The Interface

As Washington moved toward a joint US and Israeli response to Iran, a parallel fight over military access to frontier AI broke into the open. Anthropic, maker of Claude, refused a Pentagon demand for “unrestricted” use of its models, citing red lines on domestic mass surveillance and fully autonomous weapons. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth then labelled the firm a “supply chain risk,” a designation intended to bar defence contractors from using Anthropic’s tools. Within hours, OpenAI announced a deployment deal with the Pentagon, then hurried to revise and clarify its safeguards after a backlash.The consumer response was immediate. Users posted cancellations under “Cancel ChatGPT,” third‑party trackers reported a sharp spike in uninstalls, and Anthropic’s Claude climbed the app charts.We ask why the military wants large‑scale AI, what it is already using it for, and what this showdown reveals about democratic oversight, privacy and accountability when state demand meets platform power.Also this week: are prediction sites, where anyone can bet on future events, being abused by users with inside knowledge — and are these platforms now shaping events rather than merely forecasting them?The Interface is your weekly guide to the tech rewiring your week and our world. Hosted by journalists Thomas Germain, Karen Hao, and Nicky Woolf, each episode unpacks week-by-week the unfolding story of how technology is shaping all of our futures. No guests. No jargon. Just three sharp voices debating the tech stories that matter - whether they shook a government, broke the internet, or quietly tipped the balance of power.New episodes drop every Thursday on BBC Sounds in the UK. Outside the UK, find us on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts, or watch the video version on YouTube (search “The Interface podcast”).To get in touch with the team - email us at theinterface@bbc.comThe Interface is a BBC Studios production.Producer: Natalia Rodriguez Ford Executive Editor: Philip Sellars

In 2016, diplomats reported a strange burst of sound — followed by months of debilitating symptoms. “Havana Syndrome” sparked questions and conspiracy theories across the web about a possible unseen weapon. Now, new reports from Norway describe a scientist experiencing similar effects after testing a microwave device. Host Nicky Woolf asks: if such technology exists, who owns it and what are they doing with it next?Also on The Interface this week: At the landmark trial in LA, social media companies like WhatsApp, Facebook and YouTube are defending their platforms against the accusation that they are addictive to young people; we ask what the fallout from the trial will be and what legal clause, Section 230, that dates from 1934 really means in the social media age. Plus, host Karen Hao has spent the week rubbing shoulders with the great and the good from the AI companies at the AI Impact Summit in Delhi, but what really goes on the shadowy meeting rooms around the fringe?The Interface is your weekly guide to the tech rewiring your week and our world. Hosted by journalists Thomas Germain, Karen Hao, and Nicky Woolf, each episode unpacks week-by-week the unfolding story of how technology is shaping all of our futures. No guests. No jargon. Just three sharp voices debating the tech stories that matter - whether they shook a government, broke the internet, or quietly tipped the balance of power.New episodes drop every Thursday on BBC Sounds in the UK. Outside the UK, find us on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts, or watch the video version on YouTube (search “The Interface podcast”).To get in touch with the team - email us at theinterface@bbc.comThe Interface is a BBC Studios production.Producer: Natalia Rodriguez Ford Executive Editor: Philip Sellars

Do you trust the answers that AI chat bots like Chat GPT, Claude and Grok tell you? This week, The Interface put entirely fictitious information on the internet, to see if the AI chat bots would show any kind of caution in reporting it as the truth. They did not. Our example was about a made-up hot dog eating championship, but what if other operators out there are steering the AI towards more sinister, but equally untrue, information about health, politics or unregulated products? We ask what checks are, and should be, in place.Also on The Interface this week: Are data centres eating your hometown? Governments around the world are prioritising planning applications from big tech firms to build the data centres required to power the AI rollout but what is that doing to the local areas where they are being built? And Elon Musk has applied to launched up to a million satellites into space to expand his Starlink internet empire, we ask should one man have the power to switch the internet on and off around the world.The Interface is your weekly guide to the tech rewiring your week and our world. Hosted by journalists Tom Germain, Karen Hao, and Nicky Woolf, each episode unpacks week-by-week the unfolding story of how technology is shaping all of our futures. No guests. No jargon. Just three sharp voices debating the tech stories that matter - whether they shook a government, broke the internet, or quietly tipped the balance of power.New episodes drop every Thursday on BBC Sounds in the UK. Outside the UK, find us on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts, or watch the video version on YouTube (search “The Interface podcast”).To get in touch with the team - email us at theinterface@bbc.comThe Interface is a BBC Studios production.Producer: Natalia Rodriguez Ford Executive Editor: Philip Sellars

Ring’s new AI “lost dog” feature promises to reunite missing pets with their owners using doorbell camera footage. But could this same technology be used to build a far more sinister surveillance network? Our hosts take a closer look at Search Party, announced in an ad during this year’s Super Bowl, and explore why this seemingly feel-good function is sparking privacy concerns.Also on The Interface this week: Why does the TikTok takeover in the US affect you, even if you've never touched the app? And how did one ad campaign at the Super Bowl reveal the fierce rivalry between OpenAI and Anthropic?The Interface is your weekly guide to the tech rewiring your week and our world. Hosted by journalists Tom Germain, Karen Hao, and Nicky Woolf, each episode unpacks week-by-week the unfolding story of how technology is shaping all of our futures. No guests. No jargon. Just three sharp voices debating the tech stories that matter - whether they shook a government, broke the internet, or quietly tipped the balance of power.New episodes drop every Thursday on BBC Sounds in the UK. Outside the UK, find us on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts, or watch the video version on YouTube (search “The Interface podcast”).The Interface is a BBC Studios production.Producer: Natalia Rodriguez Ford Executive Editor: Philip Sellars

Want to know how your world is changing, and what it will be like to live in a future being built for you right now? Don’t be distracted by politics - it’s tech driving that change.Karen Hao, Nicky Woolf and Tom Germain - three of the sharpest voices in tech - dive into the stories behind the headlines: AI breakthroughs, big-tech power, digital culture, cybersecurity, misinformation - and discover what's happening in the most bizarre corners of the internet.Every week, the trio unpack the tech stories that matter: whether they shake governments, reshape industries, or quietly alter how we live, work and connect.Informed, curious and clear-eyed, The Interface is your guide to understanding one of the defining stories of our time.Launching Thursday 12 February on BBC Sounds in the UK - and wherever you get your podcasts.The Interface is a BBC Studios Production. Producer: Natalia Rodriguez Ford Executive Editor: Philip Sellars

Stop doomscrolling. Start decoding the tech rewiring your week - and your world.The Interface is the BBC's fiercely informed, fast and funny take on how tech is changing everything.Hosted by three leading tech journalists whose work covers every aspect of the subject, each episode unpacks week-by-week the unfolding story of how technology is shaping all our futures. No guests. No jargon. Just three sharp voices debating the tech news stories that matter - whether they shook a government, broke the internet, or quietly tipped the balance of power.As TikTok shifts geopolitics, Trump drives digital shockwaves, Elon Musk expands his space-internet empire and AI reroutes the routines of everyday life - the trio ask: what world are the tech titans building for us? And do we want to live in it?