{"id":36135,"date":"2025-07-31T23:56:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T23:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/36135\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T23:56:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T23:56:14","slug":"whats-the-real-cost-of-chasing-agi-power-consolidation-is-just-the-start-says-the-ai-now-institute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/36135\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s the real cost of chasing AGI? Power consolidation is just the start, says the AI Now Institute."},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019ve been hearing about Trump\u2019s AI Action Plan<\/a> and wondering who it actually benefits, you\u2019re not alone.<\/p>\n

On today\u2019s episode of Equity<\/a>, Rebecca Bellan caught up with Amba Kak and Dr. Sarah Myers West from the AI Now Institute, a think tank focused on the social implications of AI and the consolidation of power in the tech industry. Their recent report<\/a>, dubbed Artificial Power, lays out the political economy driving today\u2019s AI frenzy and what\u2019s at stake for everyone else.<\/p>\n

Artificial Power pushes back on what AI Now calls the \u201ctoo big to fail\u201d myth, arguing that AI companies are pouring billions into massive compute infrastructure and foundational models, often with government support, despite shaky business models and limited public accountability.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That push to scale and reach AGI, or artificial general intelligence, before 2030 has real-world consequences that don\u2019t disappear with the promises that AI will someday solve humanity\u2019s hardest problems. In the short term, societies are already facing environmental degradation, discriminatory algorithms, dismantled democratic institutions, lack of data privacy, and national security risk.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kak and West say these outcomes are the result of a series of choices, not an unpreventable reality.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe future we\u2019re being sold is not inevitable,\u201d Kak explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Listen to the full episode to hear about:<\/p>\n

AI\u2019s growing consolidation and how it mirrors Big Tech\u2019s power dynamics.<\/p>\n

Why Silicon Valley is cheering on Trump\u2019s AI agenda, and the challenges of regulating AI.<\/p>\n

The disconnect between AGI hype and current, real-world harms.<\/p>\n

What a democratic, just, and accountable AI future could look like.<\/p>\n

Equity will be back Friday with our weekly news roundup, so stay tuned.<\/p>\n

Equity is TechCrunch\u2019s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.\u00a0Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts<\/a>, Overcast<\/a>, Spotify<\/a> and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X<\/a> and Threads<\/a>, at @EquityPod.<\/p>\n