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Anthropic’s leaked IPO documents show the company had a net loss of $42 billion in 2025 and still insists that its technology could pose a “catastrophic or existential risk to humanity.” It’s either the most honest risk disclosure or the most effective marketing scheme in corporate history. So which is it?

Today on Lever Time , David Sirota explores a few less obvious AI risks — cognitive surrender, pseudo-productivity, and “approval bombing” — with Cal Newport, author and computer science professor at Georgetown University. Newport has spent years cutting through technology hype. He says tech CEOs genuinely believe AI could end the world, but what if that never happens and we must learn to coexist? How do we live alongside this tech without destroying ourselves?

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This episode was produced by Natalie Bettendorf . Video and audio were mixed by Ron S. Doyle . Our theme music is by Nick Byron Campbell . Marketing support, ad sales, and hosting from the Podglomerate .

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TRANSCRIPT

Following is an automated, unedited transcription of this episode. The text may contain grammatical or spelling errors, especially for proper nouns, or attribute text to the wrong speaker. If you plan to quote any part of this transcript, please first confirm that it is correct by listening to the audio.

[00:00:00] David Sirota: From The Lever's reader-supported newsroom, it's Lever Time. I'm David Sirota.

[00:00:03] Bloomberg: A send back to Anthropic, the company steamrolling ahead with huge AI spending plans going into its blockbuster IPO.

[00:00:10] David Sirota: Earlier this week, Reuters obtained a confidential copy of Anthropic's IPO prospectus, and what was in it was pretty staggering The document revealed a $42 billion net loss in 2025, 42 billion with a B. That prospectus also revealed that AI models could pose a, quote, "catastrophic or existential risk to humanity" and could, quote, "resist shutdown." The company is set to pursue an IPO sometime in the next year.

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