GPT-5 Arrives, and We Try the New Alexa+
Hard Fork8 Elo 2025

GPT-5 Arrives, and We Try the New Alexa+

This week, OpenAI released its much-anticipated flagship model, GPT-5. We break down what we know about the upgrade, drawing from our initial testing and a special news briefing with Sam Altman. Then, we explain why we were underwhelmed by Amazon’s new Alexa+, which is powered by generative A.I., and take our feedback to Daniel Rausch, vice president of Alexa and Echo, who helps us understand why powering Alexa with L.L.M. capabilities is a major computer science challenge.

Guests:

  • Daniel Rausch, Amazon vice president of Echo and Alexa


Additional reading:


We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.

Also, you can still get a special-edition “Hard Fork” hat! For a limited time, you’ll receive one when you purchase an annual New York Times Audio subscription for the first time (U.S. only). Go to nytimes.com/hardforkhat.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jaksot(181)

X Gets a Brazilian Ax + Founder Mode + Listeners Respond on School Phone Bans

X Gets a Brazilian Ax + Founder Mode + Listeners Respond on School Phone Bans

Over the weekend, X was banned in Brazil. We talk with The New York Times’s Brazil bureau chief, Jack Nicas, about how Brazilians are reacting, whether its owner, Elon Musk, has made a business miscal...

6 Syys 20241h 8min

The Telegram Problem + Gov. Kathy Hochul on School Phone Bans + Kevin's A.I. Reputation Rehab

The Telegram Problem + Gov. Kathy Hochul on School Phone Bans + Kevin's A.I. Reputation Rehab

Telegram’s founder, Pavel Durov, was arrested in France and charged with several crimes connected to his operation of the platform. We’ll tell you what the charges against him mean for the internet. T...

30 Elo 20241h 14min

What Happened to the A.I. Election? + ChatGPT for Mayor + The Productivity Tools We’re Using

What Happened to the A.I. Election? + ChatGPT for Mayor + The Productivity Tools We’re Using

This week, we discuss why so few campaigns seem to be experimenting with A.I. The Times’s Sheera Frenkel joins us with examples of the many different artificial intelligence products that have been tu...

23 Elo 20241h 8min

Can Musk Get Trump Elected? + Steve Ballmer’s Quest for the Facts + This Week in A.I.

Can Musk Get Trump Elected? + Steve Ballmer’s Quest for the Facts + This Week in A.I.

This week, we debate whether Elon Musk’s recent stumping and fund-raising for former President Trump could help him get re-elected. Then, former Microsoft’s chief executive, Steve Ballmer, stops by to...

16 Elo 20241h 8min

Google’s Monopoly Money + Is the A.I. Bubble Popping? + The Hot-Mess Express

Google’s Monopoly Money + Is the A.I. Bubble Popping? + The Hot-Mess Express

This week, a federal judge ruled that Google acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in online search. David McCabe, a New York Times reporter, joins to discuss what happens next. Then, are we in an A....

9 Elo 20241h 13min

The Zoom Election + Google DeepMind's Math Olympiad + HatGPT! Olympics Edition

The Zoom Election + Google DeepMind's Math Olympiad + HatGPT! Olympics Edition

This week, with hundreds of thousands of people joining online political rallies for Kamala Harris, we discuss whether 2024 is suddenly becoming the Zoom election, and what that means for both parties...

2 Elo 20241h 1min

Kamala Harris’s Bratty Coconut Memescape + What Does $1,000 a Month Do? + The Empire CrowdStrikes Back

Kamala Harris’s Bratty Coconut Memescape + What Does $1,000 a Month Do? + The Empire CrowdStrikes Back

This week, the memes didn’t just fall out of coconut trees — a rundown of the social media reaction to Kamala Harris’s election campaign, and an exploration of what her tech platform might look like. ...

26 Heinä 20241h 13min

Social Media Reacts to an Attempted Assassination + Tech Elites for Trump + TikTok's Jawmaxxing Trend

Social Media Reacts to an Attempted Assassination + Tech Elites for Trump + TikTok's Jawmaxxing Trend

This week, an assassination attempt for the social media age: what the platforms got right and wrong in the chaotic aftermath. Then we talk with the Times reporter Teddy Schleifer from this week’s Rep...

19 Heinä 20241h 10min