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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In this week&rsquo;s Better Offline, Ed talks with computer science professor and writer Cal Newport about AI companies &ldquo;doom trolling&rdquo; 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. Please support me by subscribing to my premium newsletter - here&rsquo;s $10 off your first year of annual <a href="https://edzitronswheresyouredatghostio.outpost.pub/public/promo-subscription/84rt762qen">https://edzitronswheresyouredatghostio.outpost.pub/public/promo-subscription/84rt762qen</a>&nbsp; Cal Newport&rsquo;s &ldquo;Dear A.I. Companies: The Doom Trolling Needs To Stop <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/17/opinion/ai-dangerous-openai-anthropic.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/17/opinion/ai-dangerous-openai-anthropic.html</a>&nbsp;
Podcast &amp; Videos: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@CalNewportMedia/">https://www.youtube.com/@CalNewportMedia/</a>
Newsletter: <a href="https://calnewport.com">https://calnewport.com</a>
New Yorker archive: <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/cal-newport">https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/cal-newport</a> 
YOU CAN NOW BUY BETTER OFFLINE MERCH! Go to <a href="https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline">https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline</a> and use code&nbsp;FREE99 for free shipping on orders of $99 or more.
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LINKS: <a href="https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks">https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks</a>
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Reddit: <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/">https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/</a>&nbsp;
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Better Offline is a weekly show exploring the tech industry’s influence and manipulation of society - and interrogating the growth-at-all-costs future that tech’s elite wants to build. 

Combining narrative-form storytelling, one-on-one interviews and panel-based discussions, Better Offline cuts through the buzzwords and obfuscation of the tech industry, investigating and evaluating the schemes and scams of everyone from cryptocurrency scumbags to the greediest of the venture capital elite. Tech industry veteran Ed Zitron and a dynamic coterie of guests will help listeners understand the who, how and why of how tech’s most powerful players are changing the world - for better or for worse.

Better Offline is a weekly show exploring the tech industry’s influence and manipulation of society - and interrogating the growth-at-all-costs future that tech’s elite wants to build. 
Combining narrative-form storytelling, one-on-one interviews and panel-based discussions, Better Offline cuts through the buzzwords and obfuscation of the tech industry, investigating and evaluating the schemes and scams of everyone from cryptocurrency scumbags to the greediest of the venture capital elite. Tech industry veteran Ed Zitron and a dynamic coterie of guests will help listeners understand the who, how and why of how tech’s most powerful players are changing the world - for better or for worse.

Better Offline

Better Offline is a weekly show exploring the tech industry’s influence and manipulation of society - and interrogating the growth-at-all-costs future that tech’s elite wants to build.



Combining narrative-form storytelling, one-on-one interviews and panel-based discussions, Better Offline cuts through the buzzwords and obfuscation of the tech industry, investigating and evaluating the schemes and scams of everyone from cryptocurrency scumbags to the greediest of the venture capital elite. Tech industry veteran Ed Zitron and a dynamic coterie of guests will help listeners understand the who, how and why of how tech’s most powerful players are changing the world - for better or for worse.

Better Offline is a weekly show exploring the tech industry’s influence and manipulation of society - and interrogating the growth-at-all-costs future that tech’s elite wants to build.
 
Combining narrative-form storytelling, one-on-one interviews and panel-based discussions, Better Offline cuts through the buzzwords and obfuscation of the tech industry, investigating and evaluating the schemes and scams of everyone from cryptocurrency scumbags to the greediest of the venture capital elite. Tech industry veteran Ed Zitron and a dynamic coterie of guests will help listeners understand the who, how and why of how tech’s most powerful players are changing the world - for better or for worse.

The AI Industry Must Stop Doom Trolling w/ Cal Newport

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/c890351e-b6fb-4daf-ae81-b46e001eb3d3/transcript