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cover of episode Empire of AI: Inside OpenAI’s Race to Conquer the Future | Karen Hao

Empire of AI: Inside OpenAI’s Race to Conquer the Future | Karen Hao

2025/5/19
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Hidden Forces
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Demetri Kofinas
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Karen Hao
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Demetri Kofinas: 我认为Karen Howe的新书讲述了OpenAI的故事，以及科技军备竞赛的内幕。这本书的核心是关于权力的思考，揭示了一个理想主义的非营利组织如何演变成世界上最有价值的私营公司之一。今天的对话将带你了解OpenAI的转变，以及对人工智能时代权力的私人积累和我们正在建设的世界本质的未解决问题。无论你是投资者、政策制定者，还是只是一个试图理解新闻头条的普通公民，本期节目都将为你提供所需的背景信息，以了解AGI竞赛中真正重要的是什么，以及我们仍然拥有的控制杠杆。 Karen Hao: 我从未想过会成为一名记者，我在麻省理工学院学习工程学，毕业后直接进入科技行业。我本以为那将是我的职业，但我很快意识到硅谷的运作方式。我意识到，许多我最感兴趣的问题和技术可能没有商业计划，因此无法在硅谷生存。我决定进入新闻业，部分原因是我也热爱写作，并认为写作可以作为一种社会变革的工具。我最初进入科技行业是为了利用技术作为社会变革的工具，因此我天真地认为新闻业也可以做到这一点。我最初认为自己会被安排报道科技，但我意识到报道科技行业是一种深入挖掘我所认为的激励机制错位的好方法。我希望探索为什么我们似乎无法以符合公众利益的方式制造技术，并试图找出如何回到那样的状态。

Deep Dive

Chapters
Karen Hao, initially an engineer, transitioned to journalism driven by a passion for sustainability and a desire for social change. Her reporting on OpenAI began in 2019, revealing discrepancies between OpenAI's public image and its internal operations.
  • Karen Hao's background in mechanical engineering and initial work in sustainability-focused startups.
  • Her shift to journalism and focus on the technology industry.
  • Early reporting on OpenAI revealed inconsistencies between its public image and internal practices.

Shownotes Transcript

In Episode 418) of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas sits down with award-winning journalist Karen Hao to discuss Empire of AI — her inside account of how OpenAI evolved from an idealistic, safety-first nonprofit into one of the world’s most valuable private companies in its race to conquer the future. This conversation takes you inside that transformation—from the heady idealism of OpenAI’s founding, through the billion-dollar Microsoft deal and the 2023 boardroom coup, to the unresolved questions that hang over Silicon Valley and Washington alike about the private concentration of power in the age of artificial intelligence and the nature of the world we are building. Whether you’re an investor, a policymaker, or simply a concerned citizen trying to make sense of today’s headlines, this episode will equip you with the context you need to understand what’s really at stake in the race for AGI—and the levers we still have to steer it. Subscribe to our premium content—including our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports—by visiting HiddenForces.io/subscribe). If you’d like to join the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community—with benefits like Q&A calls with guests, exclusive research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners—you can also sign up on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe). If you enjoyed today’s episode of Hidden Forces, please support the show by:

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Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and support the podcast at https://hiddenforces.io). Join the conversation on Facebook), Instagram), and Twitter) at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas) Episode Recorded on 05/12/2025