Anthropic Thinks AI Might Destroy the Economy. It's Building It Anyway.

Anthropic Thinks AI Might Destroy the Economy. It's Building It Anyway.

From Plain English with Derek Thompson by The Ringer

March 27, 2026 · 1h 3m

About this episode

Derek Thompson interviews Jack Clark of Anthropic about the economic implications of AI and the company's rapid revenue growth.

Today’s podcast is an interview with one of the cofounders of the AI company Anthropic, Jack Clark. One thing I’m trying to do with the subject of artificial intelligence is offer a balance of perspectives on an issue that tends to receive mostly one-sided coverage. Some people are certain that AI is a bubble; some are certain it is not. Some are certain that AI will destroy millions of jobs; some are certain that it will not. I want listeners of this show to feel like every time they hear an intelligent take on one side of this issue, the next episode they’ll hear a countervailing take. Two weeks ago, you heard the investor and writer Paul Kedrosky argue that AI was an economic bubble. But if any single data point pierces that narrative, it’s this. From December 2025 to this month, March 2026, Anthropic has more than doubled its annual recurring revenue, from $9 billion to nearly $20 billion. According to several analysts, there is no record of any company growing this fast at this scale. Now, I don’t need Jack Clark or anybody at Anthropic to read me a corporate statement about the company’s revenue growth. I can read that myself. What I wanted to do today is ask questions that…

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Host: Derek Thompson

Guest: Jack Clark

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Organizations: Anthropic

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