A Different Perspective with Parmy Olson, author of Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT, and the Race that Will Change the World

This week Nick talks to Parmy Olson. Parmy Olson is a prominent technology journalist and author, currently a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. She previously covered tech and innovation for The Wall Street Journal and Forbes, with a focus on AI, robotics, and emerging technologies. In 2012, she published We Are Anonymous, an acclaimed deep dive into the hacker groups Anonymous and LulzSec. Her 2024 book, Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT, and the Race That Will Change the World, explores the rivalry between tech giants like OpenAI and DeepMind in the pursuit of artificial general intelligence, earning the Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award. Nick and Parmy discuss the intense race to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI) and the far-reaching implications of that pursuit. Their conversation highlights the contrast between the idealistic visions of DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis and OpenAI’s Sam Altman—who saw AGI as a force for solving global challenges—and the reality that both ultimately became deeply tied to tech giants like Google and Microsoft to fund their ambitions. Parmy explains how this reliance shifted the focus away from social good and towards corporate interests. Together, they explore the broader consequences of this power shift, including the lack of meaningful regulation, ongoing ethical concerns around bias and safety in AI models, and the growing dominance of a few large tech firms. They also reflect on the social risks—from job losses and the disruption of traditional career paths to the emotional dependency people are beginning to form with chatbots—raising important questions about the kind of future society is heading towards. Parmy's Book Choice was: Born to Run by Christopher McdougallParmy's Music Choice was:Rumours by Fleetwood MacThis content is issued by Zeus Capital Limited (“Zeus”) (Incorporated in England & Wales No. 4417845), which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) for designated investment business, (Reg No. 224621) and is a member firm of the London Stock Exchange. This content is for information purposes only and neither the information contained, nor the opinions expressed within, constitute or are to be construed as an offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell the securities or other instruments mentioned in it. Zeus shall not be liable for any direct or indirect damages, including lost profits arising in any way from the information contained in this material. This material is for the use of intended recipients only.