Who Governs AI? Inside the Rise of a New Empire

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Join us for a timely and urgent conversation with journalist and author Karen Hao, whose new book Empire of AI offers an inside look at OpenAI and the global race to dominate artificial intelligence. Based on years of reporting and more than 300 interviews—including 150 with OpenAI insiders—Hao reveals how a small group of tech elites have amassed extraordinary power over the future of AI, often beyond public scrutiny, raising critical questions about governance, accountability, and the erosion of democratic norms.

Moderated by Evan Epstein, corporate governance expert and Lecturer at Stanford GSB, this discussion will go beyond the headlines to confront the deeper question at the heart of Hao’s book: How can we build a future where AI serves the public good—and what it will take to uphold democratic values in the age of AI? Drawing on his deep expertise in organizational governance and ethical leadership, Epstein will guide a conversation about the concentration of power in AI and what it will take to ensure it serves the public good.

Karen Hao is an award-winning journalist who covers artificial intelligence. She is the author of Empire of AI, an in-depth look at OpenAI and the broader AI industry, forthcoming from Penguin Press on May 20, 2025. Karen has written for The Atlantic and currently leads The AI Spotlight Series, a global training program she co-designed with the Pulitzer Center to equip thousands of journalists around the world with tools to cover AI effectively. Previously, she was a foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, reporting on AI and China, and a senior editor at MIT Technology Review, where she focused on cutting-edge AI research and its societal implications. Her work has earned numerous accolades, including the 2024 American Humanist Media Award and the 2022 American National Magazine Award for outstanding achievement by a journalist under 30. Her former newsletter, The Algorithm, was named one of the best on the internet by the Webby Awards in 2018. Karen’s reporting has been cited by the U.S. Congress, featured in university syllabi, and transformed into museum exhibits. She frequently speaks at global events on AI and journalism, and serves on the board of the Co-Opting AI series (University of California Press) and the AI Advisory Council at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. Before becoming a journalist, Karen was an application engineer at the first startup to spin out of Google[x]. She holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering with a minor in energy studies from MIT.

Moderator 

Moderated by: Evan Epstein, Lecturer in Management, Stanford GSB 

Introduction by: Nirali Devgan, MBA ’26