Elon Musk’s Mega-Merger + We Test Google’s Project Genie + What’s Next for Moltbook Creator
February 6, 2026 · 1 h 4 min
🎙️ Full episode
No time for the whole episode?
A debrief is a short AI summary of this episode, written and voiced: the key takeaways, notable quotes, and the moments worth hearing in full. It takes a few minutes to make. Free during the beta, up to 5 new debriefs a week.
Show notes
This week, the A.I. initial-public-offering race is heating up! We break down SpaceX’s acquisition of xAI, as well as OpenAI and Nvidia’s messy situationship. Then, it’s time for show and tell. We got our hands on the latest experimental A.I. prototype from Google called Project Genie, and we discuss our experience using it to generate and navigate video-game-like environments. Finally, we’re joined by Moltbook’s founder, Matt Schlicht, to discuss his new social media platform for A.I. agents, and how he’s planning to deal with security risks and spam on the site.
Guest:
• Matt Schlicht, creator of Moltbook
Additional Reading:
• Elon Musk Merges SpaceX With His A.I. Start-Up xAI • The $100 Billion Megadeal Between OpenAI and Nvidia Is on Ice • Project Genie: Experimenting with infinite, interactive worlds • An A.I. Pioneer Warns the Tech ‘Herd’ Is Marching Into a Dead End • Moltbook Mania Explained
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.