Latest news with #Joe Rogan
CBS News
20-07-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Former Obama speechwriter David Litt on finding neutral ground
Author David Litt, whose new book is called "It's Only Drowning: A True Story of Learning to Surf and the Search for Common Ground," knows plenty about the ways of Washington, and the workings of human nature: What happens when a former Obama speechwriter and a Joe Rogan superfan start surfing together? Well, if you're me, and the superfan is my brother-in-law Matt, what happens is this: You learn that in our divided country, "common ground" is even harder to find than you thought. But "neutral ground" is more important than you imagined. For a long time, Matt and I had basically nothing in common. He's an electrician who owns a pickup truck for work; I'm a writer who owns two computer monitors for work. He listens to death metal; I listen to Stephen Sondheim. Matt once threw out his back training to be a mixed-martial arts fighter, and I once threw out my back picking up a bag of cat litter. But Matt's a surfer, and during the pandemic, I started surfing, too. We began spending time together in the water, and even set our sights on a trip to Oahu's famously dangerous North Shore. I imagined that our journey would reveal the common ground you hear so much about these days. Nope! We still have basically nothing in common. We disagree about little stuff, like music and food. We disagree about big stuff, like voting and vaccines. But what we discovered is that our disagreements don't have to mean everything. The ocean became our neutral ground, a place where we could spend time together focused on something other than our differences. We learned from each other. We broadened each other's horizons. We became friends. And that friendship has led to real discussions – not just debates or arguments – on issues where we don't see eye-to-eye. That's more important than ever. As my old boss used to say, we have to be able to "disagree without being disagreeable." So, if there's someone in your life who you're afraid to talk with about political stuff – and these days, everything seems like political stuff – here's my advice: Find your neutral ground. Be open to unlikely friendships. Be willing to learn from someone, even if it's someone you don't fully understand. And also, if you're picking up a bag of cat litter, lift with your legs, not your back. For more info: Story produced by Annie Iezzi. Editor: Emanuele Secci.
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bernie Sanders: If AI Is Doing Such Amazing Work, Everyone Should Get a Four-Day Workweek
In 2025, we're constantly told, artificial intelligence is bringing about a workplace revolution. Countless billionaires have waxed poetic about the "coming recession" and "unemployment crisis" that their hyped up AI chatbots are sure to bring. Bernie Sanders, the progressive senator from Vermont, has been listening. Calling the US tech industry on its AI hype — which mostly involves generating shareholder value — Sanders recently posed a rhetorical question on the Joe Rogan podcast: if AI is as powerful as they say, why not give workers a 30-hour week? "Technology is gonna work to improve us, not just the people who own the technology and the CEOs of large corporations," Sanders said. "You are a worker, your productivity is increasing because we give you AI, right? Instead of throwing you out on the street, I'm gonna reduce your work week to 32 hours." "That means, give you more time with your family, with your friends, for education, whatever the hell you want to do," the senator suggested. "You don't have to work 40 hours a week anymore." While a 30-hour work week may sound untenable to some, it's important to remember that the 40 hour week is less than a century old, only becoming federally law in 1940. One could look at that legislation as a concession to placate industrial workers, who in 1933 were agitating for the same 30-hour week which most of us in 2025 can hardly imagine. Even Bernie agrees. It's "not a radical idea," he told Rogan, adding that "there are companies around the world that are doing it with some success." However, the reality is that AI is far from ready to bring about optimistic labor reforms like Sanders' laudable 30-day week, or even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's guilt-ridden idea for universal basic income. Despite widespread fear of AI-fueled layoffs and a job market in shambles, AI's main function is currently to give corporations cover as they outsource high-paying jobs to lower-wage workers. As time goes on, more and more corporate executives are realizing that AI — buggy, inefficient, and stubbornly prone to hallucinations — is no match for human beings. Still, even in the utopian world where AI could execute tasks accurately, Sanders' idea has some flaws. Most notable is the issue of unequal exchange between rich and poor countries. Given the tech industry's growing tendency to offload laborious tasks like AI grading to low-wage workers in countries like Kenya, it's likely that an AI-powered 30-hour workweek in the US would only increase inequality in other parts of the world. We're already seeing signs of this: a 2024 digital labor study found that the AI industry helps rich countries maintain poor nations' economic dependencies on exploitative trade, at the expense of their workers. In poor countries, AI also leads to new types of economic turmoil, while worsening that which already exists. Within the US, the 30-hour concept also relies on the goodwill of for-profit companies, something they've never offered workers out of the kindness of their hearts. Even now, with today's deeply flawed AI, workers in the US report that the tech is lowering their productivity and saddling them with more work per day — not less. Meanwhile, studies show massive AI investments have had "no significant impact on earnings or recorded hours in any occupation." These issues aside, Sanders' proposal does cut to an exciting fact: that a universal 30-hour workweek is possible, and it's up to the workers of the world to win it for ourselves. More on labor: Top Venture Capitalist Says AI Will Replace Pretty Much All Jobs Except His, Which Relies on His Unique Genius Solve the daily Crossword
