“They’re both naughty boys in the playground, leveraging the absence of clarity to their own advantage. Neither one of them is an authoritative leader of opinion with the interests of everyone at heart.” — Keith Teare

What a difference a week makes. Last Saturday, Keith Teare was arguing that Anthropic was wrong to push back against the US government’s use of AI in warfare. This week his editorial is entitled “No Good Guys.” He’s used AI to put images of Sam Altman, Dario Amodei, and Pete Hegseth around the same table—and found all three guilty of poor leadership. According to Keith, Amodei is “ideologically” (whatever that means) driven. Altman is commercially driven and Hegseth is just following orders. None of them is asking the all-important questions about AI policy. And the man who should be—Trump’s AI czar David Sacks—is absent-without-leave. All four should be court martialed.
Yes, a lot has happened in seven days. Altman publicly supported Amodei’s position on surveillance and autonomous weapons—then pulled a classic Sam u-turn and signed a contract with the Department of War. Amodei’s internal memo was leaked to The Information, revealing that he’d interpreted the government’s “no unlawful use” language as meaning there is no law. And the US military used Claude in the Iran war anyway. As Keith puts it: they’re all naughty boys in the playground, leveraging the gaps to their own self-advantage.
The only problem, of course, is that this isn’t a playground game. And that these men are all shaping the lives (and deaths) of countless people around the world.
Meanwhile, Om Malik’s “Post of the Week” offers a devastating contrast between Xi’s China and Trump’s America. China, Om argues, has published a five-year AI plan built on open-source software and bottom-up adoption. America, in contrast, has AI theater. No strategy, no policy, no leadership—just contracts, leaks, and perpetual spin. Then there’s the Startup of the Week, Jobright, which hit $5 million in annual revenue with nine people, suggesting that the companies of the future may not need humans at all. Keith’s own SignalRank has four people and claims to be going public. We seem to be heading for post-human companies before we’ve figured out who’s managing the humans.
Maybe we should court martial everyone. What a difference a week makes.

Five Takeaways
• No Good Guys: Amodei is ideologically driven, Altman is commercially driven, Hegseth is just following orders. None is asking the big questions. The invisible AI czar David Sacks needs to step up.
• Altman Said One Thing, Then Did Another: He supported Amodei’s position on autonomous weapons, then signed a contract with the Department of War.
• The US Used Claude in Iran Anyway: Despite the Anthropic dispute, the military used Claude in the Iran operation. The government doesn’t need your permission.
• China Has a Plan. America Has Theater: China’s five-year AI strategy is built on open-source and bottom-up adoption. America has no AI policy—just spin.
• The Future Company Has Nine Employees: Jobright hit $5M ARR with nine people. SignalRank has four and is going public. Post-human companies are coming.

About the Guest
Keith Teare is the publisher of That Was The Week, founder and CEO of SignalRank, and a recurring sparring partner on Keen On America.
References
That Was The Week: https://thatwastheweek.substack.com/
Keen On America: https://keenon.substack.com/

About Keen On America
Nobody asks more awkward questions than the Anglo-American writer and filmmaker Andrew Keen. In Keen On America, Andrew brings his pointed Transatlantic wit to making sense of the United States.
Website: https://keenon.tv/ Substack: https://keenon.substack.com/ YouTube: https://youtube.com/@KeenOnShow
Chapters:
00:00:00 Introduction: What a difference a week makes
00:01:14 “No Good Guys”: Keith’s editorial and Om Malik’s wake-up call
00:02:30 Amodei, Altman, Hegseth: three self-interested players
00:04:02 How the Iran invasion changed the AI debate
00:05:28 “No unlawful use”: a meaningless phrase in a lawless context
00:06:50 The US used Claude in Iran despite the Anthropic dispute
00:08:15 Naughty boys in the playground: spinning vs. leadership
00:09:31 Bobby Kennedy, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the myth of good leadership
00:11:34 Amodei’s leaked memo: ideologically driven or Machiavellian?
00:16:21 If AI is a weapon, who should control it?
00:19:35 Participatory democracy and real-time AI governance
00:21:35 An open letter to David Sacks: the invisible AI czar
00:23:09 Krugman on jobs, wages, and monopolies after AI
00:25:34 Tim O’Reilly and the bitter lesson
00:28:50 Startup of the week: Jobright—$5M ARR with nine people
00:31:38 Post of the week: Om Malik on China’s AI strategy vs. US AI theater