Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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How should you feel about the AI boom? In this episode of “Galaxy Brain,” Charlie Warzel speaks with Chris Hayes about how to emotionally calibrate our response to this dizzying AI moment. Hayes describes why AI gives him “The Bad Feeling,” and how it led him to report on AI like an anthropologist would. The two discuss why AI is described as “the jagged frontier,” and they explore the distinction between using AI for creative thinking versus grunt work.

This episode of “Galaxy Brain” was produced by Renee Klahr and engineered by Miguel Carrascal. Our theme is by Rob Smierciak. Claudine Ebeid is the executive producer of Atlantic audio, and Andrea Valdez is our managing editor.

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00:00 Intro
03:31 Interview with Chris Hayes
08:21 Optimist vs. Pessimist Take on AI
15:37 Is AI Equal to Human Intelligence?
21:17 What Makes Us Human?
23:48 Who Suffers the Consequences?
28:50 Will AI Make Us Dumber?
34:50 AI's Poor Polling and Political Impact
42:34 Closing and Credits