Humanoid robots are all over social media: making beds, doing backflips, even outrunning Usain Bolt. But how much of it is real and how much is hype?

This week, Danny and Katie are joined by roboticist and co-founder of Bear Robotics Bren Pierce. He’s been building humanoid robots for more than twenty years.

They discuss how AI is finally giving robots ‘brains’ to understand the physical world, why China is winning the robot race and how long it will be until robots are folding laundry in our homes.

The Interview is our weekly conversation with the people shaping the future of technology.

Guest: Brennand Pierce, Co-founder and Chief Robotics Officer of Bear Robotics

Presenters:

Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The Times

Danny Fortson, US West Coast Correspondent, The Sunday Times

Producer: Marnie Duke

Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia

Image: Bear Robotics

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Anthropic has pledged to give away 5% of its shares to a fund that will make donations for the quote unquote “public good”. These shares could be worth between 75 and $100 billion.

Days later, Elon Musk posted on X that he would give one of his SpaceX shares to every child in America. These could be worth over $10 billion. So, what’s behind these recent pledges?

Danny and Katie question whether tech companies are finally taking accountability for their impact on society or whether this is just good PR.

Plus, a power outage at one of Google’s data centres in London that disrupted services at Royal Mail, Revolut, HSBC and Lloyds bank has renewed concerns about a lack of sovereign AI.

Watch on YouTube

Read more: How I helped to make Elon Musk’s flying car

Get in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.uk

Presenters:

Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The Times

Danny Fortson, US West Coast Correspondent, The Sunday Times

Producer: Marnie Duke

Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia

Image: Getty

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bending Spoons has become one of Europe’s most unusual tech companies by buying well-known tech businesses and rebuilding them. Katie Prescott speaks to CEO Luca Ferrari about taking the company public, choosing the US over Europe and transforming businesses such as AOL and Evernote.

He also explains why Bending Spoons never sells the companies it buys, and why being the CEO of a public company can feel “a little bit naked”.

Watch on YouTube

Get in touch: techpod@thetimes.co.uk

Presenters:

Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The Times

Danny Fortson, US West Coast Correspondent, The Sunday Times

Producer: Marnie Duke

Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia

Video Producer: Bronwen Latham

Image: Getty

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.