What does it really take to build artificial intelligence at scale – and who pays the price? In her award-winning book Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI, investigative journalist Karen Hao offers a comprehensive account of the company at the center of the AI revolution. Drawing on the perspectives of Silicon Valley engineers, Kenyan data laborers, and Chilean water activists, Hao presents a sweeping picture of AI and its global impact. As the EU seeks to define its own path between American tech dominance and Chinese state-driven development, Hao’s forensic account of how OpenAI grew from safety-focused nonprofit to globally scaled power raises urgent questions: Can democratic societies meaningfully regulate an industry moving this fast? And what role can Europe play in shaping an AI future that reflects its values? We are delighted to welcome Karen Hao to discuss her book and the role of AI giants in shaping our collective future. The event will take the form of a moderated discussion followed by questions from the audience.
Karen Hao is a bestselling author and award-winning journalist covering artificial intelligence. Formerly a reporter at The Wall Street Journal and senior AI editor at MIT Technology Review, she co-hosts the BBC podcast The Interface. Hao co-created the Pulitzer Center’s AI Spotlight Series and writes for publications including The Atlantic.
Discussant:
Anita Gohdes is a SCRIPTS Cluster Professor and Professor of International and Cyber Security at the Hertie School in Berlin. She is the author of Repression in the Digital Age: Surveillance, Censorship, and the Dynamics of State Violence.
Introduction and Moderation:
Martin Hullin, Director of the Network for Technological Resilience and Sovereignty, Bertelsmann Stiftung
Rachel Tausendfreund, Senior Research Fellow USA/Transatlantic Relations, DGAP
Please send your registration request to events@dgap.org.
(Only online participation possible)
The series “Remaking America? Contesting Visions from Trump and Beyond” is a cooperation between DGAP and the Cluster of Excellence “Contestations of the Liberal Script” (SCRIPTS) at Freie Universität Berlin. It features leading thinkers, scholars, and policy voices from the United States who assess the emerging ideas and factions reshaping American democracy and foreign policy and their consequences for Europe.