Downstream: Exposing The True Costs of AI w/ Karen Hao

Downstream: Exposing The True Costs of AI w/ Karen Hao

Author: Novara Media July 1, 2025 Duration: 1:29:22

As AI begins to fundamentally alter our lives, we’re in urgent need of expert voices who both understand how the technology works and are capable of scrutinising its effects. In her new book, Empire of AI, tech reporter and former Silicon Valley engineer Karen Hao debunks the myths that surround AI and exposes the true costs of this global industry. She speaks to Aaron about Sam Altman’s origin story, the traumatising nature of content moderation work, and the striking similarities between Open AI and the British East India Company.

Help us build people-powered media: https://novara.media/support


Tune in to Novara Media for a distinct and probing take on the world as it is, and as it could be. This independent podcast offers a necessary space for the conversations often sidelined elsewhere, weaving together sharp analysis of current affairs with deeper explorations of culture, philosophy and power. Each episode naturally delves into the interconnected crises shaping our time-be it the fraying edges of our economic system, the urgent fight for climate justice, or the enduring struggles against structural inequality. The discussions are built on a foundation of radical thought and a commitment to imagining alternatives, moving beyond the day's headlines to examine the root causes and potential futures. Hosted by the team at Novara Media, the audio format brings a direct, engaging and often challenging perspective, featuring interviews, panel debates and solo commentaries that refuse simplistic answers. It’s for anyone who finds mainstream narratives insufficient and is looking for a podcast that treats politics, society and culture as the complex, urgent and deeply human matters they truly are.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 306

Novara Media
Podcast Episodes
Iran Threatens Retaliation Against Trump’s Criminal Threats [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:39
Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Iran’s power plants in an expletive-laden Truth Social Post, and the U.S. account of its rescue of two airmen inside Iran raises more questions than it answers. With Michael Walker, Da…
The Greens WILL Beat Labour w/ Hannah Spencer and Faiza Shaheen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:26
Last week at EartH Hackney, Dalia Gebrial sat down with Hannah Spencer, the new MP for Gorton and Denton, and Faiza Shaheen, the director of Tax Justice UK. The three women discuss Hannah’s massive landslide victory, her…
ACFM Trip 58: Boredom [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:39:58
When was the last time you were bored? Nadia, Jem and Keir wonder if ennui is a feeling that belongs in the past – and what a boredom-free life might be missing. Is compulsive scrolling a modern symptom of boredom? Why a…