Empire of AI with Karen Hao

Hello!Today, we welcome a guest from across the aisle to talk about what might be happening with the anti-war, anti-interventionist right in the face of Trump’s strikes against Iran. Sohrab Ahmari is the American editor of Unherd and the author of two books and one of the main intellectual forces shaping the ideas of a new right wing. A really great conversation with some interesting insights into what might be happening within Trump’s inner and less-than-inner circles and how influence might be peddled in the White House. Enjoy! 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

Hello!Today, we talk about the protests in LA, give a short timeline of what’s been happening and talk about all the silly discourse about how “the protesters” should “do x” as if every person at a protest is receiving a newsletter about message control or whatever. We also talk about the very weird situation at Ohio State which just basically gave its campus over to OpenAI and had some administrator very embarrassingly say they wanted their students to be “bilingual” in English and AI whatever that means. Also next week we will take a week off for our vacations. Enjoy the summer everyone! 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

Hello!Today, we talk about Elon being full out of government and think back on all our favorite moments, discuss the funniest conspiracy theories/rumors about his time in Washington and think a bit more about the influence of Big Tech in Washington. Enjoy! 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

Hello!Today, we have on Alex Thompson, co-author of the new book “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, It’s Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again” and all the reasons Joe Biden decided to run for President in 2024, what happened on that debate stage, how a small group of aides working for Joe and Jill Biden kept everyone in line, or, more commonly, walled off from the President, and how it all fell apart. This is a juicy episode and we all recommend you read the book and Tyler’s essay on 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

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

Hello! Today we take a break from Trump to bring back one of our favorite guests, Andrew Boryga, the novelist behind the brilliant book Victim, and the author of a funny and incisive substack. We talk about the latest compain-fest in the literary world about white millennial men and how they’re supposedly shut out of the fruits of culture like the NYPL Young Lions Award or whatever. Then we talk a little bit about the Pulitzer controversy surrounding James and Andrew’s own thoughts on who gets to write novels and who does not. 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

Hello! Today we have on Bridget Read, the author of a great new book called “Little Bosses Everywhere: How the Pyramid Scheme Shaped America.” (Out today!) We talk about the history of the MLM (multi-level marketing) from its alleged origins with the Yankee peddler and the frontier and the more insidious real story of eugenicists, scammers, and quackery. A lot of questions you might have about pyramid schemes and MLMs will be answered here: Why do they all do vitamins and supplements? Why did AmWay and the DeVos family have such a hold on Trump? Great book. Take a listen. 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

Hello! Today we’re talking about a new essay in the New Yorker that asks how we might think about knowledge, learning, and the meaning of life in a world where Chat GPT replaces a lot of our core knowledge functions. To discuss this piece and its implications (and to argue back on it) we brought on Zena Hitz, a philosopher, a tutor at St. John’s College, and a founder of the Catherine Project. We talked about great books, luddism, overblown AI doomerism and how to think. We really enjoyed this conversation and honestly was hoping it would never end bc Zena was such a fun and compelling guest. Enjoy! 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

Hello!Today we’re talking Pope and the odds for each of the contenders. If you want a quick way to catch up with who the choices might be and what they represent politically, please tune in! Who is the continuation candidate? Who is the lib? And who is the arch right winger who only talks like an Elon Musk reply guy? And we talk a bit about the Trump coalition and whether or not it might be feeling a bit shaky after all this chaos. Enjoy! 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

Hello!This week we have on Zephyr Teachout, Professor at Law at Fordham University and columnist at the Nation, for a long talk about protectionism, neoliberalism, and how to capture the spirit of the country. Can liberals just sell free market capitalism and off-shoring to an angry public? Or will there have to be seem change in messaging that will allow the left to define the future of work in this country? We also talk a lot about corruption — Zephyr wrote a book about it — and the unprecedented corruption that we’re seeing now in the White House. Enjoy! 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