Trump Is Selling a Phone + The Start-Up Trying to Automate Every Job + Allison Williams Talks ‘M3GAN 2.0’

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This week, President Trump’s family business announced that it was introducing a mobile phone and a cellular network. We tick through the many potential conflicts of interest this new business venture raises. Then, the co-founders of the startup Mechanize defend their efforts to automate away all jobs — starting with software engineering. And finally, we take a trip to the movie theater. “M3GAN 2.0” is out next week, so its star, Allison Williams, joins us to discuss the film, and A.I.’s impact on her career and parenting.

Guests:

• Matthew Barnett and Ege Erdil, co-founders of Mechanize.

• Allison Williams, actor.

Additional Reading:

• Trump Mobile Phone Company Announced by President’s Family, but Details Are Murky

• The President Is Selling a Phone

• This A.I. Company Wants to Take Your Job

Credits

“Hard Fork” is hosted by Kevin Roose and Casey Newton and produced by Whitney Jones and Rachel Cohn. This episode was edited by Jen Poyant. Engineering by Alyssa Moxley and original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Diane Wong and Rowan Niemisto. Fact-checking by Caitlin Love.

Special thanks to Paula Szuchman, Pui-Wing Tam, Dahlia Haddad and Jeffrey Miranda.