Taylor Lorenz’s Power User

Hosted by Taylor Lorenz

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Episodes

215

Latest episode

Aug 2026

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EN-US

About the show

Taylor Lorenz explores how technology and the internet are upending our lives and the world around us. Each week, she explores everything from online fame to emerging platforms, viral phenomena, the creator economy, and much more. Tune in every Wednesday for regular episodes and every Friday for "Free Speech Friday," her series on tech policy and the fight for civil liberties online.

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60 recent

September 4, 202630 min

ICE Is Hunting Down TikTok Journalists

ICE shot a TikTok journalist covering raids in Los Angeles then locked him in desert detention for 300 days (he is still there) with a festering gunshot wound, worms in his drinking water and cockroaches in his cell. This is the story of Carlitos Ricardo Parias known online as Richard LA or Richard Noticias LA and what it reveals about the war on independent journalism under the guise of "kids online safety" and "cracking down on social media addiction." SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at https://www.usermag.co Support my work on Patreon: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz In this episode of Free Speech Friday, I'm joined by Adam Rose, Deputy Director of Advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, to investigate the horrifying case of Richard Parias. Richard is an independent community journalist in Los Angeles who spent months documenting immigration sweeps, neighborhood stories, and ICE activities directly on TikTok and Instagram. After being struck by an ICE vehicle, ambushed on a quiet residential street, and shot by a federal agent who juggled his sidearm between hands, Richard found himself trapped in a dystopian legal nightmare. Despite having all criminal charges dropped, federal agents erased surveillance footage of the incident and sent Richard to a sweltering detention facility in the Mojave Desert, where he is still trapped and struggling to get basic medical care. Adam's story: https://theintercept.com/2026/08/16/ricardo-parias-ice-detention-journalist-los-angeles/ (PLEASE SHARE!!!!) We break down how independent journalism has evolved away from legacy newsrooms into livestreams, citizen journalism, and social media content creators, and how the government is pushing "kids online safety" laws to aggressively unmask journalists, enact real-name ID mandates via "age verification", and sweeping digital censorship laws, all under the guise of child safety.

September 2, 202642 min

Inside the Towns Saying Hell No to AI Data Centers w/ Jasmine Sun

Small towns across America are revolting against massive AI data centers. SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at https://www.usermag.co Support my work on Patreon: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz To listen to the full episode and get access to more bonus episodes, an ad-free listening experience, and my weekly newsletter, subscribe to my Patreon or Substack 👇🏻 Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at ⁠https://www.usermag.co⁠ Support my work on Patreon: ⁠http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz⁠ In this episode of Power User, journalist Jasmine Sun breaks down her on-the-ground reporting across Wisconsin, Michigan, and New York to uncover why Republicans and Democrats are joining forces to halt Big Tech’s infrastructure expansion. From secret NDAs signed by local officials to skyrocketing electricity bills, strained power grids, and broken economic promises, we examine how the demands of generative AI are affecting local communities. We also dive into the real environmental impacts (from water consumption myths to the real problems related to natural gas) and discuss how the current compute buildout is creating a speculative bubble. Jasmine gets into how distrust of Big Tech is shaping the AI backlash, why previous development failures like Foxconn still influence Midwestern communities, and what the United States can learn from China's approach to AI infrastructure.

August 28, 202635 min

Congress Wants to Track Every Device You Own

A New Law That Could Destroy Open Source Forever SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at https://www.usermag.co Support my work on Patreon: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz To listen to the full episode and get access to more bonus episodes, an ad-free listening experience, and my weekly newsletter, subscribe to my Patreon or Substack 👇🏻 Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at ⁠https://www.usermag.co⁠ Support my work on Patreon: ⁠http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz⁠ The US Senate recently introduced the Digital Age Assurance Act, a sweeping piece of legislation that could fundamentally alter how every operating system and internet-connected device works. Under the guise of "protecting children online," this bill threatens to mandate ID verification directly into operating systems (not just social media or the internet, but operating systems themselves). This would impact everything from smartphones to PCs to open-source software like Linux. Obviously, this has huge implications for privacy, free speech, and the future of open-source development. On this week's Free Speech Friday, I sat down with Laz Pieper and Peter Van Valkenburgh from Coin Center to break down their viral Substack piece, "The Correct Term for Age Verification is Censorship." We dive deep into how turning open-source coders into regulated service providers violates First Amendment rights, how mass identity verification systems are dangerous, why the line between safety mandates and government surveillance is disappearing so fast, and what we can do to stop this law.

August 26, 202637 min

The Pause AI Movement Is Winning

The movement to pause AI is gaining momentum, but can anyone actually stop the race toward more powerful artificial intelligence? SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at https://www.usermag.co Support my work on Patreon: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz To listen to the full episode and get access to more bonus episodes, an ad-free listening experience, and my weekly newsletter, subscribe to my Patreon or Substack 👇🏻 Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at ⁠https://www.usermag.co⁠ Support my work on Patreon: ⁠http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz⁠ In this week's episode of Power User, I’m joined by Washington Post technology journalist Gerrit De Vynck to unpack the growing backlash against AI, the activists calling for a pause on advanced AI development, OpenAI’s decision to slow development of its most advanced models, and the growing political fight over AI data centers. We break down what the Pause AI movement actually wants, why AI safety activists are worried about superintelligence and rogue AI agents, and whether governments could realistically prevent companies from training increasingly powerful models. We also discuss the growing grassroots backlash against AI data centers, Bernie Sanders’ role in the AI debate, the national security argument for continuing the AI race, competition with China, and why companies including OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta and Google have very different incentives when it comes to slowing AI development. Most importantly, we look at a much bigger question: Is the rapid expansion of AI actually inevitable, or could public opposition, regulation and infrastructure constraints meaningfully slow it down??

August 21, 202625 min

AI Text Now Has a Secret Tracking Code

To access an ad-free listening experience, get bonus episodes, and receive my weekly newsletter, subscribe to my Patreon or Substack 👇🏻 Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at ⁠ ⁠https://www.usermag.co⁠ ⁠ Support my work on Patreon: ⁠ ⁠ http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz ⁠ ⁠ Anthropic just announced that Claude and all its AI tools will now watermark every piece of text a user generates, even if it's scientific research or computer code. In this episode of Free Speech Friday, I sit down with Neil Chilson, former FTC Chief Technologist, to break down exactly what AI watermarking is, how the EU AI Act transparency code is forcing this change worldwide, and why this could threaten your privacy and free speech. We explain how probabilistic text watermarking works by subtly altering word choices in AI-generated content, why this creates serious problems for legal documents scientific research and creative writing, and how Anthropic's decision to apply these watermarks globally affects US users who never consented to this tracking. Neil also breaks down the cybersecurity risks, the potential for government overreach, and why open-weight AI models might be the only escape hatch from extraterritorial regulation. If you use Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or any AI writing tool, (or even if you don't!) you need to understand how the EU AI Act transparency requirements are reshaping AI output behind the scenes. We discuss the dangers of compelled speech on digital platforms and what watermarking means for the future of anonymous online expression. SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at ⁠ https://www.usermag.co ⁠ Support my work on Patreon: ⁠ http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz ⁠

August 19, 202633 min

The Truth About Zuck's 6,500 Word AI Manifesto w/ Mike Isaac

Zuckerberg Wants AI to Know Everything About You SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at https://www.usermag.co Support my work on Patreon: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz Mark Zuckerberg just published a massive 6,500-word manifesto laying out an aggressive vision for the future of AI. But is this really about democratizing technology, or is it a desperate PR move to catch up with OpenAI and Anthropic? I sat down with New York Times technology reporter Mike Isaac, who has covered Zuckerberg and Meta for more than a decade, to unpack what Zuckerberg is really proposing and why Meta is making such an aggressive push into AI right now. We discuss Meta's battle with OpenAI and Anthropic, Zuckerberg's renewed embrace of open models, the company's massive data center buildout, the backlash against AI infrastructure, and why Meta may be trying to position itself as the alternative to the AI safety movement. We also get into the biggest problem with Zuckerberg's vision, and Mike explains why Zuckerberg is suddenly talking to the media again, how far behind Meta really is in the AI race, what the company's next generation of AI agents could look like, and what to watch for at Meta Connect. To get access to ad-free listening and my weekly newsletter, subscribe to my Patreon or Substack 👇🏻 Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at ⁠https://www.usermag.co⁠ Support my work on Patreon: ⁠http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz⁠

August 17, 20267 min

[PATREON PREVIEW] Inside America's First Venture Backed Bot Farm

To listen to the full episode and get access to more bonus episodes, an ad-free listening experience, and my weekly newsletter, subscribe to my Patreon or Substack 👇🏻 Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at https://www.usermag.co Support my work on Patreon: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz What happens when startups straight up stop hiring human creators and start leveraging industrial-scale bot farms powered by AI? In this bonus episode of Power User, I sit down with New York Magazine's Rebecca Jennings to discuss her investigation into Doublespeed, a massively viral new venture-backed startup founded by 21-year-old entrepreneur Zuhair Lakhani that aims to replace human influencers with an army of AI-generated personas. They've already raised over $1 million from Andreessen Horowitz. From sneaker botting and manufactured restaurant waitlists to operating thousands of cold Android phones from a desktop computer, Rebecca and I unpack the dark mechanics and patterns behind these bot armies running on phone farms in LA. We also discuss the total atrophy of the internet as we know it. We break down how AI bot farms work, why brands are turning to AI instead of human influencers, and how Silicon Valley is turning manufactured virality into a business. We also discuss the explosion of AI slop, the future of the influencer industry, the death of online authenticity, AI advertising, political manipulation, human verification and what happens when bots become indistinguishable from real people.

August 14, 202626 min

Your iPhone Could Send You to Jail: The Terrifying Truth About Prairieland

Inside the Case That Could Change Protesting Forever FOR AD-FREE EPISODES SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at https://www.usermag.co Support my work on Patreon: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz This week on Free Speech Friday, I sat down with independent investigative journalist Andrew Fedorov, whose bombshell Mother Jones piece reveals the horrors of the Prairieland case, which was one of the harshest protest sentencing outcomes in modern U.S. history. Activists who gathered outside a Texas ICE detention center on July 4th are now facing sentences ranging from 30 to 100 years, with combined sentencing for the group reaching over 580 years. Andrew sat in the courtroom for the entire trial, interviewed the defendants' friends and families, and pieced together a detailed timeline of what actually happened that night. We break down the real story of how these activists were persecuted and how the government built its case using Signal chats and iCloud backups. We break down: Who the Prairieland activists actually are and how they got involved What really happened outside the ICE facility on July 4th How the government used signal chats, iCloud data, and TikTok activity as evidence Why one man is facing 30 years and deportation for moving a box of zines What these sentences mean for the future of protest and free speech in America Why big tech companies are complying with government subpoenas targeting anti-ICE accounts This is a case everyone should understand because prosecutors are already calling it a successful blueprint, and similar cases are emerging in Minnesota, Washington, and beyond. Read Andrew Fedorov's full investigation, "How Anti-ICE Protesters Became Prisoners in Trump's War on Antifa," linked below. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/07/prairieland-texas-antifa-trial-ice-protesters-terrorism-conspiracy/

August 12, 202631 min

The Insane Collapse of Silicon Valley's 'Nostradamus of AI'

The Wild Rise and Fall of Leopold Aschenbrenner LISTEN AD-FREE!! 👇🏻 Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at https://www.usermag.co Support my work on Patreon: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz Until a week ago, Leopold Aschenbrenner was hailed as the "Nostradamus of AI". A 24-year-old former OpenAI researcher whose 165-page manifesto, Situational Awareness, convinced Silicon Valley and Wall Street that superintelligence was coming faster than anyone expected, his hedge fund ballooned to over $20 billion. Then, it came crashing down. In this episode of Power User, WSJ reporter Berber Jin joins me to break down the meteoric rise and fall of Leopold Aschenbrenner, from his early days in the effective altruism movement and FTX's Future Fund, to his controversial exit from OpenAI, to the margin calls, Citadel bailout, and chaos that unfolded the very same week he got married We discuss what Aschenbrenner's spectacular blowup tells us about Silicon Valley, AI hype, and the rush to bet billions on AI. Follow Berber Jin (Wall Street Journal): https://twitter.com/berber_jin Read Berber's story: https://www.wsj.com/finance/leopold-aschenbrenner-situational-awareness-ai-fund-597633d3

August 7, 202635 min

The Viral Elon Musk Lawsuit Everyone Is Getting Wrong

Everyone got this viral lawsuit totally wrong. FOR AD-FREE EPISODES, BUY A PAID SUBSCRIPTION TO MY PATREON OR SUBSTACK!! SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at https://www.usermag.co Support my work on Patreon: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz This week, a viral story claimed Elon Musk's xAI is suing Minnesota so that he can create AI-generated CS*M. That false claim exploded across social media, but it leaves out the most important part. In this episode of Free Speech Friday, I sit down with First Amendment scholar Jeff Kosseff to break down Minnesota's new AI law, why xAI is challenging it, why major civil liberties orgs like the ACLU are also against the law, and why free speech advocates across the country say the law raises serious concerns. This convo is NOT defending Elon Musk. It is about understanding how AI regulation can produce unintended consequences and why even laws that claim to do good can do immense harm to us all. We discuss: The $500,000-per-image penalties facing AI companies How the law could affect image generators, creative software, and indie developers Why First Amendment scholars are sounding the alarm The risks of strict liability for AI platforms The chilling effect on online speech and creative expression Whether AI-generated content deserves First Amendment protection How this compares to Section 230, FOSTA-SESTA, and the Take It Down Act Why regulating platforms instead of bad actors may have unintended consequences