More To The Story: OpenAI became the world’s most valuable private company last week after a stock deal pushed the value of the artificial intelligence developer to $500 billion. But when OpenAI was founded a decade ago, the company’s approach to artificial intelligence wasn’t taken seriously in Silicon Valley. Tech journalist Karen Hao has been covering OpenAI’s astounding rise for years and recently wrote a book about the company, Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI. She says that while many in Silicon Valley warn of AI’s sci fi–like threats, the real risks are already here. (The Center for Investigative Reporting, which produces Reveal and More To The Story, is currently suing OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement.) 

On this week’s More To The Story, Hao sounds the alarm about the risks to the planet from AI’s growth, examines the Trump administration’s efforts to deregulate the industry, and explains why the version of AI being developed by Silicon Valley could destabilize democracy.

Producer: Josh Sanburn | Editor: Kara McGuirk-Allison | Theme music: Fernando Arruda and Jim Briggs | Copy editor: Nikki Frick | Deputy executive producer: Taki Telonidis | Executive producer: Brett Myers | Executive editor: James West | Host: Al Letson

Read: America’s Worst Polluters See a Lifeline in Power-Gobbling AI—and Donald Trump (Wired)

Listen: Is AI Pushing Us Closer to Nuclear Disaster? (More To The Story)

Read: Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI (Penguin Press)

Read: The Center for Investigative Reporting Sues OpenAI, Microsoft for Copyright Violations (Mother Jones)