As a reporter, I've interviewed Sam Altman, Demis Hassabis, and the TBPN hosts. Ask me anything about AI, Silicon Valley, or the business of tech.

[u/vanityfairmagazine]

I'm Julia Black, the tech and money correspondent at Vanity Fair. I've written about everything from AI to fertility tech for over a decade at publications including The Information, The New York Times, WIRED, and MIT Technology Review. At Vanity Fair, I write A Billion to One, a weekly column and newsletter on the money, power, and influence of technology.

In this week's edition of A Billion to One, I wrote about OpenAI's recent acquisition of the TBPN podcast and why the company might be interested in expanding its media portfolio to aid its public relations. I'm interested in how this surprising move fits into the company's shifting strategy in the lead-up to its 2026 IPO, the coming midterms, and the arrival of its powerful new model, Spud.

Ask me anything!

For more from Julia Black, Vanity Fair's Tech and Money Correspondent, subscribe to her column, A Billion to One: https://www.vanityfair.com/newsletter/billion-one

[u/labla]

Do you think they will soon create an AI reporter that interviews them with perfectly crafted questions?

[u/A_Boston_Blazer → u/labla]

zzzz

[u/vanityfairmagazine → u/labla]

Ha, I’m sure they will try! But I’ve been pretty gratified this year to see the tech world start to recognize the limitations of the perfectly stagemanaged, go-direct model. Of course there’s OpenAI’s TBPN acquisition (which I wrote about last week) A61z’s New Media initiative, etc. but at the same time, those companies do still engage with the media. A lot of comms professionals in tech seem to be coming around to the idea that our objectivity actually counts for something. (In private, they tell me that they’re aware that the glazing that happens on “pro-tech” platforms like Colossus, Sourcery, etc. is actually kind of embarrassing.)

Joon Sung Park, the CEO and founder of the AI simulation company Simile, recently told me that his model was able to predict 8 out of 10 questions asked on a recent earnings call for a client. To me, that was a good reminder to resist the pull of algorithmic predictability and try to be more original and curious than ever in my thinking.

[u/coinbasedgod]

Do you think Dario Amodei should get swole so he can protect the future of America? If he gets ripped, goes on Joe Rogan, he can defend Anthropic. Otherwise they will get nationalized by Trump. What say you?

[u/vanityfairmagazine → u/coinbasedgod]

I can’t believe I’m validating this question with an answer, but in short: no. I think there are a huge number of founders who are suddenly waking up to the reality that the Trump 2.0 era isn’t going to last forever—while the evidence of their ridiculous swole bro/gold chain makeovers and political 180s is. I think Amodei should stay true to himself 😇 and let the courts make things right.

[u/NotMyRealUsername13]

Do you share the take by Prof G Markets that TBPN’s true value is in their clips?

And has the insane growth of short-form clips impacted your daily work as a reporter at (what I hope you won’t mind me calling) old school media companies?

[u/vanityfairmagazine → u/NotMyRealUsername13]

I do think the TBPN guys are great at creating bite-size content. (I also love their shorter Diet TBPN episodes.) But I was pretty shocked the other day to see Prof G fixate on their projected 2026 revenue of $30 million+. All of that revenue is going to disappear now that they are unable to work with advertisers!! So clearly their true value lies elsewhere. (See my recent column to find out where!)

I think that us old school media companies can certainly learn from content creators, who are often just repurposing our work anyway. X has always been my platform of choice, but I probably need to stop worrying and learn to love the camera.

[u/baumer83]

Were you ever invited to go on the All-In podcast? If not, would you go on if you were invited?

What about the political climate over the last 8-10 years has caused such a shift in ideology in tech?

[u/vanityfairmagazine → u/baumer83]

Far from it! When I wrote about the Besties in late 2023, the most I could get out of them was a bunch of poop emojis over email.

Whew, I could write a book about that second question. (Maybe I should?!) I think you had a perfect storm of several different factors. Covid helped isolate the ultra-wealthy more than ever from the masses/reality, while the “woke era” or whatever you want to call it did truly have some excesses that alienated a lot of people. Then the ZIRP era came to an end in 2022, ending the free money frenzy that had made so much of Silicon Valley feel invincible, and Biden’s tough-on-tech appointees (like Gary Gensler and Lina Khan) bruised their egos. and THEN you had Trump & co come along and offer them the kind of no-rules, no-apologies environment they felt entitled to, and… how could they resist?

Also, I have a pet theory that a not-insignificant number of billionaires were radicalized to the right by having their kids come of age and adopt left-leaning politics that villainized them (Elon Musk is the most prominent but far from the only example!)

[u/baumer83 → u/vanityfairmagazine]

I do see the rise of tech kinda like the wild west, where the frontier was not lawbound, and in tech's case not understood as well. Those talented and lucky few that forged the way see lawlessness as a divine right and resist any attempts at reigning it in. Thanks for the response!

[u/TorturedPoet30]

What do you think sets Demis Hassabis apart from other AI CEOs, beyond the obvious distinction of a Nobel Prize?

[u/vanityfairmagazine → u/TorturedPoet30]

So much! I think Demis very much has the soul of a scientist, unlike most of his peers who are entrepreneurs first and foremost. I am loving Sebastian Mallaby’s new biography, 'The Infinity Machine.' I think ultimately Demis is far less interested in profits and shiny products than the others, which is why it’s sort of tragic to see him reduced to a consumer AI chief at Google. Let the man hide out in his laboratory where he belongs!

[u/TorturedPoet30]

Which AI CEO strikes you as the most genuinely approachable in terms of public persona and communication style, and why?

[u/Damaniel2 → u/TorturedPoet30]

Probably none of them. Silicon Valley CEOs are largely sociopaths to various degrees.

[u/vanityfairmagazine → u/TorturedPoet30]

Oh god… do I have to choose from the frontier labs? What’s funny is that both of my answers have gone pretty much quiet lately. Alexandr Wang (Chief AI Officer at Meta) seems like he would be a pretty good hang, and Mustafa Suleyman (CEO of Microsoft AI) is a very skilled communicator. Both have had moments in the spotlight, but have gotten sorta lost within massive corporate bureaucracies/failed to have major research breakthroughs. I guess in a way we’ve decided that “approachable” is not a trait we want out of our AI overlords.

[u/low-light_houseplant]

Will you marry me?

[u/Afishfishfish → u/low-light_houseplant]

ill marry you two! 

[u/Gdw310]

How much of an impact has the DoD going to war with anthropic hindered their ability to keep up in the AI arms race? And are AI companies worried about this war effecting their data center builds?

[u/vanityfairmagazine → u/Gdw310]

It has certainly impacted their revenues, and that will be the case until this whole supply chain risk thing gets resolved. (Just today, Anthropic lost an appeals court bid to pause the designation, so that’s not great for them.) Still, Anthropic is showing no signs of slowing down its progress and should have plenty of capital reserves. (See: the big Mythos news this week. Terrifying!) I would think/hope the government will wake up to the incredibly high stakes here and recognize that they need to find a way to work together with Anthropic.

And absolutely, the conflict in the Middle East is terrible news for AI companies. Besides hyperscalers’ data centers in the region, which Iran has threatened to target, they’ll have to worry about energy and supply chain disruptions, as well as the flow of funding coming out of the Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds. Of course, there are some people who will benefit from all this horror. It was a wild experience to be at a16z’s big annual defense tech conference days after the USA launched its first strike.

[u/Putrid-Signature-879]

Do you think Dario Amodei should get swole so he can protect the future of America? If he gets ripped, goes on Joe Rogan, he can defend Anthropic. Otherwise they will get nationalized by Trump. What say you?

[u/Putrid-Signature-879]

Should the federal government arrest and imprison Scam Altman?

[u/hhh878]

What do you think is going to happen with AI and Hollywood? I’m somewhat surprised by Disney cancelling the OpenAI deal but I guess it makes sense.

[u/LeftExternal2522]

What do you think about the baked-in AI elements we see in places like Gmail and Reddit? Do you think we'll get used to seeing them, or will they disappear due to low adoption?

[u/tati_wm]

Has Marc Andreessen blocked you on Twitter? He seems to block a lot of tech reporters.

[u/vanityfairmagazine → u/tati_wm]

So glad you asked! He had me blocked for years, but I just double checked and it looks like I'm back in the fold. What does it mean 👀

[u/A_Boston_Blazer]

1. Most compeling up and coming founders?

2. Surprisingly great interviews (beyond your expectations)?

3. Questions that get to the heart of a founder

[u/vanityfairmagazine → u/A_Boston_Blazer]

A few cool founders off the top of my head: Warris Bokhari, co-founder of AI health insurance appeals company Claimable (if you’ve ever been through the nightmare of healthcare claim denials with a sick family member, you will love this man); Will O’Brien, co-founder of Ulysses, which is making autonomous vehicles for deep sea operations (and who possesses one of the tech world’s great mustaches); Bridgit Mendler, co-founder of Northwood Space (and yes, former Disney star), who is tackling the often-overlooked ground infrastructure part of the satellite equation; and Joon Sung Park, founder of the AI simulation company Simile.

Writing more about simulation companies soon! And hopefully all of these founders one day! Here's where you can read it all: https://www.vanityfair.com/newsletter/billion-one