Sam Altman Isn’t Building a Company, He’s Building an Empire (with Karen Hao)

Sam Altman Isn’t Building a Company, He’s Building an Empire (with Karen Hao)

From There Are No Girls on the Internet by iHeartPodcasts

March 31, 2026 · 55 min · Season 5 · Episode 95

About this episode

Karen Hao discusses her insights on OpenAI and the implications of AI on society.

Investigative journalist Karen Hao was covering OpenAI years before most of us had ever heard the words "ChatGPT" or "large language model." Her best-selling book, "Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI," paints a gripping and damning portrait of the company's evolution from a sort of nonprofit to an empire-seeking tech juggernaut, drawing on her deep familiarity with the company as well as candid accounts from insiders.    She is one of the most influential and respected tech journalists covering the AI industry today.    In this interview, she shares the story of how she came to journalism, what she's learned from a decade of covering OpenAI and Sam Altman, and what she sees as the biggest threats of AI to intimacy, the environment, privacy, healthcare, and democracy.    Karen has a new podcast published by the BBC called "The Interface," and it is brilliant. Make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, or by following this link:  https://link.mgln.ai/theinterface-TANGOTI      Conversation with Karen is featured prominently in Bridget's forthcoming audiobook about AI and intimate relationships…

People in this episode

Host: Bridget

Guest: Karen Hao

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: OpenAI, BBC

Books & works: Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI, The Interface, Love At First Prompt

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