112: AI and the Future of Radicalization feat. Luke Barnes

From Posting Through It by Jared Holt and Michael Edison Hayden

June 8, 2026 · 54 min · Season 2 · Episode 112

About this episode

The episode discusses the role of AI chatbots in radicalization and the changing landscape of extremism in the context of recent political events.

Turns out AI chatbots can do more than create pornographic images of Miss Piggy... Jared and Mike are joined by Luke Barnes , a senior research scientist at NYU who explores issues related to tech and democracy, to talk about cases where AI chatbots have radicalized people and encouraged them to harm themselves and others. But before that, the guys discuss how the landscape of extremism has changed since Trump returned to power and why an attempted terror attack in San Diego seemed to evaporate from the public consciousness so quickly. But before we can nail any of that down, we need to start at the beginning: “The White House was our primordial soup, a base of evolution…” Links for Luke How AI Chatbots Are Supercharging Digital Radicalization The AI Industry Is Discovering That the Public Hates It AI Chatbots Are Unleashing Violence Among Kids Transition Music: "You Can't Have Everything" by Mad Drunken Americans

People in this episode

Hosts: Jared Holt, Michael Edison Hayden

Guest: Luke Barnes

Topics covered

AI and radicalization
extremism
tech and democracy
public consciousness
violence among youth

Keywords

AI chatbots
radicalization
extremism
Trump
terror attack
tech and democracy
violence
public consciousness

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NYU, Mad Drunken Americans

Books & works: You Can't Have Everything