Who really benefits from the AI boom?

Equity

TechCrunch

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4.2 • 365 Ratings

🗓️ 30 July 2025

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

If you've been hearing about Trump's AI Action Plan and wondering who it actually benefits, you're not alone. On today's episode of Equity, Rebecca Bellan caught up with Amba Kak and Dr. Sarah Myers West from the AI Now Institute, a think tank focused on the social implications of AI and the consolidation of power in tech industry. Their recent report, dubbed Artificial Power, lays out the political economy driving today's AI frenzy and what’s at stake for everyone else. Artificial Power pushes back on what AI Now calls the "too big to fail" myth, arguing that AI companies are pouring billions into massive compute infrastructure and foundational models, often with government support, despite shaky business models and limited public accountability. Listen to the full episode to hear about: AI’s growing consolidation and how it mirrors Big Tech’s power dynamics. Why Silicon Valley is cheering on Trump's AI agenda, and the challenges of regulating AI. The disconnect between AGI hype and current, real-world harms. What a democratic, just, and accountable AI future could look like. Equity will be back Friday with our weekly news roundup, so stay tuned. Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:28.3	Over 30,000 companies, including one in three U.S. startups, use Brex.
0:49.1	Join them at brex.com, backslash, TechCrunch's flagship podcast about the business of startups.
0:55.4	I'm Rebecca Boulon, and this is the episode where we bring on industry experts to help us explore a trend in the tech world and dive deep.
1:03.4	Last week, the equity crew gave listeners the rundown on Trump's AI action plan, and if you've been reading the headlines and wondering who it actually benefits, you're not alone.
1:11.1	Today, we're talking to Ambacock and Sarah Myers West from the AI Now Institute, an independent think tank that studies the social implications of AI and the concentration of tech power. Their latest report, artificial power, digs into the real political
1:16.3	economy driving today's AI boom. Together they unpack how we got here, the disconnect between lofty
1:21.7	promises for AI for humanity and the behind-the-scenes push for deregulation, and what it would
1:26.2	take to build an AI future
1:27.6	that's actually democratic and serves the public's interest.
1:30.9	Amba, Sarah, welcome to the show.
1:33.1	Thanks so much for being here.
1:34.2	Thanks for having us.
1:35.5	So I obviously want to talk to both of you
1:37.7	about your report for the AI Now Institute,
1:39.9	artificial power, 2025 landscape.
1:42.4	So that was published, what, about a month ago, I believe, in June?
	...

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