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.

Welcome to the member zone.

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

Welcome to the member zone.
The number one podcast about tech business and culture, from James "JR" Hennessy and Raph Dixon.

Down Round Premium

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

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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.

When one thinks of impossible futures, they often think of a luxurious, technological wonderland. An unimaginable utopia where humans live in perfect harmony, their every want and need being fulfilled through meteoric advances in artificial intelligence. A prosperous society of abundance and civility.

But what if these same technological strides lead humanity to a different, more sinister outcome. One in which our dependable world economies simply evaporate as organic beings are removed from the equation. One where only next-token prediction engines are granted access to wealth, and those who clairvoyantly bought reasonably-priced Macintosh computers before the uprising rocket skyward into an insurmountable upper crust.

Some researchers have written a piece of speculative fiction which describes one of these two possibilities arriving by in 2028. Listen to the podcast to find out which one they foresaw, and hear two of DM Research's finest alum examine this theory in great depth.

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.

When one thinks of impossible futures, they often think of a luxurious, technological wonderland. An unimaginable utopia where humans live in perfect harmony, their every want and need being fulfilled through meteoric advances in artificial intelligence. A prosperous society of abundance and civility. But what if these same technological strides lead humanity to a different, more sinister outcome. One in which our dependable world economies simply evaporate as organic beings are removed from the equation. One where only next-token prediction engines are granted access to wealth, and those who clairvoyantly bought reasonably-priced Macintosh computers before the uprising rocket skyward into an insurmountable upper crust. Some researchers have written a piece of speculative fiction which describes one of these two possibilities arriving by in 2028. Listen to the podcast to find out which one they foresaw, and hear two of DM Research's finest alum examine this theory in great depth.
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.

On The Chopping Block (PREMIUM)

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