Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The AI revolution will have consequences for our democracy. But there's still time to take the power into our own hands.
This week on Lavin Voices, we talk to Lavin Exclusive Speaker Karen Hao, author of Empire of AI and one of the 2025 TIME100 AI. As the first journalist to ever profile OpenAI, Karen is a long-time Silicon Valley insider who has spent years investigating the most consequential tech arms race in history. A passionate, hopeful speaker, Karen shows us how thoroughly AI will alter society, and what role we can all play in shaping AI so that it benefits everyone. “The way we develop technology is now fundamentally broken,” she says. “But I truly believe that we can fix it.”
In this episode, you'll learn:
- How a handful of tech companies are consolidating unprecedented power—and what this means for us
- Why AI FOMO is driving adoption of technology that doesn't actually improve productivity
- How citizens can stand up for democracy and build an AI future that benefits us all
Learn more about Karen or book her as a keynote speaker: thelavinagency.com/speakers/karen-hao
Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok for more big ideas: @TheLavinAgency
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Credits:
Producers: Alethea Ng and Kshiteej Sawhney
Host: Charles Yao
Guest: Karen Hao
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Timestamps:
0:00 Cold open + Lavin Voices intro
0:38 Charles introduces Karen & her book
1:46 Karen’s early life + pivot to journalism
5:22 From MIT Tech Review to Pulitzer Center
10:03 How ChatGPT changed everything
13:28 How OpenAI evolved over 7 years
18:32 Why call it an “Empire of AI”
22:06 Corporate empires vs nation states
24:07 Why society let Big Tech take over
26:43 Threat to democracy + key takeaway
28:59 Byproduct or the plan?
30:57 How to change AI’s trajectory
35:19 Can consumers influence AI?
38:25 The FOMO effect
41:16 Does AI improve productivity?
43:11 Real, societally useful AI
45:33 Ending on hope + reclaiming agency
48:18 Outro & credits
The AI revolution will have consequences for our democracy. But there's still time to take the power into our own hands.
This week on Lavin Voices, we talk to Lavin Exclusive Speaker Karen Hao, author of Empire of AI and one of the 2025 TIME100 AI. As the first journalist to ever profile OpenAI, Karen is a long-time Silicon Valley insider who has spent years investigating the most consequential tech arms race in history. A passionate, hopeful speaker, Karen shows us how thoroughly AI will alter society, and what role we can all play in shaping AI so that it benefits everyone. “The way we develop technology is now fundamentally broken,” she says. “But I truly believe that we can fix it.”
In this episode, you'll learn:
- How a handful of tech companies are consolidating unprecedented power—and what this means for us
- Why AI FOMO is driving adoption of technology that doesn't actually improve productivity
- How citizens can stand up for democracy and build an AI future that benefits us all
Learn more about Karen or book her as a keynote speaker: thelavinagency.com/speakers/karen-hao
Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok for more big ideas: @TheLavinAgency
------
Credits:
Producers: Alethea Ng and Kshiteej Sawhney
Host: Charles Yao
Guest: Karen Hao
------
Timestamps:
0:00 Cold open + Lavin Voices intro
0:38 Charles introduces Karen & her book
1:46 Karen’s early life + pivot to journalism
5:22 From MIT Tech Review to Pulitzer Center
10:03 How ChatGPT changed everything
13:28 How OpenAI evolved over 7 years
18:32 Why call it an “Empire of AI”
22:06 Corporate empires vs nation states
24:07 Why society let Big Tech take over
26:43 Threat to democracy + key takeaway
28:59 Byproduct or the plan?
30:57 How to change AI’s trajectory
35:19 Can consumers influence AI?
38:25 The FOMO effect
41:16 Does AI improve productivity?
43:11 Real, societally useful AI
45:33 Ending on hope + reclaiming agency
48:18 Outro & credits
