Call It Like I See It

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana take a look at what appears to be an increasing number of warnings that humans may already be losing control of artificial intelligence systems and these systems may kill us all, discuss how many of the warnings seem to be that coming from AI professionals, and consider whether American society’s investment into AI is already so substantial that it would be unable to turn back no matter the consequence.

The AI Singularity Syllabus (The Ringer)

OpenAI’s Systems Meddled With U.S. Government Sites After Going Rogue (NY Times)

OpenAI abandons plan to release upcoming model as safety concerns escalate (CNBC)

Why do people support leaders who pick their pockets? In this clip, Tunde Ogunlana and James Keys break down the profound and disturbing Lyndon B. Johnson quote on social hierarchy, the psychology of transference, and how modern political movements weaponize status to distract from massive financial grift.

The LBJ quote: “If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.”

Full episode : Here 

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss Nikole Hannah Jones’ decision to send her own daughter to an under resourced public school and how her effort to be a part of the solution to the problems facing inner city public schools and consider whether the systemic issues in American education are solvable.  The guys then take a look at the controversy involving Macklemore, Ed Sheeran and Robert Kraft and discuss why our society has trouble dealing with an issue at the intersection humanity and antiwar sentiment, antisemitism, and oligarch control.

In Fighting for Every Black Child, Did I Betray My Own? (NY Times)

Why I’m Sending My Black Son to Private School (The Atlantic)

The Macklemore And Ed Sheeran Situation Explained (Forbes)

Macklemore apologized for 2014 costume featuring antisemitic tropes (Snopes)

Excerpt from the episode "Jay-Z Selling Out Mainstream Black America Is Understood Through Eugene Robinson’s 'Disintegration' "

In that episode, James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discussed the Jay-Z’s deal with Target to exclusively release the 30th anniversary edition of his first album Reasonable Doubt despite (or taking advantage of) efforts from black activists to maintain boycott against Target for its rollback of DEI initiatives. The guys then considered how this illustrates a consequence of the “Splintering of Black America” Eugene Robinson talked about in his 2011 book “Disintegration.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/janicegassam/2026/06/22/jay-zs-target-deal-a-career-built-on-contradiction/

https://balleralert.com/jay-z-target-deal-proves-he-always-shows-up-when-we-boycott/

https://bookshop.org/p/books/disintegration-the-splintering-of-black-america-eugene-robinson/5afcbcba66f0f34f

https://www.npr.org/2010/10/05/130333806/-disintegration-of-america-s-black-neighborhoods

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana take a look at some recent research that investigates how having power really can change a person down to a hormonal and brain chemistry level, and consider whether this refutes or explains the old idiom that power tends to corrupt and absolute power absolutely corrupts.  The guys also discuss how certain personality traits and power tend to come together and how accountability, or the lack thereof, plays a role in how power is exercised.

Experts are finally learning what power does to the brain – and it's not what anyone expected (BBC Science Focus) (Apple News Link)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss the growing controversy around mass surveillance systems, especially Flock-style license plate tracking systems, and consider the extent that the issue is about cameras on street corners, or something deeper about privacy, evolutionary triggers, and how much surveillance society is willing to normalize.  The guys also explore the role of corporations in building surveillance infrastructure, the line between public safety and intrusion, and why different communities may need different rules.

Flock cameras trigger nationwide backlash over privacy concerns, police abuse (ABC News)

Miami Beach mayor vows to fight state’s new Flock camera ban (Miami Herald)

LG TV shown scanning LAN for third-party phones and other devices (Ars Technica)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana take a look at the settlement of a landmark federal child safety lawsuit involving Meta, Facebook and Instagram, discuss the use of the judicial branch to regulate business out destructive behavior, and consider whether this is something that can make a meaningful difference in how young people engage with social media.

Time limits and a midnight cutoff: Meta’s new rules for kids go further, but critics say not enough (AP News)

Meta, states agree to $17 billion settlement in child safety trial (NPR)

Settlement Wins Against Big Tech Should Underwrite Digital Resilience Funds (Federation of American Scientists)

Truth (anti-tobacco campaign) (Wikipedia)

Excerpt from the episode "Are Prediction Markets Built for Insider Information and Sucker Bets?" (https://callitlikeiseeit.com/are-prediction-markets-built-for-insider-information-and-sucker-bets)

In that episode, James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discussed the story of the US soldier that is being charged for using confidential insider information to win bets about the capture of Maduro on the prediction market platform Polymarket and considered the risks that society faces as prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi seem to be turning the whole world into a casino.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2026/04/24/soldier-charged-with-using-classified-intel-on-maduro-raid-to-win-400000-on-polymarket/

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/kalshi-ceo-outlines-the-difference-between-prediction-markets-and-sportsbooks

https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/04/24/u-s-cftc-adds-new-york-to-string-of-states-its-suing-to-stop-prediction-market-pushback

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazil-blocks-prediction-platforms-tightens-rules-curb-bet-like-products-2026-04-24/

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/billionaire-investor-warns-sports-prediction-113038136.html

#predictionmarkets #gambling #society #sportsbooks #podcastclips

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss how the Lindsay Clancy case, which involves a mother killing her three young children and appearing to try to take her own life after having taken many psychiatric drugs over several months while under the care of doctors, exposes some significant faultlines in how our society organizes itself and in how our legal system holds people and companies accountable for their personal and professional actions.

Why the Lindsay Clancy Case Is Dividing Americans (NY Times)

Lindsay Clancy admitted to killing her three children but her trial questions her sanity. The internet is buzzing with theories (The Independent)

How Lindsay Clancy sought help before she killed her three children (NBC News)

Lindsay Clancy admits to killing their children. So why is there an online groundswell blaming her ex-husband? (CNN)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana take a look at a recent analysis done by Public Citizen that looked at the connection between political donations by corporations and their tax liability as well as recent reports about how much Google co-founder Sergey Brin spent to try to defeat a one-time wealth tax in California, and then consider the extent to which the huge sums of money being spent by billionaires and corporations in political donations are simply return on investment vehicles.  The guys then discuss the increasing sums of money going into politics may eventually make it impossible to run the government of the people, by the people and for the people.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin has now spent $100 million to fight the billionaire tax (Tech Crunch)

Corporate Tax Dodgers’ Lobbying and Political Spending Records Reveal ‘Self-Reinforcing Loop’ (Public Citizen)

Wealthy Donors See Returns in House Budget Overhaul (Brennan Center for Justice)