Big Technology Podcast · Alex Kantrowitz

AI’s Steve Jobs?, Big Tech AI Chaos Ladder, 2026 Crystal Ball

·55 min·4 clips

MG Siegler says AI feels uniquely creepy because it collects more personal data than any previous product.

Alex opens by teeing up MG Siegler's monthly spot and the question of whether AI needs its own Steve Jobs. They also dig into the chaos that AI brings to big tech and who is climbing that ladder, then move into the breaking news that Apple and Google have just signed a deal for Google to power the new AI functionality within Siri. From there, the episode turns to who might fit the Steve Jobs comparison in the AI era. Demis Hassabis is presented as a serious candidate because of his credibility and technical authority, while Sam Altman is described as the person who has most taken up that torch so far. Johnny Ive's work with Altman makes that comparison hard to ignore. The discussion also gives OpenAI credit for moving faster and presenting its launches better than many others, while noting that Google has been catching up and that Amazon and others have started to catch up too. The show does not treat this as a clean winner-takes-all race. Instead, it frames the market as unsettled, with companies still looking for the next move that will keep momentum going and keep fundraising flowing. The recurring question is whether any of these leaders can sell AI to the public the way Steve Jobs sold the iPhone. The answer stays open, with the conversation leaning toward maybe no one can.

As heard by us

A clear look at AI leadership, product strategy, and the unresolved question of whether anyone can sell the category like Jobs.

Big Technology Podcast frames the segment around a familiar question: whether AI still needs its own Steve Jobs, and then broadens it into the wider AI chaos ladder and the shape of 2026.

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Why you'd press play

If you want the Siri deal read as AI strategy, not trivia.

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