Why OpenAI Is Spooked. Plus, Which AI Model Should You Use? | EP 167

Video Description

It’s A.I. model rollout season in Silicon Valley, and OpenAI appears to be feeling the pressure. Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI, sent a memo to staff on Monday declaring a “code red” effort to improve ChatGPT and delay other initiatives. We explain why the latest frontier models from Google and Anthropic have OpenAI spooked and how the company is reshuffling priorities to respond. Then, we give our honest thoughts on which A.I. models we like best and share how we’re using A.I. in our day-to-day lives. And finally, we take a look at some of the most popular A.I.-generated content on the internet this week in our latest installment of the Hard Fork Review of Slop. For more on this episode, go to: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/podcasts/hardfork-openai-code-red.html Additional Reading: What OpenAI Did When ChatGPT Users Lost Touch With Reality https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/technology/openai-chatgpt-users-risks.html Google Unveils Gemini 3, With Improved Coding and Search Abilities https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/technology/google-gemini-3.html Tourists Tricked by Fake Royal Christmas Market https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/c4gjgwll6glo Deepfake of North Carolina lawmaker used in award-winning Whirlpool video https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/11/30/deep-fake-whirlool-brazil/ Chapters: 00:00:00 - This week on the show 00:00:18 - OpenAI declares "code red!" 00:31:41 - How we're using the latest A.I. models 00:39:21 - The Hard Fork Review of Slop: imaginary markets, poorly made tamales and deepfake ads. Hard Fork is a weekly look into the future that's already here. Hosts Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore stories from the bleeding edge of tech. Casey’s publication, Platformer: https://www.platformer.news/ FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hardfork Insta: Kevin Roose - https://www.instagram.com/kevinroose/ Casey Newton - https://www.instagram.com/crumbler/ Twitter (X): Kevin - https://x.com/kevinroose Casey - https://x.com/CaseyNewton Threads: Kevin - https://www.threads.net/@kevinroose Casey - https://www.threads.net/@crumbler Subscribe to the audio only podcast: Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hard-fork/id1528594034 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/44fllCS2FTFr2x2kjP9xeT?si=86ba626802b849cd Amazon - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7c7fe198-e6a8-41a8-b0fe-1d46b976dcd8/hard-fork YouTube Music - https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB9gMmtMLXxsa8C0PzHFL2tJFh7FrKrYD&si=Fwb9Uwon1ZneNsBp The New York Times - https://www.nytimes.com/column/hard-fork Credits “Hard Fork” is hosted by Kevin Roose and Casey Newton. Produced by Rachel Cohn and Whitney Jones. Engineering by Chris Wood and original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Sophia Lanman and Rowan Niemisto. Fact-checking by Ena Alvarado and Will Peischel. Our executive producer is Jen Poyant. Video production by Chris Schodt and Sawyer Roque. Video QC by Isabella Anderson. Podcast Art Direction by Benjamin Wilkerson Tousley. Podcast Art & Animations by Julian Hespenheide. Additional Motion graphics by Phil Robibero. Thumbnails by Julia Moburg, Elizabeth Bristow, and Yvonne Stender. Special thanks to Paula Szuchman, Pui-Wing Tam, Niko Gallogly and Kate LoPresti.