Science vs. Silicon Valley with Adam Becker

On with Kara Swisher

New York Magazine

News Commentary, News, Society & Culture

4.2 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 14 July 2025

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

How skeptical should we be about the bill of goods (often marketed as needs) sold to us by Silicon Valley? Very, says Adam Becker, an astrophysicist and author of the new book, More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley's Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity. From colonizing Mars to building god-like AIs, Becker argues that the fantasies propagated by tech billionaires like Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Sam Altman, Jeff Bezos and Marc Andreessen aren’t just far-fetched – they’re a convenient cover for a racist, authoritarian power grab. In this conversation, Kara sits down with her “soulmate” to dissect and debunk the narratives that undergird the less-than-benevolent Big Tech agenda and uphold the status quo. They also discuss why some ideas, like Musk’s dream of colonizing Mars, are scientifically impossible; the fallacy of effective altruism; the probability of existential threats against humanity; and how all of these factors add up to more power and more control for the techno-oligarchy. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	And my video looks a little tilted.
0:03.5	Only I need to look pretty.
0:04.6	Hi, everyone.
0:18.2	Hi, everyone. From New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network, this is on with caro swisher and i'm caro swisher
0:22.9	my guest today is adam becker an astrophysicist and journalist and the author of more everything forever
0:29.1	in it he argues that silicon valley's biggest fantasies from colonizing mars to building godlike
0:34.2	a i's aren't just far-fetched they They're a convenient cover for a racist, authoritarian power grab.
0:40.7	Oh, just the kind of guy I like to talk to.
0:43.2	Adam doesn't pull any punches, of course, neither do I.
0:45.8	And as a Ph.D. astrophysicist, he actually knows what he's talking about when it comes to the science fiction tale.
0:51.8	Silicon Valley has been spinning.
0:53.7	I'm excited to talk to him because this is my wheelhouse.
0:56.0	I've been talking about these issues forever.
0:57.7	Well, a lot of this is nonsense.
0:59.4	Many years ago, I actually interviewed an astrobiologist who was telling me how ridiculous it was to want to live on Mars because it's miserable and we will die as small stupid trolls.
1:09.3	And instead, they've decided to become small stupid trolls on Earth all by themselves.
1:14.8	I just think this is critically important to keep being reminded.
1:17.5	These people do not have all the answers,
1:19.1	and Adam does a great job in doing that in this book.
1:21.7	Our expert question comes from journalist and science fiction writer, Corey Doctro.
1:25.7	This is a smart one, so stick around.
1:37.4	Blockchain is reshaping every aspect of society, starting with finance. It's happening across
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