The Vergecast

Have you seen Instagram's new logo? Meta debuted it right before we started recording, so of course David and Nilay needed to talk about it. Then, the hosts turn to Mark Zuckerberg's 6,500-word missive on the future of AI, and the problem with his idea that giving AI to everyone will fix everything. After that, it's time for Claude watermarks, Spotify AI personas, Brendan Carr, Flock, and much more.

Further reading:

⁠This is Instagram’s new logo | The Verge⁠

⁠The Pepsi Universe PDF

⁠The Future is for Everyone⁠

⁠Four takeaways from Mark Zuckerberg’s massive AI manifesto ⁠

⁠Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t understand how to live ⁠

⁠https://www.meta.com/design-at-meta/blog/⁠

⁠Claude will apply invisible watermarks to AI text and images ⁠

⁠‘If it was opt-in, nobody would opt in.’ ⁠

⁠Spotify says it won’t recommend music from ‘AI Personas’ ⁠

⁠Apple could help you prove your iPhone photos aren’t deepfakes | The Verge⁠

⁠Guitar company D’Addario admits that AI music was used in a promotional video | The Verge⁠

⁠Fender’s CEO seems to think your bandmates are just analog AI | The Verge⁠

⁠Suno Unveils Download Song Caps for Free, Paid Tiers⁠

⁠Brendan Carr is one firing away from an unchecked FCC⁠

⁠YouTube is making it harder to earn money on YouTube ⁠

⁠Flock CEO: ‘We got this one wrong’ ⁠

⁠The first rival Android app store just arrived in the US Play Store ⁠

⁠ChatGPT and Gemini both just passed 1 billion users ⁠

⁠The sub-$100 phone market is disappearing. ⁠

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

0:00 Welcome and Parental Leave Announcement

00:43 Instagram Redesigns Their Logo

01:04 Why Companies Change Logos

03:37 Meta Design Blog Quotes

07:22 The 2008 Pepsi Universe Presentation

09:41 Blanding

10:37 Zuck’s AI Manifesto

13:29 Collective Action Problems

18:49 Superintelligence for All

20:57 Cybersecurity and AI Risks

22:22 China Chips and Distillation

27:48 Write the Law Challenge

32:30 Claude Text Watermarking

35:33 How The Watermark Works

39:34 Limits And Evasion Risks

41:54 Apple Marks Real Photos

46:03 Provenance Standards Fail

46:58 AI Music Backlash

49:39 Fender CEO AI Scandal

53:08 Where AI Fits In Music

59:13 Twitch Opt Out Training

01:01:35 The Lightning Round

01:02:55 Brendan Carr is a Dummy

01:04:55 Bans Don’t Work

01:05:56 Made in America Assembly

01:10:19 Gemini Claims a Billion Users

01:15:40 YouTube Partner Paywall

01:20:56 RAMageddon Cheap Phones

01:23:52 Flock Camera Backlash

01:27:19 Goodbyes and Plugs
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is it time to fire the neighbor kid and hire a robot lawnmower instead? Last year I wrote that “in all but a few scenarios, robot lawnmowers still aren’t worth your money,” but there’s a new class of Roombas with razor blades ready to tackle bumpy terrain and dodge crazy chickens. Realtor and smart home reviewer Brandon Doyle joins me to talk about our experiences with 2026’s newest robotic mowers and to let you know if they're finally worth all that money.

Further reading:

It looks like Apple’s iPhone 18 really will skip the fall launch this year

Flock CEO: ‘We got this one wrong’

Cats and dogs are missing meals after a popular smart feeder went down

I finally found a robot lawnmower I’d trust with my yard

I put four robot lawnmowers through a brutal backyard battle — and only one person got injured

A hacker ran me over with a robot lawn mower

The US government just banned Roombas

5 Robot Mowers, 90 Days, 1 Winner — My 2026 Picks (and One to Avoid)

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Google just showed off its next generation of hardware, including the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL, and Pixel11 Pro Fold. (Whew, those names.) There's also the new Pixel Watch 5, the Pixel Tag, and a bunch of really interesting new ideas about smartphone cameras, GPS, and wellness. David Pierce, Nilay Patel, and Victoria Song went live to talk about the state of Google's hardware, and whether there's anything worth upgrading for this year.

Further reading:

The 7 biggest announcements of Google’s Pixel 11 launch

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before Alexa and Siri, there was ELIZA. The first chatbot ever was the creation of a man named Joseph Weizenbaum, who built the bot almost as a magic trick — and then couldn't believe how many people fell for it. David Berry and Mark Marino, two members of a team dedicated to restoring and understanding ELIZA, explain how Weizenbaum created the virtual conversant, why he came to regret it, and what ELIZA can teach us about life in the AI age.

Further reading:

Why your Amazon order confirmation emails have become so unhelpful

David Ellison’s ready to pull Paramount out of California

What to expect from Google’s 2026 Pixel hardware launch event

The ELIZA Archaeology Project

Inventing ELIZA: How the First Chatbot Shaped the Future of AI

From Eliza to ChatGPT: the 60-year history of chatbots

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We've spent the last month vibe coding our own corners of the internet. The Verge's Jake Kastrenakes and Hayden Field join David to talk about their use of Gemini, Codex, and Claude Code to build 90s-themed personal websites, vegetable-sharing systems, and photo boards. It wasn't always easy, and we didn't get everything done, but with a little AI and a lot of prompting, we made it work.

Further reading:

Four takeaways from Mark Zuckerberg’s massive AI manifesto | The Verge

The first rival Android app store just arrived in the US Play Store | The Verge

Space mirrors could ruin astronomy — and your eyes | The Verge

Claude has been having a moment — can it keep it up? | The Verge

The vibe-coding AI future is both exciting and terrifying | The Verge

Welcome to the personal software revolution | The Verge

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices