Ariel and Producer Josh discuss Karen Hao’s book Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI, a chronicle of tech’s current AI fervor and everything left in its wake. Along the way, everything AI tumbles out: Trump banning “woke AI,” whether this AI boom is just a financial illusion or a catastrophic arms race, and the problems for which AI solutions would be actually useful. In Falcon Mode, we explore ways to filter out AI search results. Additional Resources:<a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/empire-of-ai-dreams-and-nightmares-in-sam-altman-s-openai-karen-hao/22156498">Empire of AI</a> by Karen Hao <a href="https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/trumps-ai-action-plan-is-a-blueprint">Trump&#39;s AI Action Plan is a blueprint for dystopia</a> by Brian Merchant<a href="https://www.wheresyoured.at/the-haters-gui/">The Hater’s Guide to the AI Bubble</a> by Ed Zitron<a href="https://ai-2027.com/">AI 2027</a>

The Search Squeeze, Half-Baked AI Agents, and the App That Stops Cholera

Why do so many once-beloved internet platforms end up toxic, predatory, and unusable? In an age where tech giants have monopolized our attention, privacy, and livelihoods, how can individuals claw back some agency? 

Every other Thursday, Actually Useful co-hosts Ariel and Josh talk with creators of radically useful consumer tech to explore what it takes to build and protect the loveliest parts of the internet. If you’re exhausted by parasitic products and feel trapped in an ecosystem of unethical, undelightful tech, this one’s for you.