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

This Week In Startups is made possible by:

Quo: quo.com/TWiST

The Conservation Fund: conservationfund.org

CLA: claconnect.com/withyou

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 — nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/anthropic-safety-re…

OpenAI's Navier-Stokes claim— science.org/content/article/how-ai-math-breakt…

CNBC: Tristan Buckmaster's challenge to the claim — cnbc.com/2026/09/09/openai-navier-stokes-math-…

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

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

Timestamps:

0:00 (Question) Jim, from the midterm Republican convention floor: is AI really going to kill us all — and is local AI the mitigation?

5:31 Where Terminator 2's logic breaks down

9:42 The threat Jason is actually scared of: slaughter drones and murder bots

9:54 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 quo.com/TWiST

10:05 (Question) Michael Lee, who's responsible when one AI prompts another into launching a meme coin?

17:32 (Question) Lyda, calling from Greece: can an independent AI ecosystem still exist

19:03 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 conservationfund.org

21:08 (Question) John Wright: do you have to carve out more time now just to keep up with the tools?

25:42 Claude's caution vs. Grok's "hold my beer"

26:33 (Question) John Wright, part two: do you expect founders to get more done now

26:55 The three buckets: 10x, 5x, and the 20% crowd

29:22 CLA - Get started with CLA's CPAs, consultants, and wealth advisors now at claconnect.com/withyou

30:01 (Question) Ray, Vortex Console: can human-in-the-loop actually work at enterprise scale?

33:25 (Question) Kristen Dahl: how do you explain AI risk to your 76-year-old mom?

35:13 Why the chaos only happens at OpenAI and Anthropic

43:36 (Question) David Rosenberg, NYU physics: what's behind the academic backlash to AI solving Navier-Stokes?

53:35 Advice for a 20-year-old: find two smart people, build weird things

54:29 (Question) David's follow-up: any chance of an All-In Summit scholarship

56:21 (Question) Mo: can a cannabis cultivation facility be converted into a data center

1:02:30 (Question) Mo's follow-up: Mark Cuban's pickleball courts and the efficiency curve

Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: ticker.thisweekinstartups.com

Check out the TWIST500: twist500.com

Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: rb.gy/v19fcp

Follow Lon:

X: x.com/lons

Follow Jason:

X: twitter.com/Jason

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis

Check out all our partner offers: partners.launch.co

Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, (youtu.be/pvJa2pzuXWQ) Eoghan McCabe (youtu.be/9dHN4YFkgv4), Steve Huffman (podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reddit-ceo-steve…), Brian Chesky (podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/airbnb-ceo-brian…), Bob Moesta, (youtu.be/y2UMzSqX94Q) Aaron Levie (podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/box-ceo-aaron-le…), Sophia Amoruso (podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/sophia-amoruso-o…), Reid Hoffman (podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/reid-hoffman-on-…), Frank Slootman (podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/snowflake-ceo-fr…), Billy McFarland (podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/billy-mcfarland-…)

Check out Jason's suite of newsletters: substack.com/@calacanis

Follow TWiST:

Twitter: twitter.com/TWiStartups

YouTube: youtube.com/thisweekin

Instagram: instagram.com/thisweekinstartups

TikTok: tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups

Substack: twistartups.substack.com