Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott on how AI can save the web, not destroy it
Today, I’m talking with Kevin Scott, the chief technology officer of Microsoft, and one of the company’s AI leaders. Kevin is one of my favorite repeat Decoder guests, and he joined the show this time to talk about the future of search.
Microsoft just announced an open-source tool for websites to integrate AI powered natural language search with just a little bit of effort, in a way that lets them actually run whatever models they want and keep control of their data. I saw some demos before Kevin and I chatted, and the improvements over the bad local search on most sites was obvious. So we talked about what this will mean for AI, for search engines, and for the future of the web.
Links:
Microsoft’s plan to fix the web: letting every website run AI search for cheap | Verge
Introducing the Model Context Protocol | Anthropic
Copyright Office head fired after reporting AI training isn’t always fair use | Ars Technica
Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott on how AI and art will coexist in the future | Decoder
Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott thinks Sydney might make a comeback | Decoder
Microsoft’s CTO explains how AI can help health care in the US right now | Vergecast
Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/669409
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by Xander Adams.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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1:14:38
Workday's new product head hopes he can make you like Workday
Today, I’m talking with Gerrit Kazmaier, the brand-new president of product and technology at Workday. Gerrit’s new on the job, maybe a little bit braver than most, and to his credit he came on the show and took the heat. We spent a lot of time talking about what enterprise software really is, what it does and why it has a reputation of being so deeply frustrating for so many people.
Links:
Workday names Gerrit Kazmaier president of product and technology | Workday
AI Index Report | Stanford HAI
IBM AI Study | IBM
How generative AI will impact the future of work | Workday
Workday launches platform for companies to manage all of their AI agents | TechCrunch
Everyone hates Workday | Business Insider
Judge: Workday must face novel AI bias lawsuit | Reuters
Workday lays off 1,750, 8.5% of employees, in AI push | Associated Press
Why Workday's CEO made a layoff decision to invest in AI | FastCompany
Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/667538
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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1:12:06
Did Apple get too big for its own good?
We’re doing something a little different today — I asked my friend John Gruber of Daring Fireball to come on the show and talk about the future of Apple, and, importantly, the App Store. I wanted to talk about the most recent ruling in the Epic v. Apple legal saga.
But I also wanted to talk about the big picture at Apple, and why the company seems to have found itself being hammered on all sides: by the developers that feel it’s become too greedy, by federal court judges that no longer trust it, and by regulators now threatening some of its major cash cows.
Links:
Judge rules, in excoriating decision, that Apple violated 2021 order | Daring Fireball
Steve Jobs’ response on Section 3.3.1 | Tao Effect Blog
Epic submitted Fortnite to Apple | Verge
Eddy Cue is fighting to save Apple’s $20 billion paycheck from Google | Verge
Epic is offering developers an alternative to Apple’s in-app purchases | Verge
Epic says Fortnite is coming back to iOS in the US | Verge
Apple files appeal to wrest back control of its App Store | Verge
‘Cook chose poorly’: how Apple blew up its control over the App Store | Verge
Apple changes App Store rules to allow external purchases | Verge
Existential thoughts about Apple’s reliance on Services revenue | Six Colors
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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1:23:05
Reuters is ready to stand up for the press — and embrace AI
Today, I’m talking with Paul Bascobert, who is the president of Reuters, as part of a special Thursday series we’re running this month to explore how leaders at some world’s biggest companies make decisions in such a rapidly changing environment. Reuters is a great company for us to kick off with, because it’s been around since 1851, when the hot technology enabling mass media was the telegraph.
Here, today, in 2025, the tech driving media has clearly changed more than a little bit. Distribution in a world full of iPhones and generative AI is a really different proposition than distributing media 50 years before the invention of the radio. So there’s a lot here, and you’ll hear Paul and I get deep into basically every Decoder theme there is.
Links:
The Trust Principles | Reuters
Brendan Carr’s FCC is an anti-consumer, rights-trampling harassment machine | Verge
AP wins reinstatement to White House events | AP
NYT publisher AG Sulzberger on Trump, OpenAI and the economy | Channels
Dow Jones CEO Almar Latour on AI, press freedom, and the future of news | Decoder
Platforms need the news — but they’re killing it | Decoder
Why The Atlantic signed a deal with OpenAI | Decoder
Platformer’s Casey Newton on surviving the great media collapse | Decoder
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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1:04:38
NYT publisher AG Sulzberger on Trump, OpenAI, and the economy
Hey everyone, it’s Nilay. We’re off today, but we’ll be back Thursday, so stay tuned. In the meantime, we have an excellent episode from Business Insider Chief Correspondent Peter Kafka, who hosts the media podcast Channels.
In this episode, Peter sat down with one of the biggest names in journalism: New York Times publisher AG Sulzberger. It’s a fascinating conversation that covers some of the most pressing issues facing journalism and the news business today. We think you’ll like it.
Links:
NYT publisher AG Sulzberger on Trump, OpenAI and the economy | Channels
New York Times Reports 350,000 Additional Digital Subscribers | NYT
IGN and CNET owner Ziff Davis sues OpenAI | Verge
The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement | Verge
Dow Jones CEO Almar Latour on AI, press freedom, and the future of news | Decoder
Platforms need the news — but they’re killing it | Decoder
Why The Atlantic signed a deal with OpenAI | Decoder
Platformer’s Casey Newton on surviving the great media collapse | Decoder
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Decoder is a show from The Verge about big ideas — and other problems. Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel talks to a diverse cast of innovators and policymakers at the frontiers of business and technology to reveal how they’re navigating an ever-changing landscape, what keeps them up at night, and what it all means for our shared future.
Ireland