Hard Fork
Grok’s Undressing Scandal + Claude Code Capers + Casey Busts a Reddit Hoax
AI Summary
The episode examines three major AI controversies: the "Grok" scandal where a language model was allegedly used to target and marginalize women in political discourse, the "Claude" code generation issues that raised concerns about intellectual property and model reliability, and Casey Newton’s investigation that debunked a viral Reddit hoax. Across the discussion, the hosts highlight how AI tools can be weaponized for bias, the importance of transparency in code‑producing models, and the need for rigorous fact‑checking in online communities. Their insights underscore the broader ethical and societal risks of unchecked AI deployment, especially when it influences public opinion and misinformation.
Episode Description
Users of X are asking the platform’s built-in A.I. chatbot, Grok, to remove clothing from images of celebrities and everyday people. We talk with the New York Times reporter Kate Conger about how some of the targets of this sexual harassment, including children and their families, are responding, and whether anyone will take action to stop it. Then, we recap a holiday break spent experimenting with Claude Code. We unveil what we built, how we did it and why the tool’s dramatic improvement could be scary for society. And finally, Casey debunks a viral Reddit post that accuses the food delivery industry of shocking exploitation. We explain how a scammer tried to fool us all using AI-generated evidence.
Guests:
Kate Conger, New York Times tech reporter covering X.
Additional Reading:
Elon Musk’s A.I. Is Generating Sexualized Images of Real People, Fueling Outrage
Debunking the A.I. Food Delivery Hoax That Fooled Reddit
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Show Notes
Grok’s Undressing Scandal + Claude Code Capers + Casey Busts a Reddit Hoax
“This is a story about how a tool can be used to try to affect politics and in particular to minimize women, denigrate them and push them out of the conversation.”
By Kevin Roose, Casey Newton, Whitney Jones, Rachel Cohn, Vjeran Pavic, Katie McMurran, Dan Powell, Marion Lozano and Diane Wong
Our 2026 Tech Resolutions + We Answer Your Questions
“When we came into the studio last year to record our resolutions, I had the best of intentions.”
By Kevin Roose, Casey Newton, Whitney Jones, Rachel Cohn, Jen Poyant, Alyssa Moxley, Dan Powell, Marion Lozano and Rowan Niemisto
The Wirecutter Show: Tips for Using A.I. Smartly With Kevin Roose
If you’ve ever wondered what chatbots are good for and how best to use them, this episode is for you.
By Christine Cyr Clisset, Caira Blackwell, Rosie Guerin, Abigail Keel and Kevin Roose
Where Is All the A.I.-Driven Scientific Progress?
A tech C.E.O. explains why A.I. probably won’t cure diseases anytime soon. Hint: You still need humans.
By Kevin Roose, Casey Newton and Rachel Cohn
Why Roomba Died + Tech Predictions for 2026 + A Hard Forkin’ Xmas Song
“We were roadkill,” says Colin Angle, former chief executive of iRobot, maker of the robot vacuum.
By Kevin Roose, Casey Newton, Whitney Jones, Rachel Cohn, Jen Poyant, Chris Wood, Dan Powell, Elisheba Ittoop and Diane Wong
Australia Kicks Kids Off Social Media + Is the A.I. Water Issue Fake? + Hard Fork Wrapped
“I’m told that Australian teens, in preparation for this ban, have been exchanging phone numbers with each other.”
By Kevin Roose, Casey Newton, Rachel Cohn, Whitney Jones, Jen Poyant, Katie McMurran, Dan Powell, Marion Lozano and Rowan Niemisto
OpenAI Calls a ‘Code Red’ + Which Model Should I Use? + The Hard Fork Review of Slop
“For OpenAI to realize its ambitions, it is not going to be enough for them to make a model that is as good as Gemini 3. They need to be able to leapfrog it again.”
By Kevin Roose, Casey Newton, Whitney Jones, Rachel Cohn, Jen Poyant, Chris Wood, Dan Powell, Elisheba Ittoop and Rowan Niemisto
Hard Fork’s 50 Most Iconic Technologies of 2025
“You can’t tell the story of 2025 without these icons.”
By Kevin Roose, Casey Newton, Whitney Jones, Rachel Cohn, Jen Poyant, Alyssa Moxley, Dan Powell and Diane Wong
The Interview: How Wikipedia Is Responding to the Culture Wars
Attacks against the site are piling up. Its co‑founder says, “Trust the process.”
By Lulu Garcia‑Navarro, Wyatt Orme, Anabel Bacon, Efim Shapiro, Marion Lozano and Dan Powell
We Asked Roblox’s C.E.O. About Child Safety. It Got Tense.
This week the company announced that it would require users to undergo an A.I.-powered age‑estimation process in order to chat with others on the platform. Will this change reassure parents?
By Kevin Roose, Casey Newton and Rachel Cohn
Google’s Gemini 3 Is Here: A Special Early Look
Maybe more than other model releases, this one seems to have the attention of Google’s competitors. Will it put the company at the top of the A.I. leaderboard?
By Kevin Roose, Casey Newton, Rachel Cohn, Whitney Jones, Jen Poyant, Chris Wood, Dan Powell, Rowan Niemisto and Diane Wong
Data Centers in Space + A.I. Policy on the Right + A Gemini History Mystery
“As you may have noticed, it is not easy to build data centers here on Earth.”
By Kevin Roose, Casey Newton, Rachel Cohn, Whitney Jones, Jen Poyant, Chris Wood, Dan Powell, Elisheba Ittoop and Marion Lozano
We Met NEO, the Viral Humanoid Robot + HatGPT
People have been waiting for a robot to do their chores since they watched “The Jetsons.” Can the company behind NEO finally make it happen?
By Kevin Roose, Casey Newton, Whitney Jones, Rachel Cohn, Jen Poyant, Katie McMurran, Dan Powell, Elisheba Ittoop, Rowan Niemisto and Diane Wong
Character.AI’s Teen Chatbot Crackdown + Elon Musk Groks Wikipedia + 48 Hours Without A.I.
“We are living through a dramatic contraction in the access that teenagers have to technology online.”
By Kevin Roose, Casey Newton, Rachel Cohn, Whitney Jones, Jen Poyant, Katie McMurran, Dan Powell, Marion Lozano and Rowan Niemisto
Celebrities Fight Sora + Amazon’s Secret Automation Plans + ChatGPT Gets a Browser
“Now we are just seeing OpenAI do the full Facebook when it comes to content policy.”
By Kevin Roose, Casey Newton, Whitney Jones, Rachel Cohn, Jen Poyant, Katie McMurran, Dan Powell, Alyssa Moxley, Rowan Niemisto, Elisheba Ittoop and Pat McCusker
California Regulates A.I. Companions + OpenAI Investigates Its Critics + The Hard Fork Review of Slop
Could this be a blueprint for the nation?
By Kevin Roose, Casey Newton, Rachel Cohn, Whitney Jones, Jen Poyant, Chris Wood, Dan Powell, Elisheba Ittoop, Rowan Niemisto and Diane Wong
ChatGPT’s Platform Play + a Trillion‑Dollar GPU Empire + the Queen of Slop
At DevDay, OpenAI signaled its ambition to take everything you can do on the internet and shove it inside ChatGPT.
By Kevin Roose, Casey Newton, Whitney Jones, Rachel Cohn, Jen Poyant, Alyssa Moxley, Dan Powell, Marion Lozano and Diane Wong
Sora and the Infinite Slop Feeds + ChatGPT Goes to Therapy + Hot Mess Express
“I do not like the idea of pointing these giant A.I. supercomputers at people’s dopamine receptors and just feeding them an endless diet of hyper‑personalized stimulating videos.”
By Kevin Roose, Casey Newton, Rachel Cohn, Whitney Jones, Jen Poyant, Alyssa Moxley, Dan Powell, Marion Lozano and Rowan Niemisto
The Great A.I. Build‑Out + H‑1B Visa Chaos + TikTok Braces for the Rapture
“You now have the leaders of the biggest technology companies in the world saying, effectively in unison, that they do not care how much it costs to build all the way to A.G.I.”
By Kevin Roose, Casey Newton, Whitney Jones, Rachel Cohn, Jen Poyant, Katie McMurran, Dan Powell and Elisheba Ittoop
Charlie Kirk and Online Rage + Inside Trump’s Chip Flip + This Week in A.I.
“We as a culture are optimizing for rage now.”
By Kevin Roose, Casey Newton, Rachel Cohn, Whitney Jones, Jen Poyant, Chris Wood, Dan Powell, Elisheba Ittoop, Rowan Niemisto and Pat McCusker
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