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OpenAI is building superintelligence. So why is it wasting time on talk shows?
AI-focused daily tech show TBPN had cultivated a modest but high-value audience with its loose, sports-style coverage, but in the cutthroat post-traffic digital media era, it’s easy to see why TBPN would bite on an offer reportedly in the “low hundreds of millions” for an operation that’s essentially just a few guys with a YouTube channel and an X account.
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Harder to parse is OpenAI’s rationale, given that transforming the channel from a buzzy central tech hub into the influence arm of one tech giant is likely to turn off at least some guests and viewers. Founders Jordi Hays and John Coogan didn’t respond to requests for comment from Semafor, but OpenAI’s Chris Lehane shot down the naysayers.
“We do have an editorial independence commitment that’s built into the agreement,” Lehane told Semafor, citing the resurgence of Elon Musk’s X as an example of what happens when a big company owns a media property.
“If you want to have an alternative out there where you can have these conversations, the more independent [it is], and the more it’s recognized and understood to be independent, the more effective it’s going to be.”
The advantage of Musk owning X is debatable at best, but what’s clear is that OpenAI recognizes what’s become a central issue for the industry: The story around AI has turned negative in many corners of the world outside of Silicon Valley, and OpenAI wants to take a stronger hand in changing that narrative.
“A big focus of this is helping to provide the resources so that they can really scale the number of folks that they’re communicating with,” Lehane said.