The tech elite believe AI is just a few years away from displacing most computer-based jobs, and they seem…excited about it? Atlantic staff writer Matteo Wong joins Offline to discuss why Silicon Valley thinks AI is more important than anything happening in politics or the economy, and why it’s all eerily similar to their optimism around social media in the 2010s. But first! Max shares a personal update that we all hate, and then it's onto the news. This week, foe of the pod Elon Musk decided he’s done spending millions to be fake friends with Donald Trump. America’s edge lord may be posting less, but xAI is still spreading the good word. Max and Jon explain why Grok got so obsessed with unfounded claims of white genocide in South Africa, examine why Jon is STILL getting in Twitter fights, and explore new research on social media's dubious teen accounts.

Jia Tolentino, author of Trick Mirror and staff writer at the New Yorker, joins Offline to discuss how it’s becoming harder and harder to make sense of reality, especially with AI taking over our feeds. She and Jon talk about how online distrust bleeds into life offline, parenting in this moment of endless horrors, and the inspiration (or lack thereof) behind her latest essay, "My Brain Finally Broke." But first! Jon’s X account may have gotten hacked, but even a crypto scam couldn't stop him from getting his social media fix. Then, he and Max dig into Trump’s attacks on the U.S. Copyright Office, and the concerns it raises over the material AI companies are using to train their models. Finally, the guys explain how the new pontiff has come out against the technology, and why “Leo” is an homage to the last pope to preside over an industrial revolution.

Lauren Greenfield, director of the acclaimed FX docuseries “Social Studies,” sits down with Jon to talk about the year she spent shadowing a group of LA teens as they navigated their very online lives. The kids gave Lauren permission to screen record their phones for the duration of filming, and the result is an intimate, frenetic and often horrifying account of what it's like to be underage on the internet. But first! Mark Zuckerberg is crushing the podcast circuit with relatable anecdotes about his underground bunker and replacing human friends with AI companions. Meanwhile, his frenemy Elon Musk is making a not-so-triumphant departure from DOGE. Jon and Max discuss whether the Department’s next step is a full-scale American panopticon, then say a little prayer for AI Pope Trump.

"Social Studies" curriculum and resources: https://www.learner.org/socialstudies/

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