Why AI Doom Content Is Everywhere

Why AI Doom Content Is Everywhere

From Taylor Lorenz’s Power User by Taylor Lorenz

May 27, 2026 · 45 min

About this episode

The episode explores the rise of AI doom content and the hidden influences behind the anti-AI movement.

Have you noticed your social media feeds suddenly flooding with terrifying content about AI existential risk? From TikTok clips warning about "AI psychosis" to viral YouTube shorts claiming chatbots are pushing people to the brink, the anti-AI movement has taken over the internet... But what if these "anti-AI" influencers aren't actually what they seem? SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at usermag.co Support my work on Patreon for bonus episodes, monthly Q&A livestreams, and more: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz In this week's episode of Power User, Washington Post journalist Natasha Tiku join me to pull back the curtain on the massive, billionaire-funded "anti-AI" astroturf campaign. We track the money and expose how the exact same millionaires and billionaires building the world's largest AI companies (like OpenAI and Anthropic) are quietly paying influencers thousands of dollars to promote AI doomsday scenarios. We dive deep into the 25-year history of the AI safety movement, from Eliezer Yudkowski’s rationalist blogs and Harry Potter fan fiction to Effective Altruism and the "paperclip maximizer" theory. We…

People in this episode

Host: Taylor Lorenz

Guest: Natasha Tiku

Topics covered

  • AI existential risk
  • anti-AI movement
  • astroturf campaigns
  • Silicon Valley elites
  • AI safety movement
  • corporate influence

Keywords

  • AI doomsday
  • social media
  • influencers
  • dark money
  • narrative control
  • public anxieties
  • pro-AI agenda

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Washington Post, OpenAI, Anthropic, Effective Altruism

More episodes of Taylor Lorenz’s Power User

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Taylor Lorenz’s Power User podcast page.