Kevin Roose is AGI-pilled. Why aren’t you?
Kevin Roose has left The New York Times to launch Machine Gods, a new technology podcast with Casey Newton, and has published a book about the race to build artificial general intelligence (AGI). In an interview, he discusses his move to independent media and the changing AI industry, reflecting on the people and companies driving the push towards AGI.
Roose’s book, *The AGI Chronicles*, examines major frontier AI labs and how their culture has shifted as AI has become a more commercial product. The conversation also looks at the opportunities and economic risks of building media businesses around platforms such as YouTube, and turns towards philosophical questions about AI’s future.
In short
- Kevin Roose and Casey Newton launched the podcast Machine Gods.
- Roose’s new book reports on companies racing to build AGI.
- The interview explores independent media and AI’s future.
Explained simply
Artificial general intelligence, or AGI, is a proposed form of AI that could perform a wide range of tasks at a level comparable to people. There is no agreed test for when a system would count as AGI, and experts disagree about how close current AI is to that point.
A small number of technology companies and research labs are developing powerful AI systems, while competing to attract talent, investment and customers. Their decisions matter because these tools could change how people work and how businesses operate, though their effects and risks remain uncertain.
Kevin Roose is a technology journalist who has covered these companies and the people behind them. His work considers both the commercial race to build AI and the wider questions it raises about who controls the technology and how it may affect society.