Tharin Pillay

Pillay is an editorial fellow at TIME, interested in how AI and other digital technologies are changing us. He is currently supported by the Tarbell Fellowship.

Recent Articles

AI Leaders Face an 'Oppenheimer Moment'

The leaders building AI agree it will transform humanity—but not all agree on how to control it.

By Tharin Pillay

Alibaba’s New Model Adds Fuel to China’s AI Race

The release of QwQ-32B, the new model from Chinese tech giant Alibaba meant to rival DeepSeek, sent the company's stocks surging.

By Tharin Pillay

Social Media Fails Many Users. Experts Have an Idea to Fix It

In a new paper, digital activist Audrey Tang and others emphasize the need for context and community over clicks.

By Tharin Pillay

Anima Anandkumar Accelerates Science with AI

Using AI to model complex systems, Anima Anandkumar has helped advance scientific progress.

By Tharin Pillay

DeepSeek Is the New Chinese OpenAI Rival

The Chinese company causing turmoil in the American AI industry

By Billy Perrigo and Tharin Pillay

5 Predictions for AI in 2025

AI has began to reason more deeply and interact via voice and video—trends that AI experts and leaders say will accelerate. Here’s what to expect in 2025.

By Tharin Pillay and Harry Booth

How Sam Altman Is Thinking About AGI and Superintelligence

The OpenAI CEO recently published a blog post reflecting on AI progress, as well as his brief ouster from the company.

By Tharin Pillay

As AI Models Advance, Tests Race to Catch Up

With leading labs rolling out increasingly capable models every few months, the need for new tests to assess frontier capabilities is greater than ever.

By Tharin Pillay

T-Mobile US’s CEO on the Future of Connectivity

TIME spoke with Sievert in November about his vision for T-Mobile US.

By Tharin Pillay

New Tests Reveal AI's Capacity for Deception

A paper released by Apollo Research found that in certain contrived scenarios, today’s AI systems can engage in deceptive behavior.

By Tharin Pillay

Why the U.S. Launched an International Network of AI Safety Institutes

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo emphasized the importance of integrating security with innovation when it comes to something as rapidly advancing and as powerful as artificial intelligence.

By Tharin Pillay / San Francisco

José Muñoz: TIME100 Climate

In recent years, nearly every car manufacturer has announced bold electric vehicle commitments—and many of them have backtracked when regulators, implementing climate targets, come knocking. Hyundai, the South Korea-based automaker—and the world’s number three car...

By Tharin Pillay

Wally Adeyemo: TIME100 Climate

In 2022, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a sweeping law that—among provisions aimed at lowering the cost of prescription medication and reforming tax law—contains the largest climate investment in U.S. history. An estimated...

By Tharin Pillay

Tzeporah Berman: TIME100 Climate

There is a “gaping hole” in international climate governance, says Tzeporah Berman, a longtime environmental activist. While the Paris Agreement requires countries to limit greenhouse gas emissions, it does nothing to constrain the production of...

By Tharin Pillay

What Donald Trump's Win Means For AI

Following a historic victory at the polls, what will a second Trump term mean for America's AI future?

By Harry Booth and Tharin Pillay

The Gap Between Open and Closed AI Models Might Be Shrinking

A new report by research organization Epoch AI found that open models available today are about a year behind the top closed models.

By Tharin Pillay

How AI Is Being Used to Respond to Natural Disasters in Cities

AI is spurring a new generation of earthquake monitoring and climate forecasting systems.

By Harry Booth and Tharin Pillay

A Protein Marketplace

After decades of research, scientists have identified millions of naturally occurring proteins. These proteins can be used as ingredients in foods and consumer-packaged goods to augment taste, texture, and other properties, but surprisingly, we still...

By Tharin Pillay

More Accurate Forecasts

Startup Atmo says its weather forecasting models, which use AI to learn from over 60 years of climate data, are up to 40,000 times faster, 100 times more detailed, and 50% more accurate than traditional...

By Tharin Pillay

A Hard-Working Humanoid Bot

In August, AI robotics startup Figure unveiled Figure 02, a battery-powered humanoid robot that packs advanced cameras and sensors that allow it to navigate the world into its nearly 155-pound frame. In trials this year...

By Tharin Pillay
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