While profit motivates all companies under capitalism, why are the wealthiest tech companies so focused on AGI? This week, we dive into the relationships, ideologies, and claims behind the four biggest players claiming to build artificial general intelligence: Google DeepMind, OpenAI (partly owned by Microsoft), Anthropic, and Elon Musk's xAI.

Further Reading

• https://www.realtimetechpocalypse.com/p/tescrealism-and-the-race-to-build

Book mentioned

• The AI Con - Emily Bender & Alex Hanna

We're joined again by Dr. Alexander Thomas, author of The Politics and Ethics of Transhumanism, to discuss current events and how the Extropians' libertarian transhumanist fantasies connect to today's efforts to meme right-wing authoritarianism into reality.

Books Mentioned

• Hayek's Bastards by Quinn Slobodian

• The Politics and Ethics of Transhumanism by Alexander Thomas (open access)

Welcome to 2026!

This week, we took a look at imperialism and how the rotating cast of billionaires discussed on the show are more involved than meets the eye.

FURTHER READING:

• Émile's article "Are You Suffering from Crisis Fatigue?": https://www.realtimetechpocalypse.com/p/are-you-suffering-from-crisis-fatigue

• Gil Duran's article on the Network State and Venezuela (The Nerd Reich): https://www.thenerdreich.com/network-state-comes-for-venezuela/

• Prospera: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/28/magazine/prospera-honduras-crypto.html

• Honduras: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/04/trump-venezuela-maduro-pardon-honduras.html

• Greenland: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/greenland-freedom-city-rich-donors-push-trump-tech-hub-up-north-2025-04-10/ AND https://www.insidehook.com/internet/peter-thiel-praxis-next-great-city-greenland AND https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/07/world/europe/trump-greenland-denmark-us-defense-pact.html

• Pardons: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ripple/2025/12/10/trumps-clemency-machine-deserves-more-right-wing-scrutiny/ AND https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/trump-pro-crypto-or-pro-crime