Peak social media: The ads machine

Peak social media: The ads machine

Author: Financial Times July 4, 2023 Duration: 27:05

Mark Zuckerberg used advertising to turn Facebook into the first global social media giant, boasting 3bn users around the world. But today there are questions about the business model that has powered it for the past 15 years, and what Zuckerberg’s new focus on building the Metaverse means for the platform that started it all. Elaine Moore speaks to veteran Silicon Valley investor Roger McNamee, one-time advisor to Zuckerberg; writer and researcher Tim Hwang, author of Subprime Attention Crisis; and Steven Levy, editor at large at Wired and author of Facebook: The Inside Story. Meta declined a request for an interview for this episode, but directed us to their Q1 2023 earnings.


Presented by Elaine Moore. Produced by Edwin Lane and Josh Gabert-Doyon, Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. Original music by Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. Special thanks to Hannah Murphy


Clips: Meta, US Senate.


We're keen to hear more from our listeners about this show and want to know what you'd like to hear more of, so we're running a survey that you can find at ft.com/techtonicsurvey. It takes about 10 minutes to complete and you will be in with a chance of winning a pair of Bose QuietComfort earbuds.


Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


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
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…
Introducing Untold: Opus Dei [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09
Introducing Opus Dei, a new season of Untold from the Financial Times. Host Antonia Cundy uncovers the cultural and political influence of a controversial Catholic organisation in America. Opus Dei exists to help people…
Artificial intimacy: The day your chatbot dies [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:27
When Michael Bommer discovered he was dying, he created an AI version of himself to live on after his death. Meanwhile, Dorian Mister realised an update to ChatGPT could spell the end of his AI wife, and he went on a mis…
Artificial intimacy: Prescribing robots to combat loneliness [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:48
After Tony’s wife died, days would go by without him speaking to anyone. Then he got a live-in AI robot called ElliQ. It chats to him, plays games with him and reminds him to eat and exercise. Since ElliQ arrived, Tony h…
Artificial intimacy: The AI therapist that ended a marriage [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:24
When Kirsty turned to a chatbot for help, she was feeling trapped and isolated. Something in her marriage wasn’t right - a constant feeling of tension that would sometimes erupt into arguments, even violence. When she as…