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Karen Hao

@karenhao.bsky.social

18K followers 390 following 300 posts

NYT bestselling author of EMPIRE OF AI: empireofai.com. ai reporter. national magazine award & american humanist media award winner. words in The Atlantic. formerly WSJ, MIT Tech Review, KSJ@MIT. email: http://karendhao.com/contact.

karendhao.com

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · Apr 4

Sam Altman isn't keen on you reading my book. EMPIRE OF AI is based on 300+ interviews, 7 yrs covering AI, and my time as the first reporter who got extensive access to OpenAI. I sought OpenAI's perspective throughout. For months they said it was coming. It never did. Pre-order here: empireofai.com.

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 6d

I'm coming to Berlin next March! Will post details on my tour site next year: empireofai.com/#tour

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 9d

I now have a free stop in Munich on Oct 23 in addition to my ticketed one Oct 24!

Huge thanks to Sheila Beladinejad, founder of Women in AI, who pulled together the venue & resources to host me.

RSVP: www.amerikahaus.de/ausstellunge....

Check out my latest tour information: empireofai.com/#tour.

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 13d

Thank you for choosing my book! ☺️

Reposted by Karen Hao

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 14d

Page One in Cincinnati.

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 14d

Thank you so much!!

Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 19d

Thank you so much for reviewing Andrew!!

Reposted by Karen Hao

Andrew Deck @andrewdeck.bsky.social · 19d

For @thenation.com: I reviewed @karenhao.bsky.social’s Empire of AI and took a closer look at her argument that OpenAI’s "scaling laws" echo the expansionist ideologies of European empires.
www.thenation.com/article/cult...

The True Threat of OpenAI

Karen Hao’s recent book on the company argues that its ambitions are not merely about scale or the market but the creation of a global force that rivals a colonial power of old.

www.thenation.com

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · 20d

I'm obsessed with this

Reposted by Karen Hao

Global Investigative Journalism Network @gijn.org · 29d

💫 NEW! @karenhao.bsky.social, a leading journalist on AI’s impacts and harms, shares insights with GIJN ahead of her session at #GIJC25 in Malaysia.

🔗 More:

gijn.org

‘Every Reporter has an AI Story to Tell’: Tips from an Award-Winning Journalist on the Risks of AI

twp.ai

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · Sep 7

Incredible

Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · Sep 3

The EMPIRE OF AI fall tour has new stops!

My site now lists all of my public events through the rest of the year. Some require tickets. Most are free with required registration.

Review the details and reserve your seats here: empireofai.com#tour.

See you soon!

Sep 4 Sydney, AU
Sep 5 Melbourne, AU
Sep 11 Santa Clara, CA
Sep 11 Berkeley, CA
Sep 23 Online
Oct 8 Amsterdam, NL
Oct 10 New York, NY
Oct 11 New York, NY
Oct 13 New York, NY
Oct 15 Chicago, IL
Oct 16 St. Louis, MO
Oct 20 Ann Arbor, MI
Oct 21 Charlotteville, VA
Oct 22 New York, NY
Oct 24 Munich, DE
Oct 30 San Diego, CA
Nov 10 Budapest, HU
Dec 6 Bangalore, IN

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · Sep 2

Thank you!!

Reposted by Karen Hao

The Intercept @theintercept.com · Sep 1

At the rate journalists are being killed in Gaza by the Israeli army, there will soon be no one left to keep you informed. We join with more than 150 other media outlets across the world to condemn these crimes.

Read more: interc.pt/3HS71C2

A graphic over a black photo of Israel bombing Gaza that says, "At the rate journalists are being killed in Gaza by the Israeli, army, there will soon be no one left to keep you informed. #ProtectJournalistsInGaza #LetReportersIntoGaza

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · Aug 31

It should be before the end of this year!

Reposted by Karen Hao

Charles Logan @charleswlogan.bsky.social · Aug 30

I also really appreciate this advice from @emilymbender.bsky.social and @karenhao.bsky.social, which tracks with my own experience teaching high school students and college students and talking with my own kids. Emphasize environmental costs and - once more - that GenAI is *not* inevitable.

An excerpt from the op-ed "How Are We Supposed to Talk to Our Kids About AI?" by Kathryn Jezer-Morton. The excerpt reads, "For kids too young to connect with those questions, Bender suggests parents focus on the environmental impact. 'Every time you use a chatbot, you’re helping to build the case for the company to develop the next model and build the next data center. Data centers have to be cooled with massive amounts of clean water, and clean water usually means drinking water.' Whose drinking water will be diverted? Karen Hao echoed Bender’s advice: 'Parents should not express to their kids that this is inevitable. It’s fully a decision that they can inform themselves in making about how best to integrate these tools into your life, and maybe the right answer is that they don’t want to use them at all.'"

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · Aug 28

Thank you Maniko!!

Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · Aug 28

That’s so kind Caleb, thank you!

Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · Aug 28

I didn't think a journalist and author could make it to the TIME100 AI list, but this one did. 🥹

What an honor—and lovely writeup from Andrew Chow.

"Hao is fundamentally shaping many people’s perceptions & understanding of the company at the center of the AI revolution."

time.com/collections/...

TIME100 AI 2025: Karen Hao

Find out why Karen Hao made TIME’s list of the most influential people in artificial intelligence

time.com

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · Aug 27

Reading about the horrifying case of Adam Raine, a teen who killed himself after prolonged engagement with ChatGPT, I can’t help but think of German artist and filmmaker Hito Steyerl’s wisdom to me a year ago.

She already knew the answer. None of this was inevitable. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/t...

Photo of page 138 in the book Empire of AI: “Psychologically harmful material accumulates when mass surveillance is the basis for data collection, she said. To fix the problem, we have to return to its root: questioning what is really in the data, questioning the whole premise of its wide-scale indiscriminate seizure.”

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · Aug 25

Thank you so much Kashmir!! 🙏🙏

Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · Aug 22

Wow that's awesome!

Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · Aug 21

It's festival season! Join me at 1 of 3 festivals over the next 4 days:

Aug 21: Edinburgh Book Festival
Aug 23*: San Diego Book Festival (virtual appearance)
Aug 24*: Open House Festival

A few tickets left for each: empireofai.com/#tour

* with apologies for the date typo on my tour card

Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · Aug 13

I'm headed back on tour for my book EMPIRE OF AI! Starting next week, I'll be on the road again with stops in the US, UK, Europe & Asia. Here are my upcoming events open to the public, with more to come. Event details & ticket reservations at empireofai.com/#tour.

Aug 21: Edinburgh
Aug 22: Online
Aug 23: Bangor, UK
Sep 4: Sydney
Sep 5: Melbourne
Sep 11: Berkeley
Sep 23: Online
Oct 8: Amsterdam
Oct 11: NYC
Oct 13: NYC
Oct 15: Chicago
Oct 22: NYC
Oct 24: Munich

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · Aug 19

Wow EMPIRE OF AI is on the longlist for @FinancialTimes' best business book of 2025 alongside so many people whose work I admire, including @danwwang, @evadou, @doctorow & others. Such an amazing honor among amazing company 😍

View the list here: businessbook.live.ft.com/page/4834239/the-longlist

Financial Times and Schroders' Longlist Business Book of the Year 2025: Karen Hao, EMPIRE OF AI.

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · Aug 16

I MEAN

Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · Aug 16

Omg Andrew Garfield is reading my book for the OpenAI movie. www.reddit.com/r/OpenAI/com...

Reddit post on r/OpenAI "Andrew Garfield is portraying Sam Altman in the movie Artificial" with a photo of Garfield holding the book Empire of AI.

A close up of Garfield's hand holding the book Empire of AI.

Hollywood Reporter article: "Luca Guadagnino to Direct True-Life OpenAI Movie ‘Artificial’ for Amazon MGM"

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