Uncanny Valley | WIRED
Welcome to Uncanny Valley—an insider look at the people, power, and influence of Silicon Valley—where each week, WIRED’s writers and editors bring you original reporting and analysis about some of the biggest stories in tech. On Tuesdays, The Big Interview with WIRED’s Global Editorial Director Katie Drummond in conversation with influential figures in culture, politics, business, science, and beyond for a discussion captured through the WIRED lens. On Thursdays, WIRED writers and editors Zoë Schiffer, Brian Barrett and Leah Feiger add you to the Slack group thread to let you into what they’re hearing from sources in Silicon Valley and D.C, read you into what trends you should be watching for and how WIRED is thinking about it all.
Episodes
This week, Brian and Zoë discuss the highlights from Nvidia’s annual developer conference, and why Tesla recently got in trouble with some of its most loyal fans online. Plus, Meta’s decision of shutting down Horizon Worlds VR officially marks the end of the metaverse dream.
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This week we are bringing you a podcast recommendation. A great tech focused weekly show called Kill Switch, hosted by Dexter Thomas. On this episode Dexter goes down a rabbit hole. When an editor at a local magazine in Toronto received a pitch from a promising new freelancer, he didn’t expect it to spiral into an obsessive investigation. What followed was a deep dive into a web of fake interviews, impossible bylines, and ...
This week, the team discusses what’s at stake for Anthropic after the company sued the Department of Defense. They also take a look at the strategy behind the Trump administration sharing action-filled war memes on social media, and share a scoop about how a controversial company is making millions by organizing the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Plus — could AI come for the jobs of ve...
This week, the team dives into why disinformation and the AI industry battles have quickly positioned themselves at the center of the ongoing conflict between the U.S and Iran. They also discuss how prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi are increasingly facing insider trading accusations and ethical questions. Also, how did Paramount beat Netflix in its bid for Warner Bros? Plus — Zoë, Brian, and Leah share their p...
Steven Adler used to lead product safety at OpenAI. When Katie read his recent op-ed asking OpenAI to prove that they have and continue to address safety issues, she knew she wanted to talk to him. This week she sits down with Steven to talk about what AI users should know about their bots.
Follow the UnCanny Valley feed for WIRED’s best and brightest as they provide an insider analysis of the overlap between tech and polit...
This week, the team dives into the feud that has been brewing between Anthropic and the Pentagon — and what it says about how the government interacts with tech companies. Later, Zoë tells us why figuring out whether you are agentic or mimetic has become the new litmus test in Silicon Valley. Plus, we discuss the key takeaways from the State of the Union address and give a farewell to the TAT-8 undersea cables — the ones t...
On this week’s episode of The Big Interview podcast, the philanthropist sits down with Katie to offer her insights on billionaire donors, kids on phones, and the importance of women’s healthcare.
Join WIRED’s best and brightest on Uncanny Valley as they dissect the collision of tech, politics, finance, and business, from Alexis Ohanian's newest tech venture to the effects of inaccurate information from artificial intelligen...
This week, Zoë dives into why some researchers at top AI companies have been resigning and publicly voicing their concerns around AI safety. Then, Brian tells us about Rent-A-Human — a website where AI agents hire humans to perform real life tasks — and why it has gathered attention and controversy. Finally, Leah shares her experience attending a party for the conservative magazine Evie, and how the culture around it could...
This week, Brian, Leah, and Zoë discuss WIRED’s big scoop on ICE’s startling plans to expand to nearly every state in the US. Then, they unpack Alex Karp’s nearly-hour-long non-response to Palantir employees with ethical concerns about collaborating with ICE. Plus, a WIRED writer lets the viral AI assistant OpenClaw run his life for a week to give listeners a peek into what AI agents can and can’t actually do.
Articles...
This week, Brian and Leah dive into the key tech industry figures who show up in the final batch of the Epstein Files. Then, they discuss SpaceX and xAI’s blockbuster merger, and what it says about the future of Elon Musk’s companies. Plus, we share the story of how a whistleblower revealed — and fled — the inner operations of a crypto scam compound in Laos.
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Katie sits down with the Westworld showrunner, Jonah Nolan for a wide ranging conversation about what keeps him coming back to sci-fi storytelling about technology and human nature. After decades of writing about Ai, Nolan explains why Ai may be good for burgeoning filmmakers, but won’t replace Hollywood as we know it.
Nolan’s past work includes Memento, The Prestige, The Dark Knight, Interstellar and Westworld.
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In the wake of the shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti in the streets of Minneapolis, several prominent tech executives attended a private White House screening of Melania, a documentary being released by Amazon MGM Studios. The timing was not lost on the group of Silicon Valley workers who recently launched ICEout.tech, essentially an open letter to their bosses. The letter, posted following Renee Nicole Good’s killing earl...
In today’s episode, Brian and Zoë are joined by WIRED’s Tim Marchman to discuss the news of the week — including how far-right influencers spread misinformation in Minneapolis, and why TikTok’s US version is off to a rocky start. Plus, we dive into why some people are currently obsessed with the AI assistant Moltbot.
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Welcome back to Uncanny Valley! This week, WIRED’s Brian Barrett and Leah Feiger are joining the show as the new co-hosts, alongside Zoë Schiffer. And our attention has been on the drama going down in the quaint little town of Davos. Zoë tells us how at the World Economic Forum’s event, major AI players like Anthropic have been the protagonists — sharing the spotlight with President Trump, who insists on invading Greenland...
Katie sits down with Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales talks about what it means to build something used by billions of people that’s not optimized for growth at all costs. Jimmy reflected on Wikipedia’s messy, human origins, the ways it’s been targeted by governments from Russia to Saudi Arabia, and the challenges of holding the line on neutrality in an online ecosystem hostile to the notion that facts even exist.
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The LinkedIn cofounder and frequent Trump target, Reid Hoffman has a simple message for his peers: “Just speak up about the things that you think are true.”
Join WIRED’s best and brightest on Uncanny Valley as they dissect the collision of tech, politics, finance, and business, from Alexis Ohanian's newest tech venture to the effects of inaccurate information from artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots on social protests.
L...On this week’s episode of The Big Interview, the author of The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood talks about Elon Musk, political resistance, and why she still has hope for America’s future.
Join WIRED’s best and brightest on Uncanny Valley as they dissect the collision of tech, politics, finance, and business, from Alexis Ohanian's newest tech venture to the effects of inaccurate information from artificial intelligence (AI...
Netflix CTO Elizabeth Stone is an anomaly. Instead of coding, she spent her twenties getting a PhD in economics. She quietly rose through the ranks in Silicon Valley and is now responsible for leading Netflix’s technology push towards live programming. In this candid conversation, Stone discusses the value of failure, the power behind genuine curiosity, and why she can’t pick her favorite Love is Blind couple.
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For better or for worse, this year had it all — from the AI industry shaping the global economy and our lives, to the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) taking over U.S federal agencies under Elon Musk’s leadership. In today’s episode, Zoë and WIRED’s executive editor Brian Barrett get together to reflect on some of this year’s key moments — and how they give us important clues as to what we can expect th...
As the year draws to an end, Mike and Lauren have some news to share with listeners. But first, they head over to the pool to unwind and reflect on what they’ll be watching for in the tech space this upcoming year, and what they think should stay behind.
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