Karen Hao: Superintelligence & Supreme Hype on the A.I. Frontier

Impolitic with John Heilemann

Audacy | Puck

News, Politics

4.8 • 4.2K Ratings

🗓️ 9 June 2025

⏱️ 77 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

John is joined by journalist Karen Hao to discuss her new book, “Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI,” and both the promise and the perils of the coming age of artificial intelligence. Hao explains how OpenAI went from being an altruistic nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that A.I. would “benefit all of humanity” to a burgeoning commercial colossus valued at north of $300 billion; how Altman wrested control of the company from his co-founder Elon Musk; why skepticism is warranted regarding the claims that superhuman A.I. is inevitable; and how that narrative, true or not, serves the economic and political interests of the cabal of tech bros who are A.I.’s most fervent boosters. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Nuclear power keeps America running, from our homes to our military.
0:05.0	But the enriched uranium that fuels our reactors, we're dependent on foreign state-owned enterprises.
0:10.0	Now, they want to use our tax dollars to manufacture their centerfuges overseas.
0:15.0	Centrus energy has a better solution.
0:18.0	Centress is restoring our ability to enrich uranium here at home with American
0:22.3	technology built by American workers. Let's secure our energy independence. Learn how at fueling
0:28.7	our future.us. Right, that's it. Come on. Lights out. You've got a test tomorrow. Just two minutes. I'm
0:35.4	about to reach the next level. It's going off now. Yeah, whatever.
0:38.3	Let's see.
0:39.3	Where's the app?
0:40.3	Oh, here it is.
0:41.3	Ha!
0:42.3	What?
0:43.3	How?
0:44.3	Oh no, you're out.
0:45.3	Better look next time.
0:46.3	Mom!
0:47.3	It's game over for late nights on school nights. EE Wi-Fi controls help you get them off the Wi-Fi and into bed.
0:59.2	More parents are choosing EEE Broadband, the UK's fastest growing broadband provider.
1:01.4	To verify I see E.e.com.uk slash claims.
1:11.7	Aloha and namaste everyone and welcome to Impolitik with John Heilman, a puck and Odyssey joint,
1:16.5	featuring lively in-depth conversations with the people who cruise the corridors of power in America,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Audacy | Puck, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Audacy | Puck and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.