Sam Altman Isn’t Building a Company, He’s Building an Empire (with Karen Hao)

Sam Altman Isn’t Building a Company, He’s Building an Empire (with Karen Hao)

Author: iHeartPodcasts March 31, 2026 Duration: 55:11

Investigative journalist Karen Hao was covering OpenAI years before most of us had ever heard the words "ChatGPT" or "large language model." Her best-selling book, "Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI," paints a gripping and damning portrait of the company's evolution from a sort of nonprofit to an empire-seeking tech juggernaut, drawing on her deep familiarity with the company as well as candid accounts from insiders. 

 

She is one of the most influential and respected tech journalists covering the AI industry today. 

 

In this interview, she shares the story of how she came to journalism, what she's learned from a decade of covering OpenAI and Sam Altman, and what she sees as the biggest threats of AI to intimacy, the environment, privacy, healthcare, and democracy. 

 

Karen has a new podcast published by the BBC called "The Interface," and it is brilliant. Make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, or by following this link: https://link.mgln.ai/theinterface-TANGOTI  

 

Conversation with Karen is featured prominently in Bridget's forthcoming audiobook about AI and intimate relationships, "Love At First Prompt." Pre-order your copy today at LoveAtFirstPrompt.com

Let us know what you think about this interview by emailing hello@tangoti.com or leaving a comment on Spotify. 

 

Follow Bridget and TANGOTI on social media!  ||  instagram.com/bridgetmarieindc/ || tiktok.com/@bridgetmarieindc ||  youtube.com/@ThereAreNoGirlsOnTheInternet || bsky.app/profile/tangoti.bsky.social

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


You might have heard the old, tired joke that gives There Are No Girls on the Internet its name, but host Bridget Todd isn't laughing. Instead, she's building a vital archive, one conversation at a time. This iHeartPodcasts production digs into the real, human stories of how marginalized voices-far from being newcomers-have actually been the essential architects of our digital world from day one. Each episode moves beyond the headlines to chronicle the personal experiences, subcultures, and quiet revolutions that happen online, giving texture to the platforms and trends we often take for granted. You'll hear from the people whose creativity, labor, and community have fundamentally shaped technology, culture, and society, even when their contributions were overlooked or outright stolen. This isn't just a history lesson; it's an active reclamation. The podcast serves as an ongoing monument to the countless identities that make the internet a dynamic, messy, and profoundly human space. Tune in for narratives that are insightful, often surprising, and absolutely necessary for understanding where we've been and where we're headed next in our connected lives.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

There Are No Girls on the Internet
Podcast Episodes
Clavicular and the Looksmaxxing Cult That Almost Killed Him [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:11
What happens when a teenage boy spends his formative years on incel forums, starts injecting steroids at 14, hits himself in the face with a hammer in the name of self-improvement, injects his underage girlfriend with un…
The Racist AI TikTok Scam That's Flooding Your Feed [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:58
Fake AI-generated Black women are flooding your social media feeds, performing self-hatred, pushing porn sites and drop shipping scams, and raking in cash for anonymous creators who'll never be held accountable. Jeremy C…
The Goodreads Scandal That Predicted Publishing's AI Crisis [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:32
Publishing is having a trust crisis. With AI accusations swirling around authors like Mia Ballard, whose novel Shy Girl was dropped by her publisher despite her denying any AI use, questions about authenticity in publish…
Lindy West Told Us Everything in Adult Braces. Was It a Mistake? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:11
Remember the personal essay industrial complex? The 2010s era of Jezebel and xoJane where feminist writers put every raw, messy, private part of themselves on the internet? Lindy West was its brightest star. Her new memo…