Oct 7, 2026 · 15 min
AI’s inner circle debates safety while lawmakers plan for disruption
Inside AI safety's hottest club
The episode connects AI’s unresolved safety debate to proposals for taxing the industry and Hollywood’s struggle to portray its most powerful figures.
- 1The Curve gathered AI’s leading stakeholders but produced little agreement on the field’s biggest problems.
- 2Ruben Gallego proposes taxing data centers, token usage, and AI companies to fund public services and workforce development.
- 3Hollywood’s AI films face corporate pressure as filmmakers examine tech leaders, public distrust, and the consequences of concentrated power.
Don't miss
Frances Haugen’s concerns about participating in The Social Reckoning sharpen the episode’s argument about corporate influence over films about tech companies.
The brief
At The Curve, an invite-only gathering in Berkeley brought together AI researchers, executives, funders, policymakers, and lawmakers—but not a concrete consensus on the field’s biggest challenges.
Senator Ruben Gallego’s emerging blueprint would tax data centers, token usage, and AI companies, directing the proceeds toward public services and workforce development.
The episode widens the debate to public equity, including Gavin Newsom’s proposed fund, and asks why AI’s economic consequences cannot wait for the 2028 election cycle.
Reporters Daniel Miller and Tyler Katzenberger examine films about Sam Altman, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and Elizabeth Holmes—and the corporate pressure surrounding them.
The standout tension comes through Frances Haugen’s concerns about The Social Reckoning and the possibility that Facebook could interfere with a film based partly on her work.
Books & mentions
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