Empire of AI with Karen Hao

Invited experts

Patricia Clarke

Technology Reporter

Karen Hao

Join us in conversation with Karen Hao, award-winning journalist and AI investigator, on her eye-opening new book, Empire of AI: Inside the Reckless Race for Total Domination. Hao’s years of frontline reporting expose the hidden world of OpenAI’s meteoric rise under Sam Altman-from its idealistic nonprofit origins to its transformation into a corporate juggernaut fueled by Microsoft’s billions. Drawing on unprecedented access to industry insiders, she reveals the human cost of AI’s breakneck growth: Kenyan data labourers toiling for sweatshop wages, Chilean communities battling resource extraction, and Silicon Valley’s unchecked ambitions warping global priorities. As AI reshapes economies, environments, and power structures, Hao’s work challenges us to confront the industry’s darkest truths. Together in the newsroom, we’ll ask: What’s the real story behind Sam Altman’s sudden firing, and triumphant return? What happens when utopian ideals collide with profit-driven empires? And who truly controls the future of the industry defining our era?