Mercy A. Kuo
Trans-Pacific View author Mercy Kuo regularly engages subject-matter experts, policy practitioners, and strategic thinkers across the globe for their diverse insights into U.S. Asia policy. This conversation with Karen Hao – award-winning journalist covering the impacts of artificial intelligence on society and author of newly published “Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI” (Penguin Press 2025) – is the 465th in “The Trans-Pacific View Insight Series.” This conversation has been edited and summarized for length and clarity.
What was the impetus behind your decision to write “Empire of AI”?
I’ve been covering AI since 2018 and OpenAI since 2019. When everyone had their ChatGPT moment, there was a sudden reset in the public conversation around the technology and the company. It was as if AI were being introduced for the first time, and the predominant narratives about it were coming mainly from OpenAI. There was a lack of context regarding where AI came from and from whom it came, so I wanted to give that history and provide context of AI’s evolution.
The primary message of my book is that the particular direction of AI today is deeply concerning. This direction is not inevitable. It’s the product of human decisions. We as a society can shape the direction of AI development in the future.
“OpenAI is now leading our acceleration toward this modern-day colonial world order.” Please explain this statement.
I call the book “Empire of AI” because these AI companies, such as OpenAI, should be thought of as modern-day empires. These companies check off all the features of empires. First, they lay claim to resources that are not their own, yet act like they are. Companies will take the data of billions of users who never consented to give personal data to be used in AI, then treat this information as fair game and impose their rules on data acquisition.
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