On 12 August 2025, I sat down with New York Times reporter Cade Metz to discuss some criticisms of his 4 August 2025 article, "The Rise of Silicon Valley's Techno-Religion". The transcript below has been edited for clarity.

ZMD: In accordance with our meetings being on the record in both directions, I have some more questions for you.

I did not really have high expectations about the August 4th article on Lighthaven and the Secular Solstice. The article is actually a little bit worse than I expected, in that you seem to be pushing a "rationalism as religion" angle really hard in a way that seems inappropriately editorializing for a news article.

For example, you write, quote,

Whether they are right or wrong in their near-religious concerns about A.I., the tech industry is reckoning with their beliefs.

End quote. What is the word "near-religious" [...]

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.