Coming soon: Will AI ever make any money?

Coming soon: Will AI ever make any money?

Author: Financial Times February 7, 2025 Duration: 0:46

Generative AI is impressive, but can it be profitable? Since the emergence of ChatGPT in 2022, Silicon Valley investors and tech giants have poured billions into developing generative AI models and tools. But when will it start generating returns? The FT’s artificial intelligence editor Madhumita Murgia investigates efforts to develop a ‘killer app’ for AI, the use of AI in the workplace, and asks if some of the most highly valued AI companies in Silicon Valley are getting it all wrong.


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This season of Tech Tonic is presented by Madhumita Murgia, and produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. Edwin Lane is the senior producer and Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Sound design by Breen Turner, Samantha Giovinco and Joe Salcedo, with original music from Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.


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From the Financial Times, FT Tech Tonic steps beyond the breathless headlines and gadget launches to explore how technology is fundamentally reshaping our lives, economies, and social structures. This isn't just a series about the latest app; it's a deep, considered examination of the forces driving the digital age and their often unintended consequences. Each episode grapples with the complex interplay between innovation and its real-world impact, drawing on the FT's global reporting expertise to provide clarity and context. You'll hear conversations that dissect the power dynamics in Silicon Valley, investigate the ethical dilemmas of artificial intelligence, and explore how entrepreneurship is being redefined across different cultures. The podcast digs into the substance behind the hype, asking whether emerging technologies truly deliver on their promise to improve society or if they introduce new perils we are only beginning to understand. By weaving together threads from technology, business, and culture, the discussions offer a nuanced perspective that challenges simplistic narratives. Tune in for thoughtful analysis that connects the dots between boardroom strategies, algorithmic biases, and the everyday experiences that define our increasingly connected world.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

FT Tech Tonic
Podcast Episodes
Rewiring sport: Hi-tech cheating [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:46
At the Enhanced Games in Las Vegas earlier this year, athletes used performance-enhancing drugs and banned equipment in an attempt to break world records. At the same time, companies such as Adidas are designing new type…
Rewiring sport: Is tech ruining sports fandom? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:41
Video-assistant refereeing (VAR) has proved to be one of the most controversial pieces of technology ever introduced in sports. But with the rise of everything from broadcasting gimmicks to data-driven gambling, it’s far…
Rewiring sport: How technology is helping athletes break barriers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:34
For decades, sportspeople have been getting fitter, faster and reaching ever-higher levels of performance. But as the margin between winning and losing shrinks, athletes are turning to technology to make the difference.I…
Coming soon: Rewiring sport [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:57
Are technological advances in sport leaving athletes, fans and competition itself better off? Or are they undermining the spirit of sport? With the World Cup underway, the FT’s sports editor Josh Noble presents a three-p…
AI Labs: Zuckerberg’s $100bn gamble [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:20
Mark Zuckerberg created the world’s biggest social media company in Facebook, before deciding the future lay in the metaverse. Now he’s spending hundreds of billions of dollars to transform Meta again, this time into an…
AI Labs: Elon Musk wants AI in space [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:58
Elon Musk’s xAI is lagging behind the likes of OpenAI and Google DeepMind in the AI race. Will a giant IPO of SpaceX, Musk’s rocket company, change all that? Murad Ahmed speaks to FT technology correspondent Hannah Murph…
AI Labs: Sam Altman may make or break OpenAI [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:18
OpenAI sparked the generative AI boom with the release of ChatGPT. But along the way its chief executive Sam Altman has ruffled plenty of feathers. Colleagues have left to set up rival labs, co-founders have sued him in…
AI Labs: Google DeepMind plans its comeback [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:38
In the latest AI boom Google has been playing catch-up with the likes of OpenAI and Anthropic. But with stacks of cash, its own AI chips and some of the best AI talent in the world, is Google about to make a comeback? Mu…
AI Labs: Are Anthropic really the good guys? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:32
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei wants his AI lab to be a more safety conscious alternative to OpenAI. But Anthropic’s business selling AI to enterprises is booming, and it’s rolling out increasingly powerful models - the late…
The battle of the AI labs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:57
OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Deepmind, xAI and Meta - all of them are building models to push the frontiers of artificial intelligence, and all of them want to be the world’s leading AI company. Who will come out on top?Wit…