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The AI Industry Must Stop Doom Trolling w/ Cal Newport

6/19/20261 hr 2 min

In this week’s Better Offline, Ed talks with computer science professor and writer Cal Newport about AI companies “doom trolling” consumers using scary stories about conscious computers, and how we need to make fun of the scare-mongering and ridicule the executives peddling in it.

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Cal Newport’s “Dear A.I. Companies: The Doom Trolling Needs To Stop https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/17/opinion/ai-dangerous-openai-anthropic.html 

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First 90 seconds
  1. Ed Zitron· Host0:00

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  3. Kal Penn0:51

    [upbeat jingle] Hey, everyone, it's Kal Penn. I'm inviting you to join the best sounding book club you've ever heard with my podcast, Ear Say: The Audible and iHeart audiobook club. Every episode, I nerd out with amazing guests and dive into the best new audiobooks available on Audible. It's the book club for your ears. Listen to Ear Say: The Audible and iHeart audiobook club on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

  4. Speaker 41:20

    [upbeat jingle] Hi, it's Karen and Georgia from My Favorite Murder.

  5. Speaker 51:25

    We cruised around LA in the Hyundai IONIQ 5 and dove into the fascinating life of actress and inventor,

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