'AI at the Crossroads': Power, Politics, and the Future We're Building

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As part of a two-day visit to Washington University in St. Louis, investigative journalist Karen Hao will speak on "AI at the Crossroads" on October 16, 2025. Hao will discuss how artificial intelligence is transforming the economy, politics, and daily life—and how little the public knows about who's steering the technology or where it's headed.  

Hao's best-selling book, Empire of AI, draws on years of deep access to OpenAI and its leadership to expose what's driving the world's most influential tech—and the hidden costs we're not talking about, from exploited data labor to environmental fallout. Hao led The AI Spotlight Series, a program she designed with the Pulitzer Center that trains thousands of journalists around the world on how to cover AI. 

Washington University is an originating partner in the Pulitzer Center's Campus Consortium network.