Is AI Overhyped? With Cal Newport
Lost Debate10 Sep 2025

Is AI Overhyped? With Cal Newport

Ravi sits down with bestselling author Cal Newport to unpack the hype and reality of artificial intelligence. They explore how AI may actually be hurting productivity by diminishing our ability to focus, and why that matters more than ever. Cal lays out a compelling “bear case” for AI, arguing that the revolution we’ve been promised may not materialize anytime soon. Ravi and Cal discuss why most jobs aren’t going away, why the future is likely to involve a thousand bespoke tools, instead of one all-powerful model, and how we should be thinking about AI like the early internet: revolutionary, but slow-moving and full of bubbles. Finally, Ravi and Cal share what kinds of careers are most future-proof, and why mastering focus might be the most valuable skill of all. -- Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 201-305-0084⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Ravi at @RaviMGupta Notes from this episode are also available on Substack: https://thelostdebate.substack.com/ Read more from Ravi on Substack: https://realravigupta.substack.com Follow The Branch at @thebranchmedia Listen to more episodes of Lost Debate on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lost-debate/id1591300785 Listen to more episodes of Lost Debate on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7xR9pch9DrQDiZfGB5oF0F Listen to Where the Schools Went: https://thebranchmedia.org/show/where-the-schools-went/

Episoder(422)

Ep 37 | Border Crisis, “Shitty Media Men,” War Crimes, School Polls, Alien Contact

Ep 37 | Border Crisis, “Shitty Media Men,” War Crimes, School Polls, Alien Contact

Ravi, Cory, and Rikki begin with the growing calls for war crime proceedings against Putin and Russian forces in Ukraine before turning to a very different category of legal case: the defamation suit ...

7 Apr 202248min

 Ep 36 | Hunter’s Laptop, Amazon Union, Biden’s Economy, Louis C.K.

Ep 36 | Hunter’s Laptop, Amazon Union, Biden’s Economy, Louis C.K.

Ravi, Cory, and Rikki go through the many allegations against Hunter Biden before diving into major outlets’ overdue corrections – some of them made very quietly – to coverage of the president’s son i...

5 Apr 202239min

Ep 35 | America’s Adderall Problem, Facebook vs. TikTok, “Don’t Say Gay” Bill

Ep 35 | America’s Adderall Problem, Facebook vs. TikTok, “Don’t Say Gay” Bill

Ravi, Cory, and Rikki start on the new Florida law whose supporters and opponents call it by different names: Parental Rights in Education vs. “Don’t Say Gay.” We discuss what’s really in the legislat...

31 Mar 202235min

Ep 34 | Ginni Thomas Texts, End of Meat, Biden's Putin Gaffe, Oscars Slap

Ep 34 | Ginni Thomas Texts, End of Meat, Biden's Putin Gaffe, Oscars Slap

Ravi, Cory, and Rikki lead off with the newly leaked texts from Supreme Court spouse Ginni Thomas. We discuss what her 2020 election conspiracizing means for her and her husband, Justice Clarence Thom...

29 Mar 202235min

Ep 33 | NYT For Free Speech, Texas Abortions, Adams v. The Left, Ukrainian Refugees

Ep 33 | NYT For Free Speech, Texas Abortions, Adams v. The Left, Ukrainian Refugees

Ravi and guest host Liz Wolfe start by unpacking the New York Times’ recent editorial stating “America Has a Free Speech Problem.” They discuss what took the paper so long to say so and the countless ...

25 Mar 202250min

Ep 32 | Journalists Under Attack, SCOTUS Reform, 2 Years of COVID, Standardized Testing

Ep 32 | Journalists Under Attack, SCOTUS Reform, 2 Years of COVID, Standardized Testing

Two years into the pandemic, Ravi, Cory, and Rikki look back on how much has changed since COVID-19 entered our lives. Standardized testing may be getting less standard. We discuss what makes the test...

17 Mar 202240min

Ep 31 | Homeless Crisis, Tulsi “Treason,” Teen Vaping, Zucker’s CNN Exit

Ep 31 | Homeless Crisis, Tulsi “Treason,” Teen Vaping, Zucker’s CNN Exit

Tulsi Gabbard is being accused of “treasonous lies” after tweeting about purportedly U.S.-affiliated “biolabs” in Ukraine. Ravi, Cory, and Rikki sort through the noise. Liberal cities are shifting the...

15 Mar 202246min

Ep 30 | Sports Betting, Uber/Lyft Union Fight, Schools In Crisis, Ryan Coogler

Ep 30 | Sports Betting, Uber/Lyft Union Fight, Schools In Crisis, Ryan Coogler

Uber and Lyft launch a new campaign to make sure their drivers can’t hail a union. Ravi, Cory, and Rikki discuss that labor fight playing out in Washington, as well as another in Minneapolis, where th...

10 Mar 202241min

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