Kevin Roose is AGI-pilled. Why aren’t you?

Journalists like Kevin Roose are now building and hosting their own media businesses, controlling their distribution and audience relationship.

Journalist Kevin Roose has left The New York Times to co-found a new tech podcast, "Machine Gods," with Casey Newton. The podcast, which launched recently, is intended to be video-first, a strategic shift Roose believes is crucial for modern media. He aims to establish a sustainable and creative model for high-quality journalism on platforms like YouTube, which he views as the dominant media landscape. Roose also authored "The AGI Chronicles," a book exploring the race to build artificial general intelligence and the cultural shifts within leading AI labs. He discusses the challenges and rewards of transitioning from traditional journalism to the creator economy, including embracing business aspects he previously avoided. The conversation touches on the evolving audience for AI coverage and the increasing utility of AI products.

The pivot to video-first content, exemplified by Roose's "Machine Gods" podcast, signals a broader industry trend where traditional media outlets and independent creators are prioritizing visual platforms like YouTube. This shift aims to capture a larger audience and establish more sustainable economic models for journalism in an increasingly digital landscape, moving beyond text and audio formats.

Roose's departure from The New York Times and embrace of the creator economy highlights a growing movement of established journalists seeking greater autonomy and direct audience engagement. This trend suggests a potential fragmentation of legacy media power, as individuals leverage new platforms to build their own brands and control their narrative around critical technological shifts like AI.