On Sunday night, John Oliver devoted much of his Emmy-winning “Last Week Tonight” to the Secret Service’s failures in recent years, refusing to touch on the week’s big media news: David Ellison’s newly formed Skydance Corp., Warner Bros., which controls Oliver’s HBO network. It swallowed Discovery and merged it with Paramount Skydance to form a megacorporation.
So, would midnight citizen Jon Stewart give his two cents on the reunion on Monday’s episode of “The Daily Show?” Moreover Is it part of Skydance Corp.?
Apparently not.
Stewart devoted the show entirely to AI, first smashing the empty promises of AI leaders about job creation, economic prosperity, and the ability to cure cancer, before admitting there was a 10-25% chance it would kill us all. But right now, AI is primarily used for ICE and other surveillance, drone warfare targeting, and potential dynamic pricing at places like McDonald’s.
“What do we get in return for this 10-25 percent chance of extinction?” asked Stewart, adding, “Is it mostly murder, surveillance, and price gouging for the McRib right now? What a business! I get the feeling you guys might be full of bullshit.”
The comedian also took issue with President Trump’s decision to let these AI companies self-regulate after his recent fawning AI summit, because the Zuckerbergs and Musks of the world don’t have a great track record of playing it safe. There is also the issue of how many jobs AI will eliminate. While AI leaders have repeatedly reiterated that the technology will lead to newer, more diverse jobs and economic opportunity for everyone, they cannot say what jobs it will create or how it will economically benefit ordinary people.
“The view of our self-policing geniuses is that the new world we are building should continue without regulation or financial constraint because this is important work carried out by important people,” Stewart offered. “And my guess is: They’ll still have jobs when this is over… Stop lying to us! Claims of universal high incomes and incredible hobbies won’t overshadow how scary this future might sound.”