The Nerd Reich

Empire of AI: Karen Hao & Roger McNamee Expose Sam Altman, Musk & Big Tech


Listen Later

Are today’s AI apps like ChatGPT really weapons that hand more power to tech billionaires?

Journalist Karen Hao (author, "Empire of AI: Dreams, Nightmares & Sam Altman’s OpenAI") and legendary tech investor-turned-watchdog Roger McNamee join Gil Duran to pull back the curtain on:

  • Sam Altman, Elon Musk and the quest for AI dominance
  • OpenAI’s hidden cost: Kenyan moderators paid poverty wages to sift horrific content
  • Digital colonialism from Africa to Chile to Arizona
  • Why U.S. lawmakers keep killing real AI regulation
  • State power + tech power: the new “British East India Company” playbook
  • Follow Karen Hao on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/karenhao.bsky.social

    Follow Roger McNamee on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/moonalice.com

    Buy "Empire of AI" at Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/p/books/empire-o...

    Subscribe to The Nerd Reich Newsletter: https://www.thenerdreich.com

    Intro – Are AI apps tools or weapons?

    Guest introductions: Karen Hao & Roger McNamee join the show

    Hidden labor :The exploited Kenyan content moderators behind OpenAI Historical pivot: How Silicon Valley shifted from empowerment to extraction

    Sam Altman deep-dive: The persuasion playbook driving OpenAI’s rise

    Power grabs: Altman, Musk & Zuckerberg chase direct political influence

    Digital colonialism: Data centers, water rights, and the new empire model

    Empire mechanics: Four pillars that let Big Tech consolidate control

    “Fruit of a poisoned tree”: Why today’s GenAI is fundamentally compromised

    Reckoning ahead?: Can the AI empire be stopped or reined in?

    Ground-level hope: Grassroots resistance and community wins

    #tech #ai #aihype #samaltman #elonmusk #podcast #politics #zuckerberg #markzuckerberg #openai #chatgpt

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    The Nerd ReichBy nerdreich

    • 4.9
    • 4.9
    • 4.9
    • 4.9
    • 4.9

    4.9

    104 ratings


    More shows like The Nerd Reich

    View all
    Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts by Slate Podcasts

    Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts

    3,493 Listeners

    The New Yorker Radio Hour by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

    The New Yorker Radio Hour

    6,619 Listeners

    The Gray Area with Sean Illing by Vox

    The Gray Area with Sean Illing

    10,681 Listeners

    Posting Through It by Jared Holt and Michael Edison Hayden

    Posting Through It

    394 Listeners

    Gaslit Nation by Andrea Chalupa

    Gaslit Nation

    3,965 Listeners

    The Bulwark Podcast by The Bulwark

    The Bulwark Podcast

    12,089 Listeners

    The Muckrake Political Podcast by CLNS Media Network

    The Muckrake Political Podcast

    520 Listeners

    Tech Won't Save Us by Paris Marx

    Tech Won't Save Us

    553 Listeners

    Conspirituality by Derek Beres, Matthew Remski, Julian Walker

    Conspirituality

    2,039 Listeners

    The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

    The Ezra Klein Show

    16,007 Listeners

    Lever Time by David Sirota

    Lever Time

    554 Listeners

    On with Kara Swisher by Vox Media

    On with Kara Swisher

    3,359 Listeners

    Fast Politics with Molly Jong-Fast by iHeartPodcasts

    Fast Politics with Molly Jong-Fast

    2,273 Listeners

    Autocracy in America by The Atlantic

    Autocracy in America

    1,394 Listeners

    Next Comes What by Andrea Pitzer

    Next Comes What

    395 Listeners