Taylor Lorenz

Both Parties Are Suing Big Tech To Silence You

11K views · 6d ago · 29:50

Guest: Trace Mitchell

The Government Just Found a New Way to Censor You SUPPORT MY WORK Meta was ordered to pay a staggering $25 billion in a New Mexico lawsuit. But nothing about this landmark case is about protecting consumers. Instead, it's about the government gaining censorship powers over online speech.

Topics: The $25 billion Meta verdict and free speech · What New Mexico's lawsuit is really about · The Meta statements at the center of the case · How consumer protection laws became the legal weapon · How a $25 billion penalty was calculated · Why these lawsuits threaten free speech

AI Just Triggered a Cyber Crisis

60K views · 1w ago · 22:51

Guest: Cooper Quintin

The internet just experienced one of its worst weeks for cybersecurity in recent history. SUPPORT MY WORK Dubbed "Black October" or the "Vulnerability Apocalypse," researchers uncovered critical zero-day flaws in the foundational software that powers over 70% of the web, including PHP, Node.js, and major certificate authorities, right as a wave of hacks hit popular cloud hosting platforms and developer tools.

The Hidden Cost of Age Verification Laws

13K views · 1w ago · 45:45

Why is online age verification so dangerous? SUPPORT MY WORK Online age verification laws and mandatory digital ID bills are sweeping across the US, UK, Europe, and Australia under the guise of protecting children online.

The Real Reason Instagram Feels Worse

27K views · 2w ago · 38:21

Is "enshittification" real, or are we just refusing to take accountability for our own screen time? SUPPORT MY WORK In this episode of Power User, I sat down with NYC-based cyber ethnographer, designer, and NYU professor Ruby Thelot to debate his viral and controversial Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) essay, "Enshittification Isn't Real".

The Big Lie About Body Cameras

14K views · 2w ago · 29:58

Guest: Alec Karakatsanis

Before you call for more body cameras watch this!! If you value my reporting, please, please support my work Body cameras were supposed to hold police accountable. So why is police violence still rising? Why are cops almost never convicted using body cam footage? And why are Democrats (the same politicians who just tripled the ICE budget) now demanding that ICE agents wear body cameras?

The Billionaire Tech Cult That Just Collapsed

86K views · 3w ago · 28:27

Some of Silicon Valley’s wealthiest tech elites have a radical new dream, to abandon modern democracy completely and build their own sovereign nations. At the heart of this movement is a millionaire VC named Balaji Srinivasan and his vision for what he calls the "Network State".

AI Spy Towers Are Secretly Tracking You

19K views · 3w ago · 48:57

Guest: Dave Maass

Have you noticed surveillance cameras appearing in your community? SUPPORT MY WORK For decades, the US-Mexico border has served as a proving ground for invasive, next-generation surveillance tech like AI surveillance towers, cameras hidden in traffic cones, license plate readers, drones, and spy balloons.

People Are Secretly Dating AI And Wont Stop

42K views · 4w ago · 35:10

Why are so many people falling in love with ChatGPT, and what do sensational headlines about AI relationships leave out? SUPPORT MY WORK In this episode of Power User I speak with technology journalist Bridget Todd about AI companions, chatbot romance, emotional attachment, and the Big Tech companies behind these increasingly intimate interactions.

Governments Want Your ID For AI

16K views · 1mo ago · 20:41

Guest: Shoshana Weissman

In this episode of Free Speech Friday, I speak with Shoshana Weissman, digital director and policy advisor at the Abundance Institute, about the growing fight over AI agents, online anonymity and identity verification.

Why Big Tech Wants You to Think AI Is Alive

60K views · 1mo ago · 38:28

Guest: Washington Post

Can AI actually be conscious? And if not, why are some of the biggest AI companies in Silicon Valley pushing this idea? SUPPORT MY WORK In this episode of Power User, I talk with Washington Post tech reporter Nitasha Tiku about the growing push inside companies like Anthropic, Google, Meta, and OpenAI to study AI consciousness, model welfare, digital minds, and whether systems like Claude could ever experience emotions or suffering.

The Internet Can No Longer Tell Who Is Human

31K views · 1mo ago · 28:56

For decades, the entire internet was built on one simple assumption: the person on the other end of the screen is actually human. That assumption is officially dead. SUPPORT MY WORK AI agents are getting good enough to post, argue, browse the web, work, transact, and impersonate humans online. So what happens when the internet can no longer reliably tell the difference between a person and a bot?

The Disturbing Cult Taking Over Silicon Valley

66K views · 1mo ago · 25:37

What happens when Silicon Valley tries to optimize everything, from AI and politics to dating, reproduction, friendship and even human behavior? SUPPORT MY WORK Every year, hundreds of technologists, rationalists, AI researchers, startup founders and prediction market obsessives gather in Berkeley for Manifest. Officially, it’s a conference about prediction markets.

The Global War on Anonymous Speech

22K views · 1mo ago · 28:02

Guest: Sarah McLaughlin

The New Global Plan To Control What You Post SUPPORT MY WORK A new United Nations cybercrime treaty is being sold as a way for governments to fight hacking, phishing, and online fraud. But its sweeping language could also help countries identify anonymous users, obtain data from technology companies, and punish political speech across national borders.

The Dark Money Behind AI Doomer Panic

101K views · 1mo ago · 32:14

Why does everyone suddenly think AI could kill humanity? SUPPORT MY WORK In this episode of Power User, I'm joined by tech journalist Natasha Tiku to investigate the viral claim that AI has a 10% chance of causing human extinction.

Why You Cant Trust YouTube News

81K views · 1mo ago · 27:29

Who is really behind the fastest-growing political channels on YouTube? SUPPORT MY WORK Over the past few months, a massive network of sensational, formulaic channels has pulled in tens of millions of views by gaming the YouTube algorithm.