10 gigawatts is roughly the average power demand of NYC (~5.5 GW), LA (~3 GW), and SF (~1 GW) combined

As I've been winding down tour, I've turned down most requests. But when @novaramedia.com asked me to return, I immediately said yes. My first conversation with @aaronjbastani.bsky.social was a favorite. Grateful we had a reunion to reflect on everything a year on. 💗 www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFwK...

The Pope has weighed in: AI isn't magic. It's currently produced by a deeply exploitative, extractive supply chain. It challenges human dignity; could fuel a new colonialism. And among the greatest challenges of our time will be to redirect its path of development. www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news...

On the one-year anniversary of EMPIRE OF AI, I am so, so excited to announce The AI Resist List, a new project that documents examples of resistance to the AI empires around the world 😍 airesistlist.org

So much attention has been paid to the Musk v. Altman trial. But real accountability for the AI industry will not come from a billionaire mudfight. It will come from the movements around the world resisting the empires of AI. My op-ed for @theguardian.com. www.theguardian.com/technology/c...

I've spent years interviewing data workers who are the lifeblood of the AI industry in places like Kenya & Colombia. Now it's the #4 fastest growing job in the US. AI is coming for your job and not in the way you think. My latest for @moreperfectunion.bsky.social. www.youtube.com/watch?v=aooi...

Congratulations to Karen Hao, winner of a 2026 Whiting Award in Nonfiction. #WhitingAwards2026

Congratulations, @karenhao.bsky.social! This weekend Empire of AI won the @latimes.com Book Prize for Science and Technology. www.latimes.com/about/pressr...

Omg??????? www.nytimes.com/2026/03/26/b...

Steven Bartlett, host of The Dairy Of A CEO, is a masterful interviewer. He asked probing questions, challenged me through respectful debate & was incredibly generous with giving me the space to go deep on my reporting & analysis. Pleased to share our conversation: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn8H...

I still can't believe this happened. Over 1,200 people in the audience. @naomiaklein.bsky.social, thank you for bringing me to Vancouver. What a privilege and an honor 💗 Watch a replay of the conversation here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1B_... 📸: Jan Gates

The Brits don't know what to do with our new BBC podcast The Interface, @thomasgermain.bsky.social & @nickywoolf.bsky.social. Lovely shoutout from @observeruk.bsky.social. observer.co.uk/culture/audi...

Not to toot our own horns but I feel like we packed so much in this one hour panel with @karenhao.bsky.social and John Palfrey. You can find the recording at www.youtube.com/live/I1tJnM8...

Remember Havana Syndrome? In 2017 US diplomats in Cuba started mysteriously suffering brain damage after hearing a noise. Many thought it a conspiracy theory. After investigating, @nickywoolf.bsky.social concluded it wasn't. He was right. This week on The Interface youtube.com/watch?v=UYVHzkq2X7Y

So excited to join the board of this phenomenal organization. AI Now has played a defining role in shaping how I understand my work as a journalist: to hold the AI industry accountable and radically reimagine how this technology could distribute, rather than consolidate, power.

Incredible reporting from @anissa.bsky.social in @theinformation.com about OpenAI's struggle to get more computing power as Stargate—its $500B data center buildout—has floundered. theinformation.com/articles/ins... It also includes this detail. We are in the dirt-eating phase of the AI hype cycle.

My co-host Thomas Germain on our BBC podcast The Interface hacked ChatGPT in 24 hours. The story is hilarious! And deeply concerning. We also discuss the massive data center expansion around the world and the secret Starlink deployment to Iran. Catch Ep 2 here: app.magellan.ai/listen_links...

Ben Goertzel, popularizer of the term AGI and creator of the Sophia robot, congratulating Jeffrey Epstein the day after Epstein was released from prison. Goertzel is mentioned in the files nearly 800 times, including well after the Miami Herald investigation in 2018.

I am so excited too!! Noami Klein is my hero. I will be fangirling hard.

Episode 1 is OUT!! 🥳 🙌 This week on The Interface, we discuss: * That insane Superbowl ad for Ring * The US TikTok takeover * And the beef that launched ChatGPT Listen wherever you get your podcasts: app.magellan.ai/listen_links...

The Korean edition of EMPIRE OF AI is out — and this one is really special. 🥹 It was translated by my dear friend Boyoung Lim, who played a crucial role in making my book possible in the first place. product.kyobobook.co.kr/detail/S0002...

Once again, it turns out “fully autonomous” means “a guy in the Philippines.”

I'm co-hosting a new BBC podcast! It's called The Interface, and it's all about how tech is rewiring your week and your world. www.bbc.com/mediacentre/...

Later this month, I'll be headed to Delhi to participate in the AI Impact Summit with @ainowinstitute.bsky.social. I spoke with @themaybe.org as part of their series exploring the kinds of narratives we might expect to hear, and how to move away from the harmful ones that entrench global inequality.

Quilicura, Chile, one of the communities I wrote about in EMPIRE OF AI, has launched a brilliant initiative to inspire more responsible AI prompting. Today, don't use AI; ask the townspeople instead: quili.ai. So heartened to see this creative act of resistance.

I cannot tell you how much doubt was consistently directed at the Gaza Health Ministry’s casualty numbers and how much pressure was put on news organizations to couch those numbers as unreliable. Biden himself said they were fabricated! www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...

Absolutely damning from @aaronschaffer.com, @willoremus.com, & @nitasha.bsky.social. To get more data, Anthropic: * "destructively scanned" millions of books * downloaded the shadow library LibGen * hailed another shadow library's arrival as "just in time!!!" www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

Last summer, as OpenAI sought to transition from nonprofit to for-profit, civil society groups pressed the company for accountability. Tyler Johnston, the founder of an AI watchdog, was among them. Then OpenAI showed up with a subpoena at his door. My latest for @moreperfectunion.bsky.social.

Wow

Ok, I've now finished @karenhao.bsky.social's Empire of AI. I learned a lot and it made me think about things that are most immediate to my profession, education and climate. Even if you don't read the whole book, read the epilogue about how to build a better future of non-colonial AI.

I have issued two changes to my book regarding the water footprint of data centers. I've detailed the changes and the context behind them here: karendhao.com/20251217/emp.... Given the nature of book changes, I wanted to make sure anyone who has an existing copy of the book is aware.

¡La edición en español de mi libro EL IMPERIO DE LA IA ya salió con mi editorial española, Planeta! Ya está disponible para que lo compres: planetadelibros.com/libro-el-imp...

The company essentially turned a dial that made ChatGPT more appealing and made people use it more, but sent some of them into delusional spirals. OpenAI has since made the chatbot safer, but that comes with a tradeoff: less usage.

First spotting of the Spanish edition of EMPIRE OF AI — EL IMPERIO DE IA — in the wild 😍😍 Happy Spanish edition pub week to me 🥳🥳🥳

Spending a week in Kuala Lumpur at the @gijn.org conference with more than 1,500 of the world's badass investigative journalists is one of the most energizing things in the world. ❤️

"I feel much more connected to my students after having engaged with them on this book and reading their journals...I have not felt this energy in a classroom since 2022." I love this so much 🥹

It was such a joy and privilege to launch the first foreign language edition of EMPIRE OF AI in Hungary 🇭🇺 this week. A new milestone 🥹 Thank you to my Hungarian publisher HVG for making it such a memorable experience. 12 more foreign language editions underway. Next up: Español! 🥳

EMPIRE OF AI has been shortlisted for the Foyles Book of the Year 😍 Really loved popping by their gorgeous London flagship bookstore earlier this year, so this is a special delight! Check out the rest of the list here: foyles.co.uk/highlights/f...

This is an incredible effort among Amazon employees to pressure their employer: "We believe that the all-costs-justified, warp-speed approach to AI development will do staggering damage to democracy, to our jobs, and to the earth." www.amazonclimatejustice.org/open-letter?...

In a sold-out talk at the Graduate Center, @karenhao.bsky.social, the author of "Empire of AI," questioned the nirvana notions of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and others in Silicon Valley who are racing to create an artificial general intelligence model

EMPIRE OF AI is one of Barnes & Noble's Best Books of 2025 in the Science and Technology category. 🥹 Some of my favorite childhood memories were formed at my local B&N, so this feels particularly special. Thanks B&N ❤️ Check out the full list here: www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/categor...

Earlier this year, after receiving emails from people in the throes of AI psychosis, I stayed in touch with one man as he journeyed to recovery. I'm grateful to James that he was willing to go on record. He wanted people to know: humanlike chatbots are dangerous. www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkGk...

At the TIME100 AI celebration last night, Natasha Lyonne stood in front of the emperors of AI and challenged them to their face. Doing that takes guts. And I’m incredibly honored that she cited my work as well. Thank you for speaking truth to power, Natasha. 🙏 youtube.com/watch?v=RUu9...

I had so much fun going on Dutch late night last week during my brief stopover in Amsterdam! Thank you to the amazing host Arjen Lubach, and his wonderful team & audience, for making me feel so welcome. www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxq4...

On this week’s “More To The Story,” tech journalist @karenhao.bsky.social sounds the alarm about the rising risks to the planet from the supercharged growth of the artificial intelligence industry. The latest from our friends at @revealnews.org: tinyurl.com/4v5by3wm

I now have a free stop in Munich on Oct 23 in addition to my ticketed one Oct 24! Huge thanks to Sheila Beladinejad, founder of Women in AI, who pulled together the venue & resources to host me. RSVP: www.amerikahaus.de/ausstellunge.... Check out my latest tour information: empireofai.com/#tour.

Page One in Cincinnati.

For @thenation.com: I reviewed @karenhao.bsky.social’s Empire of AI and took a closer look at her argument that OpenAI’s "scaling laws" echo the expansionist ideologies of European empires. www.thenation.com/article/cult...

💫 NEW! @karenhao.bsky.social, a leading journalist on AI’s impacts and harms, shares insights with GIJN ahead of her session at #GIJC25 in Malaysia. 🔗 More:

The EMPIRE OF AI fall tour has new stops! My site now lists all of my public events through the rest of the year. Some require tickets. Most are free with required registration. Review the details and reserve your seats here: empireofai.com#tour. See you soon!