Ed Zitron Unfiltered on OpenAI, Anthropic & Why the Whole Thing Is a Con

Ed Zitron is back, and he's making his strongest case yet that OpenAI and Anthropic are running a deliberate con on the public. In his second appearance on the Newcomer Podcast, Ed Zitron sits down with Eric Newcomer to break down why he believes there is no real ROI in AI, how Sam Altman and Dario Amodei have hidden the true cost of their products behind subscription pricing, and why enterprises like Uber are already pulling back. Ed also makes the case that the entire culture around AI is a psyop designed to silence skeptics and protect a trillion-dollar house of cards. Eric pushes back throughout, defending the long-term potential of AI and pressing Ed on whether pure skepticism is its own kind of shtick. The result is one of the most honest and combative conversations about AI you'll find anywhere. 00:00 Intro 00:44 Ed Zitron Returns 01:41 Why AI Writing Feels Dead 02:44 Eric Sets the Stakes 05:07 There Is No ROI in AI 07:20 The AI Psyop and Valley Culture 09:06 Should OpenAI and Anthropic Go Public? 12:06 The Uber vs AI Economics Debate 19:03 Why Token Pricing Changes Everything 29:17 Ed Admits He Got the Timing Wrong 32:44 Equity Raise Debate 33:11 Data Center Debt Crunch 35:16 Why AI Only Really Works at Code 37:16 The iPhone Comparison Argument 40:27 Manufactured Consent and AI Culture 41:48 Executive AI Psychosis 48:15 The Hallucinations Debate 56:13 Was the Trillion Dollars Worth It? 🎙️ New episodes every week! Subscribe and turn on notifications to stay ahead of the next big story. 👇 Watch more from The Newcomer Podcast:    • Newcomer Podcast   🔗 Read more at newcomer.co 🐦 Follow us: @NewcomerMedia If you want honest, insider analysis from the heart of tech and venture capital…you’re in the right place. #EdZitron #OpenAI #ArtificialIntelligence