Exposing the Billionaire Funding Behind AI Safety Movements (w/ Kat Tenbarge)

Exposing the Billionaire Funding Behind AI Safety Movements (w/ Kat Tenbarge)

From Team Human with Douglas Rushkoff by Douglas Rushkoff

April 8, 2026 · 52 min

About this episode

Douglas Rushkoff and Kat Tenbarge discuss the implications of AI safety movements and the influence of billionaire funding on political agendas.

Rushkoff sits down with Kat Tenbarage, (Founder, Spitfire News) to pull back the curtain on the intersection of AI, digital harassment, and political maneuvering. Together, they discuss Humans First: Is it a true bipartisan coalition or a strategic funnel for right-wing legislation? They also explore: The economy of deepfakes: How non-consensual AI-generated content is being monetized and the role of major payment processors like Visa and MasterCard play in the ecosystem. Digital Violence: Why the "online isn't real" argument is dead and how digital radicalization leads to physical acts of terror. The Cost of Truth: The personal and legal toll of investigating influencer harm and the coordinated smear campaigns designed to silence independent journalists. Support Kat Tenbarge's Spitfire news: SpitfireNews.com 🤝 Team Human is proudly supported by Groucho. You can take 50% off your first month by using promo code "teamhuman": https://mygroucho.club/teamhuman Download Groucho: Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/groucho/id6756526142?ct=teamhuman&mt=8 Android…

People in this episode

Host: Douglas Rushkoff

Guest: Kat Tenbarge

Topics covered

  • AI
  • digital harassment
  • political maneuvering
  • deepfakes
  • digital violence
  • investigative journalism

Keywords

  • Humans First
  • non-consensual AI-generated content
  • digital radicalization
  • influencer harm
  • smear campaigns

Sponsors

Groucho

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Spitfire, Groucho

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