This week, the A.I. initial-public-offering race is heating up! We break down SpaceX’s acquisition of xAI, as well as OpenAI and Nvidia’s messy situationship. Then, it’s time for show and tell. We got our hands on the latest experimental A.I. prototype from Google called Project Genie, and we discuss our experience using it to generate and navigate video-game-like environments. Finally, we’re joined by Moltbook’s founder, Matt Schlicht, to discuss his new social media platform for A.I. agents, and how he’s planning to deal with security risks and spam on the site. Guest:<ul><li>Matt Schlicht, creator of <a href="https://www.moltbook.com/">Moltbook</a></li></ul> Additional Reading: <ul><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/technology/spacex-xai-deal.html">Elon Musk Merges SpaceX With His A.I. Start-Up xAI</a></li><li><a href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/the-100-billion-megadeal-between-openai-and-nvidia-is-on-ice-aa3025e3">The $100 Billion Megadeal Between OpenAI and Nvidia Is on Ice</a></li><li><a href="https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/google-deepmind/project-genie/">Project Genie: Experimenting with infinite, interactive worlds</a></li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/technology/an-ai-pioneer-warns-the-tech-herd-is-marching-into-a-dead-end.html">An A.I. Pioneer Warns the Tech ‘Herd’ Is Marching Into a Dead End</a></li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/podcasts/moltbook-mania-explained.html">Moltbook Mania Explained</a></li></ul> We want to hear from you. Email us at <a href="mailto:hardfork@nytimes.com">hardfork@nytimes.com</a>. Find “Hard Fork” on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hardfork">YouTube</a> and <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@hardfork">TikTok</a>.
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Elon Musk’s Mega-Merger + We Test Google’s Project Genie + What’s Next for Moltbook Creator

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