Taylor Lorenz’s Power User

Hosted by Taylor Lorenz

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Episodes

189

Latest episode

Jun 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

June 12, 202632 min

The Anti-LGBTQ Internet Censorship Bill Is Back

Just in time for Pride month, Marsha Blackburn and the Heritage Foundation's anti-LGBTQ censorship is back (now supported by OpenAI). SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at usermag.co Support my work on Patreon: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) is back, and this time, the White House is reportedly negotiating a deal to pass it in exchange for federal preemption of state AI laws. In this episode of Free Speech Friday, I break down why KOSA is one of the most dangerous internet censorship bills in Congress, why tech billionaires like Sam Altman and Elon Musk actually SUPPORT it, and what the media is getting completely wrong about this so-called "trade-off."I'm joined by Ari Cohn, one of the top First Amendment lawyers in the country, to explain exactly how KOSA's "duty of care" provision will force platforms to mass-censor content, including LGBTQ voices, mental health support communities, reproductive health information, and more. We cover the junk science behind the social media moral panic, the age verification privacy nightmare, how the FTC could become the internet's censor-in-chief, and why we've seen this exact panic before with comic books, video games, and television.Click the link below to take action now!!! https://www.badinternetbills.com In this video, we cover:What the Kids Online Safety Act actually doesHow KOSA could impact social media platformsAge verification and online privacy issuesThe potential effects on LGBTQ communities, mental health resources, and online speechWhy Elon Musk and OpenAI support KOSA.The reality of age verification and the death of online privacy.How KOSA targets niche communities and support groups.

June 10, 202620 min

Exposing OpenAI's Secret Meme Army: A $125M Propaganda Network

Exposing The Dark Money Machine Behind AI PropagandaSUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at usermag.co Support my work on Patreon: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz I break down my investigation into a network of pro-AI and anti-AI meme accounts that I found were secretly being run and funded by OpenAI, Palantir, and Andreessen Horowitz's big $125M super PAC and dark money group. I reveal how these accounts operated, who is connected to them, why they promoted both sides of the AI debate, and how the organization at the center of the story confirmed key aspects of the reporting after publication.I talk about how a self-described “Meme Lord” named Jason Levin, founder of Memelord Technologies was hired by the super PAC, Leading the Future, to create and run sock puppet accounts like “DoomersAreDumb” and “Jonathan Doomer” to attack AI critics, mock disabled people, post violent threats, and even pretend to be an anti-AI activist.OpenAI’s president Greg Brockman donated millions to this campaign. OpenAI’s head of strategy follows these meme accounts. And when confronted, Build American AI confirmed it all.Topics covered:AI propaganda and influence campaignsOpenAI and AI policy politicsDark money groups and Super PACsFake activist accountsAI-generated content networksMeme pages and online manipulationPolitical lobbying and artificial intelligenceSocial media influence operationsTech industry power and public opinion#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #TechNews #OpenAI #SiliconValley #MemeCulture #InvestigativeJournalism #InfluenceCampaign #AIDebate #TechPolicy #PowerUser

June 5, 202617 min

Are You On A Govt Watchlist? Cops Are Tracking Anyone Who Hates AI

Are you on a government watchlist just for criticizing AI? SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at usermag.co Support my work on Patreon for bonus episodes, monthly Q&A livestreams, and more: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz A shocking new investigation from The Intercept reveals that police are tracking seemingly anyone who expresses skepticism or anger about the tech industry online. In this episode of Free Speech Friday, journalist Sam Biddle joins me to dive deep into a terrifying new report from The Intercept exposing how Philadelphia police officers admitted to monitoring legitimate First Amendment activity. Law enforcement documents show that specialized "Fusion Centers" are scanning social media, message boards, and Facebook to flag users posting anti-AI and anti-data center sentiments. Sam and I discuss the post-9/11 surveillance apparatus, how local police use tools like Data Miner to monitor online discussions, and why the Trump administration is aligning with tech billionaires and crypto lobbyists to turn AI into a national security priority. Is your private Signal group chat safe from police infiltration? Why are corporate platforms like Meta incentivized to censor anti-tech activism? We break down the chilling effect of mass surveillance and the elite effort to frame community civics and political advocacy as domestic extremism.SUPPORT INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM:This channel has ZERO sponsors and relies 100% on viewer support! Keep my reporting alive by subscribing:👉 Support on Patreon: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz 👉 Read my Substack Newsletter: https://usermag.co #Surveillance #BigTech #ArtificialIntelligence #FirstAmendment #FreeSpeech #Privacy #DataCenter #TheIntercept #TechNews #CivilLibertiesSUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at usermag.co Support my work on Patreon for bonus episodes, monthly Q&A livestreams, and more: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz

June 3, 202647 min

The Data Center Boom Is More Toxic Than You Think

Are AI data centers destroying the environment, driving up power bills, and consuming massive amounts of water, or is the backlash overblown?SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at usermag.co Support my work on Patreon for bonus episodes, monthly Q&A livestreams, and more: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz In this episode of Power User, I sit down with Wired senior climate and energy reporter Molly Taft to unpack the AI data center boom. We discuss how AI infrastructure actually works, why companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Microsoft, and xAI are racing to build more data centers, and what the environmental consequences could be.We dive into the controversy around electricity demand, fossil fuel expansion, water use, local community opposition, AI infrastructure, data center moratoriums, and whether these facilities are genuinely necessary for the future of artificial intelligence.Topics covered:What AI data centers actually doWhy ChatGPT and AI require so much computeThe environmental impact of AIEnergy consumption and power gridsNatural gas, nuclear, and renewable energyElon Musk's xAI Colossus projectWater usage and cooling systemsCommunity backlash against data centersClimate concerns and AI developmentThe future of AI infrastructureIf you've been seeing headlines about AI data centers, energy crises, environmental impacts, or the race between OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Microsoft, and China, this conversation breaks down what's really happening.#AI #DataCenters #ChatGPT #OpenAI #ArtificialIntelligence #ClimateChange #Technology #TechNews #Energy #Environment

May 29, 202628 min

Visa Could Ruin the Internet

What if you woke up tomorrow and completely lost access to your bank account, credit cards, PayPal, and Venmo, all because of something you posted online? SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at usermag.co Support my work on Patreon for bonus episodes, monthly Q&A livestreams, and more: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz In this episode of Free Speech Friday, Rainey Reitman, advisor at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and author of the new book "Transaction Denied" joins me to dive deep into the terrifying reality of financial censorship and how major banks and payment processors are quietly becoming the ultimate gatekeepers of internet speech. Reitman reveals how a handful of massive financial institutions are bypassing the First Amendment to act as privatized censors, deciding what journalism you can support, what political nonprofits you can donate to, and what ideas are considered "misinformation." From the early financial blockade of WikiLeaks to recent debanking scandals involving independent journalists and nonpartisan advocacy groups, this hidden digital infrastructure controls your life more than you realize. SUPPORT INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM:This channel has ZERO sponsors, and speaking out on financial censorship isn't advertiser-friendly. If you get value from this show, support my work so I can keep making these videos!👉 Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/taylorlorenz 👉 Support on Substack: https://www.usermag.co/subscribe 👉 Pick up a copy of Rainey Reitman's "Transaction Denied" here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/804543/transaction-denied-by-rainey-reitman/ *(Note: Half of all book proceeds go directly to the Freedom of the Press Foundation)*We discuss: The Nightmare of Financial CensorshipHow Payment Processors Got So Much PowerThe Rise of E-Commerce & Speech DependencyPayPal, WikiLeaks, and Chelsea ManningCensorship by Proxy: How the Government Pressures BanksThe Visa Lawsuit That Could Ruin the Internet

May 27, 202644 min

Why AI Doom Content Is Everywhere

Have you noticed your social media feeds suddenly flooding with terrifying content about AI existential risk? From TikTok clips warning about "AI psychosis" to viral YouTube shorts claiming chatbots are pushing people to the brink, the anti-AI movement has taken over the internet... But what if these "anti-AI" influencers aren't actually what they seem?SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at usermag.co Support my work on Patreon for bonus episodes, monthly Q&A livestreams, and more: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz In this week's episode of Power User, Washington Post journalist Natasha Tiku join me to pull back the curtain on the massive, billionaire-funded "anti-AI" astroturf campaign. We track the money and expose how the exact same millionaires and billionaires building the world's largest AI companies (like OpenAI and Anthropic) are quietly paying influencers thousands of dollars to promote AI doomsday scenarios.We dive deep into the 25-year history of the AI safety movement, from Eliezer Yudkowski’s rationalist blogs and Harry Potter fan fiction to Effective Altruism and the "paperclip maximizer" theory. We talk about how Silicon Valley elites are co-opting VERY genuine public anxieties about jobs and real-world harms related to AI technology in order to push their own pro-AI, anti-regulatory agendas.We also talk about how to spot the hidden corporate pipelines, dark money nonprofits, and staged research papers designed to control the narrative around AI. If you're seeing AI doomer videos all over your feed, please watch this one!✨ SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: 👉 Substack Newsletter: http://usermag.co 👉 Patreon: patreon.com/taylorlorenz Nitasha's WaPo story on all this: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/04/18/ai-doom-influencers-safety/

May 22, 202636 min

Elon Musk’s Final Plan: A Dangerous Blueprint For World Domination

Elon Musk has evolved far beyond a billionaire CEO. SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at usermag.co Support my work on Patreon for bonus episodes, monthly Q&A livestreams, and more: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz According to political theorists Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff, Musk has created an entirely new ideology called “Muskism” — a system where technology companies merge with state power, AI shapes politics, and billionaires become more powerful than governments.In this episode of Free Speech Friday, I sit down with Quinn Slobodian, co-author of the new book Muskism, to break down how Elon Musk’s worldview went from Silicon Valley optimism to tech authoritarianism. We discuss Tesla, SpaceX, Starlink, Neuralink, AI censorship, OpenAI, Grok, surveillance, DOGE, data centers, Silicon Valley’s shift toward defense tech, and why Musk’s influence now reaches into every part of society.We also unpack:Elon Musk’s political transformationThe rise of MuskismAI paranoia and “woke AI”Why Silicon Valley is embracing militarizationMusk’s obsession with reproduction and population declineHow SpaceX and Starlink could reshape global powerThe future of AI and surveillance capitalismWhy tech billionaires are becoming impossible to escape

May 20, 202651 min

The AI Job Apocalypse: Silicon Valley Is Bracing for a Permanent Underclass w/ Jasmine Sun

What happens if AI becomes smarter than humans at most jobs?SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at usermag.co Support my work on Patreon for bonus episodes, monthly Q&A livestreams, and more: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz Researchers, economists, and top AI executives are increasingly warning about the rise of a “permanent underclass”, a future where millions of workers lose not just their jobs, but their economic value altogether. In this episode of Power User, I sit down with writer Jasmine Sun to unpack the terrifying idea that artificial intelligence could permanently reshape class, wealth, labor, and power in America.We discuss OpenAI, Anthropic, AGI, automation, white collar layoffs, Silicon Valley ideology, AI job displacement, universal basic income, data center protests, populism, and whether society is prepared for what’s coming next.Could AI destroy upward mobility? Will automation create mass unemployment? Are tech companies being honest about the future they’re building?We cover:The permanent underclass theory explainedWho is actually pushing this ideaOpenAI's shifting stance on job displacementLeading the Future and AI lobbyingWhy AI is different from past tech hypePolicy failures and democratic backlashWhat China is doing differentlyWhat workers should actually do now#AI #Tech #Technology #ArtificialIntelligence #FutureOfWork #AGI #OpenAI #Anthropic #SiliconValley #TechNews #JobAutomation #AIJobs #TechIndustry

May 15, 202641 min

Silicon Valley Is Losing Control w/ Brian Merchant

What’s really driving the growing backlash against AI and Silicon Valley?Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz ⁠ 🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: ⁠https://www.usermag.co From burning data centers to celebrating an attack on Sam Altman’s house, the anti‑tech backlash has escalated. In this episode of Free Speech Friday, I sit down with journalist and author Brian Merchant to unpack the rise of anti AI sentiment, the growing anger toward Big Tech, and why public hostility toward companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google keeps escalating.We discuss:Why the AI backlash exploded so quicklyThe connection between AI fear and distrust in capitalismWhy people are protesting data centersThe rise of anti tech politicsAI doomers and effective altruismSam Altman and Silicon Valley PR failuresWhether AI companies created their own crisisHow automation fears are shaping public opinionWhy people feel powerless against Big TechThe future of AI regulation and resistanceBrian Merchant is the author of Blood in the Machine, a book about the original Luddites and the history of anti technology movements.If you’re interested in AI, ChatGPT, Silicon Valley, automation, tech criticism, labor politics, or the future of the internet, we break down the cultural and political forces shaping the AI era.Subscribe for more interviews and deep dives on AI, internet culture, media, tech, and politics.

May 13, 202644 min

Ben Shapiro’s Empire Is Crumbling w/ Will Sommer

Ben Shapiro’s Media Empire Is CollapsingSupport my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz ⁠ 🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: ⁠https://www.usermag.co For the last decade, Ben Shapiro and The Daily Wire dominated the digital landscape. From Facebook to chart-topping podcasts, they seemed untouchable. But in 2025, the data tells a different story. With a 90% drop in YouTube views, massive layoffs, and the high-profile exit of CEO Jeremy Boreing, the "Conservative Disney" empire is crashing and burning.The Bulwark's Will Sommer joins me on this week's episode of Power User to dive deep into the rise and fall of Ben Shapiro. We break down the explosive internal feud with Candace Owens, the catastrophic failure of his Hollywood ambitions, how a changing Facebook algorithm killed their traffic overnight, and what his fall reveals about the future of conservative media. We cover:The Daily Wire layoffs and financial struggles.Why Ben Shapiro is losing his audience to creators like Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson.The failure of "Anti-Woke" entertainment and the "Conservative Hollywood" dream.How the death of Charlie Kirk created a massive fracture in the MAGA movement.Why Ben Shapiro is irrelevant to Gen Z and Gen Alpha.

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