The AI Backlash Is Real! - AI Journalist Sharon Goldman on Data Centers, Hype, the Future of Writing
I sat down with Sharon Goldman - AI journalist, formerly at VentureBeat and Fortune, now running her own platform, Ground Level AI on Substack - for a conversation that went a lot further than I expected. We cover a lot of ground about the AI backlash, data centers, AI hype vs. reality, and the future of writing. Check out Ground Level AI: https://www.groundlevel-ai.com/ Timestamps 00:00 – Intro & Sharon Goldman’s background in AI journalism 01:48 – April 2022: Covering DALL-E 2 and the early AI landscape 02:40 – The unexpected boom of ChatGPT and public reaction 06:31 – AI Slop vs. Original Human Writing: Does human content still stand out? 10:21 – Will AI replace journalists and writers? 13:28 – Going solo: Transitioning from Fortune & VentureBeat to Substack 20:47 – How AI tools transformed modern writing & editing workflows 23:21 – The growing societal backlash against AI & data centers 28:07 – "Mutual Blindness": Power dynamics, tech hype, and public anxiety 35:11 – Younger generations' views on AI, job safety, and Waymo 38:21 – San Francisco vs. the rest of the world: The AI bubble 42:30 – Sovereign AI and global perspectives (Europe & China) 51:42 – Enterprise adoption vs. AI expectations 57:22 – Where to find Ground Level AI & wrap-up