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: 100

FT Tech Tonic
Podcast Episodes
The quantum revolution: Brain waves [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:13
Quantum computers aren’t the only form of groundbreaking technology that use quantum physics. Madhumita Murgia hears from Dr. Margot Taylor, neuroscience researcher at The Hospital for Sick Children, who’s using quantum…
The quantum revolution: First port of call [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:20
The Port of Los Angeles is one of the world’s busiest — and most inefficient. It’s now using an early quantum computing application to help solve its logistical bottlenecks. Has it made a difference? The FT’s John Thornh…
The quantum revolution: ‘Spooky action’ [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:23
In this episode, Tech Tonic dives into the science at the heart of quantum computing. How do technologists use unexplained subatomic phenomena to build powerful computers?FT artificial intelligence editor Madhumita Murgi…
The quantum revolution: The race to build a quantum computer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:51
Tech companies including Google, Microsoft and IBM are all working on plans for a commercially viable quantum computer. They say that these machines will be able to solve climate change, help develop new pharmaceutical d…
The quantum revolution: Q-Day [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:04
In the cybersecurity world they call it Q-Day, the day when a quantum computer will be built that can break the encryption of the internet. John Thornhill and Madhumita Murgia speak to cybersecurity expert and former pro…
Coming soon: The Quantum Revolution [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00
Tech companies and labs around the world are building a revolutionary new computer. Quantum computers harness the mysteries of quantum physics to perform calculations that seem impossible. The people building them say th…
Climate tech to save the planet: Techno-optimism or greenwashing? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:22
Billions of dollars are being spent by tech companies and investors on new technology to fight climate change. In the final episode of this series of Tech Tonic, Eric Toone, from Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures…
Climate tech to save the planet: Star power [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:09
Nuclear fusion is the reaction that powers stars and scientists say replicating it on Earth could produce all the energy we’ll ever need without the CO2. But no one has yet made a fusion reactor that actually produces mo…
Climate tech to save the planet: Hype and hydrogen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:17
The joke about hydrogen is that it’s the fuel of the future, and always will be. But green hydrogen is made from renewable energy and emits only water vapour, so amidst the fight to reduce carbon emissions, has green hyd…

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