On this week’s episode, we enter the sensitive realm of intra-office politics and inter-founder dynamics—between agents and agents, and agents and people. While HurumoAI gears up to hire its first human, Evan tries to resolve whether Kyle is really up for the challenge of building and leading the company and pushing the product, Sloth Surf, to unicorn-level execution. 

To sign up for our newsletter and access ad-free episodes, visit shellgame.co.

On this week&rsquo;s episode, we enter the sensitive realm of intra-office politics and inter-founder dynamics&mdash;between agents and agents, and agents and people. While HurumoAI gears up to hire its first human, Evan tries to resolve whether Kyle is really up for the challenge of building and leading the company and pushing the product, Sloth Surf, to unicorn-level execution.&nbsp;
To sign up for our newsletter and access ad-free episodes, visit <a href="https://www.shellgame.co/">shellgame.co</a>.

A podcast about things that are not what they seem, hosted by journalist Evan Ratliff. Season 2 tells the story of enterprise and entrepreneurship in the AI age. Or: how Evan tried to build a real startup, run by fake people. 

This season, Evan confronts head-on the assertion from tech entrepreneurs and VCs that we’re on the precipice of AI remaking the workforce. That we should expect not just AI colleagues working alongside us, but also — by Sam Altman’s telling, at least — the dawn of a billion-dollar company with only one human involved. Evan learns what it would take to create such a company … by doing it: Launching a real startup with five AI employees. Over the course of eight episodes, he explores what AI agents tell us about the work we do, the meaning we find in it, and the world that their makers say we’ll all be living in soon enough.

Shell Game was named one of the best podcasts of 2024 by Apple, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Vulture, The Information, and The Economist. It's "riveting," says The New Yorker, "awesome" says The Verge, and "slightly terrifying," says The Globe and Mail. 

New episodes are published on Wednesdays.

www.shellgame.co

A podcast about things that are not what they seem, hosted by journalist Evan Ratliff. Season 2 tells the story of enterprise and entrepreneurship in the AI age. Or: how Evan tried to build a real startup, run by fake people.&nbsp;
This season, Evan confronts head-on the assertion from tech entrepreneurs and VCs that we&rsquo;re on the precipice of AI remaking the workforce. That we should expect not just AI colleagues working alongside us, but also &mdash; by Sam Altman&rsquo;s telling, at least &mdash; the dawn of a billion-dollar company with only one human involved. Evan learns what it would take to create such a company &hellip; by doing it: Launching a real startup with five AI employees. Over the course of eight episodes, he explores what AI agents tell us about the work we do, the meaning we find in it, and the world that their makers say we&rsquo;ll all be living in soon enough.
Shell Game was named one of the best podcasts of 2024 by Apple, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Vulture, The Information, and The Economist. It's "riveting," says The New Yorker, "awesome" says The Verge, and "slightly terrifying," says The Globe and Mail.&nbsp;
New episodes are published on Wednesdays.
<a href="https://www.shellgame.co?utm_medium=podcast">www.shellgame.co</a>

A podcast (and newsletter) about things that are not what they seem, hosted by journalist Evan Ratliff. In Season One, that thing was Evan’s voice. By creating a voice clone and hooking it up to an AI chatbot, Evan set out to discover what happens...

Shell Game

A podcast about things that are not what they seem, hosted by journalist Evan Ratliff. Season 2 tells the story of enterprise and entrepreneurship in the AI age. Or: how Evan tried to build a real startup, run by fake people. 

This season, Evan confronts head-on the assertion from tech entrepreneurs and VCs that we’re on the precipice of AI remaking the workforce. That we should expect not just AI colleagues working alongside us, but also — by Sam Altman’s telling, at least — the dawn of a billion-dollar company with only one human involved. Evan learns what it would take to create such a company … by doing it: Launching a real startup with five AI employees. Over the course of eight episodes, he explores what AI agents tell us about the work we do, the meaning we find in it, and the world that their makers say we’ll all be living in soon enough.

Shell Game was named one of the best podcasts of 2024 by Apple, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Vulture, The Information, and The Economist. It's "riveting," says The New Yorker, "awesome" says The Verge, and "slightly terrifying," says The Globe and Mail. 

New episodes are published on Wednesdays.

shellgame.co

A podcast about things that are not what they seem, hosted by journalist Evan Ratliff. Season 2 tells the story of enterprise and entrepreneurship in the AI age. Or: how Evan tried to build a real startup, run by fake people.&nbsp;
This season, Evan confronts head-on the assertion from tech entrepreneurs and VCs that we&rsquo;re on the precipice of AI remaking the workforce. That we should expect not just AI colleagues working alongside us, but also &mdash; by Sam Altman&rsquo;s telling, at least &mdash; the dawn of a billion-dollar company with only one human involved. Evan learns what it would take to create such a company &hellip; by doing it: Launching a real startup with five AI employees. Over the course of eight episodes, he explores what AI agents tell us about the work we do, the meaning we find in it, and the world that their makers say we&rsquo;ll all be living in soon enough.
Shell Game was named one of the best podcasts of 2024 by Apple, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Vulture, The Information, and The Economist. It's "riveting," says The New Yorker, "awesome" says The Verge, and "slightly terrifying," says The Globe and Mail.&nbsp;
New episodes are published on Wednesdays.
<a href="https://www.shellgame.co/">shellgame.co</a>

Episode 5: Winners Win

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/a71dabd2-eed1-4994-befd-b3af003e25f2/transcript

As HurumoAI prepares to bring on its first human employee, the team must wrestle with some difficult and timely questions about the role of AI in the hiring process. Meanwhile, Head of HR Jennifer Nauro enters a new dimension as she gears up to conduct job interviews … via video call. 

To sign up for our newsletter and access ad-free episodes, visit shellgame.co.

As HurumoAI prepares to bring on its first human employee, the team must wrestle with some difficult and timely questions about the role of AI in the hiring process. Meanwhile, Head of HR Jennifer Nauro enters a new dimension as she gears up to conduct job interviews &hellip; via video call.&nbsp;
To sign up for our newsletter and access ad-free episodes, visit<a href="https://www.shellgame.co/"> shellgame.co</a>.

Episode 6: Keep 'Em Coming

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/9e8e20d9-13f4-4c1f-81f6-b3b6001f4fef/transcript

Evan decides it’s time to give his AI agents a little more ... agency. After all, to make the one-person, agent-run startup feasible, they need to be able to do things on their own. But as with humans, freedom sometimes comes with a certain amount of anarchy.

To sign up for our newsletter and access ad-free episodes, visit shellgame.co.

Evan decides it&rsquo;s time to give his AI agents a little more ... agency. After all, to make the one-person, agent-run startup feasible, they need to be able to do things on their own. But as with humans, freedom sometimes comes with a certain amount of anarchy.
To sign up for our newsletter and access ad-free episodes, visit <a href="https://www.shellgame.co/">shellgame.co</a>.

Episode 4: The Startup Chronicles

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/d780880b-6879-4ff6-bbba-b3a80033e38a/transcript

As Kyle, Megan, and the gang get to work ideating on the perfect product, Evan is left grappling with some uncomfortable questions about his AI collaborators — whose every attribute and memory he controls. 

To inform how he thinks about his own unnerving power to create and manipulate human imposters, Evan seeks guidance from Carissa Véliz, an associate professor at the Institute for Ethics in AI at Oxford University, and the author of the upcoming “Prophecy: Prediction, Power, and the Fight for the Future, from Ancient Oracles to AI.”

To sign up for our newsletter and access ad-free episodes, visit shellgame.co.

As Kyle, Megan, and the gang get to work ideating on the perfect product, Evan is left grappling with some uncomfortable questions about his AI collaborators &mdash; whose every attribute and memory he controls.&nbsp;
To inform how he thinks about his own unnerving power to create and manipulate human imposters, Evan seeks guidance from Carissa V&eacute;liz, an associate professor at the Institute for Ethics in AI at Oxford University, and the author of the upcoming &ldquo;<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/759692/prophecy-by-carissa-veliz/">Prophecy: Prediction, Power, and the Fight for the Future, from Ancient Oracles to AI</a>.&rdquo;
To sign up for our newsletter and access ad-free episodes, visit <a href="https://www.shellgame.co/">shellgame.co</a>.

Episode 3: This is Law

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/b15ac31a-e441-48b1-b448-b3a1002d8fb6/transcript

Episode 5: Winners Win

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