The State of A.I., and Will Perplexity Beat Google or Destroy the Web?


Kevin Roose and

Davis Land and

Dan PowellMarion LozanoRowan Niemisto and

A year ago, a chatbot tried to break up Kevin Roose’s marriage. Ever since, chatbots haven’t been the same. We’ll tell you how. Then, we’ll talk through the latest ways the world is adapting to artificial intelligence. And finally, Aravind Srinivas, the chief executive of Perplexity, will discuss his company’s “answer engine,” a challenger to Google’s search engine that could reshape the web as we know it.

Three cats tumbling through the air.
Photo Illustration by The New York Times; Photos: clockwise from top: Lydie Gigerichova/Getty Images; Tom Jasny/Getty Images

Today’s guest:

  • Aravind Srinivas, chief executive of Perplexity

Additional Reading:

  • The Year Chatbots Were Tamed

  • OpenAI Gives ChatGPT a Better ‘Memory’

  • Google Releases Gemini, an A.I.-Driven Chatbot and Voice Assistant

  • Sam Altman Seeks Trillions of Dollars to Reshape Business of Chips and A.I.

  • Lawmakers propose anti-nonconsensual A.I. porn bill after Taylor Swift controversy

  • Sarah Silverman’s lawsuit against OpenAI partially dismissed

  • Can This A.I.-Powered Search Engine Replace Google? It Has for Me.


“Hard Fork” is hosted by Kevin Roose and Casey Newton, and produced by Davis Land and Rachel Cohn. The show is edited by Jen Poyant. Engineering by Alyssa Moxley and original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Pat McCusker and Rowan Niemisto. Fact-checking by Caitlin Love.

Special thanks to Paula Szuchman, Pui-Wing Tam, Nell Gallogly, Kate LoPresti and Jeffrey Miranda.