# Why Baratunde Thurston Fired ChatGPT—and What he Learned

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/hello-monday-with-jessi-hempel-15279/why-baratunde-thurston-fired-chatgpt-and-what-he-learned
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/hello-monday-with-jessi-hempel-15279/why-baratunde-thurston-fired-chatgpt-and-what-he-learned.md
Podcast: [Hello Monday with Jessi Hempel](https://stenobird.com/podcast/hello-monday-with-jessi-hempel-15279)
Published: 2026-08-03T07:01:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.megaphone.fm/LI9484679977.mp3
Audio file: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.megaphone.fm/LI9484679977.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/hello-monday-with-jessi-hempel-15279/episodes/why-baratunde-thurston-fired-chatgpt-and-what-he-learned
Duration seconds: 1788

## Resource

Baratunde Thurston fired ChatGPT. And ChatGPT helped him do it. This week, the Emmy-nominated storyteller, writer and host of Life with Machines joins Jessi in the studio to talk about what it actually means to have agency in a moment when we’re still figuring out the rules and norms of AI.  In this episode, Jessi and Baratunde discuss: Why Baratunde fired ChatGPT and what the chat bot taught him on his way out What he means when he says we're not using a tool, we're entering a relationship The "direction, not perfection" principle for navigating an imperfect landscape of AI companies and choices Why switching platforms is itself a practice of agency, and proof that you can leave What AI tools reveal about you that you didn't know you were sharing The two people living inside every employee at an AI all-hands: the one on-program, and the one who's scared and skeptical What the kids opting out of AI are trying to tell us What the internet could look like if we treated it as a public utility instead of a commercial space Why token-maxing is a "flagrant foul" in an era of climate change What executives get wrong when rolling out AI, and the questions they should be asking their teams instead Follow Baratunde Thurston and Jessi Hempel on LinkedIn.

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## Transcript

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