Uneasy Divide: Pentagon vs. ‘Woke’ Anthropic, Agency vs. Imitation, and Trump vs. the State of the Union
This week, the Uncanny Valley team explores the escalating conflict between Anthropic and the Pentagon—and what it reveals about government interactions with tech firms. Later on, Zoë Schiffer shares why determining whether you are agentic or mimetic has become a crucial benchmark in Silicon Valley. Additionally, we dive into the main insights from the State of the Union address and bid farewell to the TAT-8 undersea cables, which were instrumental in shaping our modern internet.
Articles mentioned in this episode:
You can connect with Brian Barrett on Bluesky at @brbarrett, Zoë Schiffer at @zoeschiffer, and Leah Feiger at @leahfeiger. Reach out to us at uncannyvalley@wired.com.
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Transcript
Note: This is an automated transcript and may contain errors.
Brian Barrett: Hey, it’s Brian. Zoë, Leah, and I have truly enjoyed being your hosts over the past few weeks, and we want to hear your thoughts. If you enjoy the show and can spare a minute, please consider leaving us a review in your preferred podcast app. It really aids in reaching a broader audience. For any questions or comments, feel free to contact us at uncannyvalley@wired.com. Thank you for tuning in. Let’s get started.
Leah Feiger: Hey, how’s it going?
Zoë Schiffer: I’m feeling great. How about you, Brian?
Brian Barrett: I’m fantastic, and I know Leah is too because Survivor is back tonight—something we love that you may not.
Zoë Schiffer: How can you be sure I’m not into it? I mean, I’m not. My best childhood friend tried out for it and didn’t get in, so it feels irrelevant.
Leah Feiger: One day, I’m definitely going to apply, and both Brian and our colleague Tim have assured me that I can take a month off for Fiji and still keep my job.
Zoë Schiffer: Most people would probably think, Leah, are you really going to make it out there? But they don’t realize your impressive deep-sea diving skills.
Leah Feiger: I genuinely believe I’d do well. I’m so eager to try this someday.
Brian Barrett: But Leah, that may involve catching some fish to eat, which isn’t typically—
Leah Feiger: That’s fine.
Brian Barrett: Oh, really?
Leah Feiger: No, no, fishing is acceptable. Subsistence living is absolutely fine. My main concern is the large-scale exploitation of our oceans.
Zoë Schiffer: And with that, welcome to WIRED’s Uncanny Valley. I’m Zoë Schiffer, director of business and industry at WIRED.
Brian Barrett: I’m Brian Barrett, executive editor.
Leah Feiger: And I’m Leah Feiger, senior politics editor.
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