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Karen Hao on Why AI Is Reshaping Society

Karen Hao on Why AI Is Reshaping Society

60-Second Science vor 9 Monaten

Journalist Karen Hao unpacks the rise of AI “empires,” their ideological roots, and the hidden environmental and societal costs of OpenAI’s quest for artificial general intelligence.

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Generative artificial intelligence has transformed our inboxes,
classrooms and even medical records—but at what cost? In this
episode, journalist Karen Hao joins Scientific American to discuss
her new book Empire of AI, exploring how companies like OpenAI
wield power that is reminiscent of historical empires. From
ideological quests for artificial general intelligence to the
environmental toll of massive data centers, Hao reveals the hidden
forces shaping our technological future—and the reasons we should
all be paying attention. Recommended Reading: OpenAI’s Secrets are
Revealed in Empire of AI Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam
Altman’s OpenAI. Karen Hao. Penguin Press, 2025 E-mail us at
sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or
ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new everyday:
subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for our daily
newsletter.Science Quickly is produced by Kendra Pierre-Louis,
Fonda Mwangi and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex
Sugiura, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck.
Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about
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