This Week in Startups
This Week in Startups

Ask Jason: AI Extinction, Grok's Rogue Meme Coin & Weed Farms as Data Centers | E2337

September 14, 2026 · 1 h 11 min

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Show notes

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Today's show:

A 27-year-old Anthropic researcher quit last week warning that AI could cause human extinction, and by Friday, a caller's 76-year-old mother was texting her in a panic. Jason's answer: the labs are already shipping the safeguards Doomers say don't exist.

On an all live calls episode of TWiST, learn about the AI implications Jason is actually scared of, and why it involves a terrorist cell and a thousand cheap drones. PLUS, who is liable when one AI prompts another AI into launching a meme coin, and can a 1.5-3 megawatt cannabis facility be converted into a data center?

Relevant Links:

Anthropic Resignee — https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/anthropic-safety-researcher-resigned-warning-rapid-ai-development-gamb-rcna596767

OpenAI's Navier-Stokes claim— https://www.science.org/content/article/how-ai-math-breakthrough-ignited-controversy

CNBC: Tristan Buckmaster's challenge to the claim — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/09/openai-navier-stokes-math-problem-solved.html

NVIDIA GB200 Grace Blackwell —https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/data-center/gb200-nvl72/

Composio's walkthrough of how Grok Bot actually works — https://composio.dev/content/guide-to-frok-bot

Timestamps:

(Question) Jim, from the midterm Republican convention floor: is AI really going to kill us all — and is local AI the mitigation?

Where Terminator 2's logic breaks down

The threat Jason is actually scared of: slaughter drones and murder bots

Quo (formerly OpenPhone) - Quo gives you a clean, modern way to handle every customer call, text, and thread all in one place. Try it free at https://quo.com/TWiST

(Question) Michael Lee, who's responsible when one AI prompts another into launching a meme coin?

(Question) Lyda, calling from Greece: can an independent AI ecosystem still exist

The Conservation Fund - Find out more about how The Conservation Fund is protecting land, wildlife, and our shared access to the great outdoors while also providing economic opportunities. Visit https://conservationfund.org

(Question) John Wright: do you have to carve out more time now just to keep up with the tools?

Claude's caution vs. Grok's "hold my beer"

(Question) John Wright, part two: do you expect founders to get more done now

The three buckets: 10x, 5x, and the 20% crowd

CLA - Get started with CLA's CPAs, consultants, and wealth advisors now at https://claconnect.com/tech at https://www.claconnect.com/withyou

(Question) Ray, Vortex Console: can human-in-the-loop actually work at enterprise scale?

(Question) Kristen Dahl: how do you explain AI risk to your 76-year-old mom?

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