PodcastsAIPolicyIt’s time to panic about AI safetyOn The Vergecast: Why everyone’s worried about powerful AI, and why it seems nobody will stop it. Plus, what’s a computer?On The Vergecast: Why everyone’s worried about powerful AI, and why it seems nobody will stop it. Plus, what’s a computer?by David PierceJul 31, 2026, 2:03 PM UTCLinkShareGiftDavid Pierce is editor-at-large and Vergecast co-host with over a decade of experience covering consumer tech. Previously, at Protocol, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired.When the phrase “OpenAI hacked Hugging Face” has more or less entered mainstream culture, you know we have an AI problem. This week, we learned more about exactly how OpenAI’s agent broke out of a sandbox and autonomously traversed the web, including a bunch of other supposedly secure web services, all in the name of cheating on a benchmark tests.The fact that this hack happened is a problem. So is the fact that it took a while for anyone to notice. And the fact that it seems no one is willing or able to do much to stop it. (And lest you think it’s just an OpenAI problem, since we recorded this episode Anthropic acknowledged its models have also hacked a bunch of other companies without either party knowing.) It might all just be a bunch of posturing and hype, but it’s also increasingly clear that the companies building large language models either can’t or won’t put the right guardrails on them. So who will?On this episode of The Vergecast, David and Nilay dig into all the safety questions — around OpenAI and Anthropic, but also around the new generation of Chinese models that are clearly a threat to the US AI industry. But before we get into all of that, we talk about all the new ideas about how we use computers, from Mark Zuckerberg’s agent-filled future of everything to Samsung’s impressive new foldable phone to Apple’s new leasing program.After all that, it’s time for Brendan Carr is a Dummy, a bunch of vertical video news, and the smashing success of the Ferrari Luce. People are buying it! If one of them is you, we’d love to hear about it.
Watch | Listen | Get ad-freeIn case you missed it this week: We also talked about the upcoming devices from AI companies, the resurgence in flip phones, the Galaxy Z Fold 8, and the state of the Facebook Oversight Board. And we want to hear all your thoughts about all of it! Call the Vergecast Hotline at 866-VERGE11, send us an email at vergecast@theverge.com, and tell us everything that’s on your mind. And make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss an episode!Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.David PierceAIOpenAIPodcastsPolicyVergecastMost PopularMost PopularThis tattoo is permanent, pain-free, and might soon come in the mailXbox CEO lays out priorities in memo after major ‘reset’The loss of Situational AwarenessThe US government just banned RoombasThe ban on robot vacuums won’t make them safer, only worseThe Verge DailyA free daily digest of the news that matters most.Email (required)Sign UpBy submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.Advertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native ad
