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muckrAIkers

muckrAIkers

Written by: Jacob Haimes and Igor Krawczuk
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About this listen

 Join us as we dig a tiny bit deeper into the hype surrounding "AI" press releases, research papers, and more. Each episode, we'll highlight ongoing research and investigations, providing some much needed contextualization, constructive critique, and even a smidge of occasional good will teasing to the conversation, trying to find the meaning under all of this muck.© Kairos.fm Science
Episodes
  • Big Tech Plans to Move Fast and Break Democracy

    Big Tech Plans to Move Fast and Break Democracy
    Feb 9 2026

    We're talking about developments in AI while those in power have unapologetically revealed their true fascist intensions; are we spending our time in the right way? Igor and I discuss the importance of shining a light on the techno-authoritarians who have played a very significant role in current state-of-the-world.

    While we discuss the murders of Nicole Good and Alex Pretti during this episode, it's important that we also acknowledge the many marginalized people who have died as a result of ICE's behavior, and they same level of outcry didn't happen. Six additional individuals died in ICE custody under suspicious circumstances between January 1st and 25th of 2026: Victor Manuel Díaz, Geraldo Lunas Campos, Luis Gustavo Núñez Cáceres, Luis Beltrán Yáñez-Cruz, Parady La, and Heber Sánchez Domínguez.

    Chapters

    • (00:00) - | Introduction
    • (03:57) - | The Authoritarian Stack
    • (08:33) - | Palantir & Theil-Government Consolidation
    • (13:44) - | Move Fast & Break Everything
    • (23:14) - | Fascism in the US & Starving the Beast
    • (39:48) - | Finding Local Opportunities for Action

    Critical Links
    Below are the most important links for this episode. For more, visit the episode page on Kairos.fm.
    • The Authoritarian Stack website
    • Project 2025 Observer website
    • EFF report - ICE Using Palantir Tool Feeds on Medicaid Data
    • The Guardian article - Eight people have died in dealings with ICE so far in 2026. These are their stories
    • Indivisible website
    • Distributed AI Research Institute projects
    • EAAMO website - Mechanism Design for Social Good
    • Carlos Maza video - How To Be Hopeless
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    49 mins
  • AI Skeptic PWNED by Facts and Logic

    AI Skeptic PWNED by Facts and Logic
    Jan 12 2026

    Igor shares a significant shift in his perspective on AI coding tools after experiencing the latest Claude Code release. While he's been the stronger AI skeptic between the two of us, recent developments have shown him genuine utility in specific coding tasks, but this doesn't validate the hype or change the fundamental critiques.

    We discuss what "rote tasks" are and why they're now automatable with enough investment, the difference between genuine utility and AGI claims, and why this update actually impacts our bubble analysis. We explore how massive investment has finally produced something useful for a narrow domain, but it doesn't mean the technology is generalizable or that AGI is real.

    Chapters

    • (00:00) - | Introduction
    • (05:07) - | What Changed Igor’s Mind
    • (18:27) - | Rote Tasks Explained
    • (23:31) - | How Does This Impact our Bubble Analysis?
    • (30:48) - | AGI Is Still BS
    • (34:07) - | Externalities Remain Unchanged
    • (37:49) - | Final Thoughts & Outro

    Links
    • Related muckrAIkers episode - Tech Bros Love AI Waifus

    Bubble Talk

    • OfficeChai startup - OpenAI Hasn’t Completed A Successful Full-Scale Pretraining Run Since GPT-4o In May 2024, Says SemiAnalysis
    • Vechron report - Anthropic Prepares for Potential 2026 IPO in Bid to Rival OpenAI
    • YCombinator Forum post on AI crash
    • YCombinator Forum post on OpenAI adopting Anthropic's "skills"
    • YCombinator Forum post on OpenAI rumors
    • YCombinator Forum post on OpenAI add suggestions

    Other Sources

    • LinkedIn post discussing an agentic coding vibe shift
    • Executive Order - Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence
    • Inside Tech Law blogpost - Germany delivers landmark copyright ruling against OpenAI: What it means for AI and IP
    • NeurIPS 2025 paper - Ascent Fails to Forget
    • NBER working paper - Large Language Models, Small Labor Market Effects
    • Dwarkesh Podcast blogpost - RL is even more information inefficient than you thought
    Show More Show Less
    39 mins
  • Tech Bros Love AI Waifus

    Tech Bros Love AI Waifus
    Dec 15 2025
    OpenAI is pivoting to porn while public sentiment turns decisively against AI. Pew Research shows Americans are now concerned over excited by a 2:1 margin. We trace how we got here: broken promises of cancer cures replaced by addiction mechanics and expensive APIs. Meanwhile, data centers are hiding a near-recession, straining power grids, and literally breaking your household appliances. Drawing parallels to the 1970s AI winter, we argue the bubble is shaking and needs to pop now, before it becomes another 2008. The good news? Grassroots resistance works. Protests have already blocked $64 billion in data center projects.NOTE: The project that we cite for the $64 billion blockage is actually a pro-data-center campaign. The numbers still seem ok, but it's worth being aware of.Chapters(00:00) - - Introduction (06:45) - - The Addiction Business Model (10:15) - - Public Sentiment Data (22:45) - - Data Centers and Infrastructure Problems (36:30) - - The Bubble Discussion (44:36) - - Closing Thoughts & OutroLinksPublic Sentiment on AIPew Research report - How People Around the World View AIPew Research report - How the U.S. Public and AI Experts View Artificial IntelligencePew Research report - How Americans View AI and Its Impact on People and SocietyUniversity of Toronto report - Trust, attitudes and use of artificial intelligence: A global study 2025Melbourne Business School report - Key findings on public attitudes towards AIThe Washington Post article - Americans have become more pessimistic about AI. Why?The New York Times article - From Mexico to Ireland, Fury Mounts Over a Global A.I. FrenzyThe Guardian article - ‘It shows such a laziness’: why I refuse to date someone who uses ChatGPTThe Register article - OpenAI's ChatGPT is so popular that almost no one will pay for itAI and Claims of Curing CancerRachel Thomas, PhD blogpost - “AI will cure cancer” misunderstands both AI and medicineThe Atlantic article - OpenAI Wants to Cure Cancer. So Why Did It Make a Web Browser?Independent article - ChatGPT boss predicts when AI could cure cancerThe Atlantic article - AI Executives Promise Cancer Cures. Here’s the RealityAI Porn and the Addiction EconomyForbes article - ChatGPT Will Allow ‘Erotica’ After Easing Mental Health Restrictions, Sam Altman SaysThe Addiction Economy websitePPC article - OpenAI is staffing up to turn ChatGPT into an ad platformTom Nicholas video - Vape-o-nomics: Why Everything is Addictive NowAI BubbleFast Company article - AI isn’t replacing jobs. AI spending isPivot to AI article - The finance press finally starts talking about the ‘AI bubble’Fortune article - Without data centers, GDP growth was 0.1% in the first half of 2025, Harvard economist saysThe Atlantic article - Just How Bad Would an AI Bubble Be?The New York Times article - Debt Has Entered the A.I. BoomWill Lockett's Newsletter article - AI Pullback Has Officially StartedReuters article - Michael Burry of 'Big Short' fame is closing his hedge fundBusiness Insider article - The guy who shorted Enron has a warning about the AI boomDatacentersBloomberg article - AI Needs So Much Power, It’s Making Yours WorseData Center Watch report - $64 billion of data center projects have been blocked or delayed amid local oppositionMore Perfect Union video - We Found the Hidden Cost of Data Centers. It's in Your Electric BillDataCenter Knowledge article - Why Communities Are Protesting Data Centers – And How the Industry Can RespondFighting BackKnight First Amendment Institute essay - AI as Normal TechnologyPranksters vs. Autocrats chapter - Laughtivism: The Secret IngredientSPSP article - Playing with Power: Humor as Everyday ResistanceBlood in the Machine article - The Luddite Renaissance is in full swing
    Show More Show Less
    46 mins
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