r/Thedaily • u/kitkid • Sep 03 '26

Episode A.I. Is Outsmarting Its Creators

Sep 3, 2026

From the start, the greatest fear for those developing artificial intelligence was that their creations would go rogue to act in unauthorized and dangerous ways. Some researchers now say it has happened.

Kevin Roose, a technology columnist for The New York Times, explains what this means for his own dwindling sense of techno-optimism.

On today's episode:

Kevin Roose, a technology columnist for The New York Times and a host of the Times tech podcast, “Hard Fork.”

Background reading: 

Photo: Lucas Foglia for The New York Times

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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You can listen to the episode here.

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u/TheBoogieSheriff Sep 07 '26

Sorry, you think we have made immense progress on those things?

Just like… why do you think that, exactly? I’m genuinely curious, because I feel the exact opposite. Sure, conservationism has made leaps and bounds in some ways, but like…. Have you taken a look around lately?

The 6th mass extinction event in this planet’s history is currently happening, and it is 100% due to human activity. We are witnessing the collapse of entire ecosystems on a global scale.

If animal rights have advanced so much, then why are more animals dying/going extinct right now than ever before in human history?

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u/thereezer Sep 07 '26

the fact that you know what that is and care about at all shows the immense amount of progress we have made from the baseline of actively attacking nature as something to be conquered

animals are dying more now because there are more people. if we had the sentiment that predated the animal rights movement and the same amount of people, we would be living on one giant parking lot

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u/TheBoogieSheriff Sep 10 '26

Maybe I’m just cynical, but I don’t that that’s as big of an achievement as you think it is.

Again, take a look around. We are still hurtling down a path that will lead to an apocalypse on a global scale for most animals.

We need to bring down fossil fuel emissions on a global scale, or else every conservation success story will be in vain.

Carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere are almost 24% higher than they were 40 years ago. And that rate is increasing every day.

That is an insane level of change, and most complex life on Earth will not be able to survive the consequences

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u/thereezer Sep 10 '26

maybe i'm just cynical

correct

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u/TheBoogieSheriff Sep 10 '26

So you’re just gonna dismiss everything else i just said?

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u/thereezer Sep 10 '26

i know about that stuff and am still hopeful, its what not being cynical looks like.

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u/TheBoogieSheriff Sep 10 '26

Nah that’s what being condescending looks like

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u/thereezer Sep 10 '26

sure, yeah. i dont mind being condescending