Podcast appearances and mentions of karen hao

“My book is called Empire of AI because I'm trying to articulate this argument and illustrate that these companies operate exactly like empires of old. I highlight four features that essentially encapsulate the three things you read. However, I started talking about it in a different way after writing the book.The four features are: they lay claim to resources that are not their own, which is the centralization of resources; they exploit an extraordinary amount of labor, both in the development of the technology and the fact that they're producing labor-automating technologies that then suppress workers' ability to bargain for better rights; they monopolize knowledge production, which comes when they centralize talent.”In this episode of the Speaking Out of Place podcast, Professor David Palumbo-Liu talks with investigative journalist Karen Hao. She explains that OpenAI is anything but “open”—very early on, it left behind that marketing tag to become increasingly closed and elitist. Her massive study, Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI had a rather different subtitle in its UK edition: Inside the reckless race of total domination. She fleshes out the overlap between these two points of emphasis. Hao argues that in general, the AI mission “centralizes talent around a grand ambition” and “centralizes capital and other resources while eliminating roadblocks, regulation, and dissent.” All the while, “the mission remains so vague that it can be interpreted and reinterpreted to direct the centralization of talent, capital, resources, however the centralizer wants.” Karen explains that she chose the word “empire” precisely to indicate the colonial nature of AI's domination: the tremendous damage this enterprise does to the poor, to racial and ethnic minorities, and to the Global South in general in terms of minds, bodies, the environment, natural resources, and any notion of democracy. This is a discussion everyone should be part of.Karen Hao is a bestselling author and award-winning reporter covering the impacts of artificial intelligence on society. She was the first journalist to profile OpenAI and wrote a book, Empire of AI, about the company and its global implications, which became an instant New York Times bestseller. She writes for publications including The Atlantic and leads the Pulitzer Center's AI Spotlight Series, a program that trains thousands of journalists worldwide on how to cover AI. She was formerly a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, covering American and Chinese tech companies, and a senior editor for AI at MIT Technology Review. Her work is regularly taught in universities and cited by governments. She has received numerous accolades for her coverage, including an American Humanist Media Award, an American National Magazine Award for Journalists Under 30, and the TIME100 AI. She received her Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from MIT.www.palumbo-liu.comhttps://speakingoutofplace.comBluesky @palumboliu.bsky.socialInstagram @speaking_out_of_place

“My book is called Empire of AI because I'm trying to articulate this argument and illustrate that these companies operate exactly like empires of old. I highlight four features that essentially encapsulate the three things you read. However, I started talking about it in a different way after writing the book.The four features are: they lay claim to resources that are not their own, which is the centralization of resources; they exploit an extraordinary amount of labor, both in the development of the technology and the fact that they're producing labor-automating technologies that then suppress workers' ability to bargain for better rights; they monopolize knowledge production, which comes when they centralize talent.”In this episode of the Speaking Out of Place podcast, Professor David Palumbo-Liu talks with investigative journalist Karen Hao. She explains that OpenAI is anything but “open”—very early on, it left behind that marketing tag to become increasingly closed and elitist. Her massive study, Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI had a rather different subtitle in its UK edition: Inside the reckless race of total domination. She fleshes out the overlap between these two points of emphasis. Hao argues that in general, the AI mission “centralizes talent around a grand ambition” and “centralizes capital and other resources while eliminating roadblocks, regulation, and dissent.” All the while, “the mission remains so vague that it can be interpreted and reinterpreted to direct the centralization of talent, capital, resources, however the centralizer wants.” Karen explains that she chose the word “empire” precisely to indicate the colonial nature of AI's domination: the tremendous damage this enterprise does to the poor, to racial and ethnic minorities, and to the Global South in general in terms of minds, bodies, the environment, natural resources, and any notion of democracy. This is a discussion everyone should be part of.Karen Hao is a bestselling author and award-winning reporter covering the impacts of artificial intelligence on society. She was the first journalist to profile OpenAI and wrote a book, Empire of AI, about the company and its global implications, which became an instant New York Times bestseller. She writes for publications including The Atlantic and leads the Pulitzer Center's AI Spotlight Series, a program that trains thousands of journalists worldwide on how to cover AI. She was formerly a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, covering American and Chinese tech companies, and a senior editor for AI at MIT Technology Review. Her work is regularly taught in universities and cited by governments. She has received numerous accolades for her coverage, including an American Humanist Media Award, an American National Magazine Award for Journalists Under 30, and the TIME100 AI. She received her Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from MIT.www.palumbo-liu.comhttps://speakingoutofplace.comBluesky @palumboliu.bsky.socialInstagram @speaking_out_of_place

“My book is called Empire of AI because I'm trying to articulate this argument and illustrate that these companies operate exactly like empires of old. I highlight four features that essentially encapsulate the three things you read. However, I started talking about it in a different way after writing the book.The four features are: they lay claim to resources that are not their own, which is the centralization of resources; they exploit an extraordinary amount of labor, both in the development of the technology and the fact that they're producing labor-automating technologies that then suppress workers' ability to bargain for better rights; they monopolize knowledge production, which comes when they centralize talent.”In this episode of the Speaking Out of Place podcast, Professor David Palumbo-Liu talks with investigative journalist Karen Hao. She explains that OpenAI is anything but “open”—very early on, it left behind that marketing tag to become increasingly closed and elitist. Her massive study, Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI had a rather different subtitle in its UK edition: Inside the reckless race of total domination. She fleshes out the overlap between these two points of emphasis. Hao argues that in general, the AI mission “centralizes talent around a grand ambition” and “centralizes capital and other resources while eliminating roadblocks, regulation, and dissent.” All the while, “the mission remains so vague that it can be interpreted and reinterpreted to direct the centralization of talent, capital, resources, however the centralizer wants.” Karen explains that she chose the word “empire” precisely to indicate the colonial nature of AI's domination: the tremendous damage this enterprise does to the poor, to racial and ethnic minorities, and to the Global South in general in terms of minds, bodies, the environment, natural resources, and any notion of democracy. This is a discussion everyone should be part of.Karen Hao is a bestselling author and award-winning reporter covering the impacts of artificial intelligence on society. She was the first journalist to profile OpenAI and wrote a book, Empire of AI, about the company and its global implications, which became an instant New York Times bestseller. She writes for publications including The Atlantic and leads the Pulitzer Center's AI Spotlight Series, a program that trains thousands of journalists worldwide on how to cover AI. She was formerly a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, covering American and Chinese tech companies, and a senior editor for AI at MIT Technology Review. Her work is regularly taught in universities and cited by governments. She has received numerous accolades for her coverage, including an American Humanist Media Award, an American National Magazine Award for Journalists Under 30, and the TIME100 AI. She received her Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from MIT.www.palumbo-liu.comhttps://speakingoutofplace.comBluesky @palumboliu.bsky.socialInstagram @speaking_out_of_place

“My book is called Empire of AI because I'm trying to articulate this argument and illustrate that these companies operate exactly like empires of old. I highlight four features that essentially encapsulate the three things you read. However, I started talking about it in a different way after writing the book.The four features are: they lay claim to resources that are not their own, which is the centralization of resources; they exploit an extraordinary amount of labor, both in the development of the technology and the fact that they're producing labor-automating technologies that then suppress workers' ability to bargain for better rights; they monopolize knowledge production, which comes when they centralize talent.”In this episode of the Speaking Out of Place podcast, Professor David Palumbo-Liu talks with investigative journalist Karen Hao. She explains that OpenAI is anything but “open”—very early on, it left behind that marketing tag to become increasingly closed and elitist. Her massive study, Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI had a rather different subtitle in its UK edition: Inside the reckless race of total domination. She fleshes out the overlap between these two points of emphasis. Hao argues that in general, the AI mission “centralizes talent around a grand ambition” and “centralizes capital and other resources while eliminating roadblocks, regulation, and dissent.” All the while, “the mission remains so vague that it can be interpreted and reinterpreted to direct the centralization of talent, capital, resources, however the centralizer wants.” Karen explains that she chose the word “empire” precisely to indicate the colonial nature of AI's domination: the tremendous damage this enterprise does to the poor, to racial and ethnic minorities, and to the Global South in general in terms of minds, bodies, the environment, natural resources, and any notion of democracy. This is a discussion everyone should be part of.Karen Hao is a bestselling author and award-winning reporter covering the impacts of artificial intelligence on society. She was the first journalist to profile OpenAI and wrote a book, Empire of AI, about the company and its global implications, which became an instant New York Times bestseller. She writes for publications including The Atlantic and leads the Pulitzer Center's AI Spotlight Series, a program that trains thousands of journalists worldwide on how to cover AI. She was formerly a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, covering American and Chinese tech companies, and a senior editor for AI at MIT Technology Review. Her work is regularly taught in universities and cited by governments. She has received numerous accolades for her coverage, including an American Humanist Media Award, an American National Magazine Award for Journalists Under 30, and the TIME100 AI. She received her Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from MIT.www.palumbo-liu.comhttps://speakingoutofplace.comBluesky @palumboliu.bsky.socialInstagram @speaking_out_of_place

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit andrewsullivan.substack.comJill is a writer and scholar. She's a professor of American history at Harvard, a professor of law at Harvard Law, and a staff writer at The New Yorker. She's also the host of the podcast “X-Man: The Elon Musk Origin Story.” Her many books include These Truths: A History of the United States (which I reviewed for the NYT in 2017) and her new one, We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution — out in a few days; pre-order now.For two clips of our convo — on FDR's efforts to bypass the Constitution, and the worst amendment we've had — head to our YouTube page.Other topics: raised by public school teachers near Worcester; dad a WWII vet; her struggles with Catholicism as a teen (and my fundamentalism then); joining ROTC; the origins of the Constitution; the Enlightenment; Locke; Montesquieu; the lame Articles of Confederation; the 1776 declaration; Paine's Common Sense; Madison; Jefferson; Hamilton; Adams; New England town meetings; state constitutional conventions; little known conventions by women and blacks; the big convention in Philly and its secrecy; the slave trade; the Three-Fifths Clause; amendment provisions; worries over mob rule; the Electoral College; jury duty; property requirements for voting; the Jacksonian Era; Tocqueville; the Civil War; Woodrow Wilson; the direct election of senators; James Montgomery Beck (“Mr Constitution”); FDR's court-packing plan; Eleanor's activism; Prohibition and its repeal; the Warren Court; Scalia; executive orders under Trump; and gauging the intent of the Founders.Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy. Coming up: John Ellis on Trump's mental health, Michael Wolff on Epstein, Karen Hao on artificial intelligence, Katie Herzog on drinking your way sober, Michel Paradis on Eisenhower, Charles Murray on religion, David Ignatius on the Trump effect globally, and Arthur Brooks on the science of happiness. As always, please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com.

Hasan sits down with reporter Karen Hao on her new book Empire of AI on how AI companies are taking over the world, what can be done about it, and when they might start bombing brown countries.

In this episode of Speaking Out of Place, investigative journalist Karen Hao explains that OpenAI is anything but “open”—very early on, it left behind that marketing tag to become increasingly closed and elitist.  Her massive study, Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI had a rather different subtitle in its UK edition: “Inside the reckless race of total domination.” In our conversation we flesh out the overlap between these two points of emphasis. Hao argues that in general the AI mission “centralizes talent around a grand ambition” and “centralizes capital and other resources while eliminating roadblocks, regulation, and dissent.” All the while “the mission remains so vague that it can be interpreted and reinterpreted to direct the centralization of talent, capital, resources however the centralizer wants.”  Karen explains that she chose the word “empire” precisely to indicate the colonial nature of AI's domination: the tremendous damage this enterprise does to the poor, to racial and ethnic minorities, and to the Global South in general in terms of minds, bodies, the environment, natural resources, and any notion of democracy.  This is a discussion everyone should be part of.Karen Hao is a bestselling author and award-winning reporter covering the impacts of artificial intelligence on society. She was the first journalist to profile OpenAI and wrote a book, EMPIRE OF AI, about the company and its global implications, which became an instant New York Times bestseller. She writes for publications including The Atlantic and leads the Pulitzer Center's AI Spotlight Series, a program training thousands of journalists around the world on how to cover AI. She was formerly a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, covering American and Chinese tech companies, and a senior editor for AI at MIT Technology Review. Her work is regularly taught in universities and cited by governments. She has received numerous accolades for her coverage, including an American Humanist Media Award, an American National Magazine Award for Journalists Under 30, and the TIME100 AI. She received her Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from MIT.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit andrewsullivan.substack.comNiall is one of my oldest and dearest friends, stretching back to when we were both history majors and renegade rightists at Magdalen, Oxford. He is the Milbank Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and a senior faculty fellow of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard. He's also the founder and managing director of Greenmantle LLC, an advisory firm. He's written 16 books, including Kissinger, 1923-1968: The Idealist and Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe (which we discussed on the pod in 2021), and he writes a column for The Free Press.For two clips of our convo — a historical view of Trump's authoritarianism, and the weakness of Putin toward Ukraine — head to our YouTube page.Other topics: attending Niall's 60th birthday party in Wales with an all-male choir; Covid; Cold War II; China's surprisingly potent tech surge; the race for semiconductors and AI; Taiwan; global fertility; Brexit; the explosion of migrants under Boris and Biden; the collapse of the Tories; Reform rising; Yes Minister; assimilation in the UK; grooming gangs; the failure of “crushing” sanctions on Russia; the war's shift toward drones; Putin embraced by Xi and Modi; Trump's charade in Alaska; debating Israel and Gaza; the strike on Iran; the Abraham Accords; the settlements; America becoming less free; Trump's “emergencies”; National Guard in DC; the groveling of the Cabinet; the growth of executive power over many presidents; Trump's pardons; Kissinger; tariffs and McKinley; the coming showdown with SCOTUS; Jack Goldsmith's stellar work; Mamdani; Stephen Miller's fascism; the unseriousness of Hegseth; the gerrymandering crisis; the late republic in Rome; Tom Holland's Rubicon; Niall's X spat with Vance; Harvard's race discrimination; Biden re-electing Trump; wokeness; and South Park saving the republic.Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy. Coming up: Jill Lepore on the history of the Constitution, Karen Hao on artificial intelligence, Katie Herzog on drinking your way sober, Michel Paradis on Eisenhower, Charles Murray on religion, David Ignatius on the Trump effect globally, and Arthur Brooks on the science of happiness. As always, please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com.

Go behind the curtain at OpenAI as bestselling author Karen Hao shares stories of infighting, ego, and shifting agendas. Find out why even OpenAI's security had her face on alert during her investigation. Karen Hao reveals OpenAI's secretive culture and early ambitions OpenAI's shifting leadership and transparency: from nonprofit roots to Big Tech power Defining AGI: moving goalposts, internal rifts, and philosophy debates OpenAI's founders dissected: Altman, Brockman, and Sutskever's styles and motives Critiquing the AI industry's resource grabs and "AI imperialism" How commercialization narrowed AI research and the dominance of transformers China's AI threat as Silicon Valley's favorite justification, debunked Karen Hao details reporting process and boardroom chaos at OpenAI GPT-5 skepticism: raised expectations, lackluster reality, and demo fatigue Karen Hao's bottom line: AI's current trajectory isn't inevitable — pushback is needed Harper Reed shares vibe coding workflows using Claude Code
 AI commoditization—why all major models start to feel the same
 Western vs. Chinese open-source models and global AI power shifts
 Google antitrust ruling: AI's rise dissolves traditional search monopoly "Algorithm movies" spark debate over art, entertainment, and AI's creative impact
 Meta's AI talent grab backfires amid exits and cash-fueled drama Anthropic's "historic" author settlement likely cements fair use for AI training
 DIY facial recognition: Citizen activists unmask ICE using AI tools
 Picks: Byte Magazine's 50th, AI werewolf games, Berghain bouncer AI test, and arthouse film "Perfect Days" Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, and Paris Martineau Co-Host: Harper Reed Guest: Karen Hao Download or subscribe to Intelligent Machines at https://twit.tv/shows/intelligent-machines. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: threatlocker.com/twit monarchmoney.com with code IM helixsleep.com/twit pantheon.io

Go behind the curtain at OpenAI as bestselling author Karen Hao shares stories of infighting, ego, and shifting agendas. Find out why even OpenAI's security had her face on alert during her investigation. Karen Hao reveals OpenAI's secretive culture and early ambitions OpenAI's shifting leadership and transparency: from nonprofit roots to Big Tech power Defining AGI: moving goalposts, internal rifts, and philosophy debates OpenAI's founders dissected: Altman, Brockman, and Sutskever's styles and motives Critiquing the AI industry's resource grabs and "AI imperialism" How commercialization narrowed AI research and the dominance of transformers China's AI threat as Silicon Valley's favorite justification, debunked Karen Hao details reporting process and boardroom chaos at OpenAI GPT-5 skepticism: raised expectations, lackluster reality, and demo fatigue Karen Hao's bottom line: AI's current trajectory isn't inevitable — pushback is needed Harper Reed shares vibe coding workflows using Claude Code
 AI commoditization—why all major models start to feel the same
 Western vs. Chinese open-source models and global AI power shifts
 Google antitrust ruling: AI's rise dissolves traditional search monopoly "Algorithm movies" spark debate over art, entertainment, and AI's creative impact
 Meta's AI talent grab backfires amid exits and cash-fueled drama Anthropic's "historic" author settlement likely cements fair use for AI training
 DIY facial recognition: Citizen activists unmask ICE using AI tools
 Picks: Byte Magazine's 50th, AI werewolf games, Berghain bouncer AI test, and arthouse film "Perfect Days" Get "Empire of AI" (Amazon Affiliate): https://amzn.to/4lRra9h Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, and Paris Martineau Co-Host: Harper Reed Guest: Karen Hao Download or subscribe to Intelligent Machines at https://twit.tv/shows/intelligent-machines. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: threatlocker.com/twit monarchmoney.com with code IM helixsleep.com/twit pantheon.io

Go behind the curtain at OpenAI as bestselling author Karen Hao shares stories of infighting, ego, and shifting agendas. Find out why even OpenAI's security had her face on alert during her investigation. Karen Hao reveals OpenAI's secretive culture and early ambitions OpenAI's shifting leadership and transparency: from nonprofit roots to Big Tech power Defining AGI: moving goalposts, internal rifts, and philosophy debates OpenAI's founders dissected: Altman, Brockman, and Sutskever's styles and motives Critiquing the AI industry's resource grabs and "AI imperialism" How commercialization narrowed AI research and the dominance of transformers China's AI threat as Silicon Valley's favorite justification, debunked Karen Hao details reporting process and boardroom chaos at OpenAI GPT-5 skepticism: raised expectations, lackluster reality, and demo fatigue Karen Hao's bottom line: AI's current trajectory isn't inevitable — pushback is needed Harper Reed shares vibe coding workflows using Claude Code
 AI commoditization—why all major models start to feel the same
 Western vs. Chinese open-source models and global AI power shifts
 Google antitrust ruling: AI's rise dissolves traditional search monopoly "Algorithm movies" spark debate over art, entertainment, and AI's creative impact
 Meta's AI talent grab backfires amid exits and cash-fueled drama Anthropic's "historic" author settlement likely cements fair use for AI training
 DIY facial recognition: Citizen activists unmask ICE using AI tools
 Picks: Byte Magazine's 50th, AI werewolf games, Berghain bouncer AI test, and arthouse film "Perfect Days" Get "Empire of AI" (Amazon Affiliate): https://amzn.to/4lRra9h Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, and Paris Martineau Co-Host: Harper Reed Guest: Karen Hao Download or subscribe to Intelligent Machines at https://twit.tv/shows/intelligent-machines. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: threatlocker.com/twit monarchmoney.com with code IM helixsleep.com/twit pantheon.io

Go behind the curtain at OpenAI as bestselling author Karen Hao shares stories of infighting, ego, and shifting agendas. Find out why even OpenAI's security had her face on alert during her investigation. Karen Hao reveals OpenAI's secretive culture and early ambitions OpenAI's shifting leadership and transparency: from nonprofit roots to Big Tech power Defining AGI: moving goalposts, internal rifts, and philosophy debates OpenAI's founders dissected: Altman, Brockman, and Sutskever's styles and motives Critiquing the AI industry's resource grabs and "AI imperialism" How commercialization narrowed AI research and the dominance of transformers China's AI threat as Silicon Valley's favorite justification, debunked Karen Hao details reporting process and boardroom chaos at OpenAI GPT-5 skepticism: raised expectations, lackluster reality, and demo fatigue Karen Hao's bottom line: AI's current trajectory isn't inevitable — pushback is needed Harper Reed shares vibe coding workflows using Claude Code
 AI commoditization—why all major models start to feel the same
 Western vs. Chinese open-source models and global AI power shifts
 Google antitrust ruling: AI's rise dissolves traditional search monopoly "Algorithm movies" spark debate over art, entertainment, and AI's creative impact
 Meta's AI talent grab backfires amid exits and cash-fueled drama Anthropic's "historic" author settlement likely cements fair use for AI training
 DIY facial recognition: Citizen activists unmask ICE using AI tools
 Picks: Byte Magazine's 50th, AI werewolf games, Berghain bouncer AI test, and arthouse film "Perfect Days" Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, and Paris Martineau Co-Host: Harper Reed Guest: Karen Hao Download or subscribe to Intelligent Machines at https://twit.tv/shows/intelligent-machines. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: threatlocker.com/twit monarchmoney.com with code IM helixsleep.com/twit pantheon.io

Go behind the curtain at OpenAI as bestselling author Karen Hao shares stories of infighting, ego, and shifting agendas. Find out why even OpenAI's security had her face on alert during her investigation. Karen Hao reveals OpenAI's secretive culture and early ambitions OpenAI's shifting leadership and transparency: from nonprofit roots to Big Tech power Defining AGI: moving goalposts, internal rifts, and philosophy debates OpenAI's founders dissected: Altman, Brockman, and Sutskever's styles and motives Critiquing the AI industry's resource grabs and "AI imperialism" How commercialization narrowed AI research and the dominance of transformers China's AI threat as Silicon Valley's favorite justification, debunked Karen Hao details reporting process and boardroom chaos at OpenAI GPT-5 skepticism: raised expectations, lackluster reality, and demo fatigue Karen Hao's bottom line: AI's current trajectory isn't inevitable — pushback is needed Harper Reed shares vibe coding workflows using Claude Code
 AI commoditization—why all major models start to feel the same
 Western vs. Chinese open-source models and global AI power shifts
 Google antitrust ruling: AI's rise dissolves traditional search monopoly "Algorithm movies" spark debate over art, entertainment, and AI's creative impact
 Meta's AI talent grab backfires amid exits and cash-fueled drama Anthropic's "historic" author settlement likely cements fair use for AI training
 DIY facial recognition: Citizen activists unmask ICE using AI tools
 Picks: Byte Magazine's 50th, AI werewolf games, Berghain bouncer AI test, and arthouse film "Perfect Days" Get "Empire of AI" (Amazon Affiliate): https://amzn.to/4lRra9h Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, and Paris Martineau Co-Host: Harper Reed Guest: Karen Hao Download or subscribe to Intelligent Machines at https://twit.tv/shows/intelligent-machines. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: threatlocker.com/twit monarchmoney.com with code IM helixsleep.com/twit pantheon.io

Go behind the curtain at OpenAI as bestselling author Karen Hao shares stories of infighting, ego, and shifting agendas. Find out why even OpenAI's security had her face on alert during her investigation. Karen Hao reveals OpenAI's secretive culture and early ambitions OpenAI's shifting leadership and transparency: from nonprofit roots to Big Tech power Defining AGI: moving goalposts, internal rifts, and philosophy debates OpenAI's founders dissected: Altman, Brockman, and Sutskever's styles and motives Critiquing the AI industry's resource grabs and "AI imperialism" How commercialization narrowed AI research and the dominance of transformers China's AI threat as Silicon Valley's favorite justification, debunked Karen Hao details reporting process and boardroom chaos at OpenAI GPT-5 skepticism: raised expectations, lackluster reality, and demo fatigue Karen Hao's bottom line: AI's current trajectory isn't inevitable — pushback is needed Harper Reed shares vibe coding workflows using Claude Code
 AI commoditization—why all major models start to feel the same
 Western vs. Chinese open-source models and global AI power shifts
 Google antitrust ruling: AI's rise dissolves traditional search monopoly "Algorithm movies" spark debate over art, entertainment, and AI's creative impact
 Meta's AI talent grab backfires amid exits and cash-fueled drama Anthropic's "historic" author settlement likely cements fair use for AI training
 DIY facial recognition: Citizen activists unmask ICE using AI tools
 Picks: Byte Magazine's 50th, AI werewolf games, Berghain bouncer AI test, and arthouse film "Perfect Days" Get "Empire of AI" (Amazon Affiliate): https://amzn.to/4lRra9h Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, and Paris Martineau Co-Host: Harper Reed Guest: Karen Hao Download or subscribe to Intelligent Machines at https://twit.tv/shows/intelligent-machines. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: threatlocker.com/twit monarchmoney.com with code IM helixsleep.com/twit pantheon.io

Note aux auditrices et auditeurs : cet épisode a été diffusé une première fois le 20 juin.L'Américaine Karen Hao a commencé sa vie professionnelle au sein d'une start up de Google, mais très vite, elle est devenue journaliste spécialiste de l'intelligence artificielle en couvrant le secteur des technologies pour le Wall Street Journal, la revue sur la technologie du MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) et le magazine américain The Atlantic.Elle vient tout juste de publier “Empire of AI, Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI" (Penguin Press), la première grande enquête sur OpenAI, cette association à but non lucratif qui a donné naissance à l'une des entreprises les plus valorisées en bourse à l'échelle mondiale.Dans un entretien avec Sur le Fil, elle raconte les coulisses de cette mutation et les conséquences très concrètes pour l'environnement et certains travailleurs employés notamment dans le cadre de l'entraînement des grands modèles d'IA, de la création d'OpenAI et de la compétition sans merci entre géants de la tech pour décrocher le graal, autrement dit l'intelligence artificielle générale.Réalisation : Michaëla Cancela-KiefferDoublage : Catherine TriompheSur le Fil est le podcast quotidien de l'AFP. Vous avez des commentaires ? Ecrivez-nous à podcast@afp.com. Vous pouvez aussi nous envoyer une note vocale par Whatsapp au + 33 6 79 77 38 45. Si vous aimez, abonnez-vous, parlez de nous autour de vous et laissez-nous plein d'étoiles sur votre plateforme de podcasts préférée pour mieux faire connaître notre programme.Ce podcast fait l'objet d'une clause de opt-out:Sous réserve des dispositions de l'article L.122-5-3.II. du code de la propriété intellectuelle, tout accès à ou utilisation (tels que, à titre non exhaustif, la reproduction, l'agrégation et l'archivage) du contenu de ce podcast et de sa description, pour toute activité systématique ou automatisée liée à la récupération, la fouille, l'extraction, l'agrégation, l'analyse, l'exploration ou la collecte de textes, d'extraits sonores, et/ou de données, par l'intermédiaire de tout "robot", "bot", "spider", "scraper", ou de tout autre dispositif, programme, technique, outil, procédé ou méthode, réalisé dans le but de créer, développer, entraîner, tester, évaluer, modifier et/ou permettre l'exécution de logiciels, algorithmes et modèles d'apprentissage automatique/d'intelligence artificielle ou à une quelconque autre fin, sans l'autorisation préalable écrite de l'AFP, est strictement interdit. La présente disposition des CG vaut opposition expresse de l'AFP au sens des articles L. 122-5-3.III. et R. 122-28 du Code de la propriété intellectuelle. Hébergé par Acast. Visitez acast.com/privacy pour plus d'informations.

For months, we have been hearing from people all over the world who say they have been unfairly banned from their Facebook and Instagram accounts. Meta has, so far, said nothing publicly about what's going on. Plus, we chart the rise and fall of an American tech giant, and the author of Empire of AI, Karen Hao, tells us what she thinks the industry gets wrong.Presenter: Shiona McCallum Producer: Imran Rahman-Jones Editor: Monica Soriano(Image: An illustration of a mobile phone with barbed wire surrounding it. Credit: Getty Images)

In the space of a few short years, generative AI has exploded into our daily lives, impacting the way we learn, work and understand the world around us.Open AI, the American artificial intelligence company cofounded by Sam Altman and Elon Musk in 2015 which runs ChatGPT, claims its non-profit “mission” is to ensure these systems “benefit all of humanity”.And while the launch of ChatGPT has undoubtedly lightened the workload of many, engineer, journalist and AI expert Karen Hao says the AI race for world domination carries a huge human and environmental cost.In 2019, Hao spent three days embedded in the offices of OpenAI and discovered this company, which claims to be transparent and operating “for the good of humanity”, was in fact highly secretive.In her bestselling book ‘Empire of AI: Inside the reckless race for total domination', Hao warns that the world has entered a new and ominous age of empire, where a small handful of companies are writing the future of humanity.Today, on the In The News podcast, how the race for total AI domination is repeating the worst of human history.Karen Hao discusses the severe cost of the seemingly unstoppable growth of OpenAI.Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Aideen Finnegan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scripture ReferencedGenesis 1; Matthew 22:34-40; 1 Timothy 5:8; Ephesians 4Books ReferencedThe Thinking Machine: Jensen Huang, Nvidia, and the World's Most Coveted Microchip by Stephen Witthttps://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Machine-Jensen-Coveted-Microchip/dp/0593832698The Optimist: Sam Altman, OpenAI, and the Race to Invent the Future by Keach Hageyhttps://www.amazon.com/Optimist-Altman-OpenAI-Invent-Future/dp/1324075961/Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI by Karen Hao https://www.amazon.com/Empire-AI-Dreams-Nightmares-Altmans/dp/0593657500Links Referenced and Recommended Episode 4 - Technology and a Human Future https://www.gospelunderground.org/podcast/2017/9/29/episode-4-technology-and-our-human-futureEpisode 165 - Just about a year ago - My Guy, AI https://www.gospelunderground.org/podcast/2024/8/29/episode-165-my-guy-aiReasonable Faith Podcast AI and the Argument from ContingencyPart 1 - https://www.reasonablefaith.org/media/reasonable-faith-podcast/ai-and-the-argument-from-contingency-part-onePart 2https://www.reasonablefaith.org/media/reasonable-faith-podcast/ai-and-the-argument-from-contingency-part-twoAlex O'Connor 24 min video - I made ChatGPT believe in God (seriously) https://youtu.be/HdH8rNnvKT0?si=utyxZByjQe36WIt_AI and Energy Usage - The Climate Footprint of Big Tech - MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/20/1116327/ai-energy-usage-climate-footprint-big-tech/Nuclear Power Plants and AI https://apnews.com/article/meta-facebook-constellation-energy-nuclear-ai-a2d5f60ee0ca9f44c183c58d1c05337cSam Altman and Cold Fusion - https://fortune.com/2025/05/07/nuclear-fusion-energy-ai-sam-altman-helion-pacific-commonwealth-timelines/Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task https://arxiv.org/pdf/2506.08872v1Knowing Facts? https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/anthropic-co-founder-benjamin-mannRelying on AI in Colonoscopies May Erode Clinicians' Skills - Study this week on Colonoscopy https://www.medpagetoday.com/gastroenterology/coloncancer/116968

Jeff De Cagna is an association contrarian, foresight practitioner, futurist, and keynote speaker. He's the executive advisor for Foresight First LLC, a governing orientation that “prioritizes the future and challenges association and non-profit boards to question their orthodox beliefs.” As of August 26, 2025, ChatGPT, a popular generative AI-chatbot, has been out for 1000 days. In those 1000 days, the AI landscape has changed tremendously. While there have been positive developments as a result of the generative AI boom, Jeff and Dave take a closer look at how AI has impacted the world.   Links: MIT AI Risk Repository: https://airisk.mit.edu/ Foresight First: https://foresightfirst.io/ Empire of AI by Karen Hao: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/743569

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit andrewsullivan.substack.comScott is a war correspondent and author. His non-fiction books include Lawrence in Arabia, Fractured Lands, and The Quiet Americans, and his novels include Triage and Moonlight Hotel. He's also a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine. His new book is King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution: A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation.For two clips of our convo — on Jimmy Carter's debacle with the Shah, and the hero of the Iran hostage crisis — head to our YouTube page.Other topics: growing up in East Asia and traveling the world; his father the foreign service officer; their time in Iran not long before the revolution; Iran a “chew toy” between the British and Russian empires; the Shah's father's affinity for Nazi Germany; Mosaddegh's move to nationalize the oil; the 1953 coup; the police state under the Shah; having the world's 5th biggest military; the OPEC embargo; the rise of Khomeini and his exile; the missionary George Braswell and the mullahs; Carter's ambitious foreign policy; the US grossly overestimating the Shah; selling him arms; Kissinger; the cluelessness of the CIA; the prescience of Michael Metrinko; the Tabriz riots; students storming the US embassy; state murder under Khomeini dwarfing the Shah's; the bombing of Iran's nuke facilities; and Netanyahu playing into Hamas' hands.Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy. Coming up: a fun chat with Johann Hari, Jill Lepore on the history of the Constitution, Karen Hao on artificial intelligence, and Katie Herzog on drinking your way sober. Please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com.

Invia le tue domande per l'Ask Me Anything di Actually a questo link: https://www.speakpipe.com/ActuallyPodcast Nel suo recente libro "Empires of AI" la giornalista Karen Hao descrive Openai e i grandi player dell'ai moderna paragonandoli ai grandi imperi del passato - che sfruttavano persone e risorse di ogni dove per arricchirsi. Ne discutono Riccardo e Simone Pieranni - giornalista di Chora esperto di Oriente e tecnologia. Dal 26 al 28 settembre a Torino Chora&Will Days, il primo festival di Chora e Will: scopri il programma e come partecipare su days.chorawill.com Firma la proposta di legge di iniziativa popolare per chiedere una legge sul voto fuorisede: https://shor.by/GcvZ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Later this month, OpenAI is expected to release the latest version of ChatGPT – the groundbreaking AI chatbot that became the fastest growing app in history when it was launched in 2022.When Sam Altman first pitched an ambitious plan to develop artificial intelligence, he likened it to another world changing, potentially world destroying endeavor: the Manhattan Project, in which the U.S. raced to build an atomic bomb.The sales pitch he made to Elon Musk worked. Altman was promised a billion dollars for the project and was even given a name: OpenAI.In a new book, “Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares of Sam Altman's OpenAI,” tech journalist Karen Hao chronicles the company's secretive and zealous pursuit of artificial general intelligence.Today, Hao joins the show to not only pull back the curtain on the company's inner workings through its astronomical rise and very public controversies, but also on the very real human and environmental impacts it has had, all in the name of advancing its technology.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

I'm in Shaxi, a wonderful little town in the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, and I was joined here by the Columbia economic historian Adam Tooze, who shared his thoughts on what he sees happening on the ground in China. Adam's been in China for the last month and reflects on his experiences learning about the country — and even attempting the language!03:49 - The economic situation in China10:42 - Patterns of consumption in China14:38 - China's industrial policy and renewable energy 18:52 - China vs. the U.S. on renewables26:15 - China's economic engagement with the Global South33:13- Beijing's strategic shift and Europe's rethinking37:49- The recent European Parliament paper42:43 - Learning about China as an “Outsider” 51:31 - Adam's evolving views on China 59:30 - Paying it Forward01:01:07 - Recommendations Paying it Forward: Kyle Chan, Pekingology.Recommendations: Adam: Caught by the Tide, Jia Zhangke (movie).Kaiser: Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI, Karen Hao (book), Vera, or Faith, Gary Shteyngart (book).See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, Brynn is joined by court reporter and tech-savvy expert Matt Moss to explore one of the hottest topics in the legal world today—AI in court reporting. With widespread concern about artificial intelligence replacing human professionals, Matt brings clarity to the conversation, breaking down what's real, what's hype, and how court reporters can stay ahead of the curve.You'll hear how Matt went from waiting tables to becoming a respected realtime reporter, how he relearned his theory mid-training, and why his curiosity for lifelong learning led him deep into the world of artificial intelligence. He also explains the crucial distinction between AI, AGI, and LLMs—and why understanding these terms matters.This episode is essential for anyone who's ever wondered:Will AI take over court reporting?How do tools like ChatGPT actually work?What's irreplaceable about a human court reporter?Plus, Matt gives a sneak peek into his upcoming panel at the NCRA Convention and shares his favorite resources to become more tech-literate in today's fast-moving landscape.

It's hard to keep track of all the conversations about AI in the workplace. So don't feel bad if you find yourself getting overwhelmed or lost in it all.I recently listened to an interview with Karen Hao, an award-winning journalist and author of the book Empire of AI. One thing she said that I wanted to share with you is:“AI is such an interesting word because it's sort of like the word transportation in that you have bicycles, you have gas guzzling trucks, you have rocket ships. They're all forms of transportation, but they all serve different purposes and they have different cost-benefit trade-offs." It's a good reminder. When you're thinking about AI in the work place, take a moment to clarify the conversation and what, specifically, people are talking about when they're talking about AI.Listen to Karen Hao's interview on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.What conversations are you having -- or not having -- about AI at work? Tell me in the comments, or message me on LI or my website.**After the Episode**Follow me on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimnicol/Contact me for private coaching, and get support focused on who you are, your goals and your situation:https://kimnicol.com/Join the waitlist for Communication Strategies:https://maven.com/kimnicol/communication-strategies

“What to the Slave Is the 4th of July?”: James Earl Jones Reads Frederick Douglass’s Historic Speech; “Empire of AI”: Karen Hao on How AI Is Threatening Democracy & Creating a New Colonial World; Journalist Karen Hao on Sam Altman, OpenAI & the “Quasi-Religious” Push for Artificial Intelligence

“What to the Slave Is the 4th of July?”: James Earl Jones Reads Frederick Douglass’s Historic Speech; “Empire of AI”: Karen Hao on How AI Is Threatening Democracy & Creating a New Colonial World; Journalist Karen Hao on Sam Altman, OpenAI & the “Quasi-Religious” Push for Artificial Intelligence

Silicon Valley has long proclaimed that their technologies would change the future. But to tech leaders like OpenAI executive Sam Altman, AI is not just a business; it's a matter of life and death. But where are the ethics of a company such as an OpenAI as they transition from nonprofit to for-profit? How have AI companies grown to wield such immense power and wealth? Karen Hao, author of Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's AI joins David Rothkopf to discuss her recent book and the modern colonialism of AI tech giants. This material is distributed by TRG Advisory Services, LLC on behalf of the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in the U.S.. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC. Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As AI begins to fundamentally alter our lives, we're in urgent need of expert voices who both understand how the technology works and are capable of scrutinising its effects. In her new book, Empire of AI, tech reporter and former Silicon Valley engineer Karen Hao debunks the myths that surround AI and exposes the true […]

Silicon Valley has long proclaimed that their technologies would change the future. But to tech leaders like OpenAI executive Sam Altman, AI is not just a business; it's a matter of life and death. But where are the ethics of a company such as an OpenAI as they transition from nonprofit to for-profit? How have AI companies grown to wield such immense power and wealth? Karen Hao, author of Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's AI joins David Rothkopf to discuss her recent book and the modern colonialism of AI tech giants. This material is distributed by TRG Advisory Services, LLC on behalf of the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in the U.S.. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC. Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are those who believe Artificial Intelligence will lead to the extinction of mankind. There are those who believe AI will save the world.On Free State today, journalist and author of the Empire of AI Karen Hao explains why AI is an imperialist project and how the colonising is already taking place. She says why she believes the doomer vs boomer debate is a distraction and how Ireland is on the frontline of this imperialist project. Water and energy resources will be drained as empires are built while humans will be expendable.Karen also tells us why the term Artificial Intelligence was a marketing term in the first place which set the technology on a destructive path. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily M. Bender & Alex Hanna share about their book, The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want on episode 576 of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast. Quotes from the episode What's going on with the phrase artificial intelligence is not that it means something else than what we're using it to mean, it's that it doesn't have a proper referent in the world. -Emily M. Bender There's a much broader range of people who can have opinions on AI. -Alex Hanna The boosters say AI is a thing. It's inevitable, it's imminent, it's going to be super powerful, and it's going to solve all of our problems. And the doomers say AI is a thing, it's inevitable, it's imminent, it's going to be super powerful, and it's going to kill us all. And you can see that there's actually not a lot of daylight between those two positions, despite the discourse of saying these are two opposite ends of a spectrum. -Emily M. Bender Teachers' working conditions are students' learning conditions. -Alex Hannay Resources The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want, by Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR) The Princess Bride Emily Tucker, Executive Director, Center on Privacy & Technology at Georgetown Law On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots: Can Language Models Be Too Big? By Emily M. Bender, Timnit Gebru, Angelina McMillan-Major, and Shmargaret Shmitchell Emily M. Bender's website How the right to education is undermined by AI, by Helen Beetham How We are Not Using AI in the Classroom, by Sonja Drimmer & Christopher J. Nygren  Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI, by Karen Hao

Paris Marx is joined by Karen Hao to discuss how Sam Altman's goal of scale at all costs has spawned a new empire founded on exploitation of people and the environment, resulting in not only the loss of valuable research into more inventive AI systems, but also exacerbated data privacy issues, intellectual property erosion, and the perpetuation of surveillance capitalism.Karen Hao is an award-winning journalist and the author of Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI.Tech Won't Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.Also mentioned in this episode:Karen was the first journalist to profile OpenAI.Karen has reported on the environmental impacts and human costs of AI.The New York Times reported on Why We're Unlikely to Get Artificial General Intelligence Anytime Soon. Support the show

Paris Marx is joined by Karen Hao to discuss how Sam Altman's goal of scale at all costs has spawned a new empire founded on exploitation of people and the environment, resulting in not only the loss of valuable research into more inventive AI systems, but also exacerbated data privacy issues, intellectual property erosion, and the perpetuation of surveillance capitalism.Karen Hao is an award-winning journalist and the author of Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

(0:00) Intro (1:49) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel(2:36) Introduction by Professor Anat Admati, Stanford Graduate School of Business. Read the event coverage from Stanford's CASI.(4:14) Start of Interview(4:45) What inspired Karen to write this book and how she got started with journalism.(8:00) OpenAI's Nonprofit Origin Story(8:45) Sam Altman and Elon Musk's Collaboration(10:39) The Shift to For-Profit(12:12) On the original split between Musk and Altman over control of OpenAI(14:36) The Concept of AI Empires(18:04) About concept of "benefit to humanity" and OpenAI's mission "to ensure that AGI benefits all of humanity"(20:30) On Sam Altman's Ouster and OpenAI's Boardroom Drama (Nov 2023) "Doomers vs Boomers"(26:05) Investor Dynamics Post-Ouster of Sam Altman(28:21) Prominent Departures from OpenAI (ie Elon Musk, Dario Amodei, Ilya Sutskever, Mira Murati, etc)(30:55) The Geopolitics of AI: U.S. vs. China(32:37) The "What about China" Card used by US companies to ward off regulation.(34:26) "Scaling at All Costs is not leading us in a good place"(36:46) Karen's preference on ethical AI development "I really want there to be more participatory AI development. And I think about the full supply chain of AI development when I say that."(39:53) Her biggest hope and fear for the future "the greatest threat of these AI empires is the erosion of democracy."(43:34) The case of Chilean Community Activism and Empowerment(47:20) Recreating human intelligence and the example of Joseph Weizenbaum, MIT (Computer Power and Human Reason, 1976)(51:15) OpenAI's current AI research capabilities: "I think it's asymptotic because they have started tapping out of their scaling paradigm"(53:26) The state (and importance of) open source development of AI. "We need things to be more open"(55:08) The Bill Gates demo on chatGPT acing the AP Biology test.(58:54) Funding academic AI research and the public policy question on the role of Government.(1:01:11) Recommendations for Startups and UniversitiesKaren Hao is the author of Empire of AI (Penguin Press, May 2025) and an award-winning journalist covering the intersections of AI & society. You can follow Evan on social media at:X: @evanepsteinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/__To support this podcast you can join as a subscriber of the Boardroom Governance Newsletter at https://evanepstein.substack.com/__Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License

John is joined by journalist Karen Hao to discuss her new book, “Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI,” and both the promise and the perils of the coming age of artificial intelligence. Hao explains how OpenAI went from being an altruistic nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that A.I. would “benefit all of humanity” to a burgeoning commercial colossus valued at north of $300 billion; how Altman wrested control of the company from his co-founder Elon Musk; why skepticism is warranted regarding the claims that superhuman A.I. is inevitable; and how that narrative, true or not, serves the economic and political interests of the cabal of tech bros who are A.I.'s most fervent boosters. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

National Guard units who earlier arrived in Los Angeles have engaged with protestors opposed to Donald Trump's immigration policies. They fired tear gas to try to force back the demonstrators. President Trump ordered their deployment after two days of confrontations between residents of a predominantly Hispanic area and local police.Also in the programme:Inside the reckless race for total domination - tech journalist Karen Hao on her new book 'Empire of AI': and Carlos Alcaraz has pulled off a triumphant comeback from two sets down to win the longest ever French Open tennis final in Paris against the world number one Jannik Sinner of Italy.(Photo: National Guard deployed by President Trump as anti-ICE protests continue in Los Angeles, USA - 08 Jun 2025. Credit:Caroline Brehman/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is one of the most famous and secretive companies in the world working to develop artificial general intelligence that would match or surpass the cognitive abilities of humans across every task. Investigative journalist Karen Hao joins Ali Rogin to discuss her new book, “Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI," which delves into the company. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Some companies just build products. Others build empires — with innovative leaders who inspire fierce devotion. But when does innovation become something more like faith? Tech journalist Karen Hao joins Audie Cornish to talk about the rise of Sam Altman, the near-religious culture growing around AI, and what it all means for our future — whether you're feeling hopeful, skeptical, or somewhere in between.  Karen Hao's book is called Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI  Listen to our interview with the CEO of Microsoft AI, Mustafa Suleyman.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Extended interview with Karen Hao, author of Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI. The book documents the rise of OpenAI and how the AI industry is leading to a new form of colonialism.

Headlines for June 04, 2025; “Death Traps”: U.S.-Israeli Aid Scheme Paused in Gaza After 100+ Palestinians Killed While Waiting for Food; Greta Thunberg Speaks from Aid Ship Heading to Gaza Despite Israeli Threats: It’s My Moral Obligation; “Empire of AI”: Karen Hao on How AI Is Threatening Democracy & Creating a New Colonial World

Extended interview with Karen Hao, author of Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI. The book documents the rise of OpenAI and how the AI industry is leading to a new form of colonialism.

Headlines for June 04, 2025; “Death Traps”: U.S.-Israeli Aid Scheme Paused in Gaza After 100+ Palestinians Killed While Waiting for Food; Greta Thunberg Speaks from Aid Ship Heading to Gaza Despite Israeli Threats: It’s My Moral Obligation; “Empire of AI”: Karen Hao on How AI Is Threatening Democracy & Creating a New Colonial World

There's a good chance that before November of 2022, you hadn't heard of tech nonprofit OpenAI or cofounder Sam Altman. But over the last few years, they've become household names with the explosive growth of the generative AI tool called ChatGPT. What's been going on behind the scenes at one of the most influential companies in history and what effect has this had on so many facets of our lives? Karen Hao is an award-winning journalist and the author of “Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI” and has covered the impacts of artificial intelligence on society. She joins WITHpod to discuss the trajectory AI has been on, economic effects, whether or not she thinks the AI bubble will pop and more.

Technology journalist Karen Hao, who has been reporting on OpenAI since 2019, compares the company's unprecedented growth to a new form of empire. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/adamconover Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!Silicon Valley has started treating AI like a religion. Literally. This week, Adam sits down with Karen Hao, author of EMPIRE OF AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI to talk about what it means for all of us when tech bros with infinite money think they're inventing god. Find Karen's book at factuallypod.com/books--SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/adamconoverSEE ADAM ON TOUR: https://www.adamconover.net/tourdates/SUBSCRIBE to and RATE Factually! on:» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/factually-with-adam-conover/id1463460577» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0fK8WJw4ffMc2NWydBlDyJAbout Headgum: Headgum is an LA & NY-based podcast network creating premium podcasts with the funniest, most engaging voices in comedy to achieve one goal: Making our audience and ourselves laugh. Listen to our shows at https://www.headgum.com.» SUBSCRIBE to Headgum: https://www.youtube.com/c/HeadGum?sub_confirmation=1» FOLLOW us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/headgum» FOLLOW us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/headgum/» FOLLOW us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headgum» Advertise on Factually! via Gumball.fmSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Few technological advances have made the kind of splash –– and had the potential long-term impact –– that ChatGPT did in November 2022. It made a nonprofit called OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, household names around the world. Today, ChatGPT is still the world's most popular AI Chatbot; OpenAI recently closed a $40 billion funding deal, the largest private tech deal on record. But who is Sam Altman? And was it inevitable that OpenAI would become such a huge player in the AI space? Kara speaks to two fellow tech reporters who have tackled these questions in their latest books: Keach Hagey is a reporter at The Wall Street Journal. Her book is called “The Optimist: Sam Altman, OpenAI and the Race to Reinvent the Future.” Karen Hao writes for publications including The Atlantic and leads the Pulitzer Center's AI Spotlight Series. Her book is called “Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI.” They speak to Kara about Altman's background, his short firing/rehiring in 2023 known as “The Blip”, how Altman used OpenAI's nonprofit status to recruit AI researchers and get Elon Musk on board, and whether OpenAI's mission is still to reach AGI, artificial general intelligence. Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello! Today we have on repeat guest Karen Hao to talk about her new blockbuster book “Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI.” It's an amazing, deeply reported book that somehow encapsulates the history of AI, Silicon Valley, and OpenAI while also making a needed and clear argument about how we should think about this technology. Truly like if “Barbarians at the Gate” met “The Shock Doctrine” and it was about AI. We talk about the beginnings of OpenAI, how it burns a colonial path throughout the rest of the world in the form of data centers and exploitative labor, and how we might find a better alternative to Sam Altman's plan to take over the world. Can't recommend this book more highly — go get it! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe

In Episode 418 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas sits down with award-winning journalist Karen Hao to discuss Empire of AI — her inside account of how OpenAI evolved from an idealistic, safety-first nonprofit into one of the world's most valuable private companies in its race to conquer the future. This conversation takes you inside that transformation—from the heady idealism of OpenAI's founding, through the billion-dollar Microsoft deal and the 2023 boardroom coup, to the unresolved questions that hang over Silicon Valley and Washington alike about the private concentration of power in the age of artificial intelligence and the nature of the world we are building. Whether you're an investor, a policymaker, or simply a concerned citizen trying to make sense of today's headlines, this episode will equip you with the context you need to understand what's really at stake in the race for AGI—and the levers we still have to steer it. Subscribe to our premium content—including our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports—by visiting HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you'd like to join the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community—with benefits like Q&A calls with guests, exclusive research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners—you can also sign up on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed today's episode of Hidden Forces, please support the show by: Subscribing on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Stitcher, SoundCloud, CastBox, or via our RSS Feed Writing us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Joining our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and support the podcast at https://hiddenforces.io. Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 05/12/2025

This week, iPhone users started to feel the impact of a stern court order against Apple that requires the company to stop collecting a commission on some app sales. We break down what this means for apps like Kindle and Spotify and why the judge suggested that Apple and a top executive should be investigated for criminal contempt. Then, Karen Hao joins us to discuss her new book about OpenAI and explain why she believes the benefits of using the company's tools do not outweigh the moral costs. And finally, Casey introduces Kevin to a strange new universe of A.I. slop that's racking up millions of likes on TikTok.Guest:Karen Hao, Author of “Empire of AI”Additional Reading:Judge Rebukes Apple and Orders It to Loosen Grip on App StoreBrain Rot Comes for Italy We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.