Close All Tabs

Emily Hart, the bikini-wearing right-wing AI influencer, had captured the hearts, minds and more of MAGA men online. But her creator, Sam, had grown sick of the creepy messages and unsolicited explicit photos he’d received from Emily’s adoring fans. And he was about to be outed as a “scammer.” In this follow-up to last week’s episode, we dig into the downfall of the MAGA dream girl, the explosion of AI “thirst” grifts and why Sam says he shouldn’t be labeled as a “scammer” at all.

Guests:

Ej Dickson, senior culture writer at Wired

“Sam,” creator of AI MAGA Influencer Emily Hart

Further Reading/Listening:

This Scammer Used an AI-Generated MAGA Girl to Grift ‘Super Dumb’ Men — Ej Dickson, Wired

Goose, a New Gay Dating App, Appears to Be a Psyop — Ej Dickson, Wired

How India's Cyber Scam Industry Causes Global Havoc — Hanan Zaffar, Inkstick

Inside the Booming ‘AI Pimping’ Industry — Jason Koebler and Emanuel Maiberg, Wired

Delays in Visa Program Threaten Placement of Hundreds of Doctors in Underserved Areas — Arielle Zionts, KFF Health News

White House Wants More Doctors But Its Immigration Policies Block Them — Stuart Anderson, Forbes

Foreign medical residents fill critical positions at U.S. hospitals, but many now face visa issues — Adithi Ramakrishnan and Devi Shastri, PBS News

Indians lead UK exit wave as Britain's migration crackdown begins to bite | Immigration News — Sunainaa Chadha, Business Standard

Read the Transcript here

Email us at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org

Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠

Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Our intern is Lauren Yoon and also was the associate producer on this episode. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AI is advancing at a breakneck pace, but how quickly will that actually transform the economy? Dream Machines hosts Alexis Madrigal and Robin Sloan talk to Stanford economist Erik Brynjolfsson about what the data can tell us so far, why previous technological revolutions took decades to reshape everyday life, and whether this time will be different. They discuss early signs that AI may already be affecting young workers, what happens to the career ladder when machines take over junior tasks, and where the biggest challenges — and opportunities — lie.

Guest: Erik Brynjolfsson, economist and Director of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab

Read the Transcript here⁠

⁠Watch the Video here⁠

Credits:

Producers: Anayansi Diaz-Cortes and Derek Lartaud

Sound Design: Brendan Willard

Executive Producer: Jen Chien

Editor-in-Chief: Ethan Toven-Lindsey

Special thanks to Chris Egusa, Annie Fruit, Paul Lancour, Matt Morales, Vivian Morales, Zaldy Serrano, Xtine Tiñoso, Hazel Tesoro and Alex Tran.

Support for the production of Dream Machines comes from the Krishnan Shah Family, Dorothy Marsh, and other generous KQED members

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily Hart was a pickup-driving, Trump-supporting blonde bombshell who frequently posted photos on Instagram along with captions about “deporting illegals.” Within a few weeks she gained thousands of followers. It was like she was engineered to go viral in the MAGA-sphere — because she was. A 22-year-old medical student in India who goes by “Sam” is the person behind Emily Hart, and he shepherded her to viral fame with a combination of right-wing engagement baiting and AI assistance. Reporter Ej Dickson, who wrote about Sam and Emily Hart for WIRED, describes how he was able to grift so many conservative men. And Sam himself explains how something that began as a fun side-hustle took a disturbing turn.

Guests:

Ej Dickson, senior culture writer at Wired

“Sam,” creator of AI MAGA Influencer Emily Hart

Further Reading/Listening:

This Scammer Used an AI-Generated MAGA Girl to Grift ‘Super Dumb’ Men — Ej Dickson, Wired

AI‑generated influencers: A new wave of cultural exploitation — Ateqah Khaki & Vinita Srivastava, The Conversation

Meet Brandi Love, the Pro-Trump Porn Star Who Writes for The Federalist — Marlow Stern, The Daily Beast

Challenges under India’s university reservation system — Namrata Kolachalam, The World

Read the Transcript here

Email us at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org

Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠

Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Our intern is Lauren Yoon. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco has been at the center of successive waves of technological and cultural change — from the literal Gold Rush days to the current gold rush-like AI boom. Dream Machines hosts Alexis Madrigal and Robin Sloan talk to author, longtime San Francisco resident, and “chronicler of other minds” Annalee Newitz about the difference between this boom and previous ones, the pleasures and dangers of anthropomorphizing tech tools, and whether or not AI is embodied.

Guest: Annalee Newitz, journalist and author of Automatic Noodle and other books

Read the Transcript here

Watch the Video here

Credits:

Produced by Anayansi Diaz-Cortes and Derek Lartaud, mixed by Brendan Willard, executive produced by Jen Chien.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Twitch streamer Denims made a reaction video about Ethan Klein's nearly two-hour takedown video of Hasan Piker, she wasn’t expecting to be sued for copyright infringement. She employed a commonly-used method of streaming the original video and interjecting with reactions, commentary and analysis. But Klein, who was once seen as a champion of fair use after he won a similar lawsuit in 2017, sued Denims and other content creators anyway. Morgan talks to Denims and journalist Kat Tenbarge about what made these cases different and how reaction content across the internet could change based on how the courts ultimately rule.

Guests:

Denims, political Twitch streamer

Kat Tenbarge, independent journalist, Spitfire News

Further Reading/Listening:

A Political Reckoning for Twitch? | KQED — Close All Tabs, KQED

Ethan Klein's War on Women — Kat Tenbarge, Spitfire News

Ethan Klein Doesn’t Deserve My Apology — Kat Tenbarge, Spitfire News

A YouTuber kicks up a stink over a flatulent “reaction” video — staff, The Economist

What's Up With Copyright Lately?: Summer Breeze Edition — Aaron Moss, Copyright Lately

Should YouTube introduce revenue-sharing for reaction content? — James Hale, Tubefilter

'Reactgate': Twitch streamer xQc and 'H3 Podcast' host Ethan Klein debate whether 'reaction videos' are 'stolen content' — Katie Mather, Yahoo News

How h3h3's Ethan Klein Might Change YouTube Forever — Melissa Chan, Time Magazine

Read the Transcript here

Email us at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org

Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠

Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Our intern is Lauren Yoon. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices