Can Republicans STOP AI Doom? — Brendan & Randan Steinhauser
Show notes
Brendan and Randan Steinhauser are a husband and wife team who know how to make things happen in conservative politics.
Brendan helped build the Tea Party movement and ran John Cornyn’s Senate campaign. Randan has been involved in advocacy and political campaigns in more than 30 states, including working under former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.
Now they’re bringing Republicans, parents, and faith leaders into the fight against AI catastrophe.
They know how to build political momentum, but my question is whether that will lead to action quickly enough. I'm skeptical of incremental legislation efforts and data center protests, but they argue it's necessary coalition-building that leads to superintelligence regulation.
This isn't your typical state-of-the-political-map podcast. We also get into:
Their personal AGI awakenings
How people of faith make sense of claims of Godlike AI and AI doom
My own transition to joining the Republican Party
Transhumanism, souls, and mind uploading
Parenting in the age of AI
It’s a candid conversation with a couple who are making the fight for our future feel a little more winnable. Enjoy!
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTm9tqS1Ibw
Timestamps
00:00:00 — Cold Open
00:01:07 — Introducing Brendan & Randan Steinhauser
00:02:22 — Why I Came Out as Republican
00:04:28 — The Alliance for Secure AI
00:06:30 — Losing Control of Superintelligence
00:07:52 — Brendan, What’s Your P(Doom)?™
00:08:26 — Randan, What’s Your P(Doom)?™
00:10:47 — Finding the AI Safety Movement
00:15:04 — Trump, Republicans, and Big Tech Money
00:19:22 — Bringing Faith Leaders Into AI Safety
00:23:23 — God’s Plan and Human Extinction
00:29:43 — Priorities for Congress
00:31:42 — The Morality of AI Companies
00:34:03 — PauseAI and Employee Whistleblowers
00:43:34 — Effective Altruism and a Broader Coalition
00:48:12 — Transhumanism, Souls, and Mind Uploading
00:57:40 — Building a Machine God
01:03:20 — Raising Children Under AI Risk
01:07:35 — Data Center Protests and Movement Building
01:13:09 — Talking to People About AI Risk
01:17:32 — State Laws and the 2028 Election
01:20:38 — Getting Involved
Links
REFERENCED IN THE EPISODE
AI Risk Evaluation Act — Hawley–Blumenthal bill text
The Singularity Is Near — Ray Kurzweil
Can We Stop the AI Apocalypse? — Dan Crenshaw interviews Eliezer Yudkowsky
Magnifica Humanitas — Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical on humanity in the age of AI
Pacing the Frontier — open letter from frontier AI employees
PauseAI — the global movement to pause unsafe AI development
PauseAI US — organizing and advocacy in the United States
Jacob Coxon’s resignation statement — the insider warning discussed
Americans for Responsible Innovation — Brad Carson’s bipartisan advocacy organization
PAST DOOM DEBATES EPISODES MENTIONED
Let’s CALL OUT the AI Doom “Enablers” — Holly Elmore on working at AI labs
God vs. AI Doom: Debate with Bentham’s Bulldog
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