# Empire of AI by Karen Hao

15 Hacker News commenters recommended Empire of AI by Karen Hao and 20 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 9 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Reporting from inside AI companies on OpenAI and the industry, praised as strong journalism. Critics say its water-use figures contain major errors and its tone is one-sided.

## Why people recommend it

- Strong reporting on AI companies (5 comments): "One of the few journalists who knows the subject and its possible detrimental usage by a handful of AI companies." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45836963)) "it's not surface-level at all. Karen Hao is a great journalist. Highly recommend." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46836033)) "This book brings the story of what actually goes on within those companies." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46227539))
- Good book, worth reading (4 comments): "Empire of AI is actually a pretty good book overall" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46108489)) "Heard good things of Empire of AI By Karen Hao" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48879125)) "You need to read Empire of AI by Karen Hao." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48513843))
- Useful history of what AI means (2 comments): "Karen Hao makes a very good historical case that the definition of AI has never been super clear" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47245659)) "for a book that surveys pretty much all of it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46396136))

## What people warn about

- Water-use figures contain major errors (10 comments): "He also caught a major error in one of the most widely read books that helped kick off the whole data center water debate" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48809615)) "Karen Hao's (Empire of AI) confusion of cubic meters with liters of water for datacenters continues to get amplified" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48289890)) "calling several multiple OOM mistakes that completely reverse the ideologically convenient picture she painted" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46107635))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [The Cuckoo's Egg by Cliff Stoll](https://hackerapproved.com/p/cuckoo-s-egg.md): 40 recommend
- [Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/amusing-ourselves-to-death.md): 36 recommend
- [The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt](https://hackerapproved.com/p/anxious-generation.md): 24 recommend
- [Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber](https://hackerapproved.com/p/bullshit-jobs.md): 20 recommend
- [Enshittification by Cory Doctorow](https://hackerapproved.com/p/enshittification.md): 19 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0593657500?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780593657508) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Empire of AI by Karen Hao", https://hackerapproved.com/p/empire-of-ai/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).