“Rogue” AI Not Inevitable. It’s a Choice.

A lot of attention has been paid recently to examples of AI going “rogue.” What’s missing from this discussion, however, is a more detailed explanation of what specific types of systems are causing problems. Taking a closer look at this problem reveals an issue that’s much more narrow and much more avoidable than some of the frontier labs would like you to believe. Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: https://bit.ly/3U3sTvo Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia (0:00) Rogue AI not inevitable. It’s a choice. (54:00) The legal implications of rogue AI (1:00:03) Rogue AI sending advice emails (1:07:41) A reaction to the recent episode about “chatbots harming kids” (1:16:52) What Cal is up to October books: Telephone: The first hundred years (John Brooks) Links: Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at https://peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/ https://openai.com/index/how-we-monitor-internal-coding-agents-misalignment/ https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/Paul-Ohm-Testimony.pdf https://www.science.org/content/article/exclusive-ai-agent-emailed-hundreds-researchers-help-it-told-us-why https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/09/opinion/children-screens-parents-health.html https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/21/technology/openai-attack-hugging-face.html?eafs_enabled=false https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/technology/openai-ai-breach-australia.html?eafs_enabled=false https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/10/anthropics-claude-ai-submitted-false-murder-tip-to-philadelphia-police/ Thanks to our Sponsors: https://www.cozyearth.com (Use code “DEEP” for 20% off) https://www.gusto.com/deep https://www.meetfabric.com/deep https://www.pipedrive.com/deep Thanks to Jesse Miller for production and mastering, Nate Mechler for research and newsletter, and Ben Crain and Rob Montz for video editing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices