This Week in NET

In this episode of This Week in NET (the second this week focused on building with AI), host João Tomé is joined by Steve Faulkner, Engineering Director at Cloudflare, to discuss how he rebuilt a Next.js-compatible framework in just one week using AI. The project, called vinext, began as an experiment and evolved into a working proof of concept.We explore what AI-first development looks like in practice, how coding agents were used to rewrite and test large API surfaces, and what happens when you treat dependencies as something you can regenerate rather than maintain manually.The results were surprising: faster local builds, smaller bundles, deployment to Workers with a single command, and a total AI token cost of roughly $1,100.We also discuss:• Using voice-to-code workflows (SuperWhisper + local models)• AI reviewing code multiple times• Whether AI-assisted rebuilds will become common• What this means for 2026 and beyondMentioned blog posts:How we rebuilt Next.js with AI in one week⏱️ Timestamps 0:12 — Introduction: the latest on the Cloudflare blog (monitoring post-quantum encryption and ASPA routing; JavaScript Streams — why we deserve a better API)3:22 — Steve’s role and Workers platform overview4:34 — How the idea came to be6:11 — When AI tools became “good enough”7:13 — Tooling setup: OpenCode, Claude, parallel agents9:03 — AI beyond coding: management and markdown workflows10:58 — What AI-first development actually means12:03 — Performance gains: 4x faster builds, 57% smaller bundles14:11 — ~$100 in tokens: the real cost15:35 — Deploying to Workers with one command17:25 — Community feedback and early adoption19:09 — Will AI rebuild other frameworks?20:25 — Voice-to-code workflows (SuperWhisper, Parakeet)23:31 — Traffic-Aware Pre-Generation (TPR) explained25:23 — Production caution and security26:19 — How to get started (use AI to migrate your app)27:12 — The big takeaway: AI is changing how we build software

In this episode of This Week in NET, host João Tomé is joined by Matt Curry to break down Code Mode: a way to give AI agents access to the entire Cloudflare API (2,500+ endpoints) using two tools and roughly ~1,000 tokens of context.  Instead of exposing thousands of individual tools (which quickly becomes expensive and brittle), Code Mode lets the model write JavaScript to search and execute against a compact API context. The result is massive compression, lower cost, and better performance.We also include demos showing how agents can query real infrastructure, navigate multiple accounts, and build things like multiplayer experiences using Durable Objects and WebSockets.⏱️ Timestamps 0:53 — Intro: agents, MCP, tokens, and what Code Mode means2:53 — Why exposing 2,500+ endpoints as tools doesn’t scale6:49 — How Code Mode works: generate an SDK and let the model write code9:57 — Demo: querying deployed Workers and infrastructure14:37 — Multiplayer with Durable Objects (live demo “wow” moment)24:32 — Compression stats: 2 million tokens → ~1,000 tokens27:26 — Code Mode SDK v2 and wrapping your own APIs31:52 — The Sandbox: running untrusted code safely38:03 — What’s next: progressive disclosure and MCP evolutionMentioned blog posts:Code Mode: give agents an entire API in 1,000 tokens

In this episode, host João Tomé is joined by Celso Martinho, VP of Engineering at Cloudflare, to discuss two major launches: Markdown for Agents and Moltworker (for OpenClaw) — and what they signal about the future of AI agents on the Internet.Celso explains how Markdown for Agents was conceived, built, and shipped in just one week, why AI systems prefer markdown over HTML, and how converting a typical blog post from 16,000 HTML tokens to roughly 3,000 markdown tokens can reduce cost, improve speed, and increase accuracy for AI models. We also explore Moltworker, a proof-of-concept showing how a personal AI agent originally designed to run on a Mac Mini can instead run on Cloudflare’s global network using Workers, R2, Browser Rendering, AI Gateway, and Zero Trust.We discuss observability for AI crawlers, new monetization models for publishers, the rapid growth of agent ecosystems, and why AI is becoming less hype and more infrastructure.Mentioned blog posts:Introducing Markdown for AgentsIntroducing Moltworker: a self-hosted personal AI agent, minus the minis⏱️ Timestamps1:15 — Introducing Markdown for Agents1:46 — From idea to ship in one week2:37 — Why AI systems prefer markdown over HTML3:30 — HTML “packaging” vs semantic content4:39 — How Cloudflare converts HTML to markdown in real time5:19 — Token savings: 16,000 vs 3,000 tokens6:29 — Context windows, cost, and AI efficiency8:21 — Tracking markdown trends in Cloudflare Radar9:05 — Live demo: content negotiation header with curl11:07 — AI projects in Lisbon: AI Search, PaperCrawl, and more12:36 — Observability and new monetization models for publishers13:56 — What is OpenClaw and why it went viral14:54 — From Hacker News to Cloudflare in hours17:06 — Running OpenClaw on Cloudflare instead of a Mac Mini18:05 — Why this is a proof of concept (not a product)20:06 — Architecture: Zero Trust, Workers, R2, Browser Rendering, AI Gateway22:32 — Demo: AI agent records and posts a video automatically24:53 — 10,000 GitHub stars and open source support26:11 — AI in 2026: intensifying work, not replacing it

In this episode of This Week in NET, host João Tomé is joined by Emily Hancock, Cloudflare’s Chief Privacy Officer and Data Protection Officer, for a wide-ranging conversation about privacy in 2026 and how the role has evolved in the age of AI.Emily explains how privacy officers shifted from GDPR compliance to broader data governance, responsible AI practices, cybersecurity collaboration, and cross-border data frameworks. We explore privacy by design, data minimization, vendor risk, government requests, warrant canaries, digital sovereignty, insider threats, and how AI is reshaping both attacker and defender capabilities.We also discuss Cloudflare’s approach to responsible AI, how teams use internal controls to avoid misuse of customer data, and why “human in the loop” remains essential for accuracy, safety, and trust.Check the Cloudflare Blog: blog.cloudflare.com1:53 — Blogs roundup 3:58 — How the CPO role has evolved since GDPR7:04 — From GDPR to AI governance9:46 — Privacy + cybersecurity: breaches, notifications, preparedness14:08 — “Fire doors” and incident containment14:56 — Privacy by design & data minimization20:07 — Government requests, due process, and transparency22:08 — Warrant canaries & what Cloudflare will never do23:17 — Digital sovereignty: localization and global differences26:25 — Data Localization Suite & Metadata Boundary28:06 — AI and privacy: rules, training, customer protections29:35 — Cloudflare’s AI principles31:32 — AI sovereignty & running inference close to users32:19 — “AI as an intern”: accuracy and human review34:31 — Protecting personal data when using AI36:20 — What’s coming in 2026: regulation & fragmentation38:37 — Insider threats & Zero Trust40:33 — Emily’s privacy wish list for 2026

In this episode, David Belson — Cloudflare’s Head of Data Insights — joins us to walk through the biggest Internet disruptions of late 2025 and early 2026.At the start, we also highlight several new posts on the Cloudflare Blog: Moltworker, a self-hosted personal AI agent built with OpenClaw (former MoltBot and ClawdBot) and Cloudflare’s Developer Platform; Post-Quantum Matrix Homeserver, a proof-of-concept encrypted messaging server running entirely on Cloudflare Workers; Route Leak Incident (Jan 22), what happened in Miami and how routing policy safeguards are being improved; Google’s AI Advantage, why crawler separation is needed for fair competition and better protection for publishers.We then go into the major Internet trends, including the storm-related disruption in three regions in Portugal this week. Our main focus is the government-directed nationwide shutdown in Iran. Then we also go over Q4 2025 disruptions: repeated weather-driven outages across Africa and the Caribbean, submarine cable failures, DNS anomalies, and the persistent risk of centralized points of failure. David also explains how Starlink’s global footprint is reshaping Radar visibility — and why the Internet remains remarkably resilient despite a turbulent quarter.Mentioned blog posts: Cable cuts, storms, and DNS: a look at Internet disruptions in Q4 2025Introducing Moltworker: a self-hosted personal AI agent, minus the minisRoute leak incident on January 22, 2026Building a serverless, post-quantum Matrix homeserver⏱️ Timestamps0:30 — Weekly blog roundup (Moltworker, Route Leak, Google’s AI Advantage)4:13 — Storm impact in Portugal: what Radar saw in Leiria, Santarém, and Coimbra11:55 — Iran’s multi-week Internet shutdown: scale, signals, and how it unfolded18:15 — The “National Information Network”: partial access, allowlisting, and blocked services21:24 — Power vs. connectivity: how electricity failures show up as Internet outages22:33 — Q4 global round-up: Jamaica, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and cyclone-driven disruptions30:32 — Technical failures: ISP issues, DNS problems, routing mistakes, and what Radar detects33:47 — The future of Radar: Starlink visibility, provider-level metrics, and disruption heat maps

In this first 2026 edition of This Week in NET, João Tomé is joined by Patrick Day from Cloudflare’s Impact & Policy team to break down the recently released Cloudflare Impact Report — including how Cloudflare supports elections, protects journalists, advances Internet standards, and expands access to secure AI infrastructure.At the start, we also go over some of our recent blog posts:• Acquisitions: Astro and Human Native join the Cloudflare ecosystem.• Technical Deep Dive: How a small DNS optimization in 1.1.1.1 exposed a decades-old ambiguity in early Internet standards.• Global Trends: A severe government-directed Internet shutdown in Iran and BGP anomalies observed in Venezuela.Mentioned topics:Cloudflare Impact ReportThe Cloudflare Blog

In this end-of-year episode of This Week in NET, host João Tomé is joined by Omer Yoachimik, Senior Product Manager for DDoS Protection at Cloudflare, to break down the realities of the 2025 DDoS threat landscape — and what’s coming next.They discuss how DDoS attacks reached previously “theoretical” scales in 2025, including record-breaking 31 Tbps attacks, the rise of massive botnets like Aisuru, and how geopolitical events increasingly shape cyber activity. Omer explains why traditional scrubbing-center defenses are becoming obsolete, how Cloudflare’s autonomous, globally distributed mitigation works, and why automation and real-time intelligence are now essential.The conversation closes with practical advice for organizations, common myths about DDoS risk, and what to expect in 2026 as attacks grow larger, faster, and more sophisticated.DDoS threats related blog posts: https://blog.cloudflare.com/tag/ddos/

In this special Year in Review episode of This Week in NET, host João Tomé is joined by David Belson to break down the Cloudflare Radar 2025 Year in Review.Together, they explore what Cloudflare’s global network reveals about how the Internet evolved over the past year — from the rapid rise of AI crawlers and agent traffic, to record-breaking DDoS attacks, the spread of post-quantum encryption, and the growing impact of government-directed shutdowns and outages.The conversation looks at Internet resilience, security trends, and performance across countries, as well as what changed in Internet services, mobile platforms, and connectivity in 2025, and what these signals might tell us about 2026.Explore the full Radar Year in Review microsite.Read the related blog posts on the Cloudflare Blog:The 2025 Cloudflare Radar Year in Review: The rise of AI, post-quantum, and record-breaking DDoS attacksChatGPT's rivals, Kwai's quiet rise: the top Internet services of 2025

In this short episode of This Week in NET, Craig Dennis, Senior Developer Educator for AI at Cloudflare, explains why Replicate is joining Cloudflare, and what that means for developers building with AI.Replicate is widely known for making it easy to run thousands of high-quality AI models, from image generation and video to audio and language models, all through a simple, developer-friendly API. Craig breaks down why Replicate became such an important part of the AI ecosystem, and how bringing it into Cloudflare helps make Workers the best place to build and deploy AI and agentic workflows.And there’s a bonus: we’re giving away Replicate credits so you can try models yourself. Stay tuned to the episode to learn how to get access and start experimenting.Mentioned blog posts:Why Replicate is joining Cloudflare

In this episode of This Week in NET, we talk with Daniele Molteni, Director of Product Management for Cloudflare’s WAF, about how Cloudflare responded within hours to a newly disclosed React Server Components vulnerability — deploying global protection before the public advisory was even released.That speed matters. In just the first 11 days after disclosure, Cloudflare observed more than 1 billion exploitation attempts related to React2Shell, with sustained pressure averaging over 4 million hits per hour, and peaks far higher. Threat actors quickly integrated the vulnerability into large-scale scanning and reconnaissance, targeting even critical infrastructure. If you run React, upgrading is urgent.Daniele explains how WAF rules are built, how new payload logging improvements help customers understand real attack traffic, and what’s coming next in 2026 — including Firewall for AI, fraud detection, and safer, gradual rule rollouts.To close the episode, Systems Engineer Steve James gives a hands-on demo of a real-time multiplayer chess app running inside ChatGPT, built with the Agents SDK and Cloudflare Workers.Mentioned blog posts:React2Shell and related RSC vulnerabilities threat brief: early exploitation activity and threat actor techniquesCloudflare WAF proactively protects against React vulnerabilityGet better visibility for the WAF with payload logging

In this episode of This Week in NET, host João Tomé sits down with Stephanie Cohen, Cloudflare’s Chief Strategy Officer, for a candid conversation about AI, content creators, financial services, partnerships, and the future of the Internet.Stephanie shares how Cloudflare is helping keep the Internet open and resilient — from giving creators transparency and control over AI scraping, to enabling new models of agentic commerce through partnerships with Visa and Mastercard, to empowering organizations of all sizes through Cloudflare’s global network.The conversation also explores the rise of Agentic Commerce, where AI agents can complete secure payments on behalf of users. Stephanie explains how this shift is emerging, why trust and standards matter, and how Cloudflare is working with key financial institutions to make it safe.They also discuss what innovation looks like inside large companies, how AI is reshaping industries, and why Cloudflare sees itself as an enabler for both creators and the long tail of innovators.

Cloudflare Principal Network Engineer Tom Strickx joins This Week in NET to explain what really keeps the Internet running. From anchors cutting submarine cables to automation detecting bad Internet weather, Tom shares an inside look at how one of the world’s largest networks operates — and why human trust still matters in keeping the Internet alive.We talk about:How Cloudflare’s global network evolved since 2017The hidden fragility of the Internet (and why it still works)Routing leaks, Anycast, and automationAI’s growing role in network reliabilityWhat it’s like inside real data centersSubscribe for more weekly conversations on Internet trends, infrastructure, and technology:ThisWeekinNET.com

In this second part of our previous episode, host João Tomé talks with André Jesus, Systems Engineer at Cloudflare and front-end engineer on the Radar team. They discuss the latest updates to Cloudflare Radar, the platform that turns Internet data into accessible insights.André, who joined Cloudflare as an intern in Lisbon, Portugal, in 2024, explains how radar.cloudflare.com showcases trends in Internet traffic, protocol adoption, and security. He walks us through Radar’s new Top-Level Domain (TLD) insights, how the team uses DNS magnitude to measure domain popularity, and why certificate transparency is crucial for a safer web.The conversation also goes into outage monitoring, the Data Explorer and URL scanner tools, and how users around the world are finding surprising Internet trends — like the rise of Linux usage in France.

In this episode, host João Tomé talks with Marwan Fayed, Principal Scientist and Research Lead at Cloudflare, about the science behind understanding and improving the Internet.They explore the Research Week blog takeover on Measurement, Resilience, and Transparency, discussing the tricky science of Internet measurement — including a traffic spike in Ukraine that revealed how complex it is to explain data at scale. Marwan shares how Cloudflare is building a framework for Internet resilience, preparing for a post-quantum future with Merkle tree certificates, and tackling the “store now, decrypt later” risk. They also cover Cloudflare’s work to identify users behind Carrier-Grade NAT, innovations in protocol defense, anonymous credentials, and the story behind WARP VPN.At the heart of it all: how to make the Internet safer, faster, and more transparent, at global scale.Learn more in the blog series: https://blog.cloudflare.com/tag/research/

In this special episode, host João Tomé reports from Cloudflare Connect Las Vegas (October 13-16) — the company’s first-ever global event, bringing together customers, partners, and developers from over 60 countries.In the intro, we also share what’s coming next week on the Cloudflare blog — a special five-day series focused on Internet Measurement, Resilience, and Transparency: the foundations of a faster, safer, and more reliable web for everyone.The episode covers major announcements, including Cloudflare’s partnership with Mastercard and Visa to secure automated commerce with AI agents through the new Trusted Agent Protocol and Agent Pay (Web Bot Auth).We also feature clips from rapper and actor Common, who reflects on creativity, connection, and humanity in the age of AI.Additionally, João speaks with several Cloudflare team members shaping the Internet’s future:James Allworth, Head of Innovation — on the relaunch of the Workers website, designed to reflect Cloudflare’s developer platform for the AI era.David “Tubes” Tuber, Director of Product Management, Network — on how Cloudflare keeps the Internet fast and reliable, and the story behind Orpheus, a system that ensures the best network path.Kenton Varda, Principal Systems Engineer and creator of Workers — on benchmark results, CPU performance, and the future of AI agents that write code securely inside Workers isolates.Full interviews with each guest will be published in the coming weeks.Mentioned content:Cloudflare Connect 2025Workers.cloudflare.comSecuring agentic commerce: helping AI Agents transact with Visa and MastercardUnpacking Cloudflare Workers CPU Performance BenchmarksCode Mode: the better way to use MCP

In this episode of This Week in NET, host João Tomé is joined by Leslie Hasvold, Senior Director of Corporate Events, Programs & Customer Advocacy, and Craig Dennis, Senior Developer Educator for AI, to talk about Cloudflare’s first global Connect conference in Las Vegas and the launch of AI Avenue, a new documentary series exploring how people around the world are learning, experimenting, and building with AI.We cover what to expect from Connect Las Vegas, from 100+ breakout sessions to keynotes focused on AI, innovation, and the future of the Internet — and we go behind the scenes of AI Avenue to learn how AI is reshaping creativity, education, and development.Know more:Connect 2025 Las VegasAI Avenue show

In this episode of This Week in NET, host João Tomé is joined by Cloudflare Senior Product Managers Korinne Alpers and Nikita Cano to recap all the announcements from Cloudflare’s 15th Birthday Week.We cover AI, developer tools, security, performance, and how Cloudflare continues to give back to the Internet.Highlights include: • AI & Security: Firewall for AI, Shadow AI protection, and Content Signals Policy. • For Creators & Nonprofits: Project Galileo expansion and new tools to control how AI uses content. • New Economy: NET Dollar and the x402 Foundation with Coinbase. • Developer Platform Upgrades: Cap’n Web RPC, VibeSDK, AI Search updates, PQC in WARP, and more. • Investing in the Future: 1,111 interns in 2026 plus new student and startup programs.Full list of announcements: cloudflare.com/birthday-week

In this special 15th-anniversary episode of This Week in NET, we sit down with Cloudflare co-founders Michelle Zatlyn and Matthew Prince to revisit the early days — from a Harvard Business School project to launching at TechCrunch Disrupt in 2010. We talk about how culture takes shape, the technical vision of Lee Holloway, and pivotal moments that defined Cloudflare’s journey, as well as where the Internet is headed next. At the end, don’t miss a special easter egg from the journalist who first covered Cloudflare’s launch. Follow all Birthday Week 2025 announcements: cloudflare.com/birthday-week

Birthday Week is Cloudflare’s biggest innovation week — and this year is extra special as we celebrate our 15th birthday. Each year, we pause to reflect on our journey, celebrate the progress we’ve made, and look ahead to what’s next, all while staying true to our mission of helping build a better Internet. In this episode of This Week in NET, João Tomé is joined by Nikita Cano to preview what’s coming in Birthday Week 2025: democratizing development, building a smarter and more open web, securing the future by default, the future of development on Cloudflare, and new performance and networking upgrades. Don’t miss our special Sunday episode at ThisWeekinNET.com, featuring Cloudflare co-founders Matthew Prince and Michelle Zatlyn reflecting on how Cloudflare came to be 15 years ago. Follow all announcements at: https://cloudflare.com/birthday-week

In this episode, host João Tomé is joined by Kenny Johnson (Principal Product Manager) to review everything announced during the week — across Cloudflare One, Application Security, Workers AI, AI Gateway, and Radar. Full list of blog posts at: cloudflare.com/ai-week