The next season of Shell Game arrives November 12.

The next season of Shell Game arrives November 12.

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>

Season 2 Is Coming!

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/03cfbe3b-f13a-4b34-9c59-b37201848e5b/transcript

HurumoAI finally sets sail in the Season 2 finale, and we find out how the world responds to a startup led by AI agents. The company explores new financing avenues and charts the next course for their increasingly merry AI pirate ship, and Kyle meets his true maker.

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

HurumoAI finally sets sail in the Season 2 finale, and we find out how the world responds to a startup led by AI agents. The company explores new financing avenues and charts the next course for their increasingly merry AI pirate ship, and Kyle meets his true maker.
To sign up for our newsletter, access ad-free episodes and browse our merch, visit <a href="https://www.shellgame.co/">shellgame.co</a>.

Episode 8: Launch

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/41a68fd9-fc31-4827-bd69-b3d9004afb18/transcript

HurumoAI’s AI-agent staff welcomes a new hire: Julia, a social media contract worker who is, most importantly, a human. How will a real person integrate into the company culture, such as it is? Evan watches from behind the scenes, fretting over when and how much to intervene. He had anticipated a bumpy onboarding, but is ultimately unprepared for just how choppy Julia’s Hurumo journey becomes.

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

HurumoAI&rsquo;s AI-agent staff welcomes a new hire: Julia, a social media contract worker who is, most importantly, a human. How will a real person integrate into the company culture, such as it is? Evan watches from behind the scenes, fretting over when and how much to intervene. He had anticipated a bumpy onboarding, but is ultimately unprepared for just how choppy Julia&rsquo;s Hurumo journey becomes.
To sign up for our newsletter, access ad-free episodes and browse our merch, visit <a href="http://shellgame.co/" data-stringify-link="http://shellgame.co" data-sk="tooltip_parent">shellgame.co</a>.

Episode 7: Welcome Aboard

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/eabc99c0-34c9-402f-a942-b3d1014922c0/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

Season 2 Is Coming!

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