Jon Stewart expressed his critiques of Artificial Intelligence during the latest episode of The Daily Show on Monday, April 1st. He revealed that Apple had prohibited him from addressing these concerns on his previous Apple TV+ program.
After hosting The Problem With Jon Stewart on Apple TV+ in 2021 following a 16-year tenure on The Daily Show, the show was canceled after two seasons reportedly due to disputes with Apple regarding coverage of topics concerning China and AI.
Returning to The Daily Show this year, reclaiming the hosting duties from Trevor Noah, Stewart featured Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan as his guest on Monday. Stewart disclosed that Apple had urged him not to engage with Khan on The Problem With Jon Stewart.
“I wanted to have you on a podcast and Apple asked us not to do it,” Stewart disclosed. “They literally said, ‘Please don’t talk to her.’”
Khan, known for her vocal opposition to tech giants like Amazon, Apple, and Meta due to their monopolistic practices, engaged in a conversation with Stewart about the repercussions of consolidating power within a few corporations.
Stewart further accused Apple of inhibiting discussions on the risks associated with AI on his show, questioning their reluctance to address these issues openly.
“They wouldn’t let us do even that dumb thing we just did in the first act on AI. What is that sensitivity? Why are they so afraid to even have these conversations out in the public sphere?” Stewart pondered.
Khan responded by highlighting the perils of centralizing power and decision-making within a handful of companies, emphasizing the need for open discourse on such critical topics.
During the show’s initial 15-minute segment, Stewart critiqued various tech CEOs and their perspectives on AI. He humorously juxtaposed their statements, including Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky’s comparison of AI to “productivity without the tax of more people” and Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s assertion that AI is “more profound than fire or electricity.”
Stewart also playfully commented on e-commerce CEO Suumit Shah’s remark on Fox News about AI being “brutal” if viewed from a human perspective, quipping about the lack of catchiness in the statement.
Wrapping up the segment, Stewart highlighted the immediate impact of AI on the workforce, emphasizing its current displacement of human labor.
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart airs on Comedy Central on Mondays at 11 pm ET.
