" Hennessy and Raph Dixon.

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January Mania

You may know Jack Dorsey as co-founder of Twitter or the guy who runs the company that makes those little card reader doo-dads at your local coffee shop, or perhaps that one random mention in a Kendrick Lamar song.

Right now, he's in the news for laying off a whole hunk of people from Block, the company that owns Square, Afterpay, and Tidal — and he has cited AI as the catalyst. The boys discuss whether this is the beginning of a trend or just a useful excuse.

We also check in on James' dad, and wagers are made.

You may know Jack Dorsey as co-founder of Twitter or the guy who runs the company that makes those little card reader doo-dads at your local coffee shop, or perhaps that one random mention in a Kendrick Lamar song.
Right now, he's in the news for laying off a whole hunk of people from Block, the company that owns Square, Afterpay, and Tidal &mdash; and he has cited AI as the catalyst. The boys discuss whether this is the beginning of a trend or just a useful excuse.
We also check in on James' dad, and wagers are made.

On The Chopping Block (PREMIUM)

For today's free ep, we examine the current spat between Anthropic and Trump's Department of War over use of their AI model Claude.

Should a next-token prediction model be allowed to make decisions in the heat of battle? Should the snuffing out of a human life be prompted by a computer? Is Mark Zuckerberg losing his white boy swag? These are all important questions which WILL be answered in this episode.

If you like the pod, chuck us a review on your podcast player of choice, or go to downround.net to sign up for PREMIUM to get ad-free listening PLUS an extra episode every week.

For today's free ep, we examine the current spat between Anthropic and Trump's Department of War over use of their AI model Claude.
Should a next-token prediction model be allowed to make decisions in the heat of battle? Should the snuffing out of a human life be prompted by a computer? Is Mark Zuckerberg losing his white boy swag? These are all important questions which WILL be answered in this episode.
If you like the pod, chuck us a review on your podcast player of choice, or go to <a href="https://www.downround.net">downround.net</a> to sign up for PREMIUM to get ad-free listening PLUS an extra episode every week.

Anthropic Goes To War

For today's free ep, we examine the current spat between Anthropic and Trump's Department of War over use of their AI model Claude.

Should a next-token prediction model be allowed to make decisions in the heat of battle? Should the snuffing out of a human life be prompted by a computer? Is Mark Zuckerberg losing his white boy swag? These are all important questions which WILL be answered in this episode.

For today's free ep, we examine the current spat between Anthropic and Trump's Department of War over use of their AI model Claude.
Should a next-token prediction model be allowed to make decisions in the heat of battle? Should the snuffing out of a human life be prompted by a computer? Is Mark Zuckerberg losing his white boy swag? These are all important questions which WILL be answered in this episode.

January Mania

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