SCIENCE & TECH: The Surgeon General’s Social Media Warning and A.I.’s Existential Risks

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The U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, says social media poses a “profound risk of harm” to young people. Why do some in the tech industry disagree?

Then, Ajeya Cotra, an A.I. researcher, on how A.I. could lead to a doomsday scenario.

Plus: Pass the hat. Kevin and Casey play a game they call HatGPT.

Credits

“Hard Fork” is hosted by Kevin Roose and Casey Newton and produced by Davis Land and Rachel Cohn. The show is edited by Jen Poyant. Engineering by Alyssa Moxley and original music by Dan Powell, Elisheba Ittoop, Marion Lozano, Sophia Lanman and Rowan Niemisto. Fact-checking by Caitlin Love.

Special thanks to Paula Szuchman, Pui-Wing Tam, Nell Gallogly, Kate LoPresti and Jeffrey Miranda.