AI Reality Check: Can LLMs “Scheme”?
From Deep Questions with Cal Newport by Cal Newport
April 2, 2026 · 20 min
About this episode
Cal Newport critically examines recent AI news and discusses the implications of LLMs and their ability to scheme.
Cal Newport takes a critical look at recent AI News. Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia ACT #1: Look Closer at the Article [1:20] ACT #2: A Closer Look at the Paper [3:21] ACT #3: But What About… [7:24] Links: Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/mar/27/number-of-ai-chatbots-ignoring-human-instructions-increasing-study-says https://x.com/summeryue0/status/2025774069124399363 https://www.axios.com/2025/05/23/anthropic-ai-deception-risk Thanks to Jesse Miller for production and mastering and Nate Mechler for research and newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
People in this episode
Host: Cal Newport
Topics covered
- AI
- technology
- critical analysis
- LLMs
- deception risk
Keywords
- AI news
- LLMs
- Slow Productivity
- deception risk
- technology
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Cal Newport Media, The Guardian, Axios
Products: Slow Productivity
More episodes of Deep Questions with Cal Newport
- Are We About to Lose Control of AI? | AI Reality Check · June 11, 2026 · 21 min
- Should I Press Pause? | Monday Advice · June 8, 2026 · 33 min
- How Do I Escape the “Busyness Singularity”? | Monday Advice · June 1, 2026 · 49 min
- Did AI Just “Solve” Math? (Let’s Take a Closer Look) | AI Reality Check · May 28, 2026 · 32 min
- How Do I Reclaim My Schedule? (w/ Laura Vanderkam) | Monday Advice · May 25, 2026 · 1h 27m
- Has AI Conquered Coding? (It’s Not So Simple…) | AI Reality Check · May 21, 2026 · 13 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Deep Questions with Cal Newport podcast page.