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Down Round

The number one podcast about tech business and culture, from James "JR" Hennessy and Raph Dixon.

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24 episodes
weekly
Avg 40 min
English

Episodes 24

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Tuesday · 34 min
Hallowed by Thy Tokens
Some higher-up from Anthropic tried to talk the Pope into conceding that AI agents have a consciousness. Your hosts, Henno and The Riph Raph, discuss why they would make this claim, whether it's a possibility, and what it really means to be sentient. Get your tickets for the Richard Cooke Book launch AKA Down Round LIVE: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1647769 If you like the pod, chuck us a review on your podcast player of choice, or go to downround.net to sign up for PREMIUM to get ad-free listening PLUS an extra episode every week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
September 29 · 31 min
Did Sam Altman Steal My Medicare Card?
OpenAI "hacked" an Australian Government website and said NOTHING!? Well, sort of? Albo pulled up his big boy pants and stormed up to New York on Thursday to tell the world and Sam Altman that he was displeased with OpenAI's recklessness in allowing their bots to scrape the "Medicare statistics reporting service portal". But, it didn't necessarily break any laws - it didn't use any passwords or workarounds - it just found some unprotected files and took them for research. Raph and James hike up some big boy pants of their own to get to the bottom of what really went down, and whether or not we should be freaking out about it. Get your tickets for the Richard Cooke Book launch AKA Down Round LIVE: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1647769 If you like the pod, chuck us a review on your podcast player of choice, or go to downround.net to sign up for PREMIUM to get ad-free listening PLUS an extra episode every week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
September 22 · 44 min
AI for the Normies
Raph and James sit down to answer a simple question: what the hell does an average person need an AI agent for? This question arises from the recent launch of Joe Schmoe-targeted agentic AI platforms like Instinct and Meta's Muse. Until now, AI agents have been the pipe dreams of techno sickos, who aim to use them for nefarious means like booking pickleball courts. Are the normies ready to start agentically booking holidays? Richard Cooke Book launch AKA Down Round LIVE: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1647769 If you like the pod, chuck us a review on your podcast player of choice, or go to downround.net to sign up for PREMIUM to get ad-free listening PLUS an extra episode every week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
September 15 · 44 min
I Don't Wanna Be A Paperclip
After a former Anthropic employee went on a press tour telling everyone he quite because the stuff they're cooking up is big and scary, a whole new round of discourse has hit the proverbial fan. Many of the big players have come out to say "yes, we SHOULD be pumping the breaks!" but only in a particular way and without too much government intervention? There's a whole lot to dig through and a whole lot of ulterior motives at play here, and Henno and The Riph Raph are here to get to the bottom of it. If you like the pod, chuck us a review on your podcast player of choice, or go to downround.net to sign up for PREMIUM to get ad-free listening PLUS an extra episode every week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
September 9 · 34 min
AGI is here?
Artificial General Intelligence. Computers using computers. Computers getting Raph a coffee because he yelled "me coffee". Computers curing diseases before we even discover them. Computers discovering the infinite money glitch and creating a work-free utopia. Sound familiar? Well, it should! Because clearly, since the release of OpenAI's GPT-6: Astra, Artificial General Intelligence has been achieved! We're here! Take-off! Well, kind of? If you like the pod, chuck us a review on your podcast player of choice, or go to downround.net to sign up for PREMIUM to get ad-free listening PLUS an extra episode every week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
September 1 · 27 min
Flock Cameras: Safety or Surveillance?
In the past few years, Flock Safety have peppered the United States with their license plate reading cameras. Together, they form a lattice network capable of tracking anyone with pinpoint accuracy across a wide area. Lately, they have become the subject of widespread backlash, as citizens raise numerous concerns including privacy, misuse by law enforcement (including ICE), and the cameras being left up despite their contracts not being renewed. Is this the beginning of the end for individual privacy? Or did it already die years ago? If you like the pod, chuck us a review on your podcast player of choice, or go to downround.net to sign up for PREMIUM to get ad-free listening PLUS an extra episode every week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
August 25 · 34 min
Cameras on Everything: Hardware in 2026
That damned rumour mill is spinning up again with word that the next AirPod Pro model will feature cameras in the ear buds. Is this really true? Kind of, but probably not the way you think. James and Raph sat down to discuss the prevalence of cameras and surveillance in modern tech/our lives. But first, Raph gives James a gift? If you like the pod, chuck us a review on your podcast player of choice, or go to downround.net to sign up for PREMIUM to get ad-free listening PLUS an extra episode every week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
August 19 · 41 min
AI Markers: The Scarlet Letter
The EU is making AI companies put identifiable markers in their AI generated content, so that they can be easily spotted as such. A lot of the big hitters have played ball, but it opens up an interesting discussion about how much AI use earns the title of slop, who stands to benefit from it, and whether or not the models' outputs are going to be worse as a result. If you like the pod, chuck us a review on your podcast player of choice, or go to downround.net to sign up for PREMIUM to get ad-free listening PLUS an extra episode every week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
August 12 · 38 min
Demis Hassabis and Google's AI Plan
Demis Hassabis has stepped up/down/around from his position as CEO of Google Deepmind, becoming Chair of Deepmind and Chief Scientist at Alphabet. "Henno and the Riph Raph" discuss how this reflects on Google and it's AI landscape as a whole. If you like the pod, chuck us a review on your podcast player of choice, or go to downround.net to sign up for PREMIUM to get ad-free listening PLUS an extra episode every week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
August 5 · 35 min
Wunderkind No More
Eminent babychild/investor Leopold Aschenbrenner has been in the news lately as his over-leveraged AI fund "Situational Awareness" collapsed in a dramatic fashion. Interestingly, the portfolio shares striking ideological similarities with the Down Round Investment Fund™️... If you like the pod, chuck us a review on your podcast player of choice, or go to downround.net to sign up for PREMIUM to get ad-free listening PLUS an extra episode every week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
July 29 · 40 min
The Future of Computers ft. Dan Nolan
One of the oldest friends-of-the-pod, Dan Nolan returns triumphant, joining James and Raph for some victory laps and speculation on the future of AI and computing. If you like the pod, chuck us a review on your podcast player of choice, or go to downround.net to sign up for PREMIUM to get ad-free listening PLUS an extra episode every week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
July 22 · 55 min
Battle Lines are Drawn
President Xi has weighed in on the AI chat, touting the virtues of open source models as a great equaliser for AI as a tool across the world. Some American AI heads are shitting and pissing their pants because of the threat open source could pose to their business models. James and Raph discuss the potential road map for a future where China's powerful and cheap models take a dominant position in the market, and also touch on the idea of distillation. If you like the pod, chuck us a review on your podcast player of choice, or go to downround.net to sign up for PREMIUM to get ad-free listening PLUS an extra episode every week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
July 15 · 47 min
OpenAI: New App, New Lawsuit, New Beef
🥚 I WANT TO CONSULT THE EGG. 🥚 In a grab-bag style, James and Raph plunge into the murky waters of OpenAI's current state. They're being sued by Apple for [allegedly] doing corporate espionage, they've released a new desktop app which is alienating parts of their audience, and Sam "Scam Altman" Altman is on twitter chatting a bunch of shit about his competitors. Where is this all going? STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
July 9 · 48 min
Bending Spoons' Spending Boons
Bending Spoons, a company you may not have heard of, went public last week and had a decent pop. Some people are attributing this as a short bet on software. The boys sit down to discuss the market dynamics at play and dissect the company's playbook. PLUS! Cow chat. If you like the pod, chuck us a review on your podcast player of choice, or go to downround.net to sign up for PREMIUM to get ad-free listening PLUS an extra episode every week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
July 1 · 37 min
Don't Tread on GPT
We're back to discuss this whole Anthropic Mythos thing again, this time with a focus on one question: Should the U.S. government exercise control over the AI companies, deciding what is and isn't suitable for release? Also, Raph sings a song. If you like the pod, chuck us a review on your podcast player of choice, or go to downround.net to sign up for PREMIUM to get ad-free listening PLUS an extra episode every week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
June 24 · 37 min
Snap Specs
Glasses/goggle chat is so back, folks. Today our hosts convene to discuss Snap, the company best known for creating Snapchat. You know, the app for teenagers and perverts alike. Last week they announced their new 'SPECS', a chunky pair of AR glasses. They make some big promises, but a high price tag and a few obvious hurdles brought them wide skepticism and ridicule online. Paradigm shift coming? iPhone is dead? Possibly? but probs not. If you like the pod, chuck us a review on your podcast player of choice, or go to downround.net to sign up for PREMIUM to get ad-free listening PLUS an extra episode every week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
June 17 · 45 min
Anthropic's Fable is TOO POWERFUL
Anthropic has been talking up their world-threateningly powerful new Mythos model, suggesting it needs to be held back from the public because we cretins can't be trusted with it. So they gave us a nerfed version called 'Fable', but the US government got tipped off, said "Not today, champ" and forced Anthropic to take it back down. James and Raph come together this week to discuss why this all happened, the marketing of AI as big and scary, and also plastic in your balls. If you like the pod, chuck us a review on your podcast player of choice, or go to downround.net to sign up for PREMIUM to get ad-free listening PLUS an extra episode every week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
June 10 · 59 min
WWDC 2026
Apple's annual World Wide Developer Conference happened on Monday. It was an odd one, with a large emphasis on safety and trust, with a little bit of mea culpa sprinkled in after their promised AI features from a few years ago have still failed to ship. Did they announce any cool new features coming to your iPhone in the coming months? Well, that depends if you think protecting children from gore and nudity is 'cool', you little sicko. If you like the pod, chuck us a review on your podcast player of choice, or go to downround.net to sign up for PREMIUM to get ad-free listening PLUS an extra episode every week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
June 3 · 47 min
Anthropic: Might IPO Maybe Sometime Eventually?
Anthropic have confidentially filed for an IPO, slipstreaming in behind SpaceX in the race to be the first AI shop to go public. Whether or not you are claude-pilled, the move could shed some light on the guts of the company and give us a peek at how these AI companies are running things. Also, a humanoid robot thesis is born. If you like the pod, chuck us a review on your podcast player of choice, or go to downround.net to sign up for PREMIUM to get ad-free listening PLUS an extra episode every week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 27 · 42 min
SpaceX IPO: $1.7 Trillion for What?
Elon Musk's SpaceX is hurtling towards and IPO and have dropped their S1 document. James and Raph come together to elucidate what the hell is going on in there, and how the company attempts to justify a $1.7 Trillion valuation. If you like the pod, chuck us a review on your podcast player of choice, or go to downround.net to sign up for PREMIUM to get ad-free listening PLUS an extra episode every week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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