We're a two-person podcast company. Neither of us is getting rich off this. We're just trying to keep making a show we believe in. Like most small creators, we use some AI tools behind the scenes to help us run the business: writing show notes, editing audio, managing emails, that kind of thing. It just helps us get done what we need to get done.
Occasionally, we use AI synthetic voice technology to create extra voices or phrases on the show. The most obvious example is Robot, our trusty fact-checking robot (yes, it's in the name). We're not hiding that. He's a character, and we want you to know he's AI-voiced. But the words he says pretty much come out of our non-AI human brains.
We also understand that AI has real environmental and ethical costs. That's why we've made donations to Greenpeace (which works on AI's environmental impact) and the Algorithmic Justice League (which fights for safe, ethical, and equitable AI). We're not pretending this offsets everything. We're just trying to do our part. It is part of our annual budget.
If you want to learn more or support these organizations yourself:
We're doing our best to use AI responsibly. If you have concerns or suggestions, we'd genuinely love to hear from you.