Karen Hao: journalist and author on her new book exploring the impact of AI episode artwork

EPISODE · May 3, 2026 · 15 MIN

Karen Hao: journalist and author on her new book exploring the impact of AI

from Best of Business · host Newstalk ZB

No-one knows what the future of AI has in store for us, and one journalist has raised concerns about the impact of the technology. When investigative journalist Karen Hao started looking into Sam Altman’s OpenAI, she had hopes for the technology, but extensive research and unparalleled access to those closest to the AI arms race left her with a different view.  Her work in this space has made her one of the foremost tech journos covering AI.  She’s been listed in Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People.   She's heading to New Zealand for the Auckland Writers Festival with her book EMPIRE OF AI: Inside the Reckless Race for Total Domination. "My criticism of companies that use this kind of rhetoric is that they are essentially just leveraging the lack of a shared definition as a way to just hype up their technologies."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Karen Hao: journalist and author on her new book exploring the impact of AI

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This episode was published on May 3, 2026.

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No-one knows what the future of AI has in store for us, and one journalist has raised concerns about the impact of the technology. When investigative journalist Karen Hao started looking into Sam Altman’s OpenAI, she had hopes for the technology,...

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