In the past six months, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and others have released web-browsing agents that are designed to complete tasks independently, with only minimal input from humans. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has even called AI agents “the next giant breakthrough.” On today’s episode, we'll dive into what makes these agents different from other forms of machine intelligence, and whether their capabilities can live up to the hype. You can follow Michael Calore on Bluesky at @snackfight, Lauren Goode on Bluesky at @laurengoode, and Will Knight on Bluesky at ‪@willknight. Write to us at [email protected]. How to Listen You can always listen to this week's podcast through the audio player on this page, but if you want to subscribe for free to get every episode, here's how: If you're on an iPhone or iPad, open the app called Podcasts, or just tap this link. You can also download an app like Overcast or Pocket Casts and search for “uncanny valley.” We’re on Spotify too. Transcript Note: This is an automated transcript, which may contain errors. Michael Calore: Hi, this is Mike. Before we start, I want to take the chance to remind you that we want to hear from you. Do you have any questions around AI, politics, or privacy that have been on your mind? Or just a topic that you wish we talked about on the show? If so, you can write to us at [email protected]. That's [email protected]. If you listen to and enjoy our episodes, please rate the show and leave a review on your podcast app of choice. It really helps other people find us. Hey, everybody, how you doing? Lauren Goode: I'm good. I'm hanging in. How are you, Mike? Michael Calore: I'm great. I feel good. We have Will Knight on the show this week. Lauren Goode: Yeah, I feel great about that. I do miss Katie, but we know that Katie has gone off in search of more French butter. Literally, she has gone to France. Michael Calore: I think, Will, you brought us croissant, did you not? Will Knight: I did. I sure did, yes. Freshly baked. Lauren Goode: Thank you for that. You can stay on the show now. Michael Calore: This is WIRED's Uncanny Valley, a show about the people, power, and influence of Silicon Valley. Today, we're talking about AI agents and why so many tech companies have been betting big on them. In the past six months, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and others have released web browsing agents that are designed to complete tasks independently with only minimal input from humans. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has called AI agents "the next giant breakthrough." By one estimate, nearly half of technology companies are already adopting or fully deploying artificial intelligence agents. This week, we'll dive into what makes these agents different from other forms of machine intelligence, and whether their capabilities can live up to the hype. I'm Michael Calore, director of consumer tech and culture here at WIRED.