Musk v. Altman; Is the AI Job Apocalypse Overhyped?; DOJ Dismantles Voting Rights Unit

Uncanny Valley | WIRED

WIRED

Technology

4.1 • 572 Ratings

🗓️ 30 April 2026

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week, the team discusses the stakes behind the trial of Elon Musk against OpenAI’s leadership (and how Microsoft is trying to stay away from the drama.) They also look into what recent layoffs announced at Meta and the industry at large say about the ways in which AI is — and isn’t — replacing jobs. Also, we dive into a WIRED investigation on how the Department of Justice has effectively hollowed out its voting rights work, and how this move could impact future elections.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Wired's Uncanny Valley. I'm Zoe Schiffer, director of business and industry.
0:07.3	I'm Brian Barrett, executive editor. And I'm Leah Feiger, director of politics and science.
0:12.4	Today on the show, we're going to a federal courthouse in Oakland, California to take a look at what has been going down in the Elon Musk versus Sam Altman trial.
0:21.6	We're going to get into how the trial goes way beyond the rivalry between these two guys
0:26.6	and could have major implications both for open AI but also for the AI industry at large.
0:32.6	Speaking of AI, we'll also discuss whether meta's recent layoffs or a turning point for AI taking over certain jobs.
0:38.5	And we're going to touch on a story that has gone a little bit under the radar, but it matters now more than ever.
0:44.3	The DOJ voting section has been gutted this past year. Dozens of lawyers have been ousted, and these lawyers were the ones in the government that were upholding the Voting Rights Act. Lots to get into.
1:02.2	Okay, so let's kick things off with the Elon Musk versus Sam Altman trial.
1:07.4	So the jury trial kicked off earlier this week, but the legal feud between these two guys
1:12.4	dates back to 2024. Back then, Musk sued Open AI, basically alleging two things. First, he said
1:19.9	that the company had strayed from its founding mission to create AI that benefits all of humanity,
1:24.8	and second, that he was misled by Sam Altman and OpenAI's president
1:28.8	Greg Brockman into contributing millions of dollars because he thought he was supporting a nonprofit.
1:34.4	As you might have guessed, Open AI's very weird structure is kind of central to this dispute.
1:39.0	While its non-profit arm controls the company, it created a for-profit arm to raise outside capital, and now
1:45.3	it's trying to become a public benefit corporation. Open AI has denied the allegations. They're saying
1:50.8	that Musk just wants to hurt Open AI because now he has a competitive AI lab, which is XAI. And in fact,
1:56.5	the lawsuit was only filed after Musk started XAI, although the feud has been going on basically
2:01.7	since Elon Musk left Open AI years and years ago.
2:05.5	Now it's up to a jury and the judge who's overseeing the case to ultimately decide what happens
2:10.2	next.
	...

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