Is A.I. Eating the Labor Market? + The Latest on the Pentagon, OpenClaw and Alpha School
2/27/20261 hr 1 min
This week, the economist Anton Korinek joins to break down how artificial intelligence is driving volatility in the job and stock markets. Then, the battle between the Pentagon and Anthropic is getting even more tense. Anthropic now has until 5:01 p.m. Eastern time on Friday to accept the military’s demands over the terms of a contract, or the Trump administration will retaliate by invoking the Defense Production Act and designating the company a “supply chain risk.” We discuss this change, as well as two other updates on OpenClaw and Alpha Schools.
Guest:
- Anton Korinek, economist studying the impact of A.I., at the University of Virginia.
Additional Reading:
- Pentagon Gives A.I. Company an Ultimatum
- Summer Yue’s OpenClaw post
- ‘Students Are Being Treated Like Guinea Pigs’: Inside an AI-Powered Private School
- Parents Fell in Love With Alpha School’s Promise. Then They Wanted Out
- The 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis
- When Does Automating Research Produce Explosive Growth?
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 00:00
[upbeat music] I'm opening up Crossplay. I've been playing against Dan, my colleague at The New York Times.
Kevin Roose· Host0:04
Kat's played another move. Ugh, she played stoop for 36 points.
Speaker 00:09
I've got a Z, which is 10 points.
Kevin Roose· Host0:12
I'm guessing tanga is not a word. Let's see. Tanga is a word! Oh.
Speaker 00:16
Dan played his last turn. Let's see who won. It's so close, but I did win.
Speaker 20:22
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Kevin Roose· Host0:31
Casey, how's it going? You had some big news over the weekend, my friend.
Casey Newton· Host0:35
I did. I did. Uh, we're gonna have to update the disclosure.
Kevin Roose· Host0:39
Yes? Why is that?
Casey Newton· Host0:40
Well, for the past, uh, year or so on the show, uh, I've been disclosing that my boyfriend works at Anthropic, but we're not gonna say that anymore because I don't have a boyfriend. I have a fiance.
Kevin Roose· Host0:51
Hey!
Casey Newton· Host0:52
So yeah. Yeah.
Kevin Roose· Host0:54
That's so exciting.
Casey Newton· Host0:56
They say that getting married is the second most serious kind of relationship you can get into with a man besides starting a podcast with him. [laughing] [laughing] So, uh, we'll see how it goes, but I'm, uh, very optimistic.
Kevin Roose· Host1:06
Have you decided on a theme for your wedding yet?
Casey Newton· Host1:09
You know, I, I have to admit, we're, we're at the very earliest stages of the planning, and so if you have any, you know, ideas, I'm very open to that.
Kevin Roose· Host1:15
Well, I did start brainstorming possible wedding hashtags, you know- Okay ... because every, every couple needs one of those.
Casey Newton· Host1:20
Absolutely.
Kevin Roose· Host1:21
So how about these?
Casey Newton· Host1:22
Okay.
Kevin Roose· Host1:23
AGI do.
Casey Newton· Host1:24
[laughing] [laughing] Uh, any others?
Kevin Roose· Host1:28
Uh, say yes to the press.