Why does everyone suddenly think AI could kill humanity?SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at https://www.usermag.co         Support my work on Patreon: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenzIn this episode of Power User, I'm joined by tech journalist Natasha Tiku to investigate the viral claim that AI has a 10% chance of causing human extinction. From the halls of Anthropic and OpenAI to the corridors of Washington, D.C., we uncover how the insular, billionaire-funded Effective Altruism (EA) movement transformed sci-fi doomsday theories into mainstream media panic and undemocratic policy proposals.  We break down the math behind the so-called "10% extinction risk," expose how dark money and ideological fellowships shaped mainstream AI coverage, and discuss why big tech labs actively benefit when lawmakers regulate frontier models out of fear rather than tackling immediate, real-world harms like wage discrimination, data privacy violations, and corporate consolidation. 

Who is really behind the fastest-growing political channels on YouTube? SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at https://www.usermag.co         Support my work on Patreon: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz To listen to the full episode and get access to more bonus episodes, an ad-free listening experience, and my weekly newsletter, subscribe to my Patreon or Substack 👇🏻Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at ⁠https://www.usermag.co⁠         Support my work on Patreon: ⁠http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz⁠ Over the past few months, a massive network of sensational, formulaic channels has pulled in tens of millions of views by gaming the YouTube algorithm. They look like independent journalists reporting on breaking political news, but they’re actually "ghost creators" aka paid actors hired for as little as $26 on platforms like Fiverr to read AI-generated scripts full of exaggerations, rage bait, and outright falsehoods.Semafor media reporter Max Tani joins me for this week's Free Speech Friday to explain how these fake news channels operate, who is building them, why their videos outperform established media outlets, and how AI is transforming political misinformation into a highly profitable business. We also examine the rise of viral channels like New York Reports, William Reports, and other synthetic news anchors, YouTube growth hackers, and the older audiences being targeted by this content. As the next election approaches, cheap AI content and algorithmically amplified political videos could make it even harder to distinguish journalism from manufactured outrage. So please support my independent reporting by buying a subscription to User Mag!!  https://www.usermag.co

Why are people buying OpenAI sweatshirts, Claude “Thinking” hats and Palantir chore coats?SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at https://www.usermag.co         Support my work on Patreon: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenzTo listen to the full episode and get access to more bonus episodes, an ad-free listening experience, and my weekly newsletter, subscribe to my Patreon or Substack 👇🏻Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at ⁠https://www.usermag.co⁠         Support my work on Patreon: ⁠http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz⁠ I sat down with Throwing Fits co-host Lawrence Schlossman to unpack the rise and fall of tech company merch. From Apple’s bizarre 1980s catalog lifestyle flop to dot-com bubble eBay relics, the rise and fall of the infamous corporate Patagonia fleece vest, and today’s ultra-hyped drops from companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Palantir, we discuss why the most powerful AI companies on earth are suddenly trying to buy their way into high fashion, menswear, and cultural relevance.We also talk about OpenAI, Anthropic, Palantir, Apple, Meta, Patagonia, Cash App, tech bro fashion, menswear culture and the influencers making AI merchandise aspirational.Subscribe to User Magazine at usermag.co to support this show!!

ICE shot a TikTok journalist covering raids in Los Angeles then locked him in desert detention for 300 days (he is still there) with a festering gunshot wound, worms in his drinking water and cockroaches in his cell. This is the story of Carlitos Ricardo Parias known online as Richard LA or Richard Noticias LA and what it reveals about the war on independent journalism under the guise of "kids online safety" and "cracking down on social media addiction."SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at https://www.usermag.co         Support my work on Patreon: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenzIn this episode of Free Speech Friday, I'm joined by Adam Rose, Deputy Director of Advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, to investigate the horrifying case of Richard Parias. Richard is an independent community journalist in Los Angeles who spent months documenting immigration sweeps, neighborhood stories, and ICE activities directly on TikTok and Instagram. After being struck by an ICE vehicle, ambushed on a quiet residential street, and shot by a federal agent who juggled his sidearm between hands, Richard found himself trapped in a dystopian legal nightmare. Despite having all criminal charges dropped, federal agents erased surveillance footage of the incident and sent Richard to a sweltering detention facility in the Mojave Desert, where he is still trapped and struggling to get basic medical care. Adam's story: https://theintercept.com/2026/08/16/ricardo-parias-ice-detention-journalist-los-angeles/ (PLEASE SHARE!!!!) We break down how independent journalism has evolved away from legacy newsrooms into livestreams, citizen journalism, and social media content creators, and how the government is pushing "kids online safety" laws to aggressively unmask journalists, enact real-name ID mandates via "age verification", and sweeping digital censorship laws, all under the guise of child safety. 

Small towns across America are revolting against massive AI data centers. SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at https://www.usermag.co         Support my work on Patreon: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz To listen to the full episode and get access to more bonus episodes, an ad-free listening experience, and my weekly newsletter, subscribe to my Patreon or Substack 👇🏻Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at ⁠https://www.usermag.co⁠         Support my work on Patreon: ⁠http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz⁠ In this episode of Power User, journalist Jasmine Sun breaks down her on-the-ground reporting across Wisconsin, Michigan, and New York to uncover why Republicans and Democrats are joining forces to halt Big Tech’s infrastructure expansion. From secret NDAs signed by local officials to skyrocketing electricity bills, strained power grids, and broken economic promises, we examine how the demands of generative AI are affecting local communities. We also dive into the real environmental impacts (from water consumption myths to the real problems related to natural gas) and discuss how the current compute buildout is creating a speculative bubble. Jasmine gets into how distrust of Big Tech is shaping the AI backlash, why previous development failures like Foxconn still influence Midwestern communities, and what the United States can learn from China's approach to AI infrastructure.

A New Law That Could Destroy Open Source Forever SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at https://www.usermag.co         Support my work on Patreon: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz To listen to the full episode and get access to more bonus episodes, an ad-free listening experience, and my weekly newsletter, subscribe to my Patreon or Substack 👇🏻Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at ⁠https://www.usermag.co⁠         Support my work on Patreon: ⁠http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz⁠  The US Senate recently introduced the Digital Age Assurance Act, a sweeping piece of legislation that could fundamentally alter how every operating system and internet-connected device works. Under the guise of "protecting children online," this bill threatens to mandate ID verification directly into operating systems (not just social media or the internet, but operating systems themselves). This would impact everything from smartphones to PCs to open-source software like Linux. Obviously, this has huge implications for privacy, free speech, and the future of open-source development.  On this week's Free Speech Friday, I sat down with Laz Pieper and Peter Van Valkenburgh from Coin Center to break down their viral Substack piece, "The Correct Term for Age Verification is Censorship." We dive deep into how turning open-source coders into regulated service providers violates First Amendment rights, how mass identity verification systems are dangerous, why the line between safety mandates and government surveillance is disappearing so fast, and what we can do to stop this law. 

The movement to pause AI is gaining momentum, but can anyone actually stop the race toward more powerful artificial intelligence?SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at https://www.usermag.co         Support my work on Patreon: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenzTo listen to the full episode and get access to more bonus episodes, an ad-free listening experience, and my weekly newsletter, subscribe to my Patreon or Substack 👇🏻Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at ⁠https://www.usermag.co⁠         Support my work on Patreon: ⁠http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz⁠ In this week's episode of Power User, I’m joined by Washington Post technology journalist Gerrit De Vynck to unpack the growing backlash against AI, the activists calling for a pause on advanced AI development, OpenAI’s decision to slow development of its most advanced models, and the growing political fight over AI data centers.We break down what the Pause AI movement actually wants, why AI safety activists are worried about superintelligence and rogue AI agents, and whether governments could realistically prevent companies from training increasingly powerful models.We also discuss the growing grassroots backlash against AI data centers, Bernie Sanders’ role in the AI debate, the national security argument for continuing the AI race, competition with China, and why companies including OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta and Google have very different incentives when it comes to slowing AI development.Most importantly, we look at a much bigger question: Is the rapid expansion of AI actually inevitable, or could public opposition, regulation and infrastructure constraints meaningfully slow it down??

To access an ad-free listening experience, get bonus episodes, and receive my weekly newsletter, subscribe to my Patreon or Substack 👇🏻Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at⁠ ⁠https://www.usermag.co⁠⁠         Support my work on Patreon:⁠ ⁠http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz⁠⁠Anthropic just announced that Claude and all its AI tools will now watermark every piece of text a user generates, even if it's scientific research or computer code. In this episode of Free Speech Friday, I sit down with Neil Chilson, former FTC Chief Technologist, to break down exactly what AI watermarking is, how the EU AI Act transparency code is forcing this change worldwide, and why this could threaten your privacy and free speech.We explain how probabilistic text watermarking works by subtly altering word choices in AI-generated content, why this creates serious problems for legal documents scientific research and creative writing, and how Anthropic's decision to apply these watermarks globally affects US users who never consented to this tracking. Neil also breaks down the cybersecurity risks, the potential for government overreach, and why open-weight AI models might be the only escape hatch from extraterritorial regulation. If you use Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or any AI writing tool, (or even if you don't!) you need to understand how the EU AI Act transparency requirements are reshaping AI output behind the scenes. We discuss the dangers of compelled speech on digital platforms and what watermarking means for the future of anonymous online expression.SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at ⁠https://www.usermag.co⁠         Support my work on Patreon: ⁠http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz⁠

Zuckerberg Wants AI to Know Everything About You SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at https://www.usermag.co         Support my work on Patreon: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenzMark Zuckerberg just published a massive 6,500-word manifesto laying out an aggressive vision for the future of AI. But is this really about democratizing technology, or is it a desperate PR move to catch up with OpenAI and Anthropic? I sat down with New York Times technology reporter Mike Isaac, who has covered Zuckerberg and Meta for more than a decade, to unpack what Zuckerberg is really proposing and why Meta is making such an aggressive push into AI right now.We discuss Meta's battle with OpenAI and Anthropic, Zuckerberg's renewed embrace of open models, the company's massive data center buildout, the backlash against AI infrastructure, and why Meta may be trying to position itself as the alternative to the AI safety movement.We also get into the biggest problem with Zuckerberg's vision, and Mike explains why Zuckerberg is suddenly talking to the media again, how far behind Meta really is in the AI race, what the company's next generation of AI agents could look like, and what to watch for at Meta Connect.  To get access to ad-free listening and my weekly newsletter, subscribe to my Patreon or Substack 👇🏻Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at ⁠https://www.usermag.co⁠         Support my work on Patreon: ⁠http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz⁠ 

To listen to the full episode and get access to more bonus episodes, an ad-free listening experience, and my weekly newsletter, subscribe to my Patreon or Substack 👇🏻Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at https://www.usermag.co         Support my work on Patreon: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz  What happens when startups straight up stop hiring human creators and start leveraging industrial-scale bot farms powered by AI? In this bonus episode of Power User, I sit down with New York Magazine's Rebecca Jennings to discuss her investigation into Doublespeed, a massively viral new venture-backed startup founded by 21-year-old entrepreneur Zuhair Lakhani that aims to replace human influencers with an army of AI-generated personas. They've already raised over $1 million from Andreessen Horowitz. From sneaker botting and manufactured restaurant waitlists to operating thousands of cold Android phones from a desktop computer, Rebecca and I unpack the dark mechanics and patterns behind these bot armies running on phone farms in LA. We also discuss the total atrophy of the internet as we know it.  We break down how AI bot farms work, why brands are turning to AI instead of human influencers, and how Silicon Valley is turning manufactured virality into a business. We also discuss the explosion of AI slop, the future of the influencer industry, the death of online authenticity, AI advertising, political manipulation, human verification and what happens when bots become indistinguishable from real people.