iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

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

Screenshot of article from The Information: OpenAI in Talks to Lease 10 Gigawatt Ohio Data Center with Backing From Nvidia

Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

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...

youtube.com

AI Billionaires Want to Control EVERY Aspect of Your Life | Aaron Bastani Meets Karen Hao

YouTube video by Novara Media

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

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...

Breaking the chains of new forms of slavery
173. This distorted view of the human person is reflected today in various forms of servitude directly linked to the digital economy. Nothing in the world of AI is immaterial or magical. Every seemingly immediate and flawless response is the result of a long chain of mediation, involving vast networks of natural resources, energy infrastructure and, above all, people. A significant part of the digital economy’s functioning relies on the silent work of millions of people engaged in essential yet largely unseen activities, such as data labeling, model training and content moderation, often involving disturbing material. In many cases, these workers are young people, predominantly women, working under demanding conditions for minimal wages. Added to this invisible labor is the even harsher work of extracting the resources required for the production of the devices and microprocessors on which AI depends. In some regions of the world, children and adolescents work in dangerous conditions, crushing the materials from which rare earth elements are extracted. The bodies of these people are scarred, injured and worn down so that computational flow may continue uninterruptedly. Furthermore, criminal networks use online platforms, messaging systems, anonymous payment methods and profiling techniques in order to recruit, control and transport victims of trafficking — very often minors — reducing men and women to “data” to be tracked and “packages” to be moved around within the same digital circuits that support much of the global economy. This reality deeply challenges the moral conscience of our time. It is not enough to invoke efficiency, nor to celebrate the benefits of innovation, if they are built on a chain of exploitation that remains deliberately hidden. If technology promises emancipation, yet produces new forms of global subordination, it stands in contradiction to the fundamental principle of human dignity.

178. Even today, colonialism assumes new forms. It no longer dominates only bodies, but appropriates data, transforming personal lives into exploitable information. Entire regions, especially those marked by structural fragility and limited geopolitical relevance, are currently subjected to a new mindset of extraction: that of health data, epidemiological profiles, genetic maps and demographic information. These have become the new “rare earths” of power: vital data which, once aggregated and analyzed, can be used to train predictive models, guide investment strategies, anticipate crises and, above all, determine who and what is deemed to matter. Those who control the health data of entire peoples — often collected under the pretext of aid, research or innovation — possess a structural leverage over the future, for they can shape needs and markets. They can also decide, before others, to whom medicines, investments and protections will be allocated. Here lies one of the most urgent moral challenges of our time: to ensure that shared knowledge becomes a true common good rather than an instrument of dominance. This requires restoring to individuals not only the data that describes them, but also the ability to decide how it is used, by whom and for whose benefit. Otherwise, the digital age will not be post-colonial, but colonial in another form.

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

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

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

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...

theguardian.com

The Elon Musk v Sam Altman battle is a distraction | Karen Hao

Fixating on questions of whether Altman is untrustworthy, or whether Musk is even less so distracts from a far deeper problem with AI

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

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...

youtube.com

These Workers Are Training AI to Take Their Own Jobs. Yours Could Be Next.

YouTube video by More Perfect Union

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Whiting Foundation @whitingfoundation.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

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

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Penguin Press @penguinpress.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

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

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

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

Empire of AI wins the 2025 National Book Critics Circle Award for nonfiction

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

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...

youtube.com

AI Whistleblower: We Are Being Gaslit By The AI Companies! They’re Hiding The Truth About AI!

YouTube video by The Diary Of A CEO

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

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

Karen Hao and Naomi Klein on stage at the Chan Centre.

Karen Hao and Naomi Klein on stage at the Chan Centre with 1200+ people in the audience.

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

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...

As we’re discussing the unreal warping reality, let’s bring in The Interface, a podcast about tech and how it impacts on our lives. It’s hosted by two very American Americans – the boisterous Thomas Germain and Karen Hao – as well as the more self-effacing British investigative journalist Nicky Woolf, known for his excellent series Finding Q: My Journey into QAnon and Fur and Loathing. All three presenters are hugely well informed.

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Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.blacksky.app · 16/03/2026

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...

youtube.com

Reclaiming our Humanity in the Age of AI

YouTube video by SXSW

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

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

youtube.com

Is Havana Syndrome REAL?

YouTube video by BBC Podcasts

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

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.

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

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.

"During one site visit in early 2025, OpenAI employee Keith Heyde joked with colleagues that he could assess the amount of clay in the soil just by tasting it. Then he crouched down, grabbed a pinch of earth and put it in his mouth. The moment became an inside joke, but it also showed just how determined the team was to understand the locations where they wanted to build data centers. (Heyde left OpenAI a few weeks ago.)"

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

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...

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

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.

Email from Epstein to Goertzel: "free and home"

Goertzel replies: ";-))) Congratulations!!!! Actually, I was just about to send you an email summarizing my recent progress, current situation, and future hypothetical plans...I'll probably do so tomorrow. I'm sure you're super-swamped, but it would be great to get together when you have the chance... ben"

Goertzel continues: "p.s. Also, the Singularity Summit (futurist conference, but with some good scientific speakers this year) will be in NY this year, Oct 3-4...and Oct 5-6, afterwards, there will be a brainstorming workshop I think you might enjoy (where, basically, the ~20 speakers from the Summit will get together and try to make conceptual progress on various future-science issues). I'll remind you again when the date gets closer!"

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

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

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

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...

app.magellan.ai

The Interface

Listen to The Interface

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

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...

The Korean edition of EMPIRE OF AI AI 제국: 권력, 자본, 노동

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

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/...

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

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.

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

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.

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Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

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/...

haaretz.com

IDF accepts Gaza Health Ministry death toll of over 71,000 Palestinians killed in the war

Although Many International Experts Have Accepted the Health Ministry's Data as Reliable, and Even Conservative Relative to the True Death Toll, Israel Had Refused to Accept the Health Ministry's Coun...

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

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...

washingtonpost.com

Inside an AI start-up’s plan to scan and dispose of millions of books

Court filings reveal how AI companies raced to obtain more books to feed chatbots, including by buying, scanning and disposing of millions of titles.

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

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.

youtube.com

OpenAl Showed Up At My Door. Here’s Why They’re Targeting People Like Me

YouTube video by More Perfect Union

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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

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.

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

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.

karendhao.com

Empire of AI - Water Footprint Changes — Karen Hao

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

¡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...

La obra definitiva sobre la carrera tecnológica que está marcando el futuro de nuestra historia: El Imperio de la IA. Península.

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Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

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.

Screenshot of the last two paragraphs of the New York Times story about OpenAI declaring a Code Orange, with the need to increase the number of daily active users.

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

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

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

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. ❤️

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

"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 🥹

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

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! 🥳

Seeing my Hungarian edition for the first time

Giving a keynote about the themes of my book

Selfie with Szauer Tamas, CEO of HVG, and the crowd

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

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...

EMPIRE OF AI (UK cover) shortlisted for the FOYLES BOOK OF THE YEAR.

Karen Hao cheesing in front of the Technology bookshelf where Empire of AI is featured on the top shelf.

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

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?...

amazonclimatejustice.org

AI Open Letter — AECJ

Sign our open letter below to tell Amazon leadership that we need a more responsible rollout of AI. Every single signature makes our message stronger.

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CUNY Graduate Center @thegraduatecenter.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

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

gc.cuny.edu

Author Karen Hao Unmasks OpenAI's Altruistic Facade

In a sold-out talk at the Graduate Center, 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…

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

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...

A Barnes & Noble BEST BOOK OF 2025: Science & Technology

New York Times Bestseller

EMPIRE OF AI

Karen Hao

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

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...

youtube.com

He Lost His Mind Using ChatGPT. Then It Told Him to Contact Me.

YouTube video by More Perfect Union

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

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...

m.youtube.com

Natasha Lyonne Asks AI Leaders: "Whatever Happened to Being Cool?"

YouTube video by TIME

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 12/10/2025

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...

Arjen Lubach interviewing Karen Hao about Empire of AI on the set of his Dutch late night comedy show, Lubach.

Tex de Wit, Karen Hao, and Arjen Lubach posing in front of the Lubach audience.

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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 08/10/2025

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

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

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.

amerikahaus.de

Empire of AI: Karen Hao in Conversation with Sheila Beladinejad

Come join us on Thursday, October 23, 2025, 6:15 p.m. at Amerikahaus for an evening with Karen Hao, author of "Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI," in conversation with technol...

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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

Page One in Cincinnati.

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Andrew Deck @andrewdeck.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

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...

thenation.com

The True Threat of OpenAI

Karen Hao’s recent book on the company argues that its ambitions are not merely about scale or the market but the creation of a global force that rivals a colonial power of old.

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Global Investigative Journalism Network @gijn.org · 08/09/2025

💫 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:

twp.ai

gijn.org

‘Every Reporter has an AI Story to Tell’: Tips from an Award-Winning Journalist on the Risks of AI

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

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!

Sep 4 Sydney, AU
Sep 5 Melbourne, AU
Sep 11 Santa Clara, CA
Sep 11 Berkeley, CA
Sep 23 Online
Oct 8 Amsterdam, NL
Oct 10 New York, NY
Oct 11 New York, NY
Oct 13 New York, NY
Oct 15 Chicago, IL
Oct 16 St. Louis, MO
Oct 20 Ann Arbor, MI
Oct 21 Charlotteville, VA
Oct 22 New York, NY
Oct 24 Munich, DE
Oct 30 San Diego, CA
Nov 10 Budapest, HU
Dec 6 Bangalore, IN

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