In this Hard Knock Radio segment, you and AI expert X. Eyeé walk listeners through the real story of the past year in tech and AI, way beyond the hype about fancy tools and the United States versus China headlines. X explains that California has quietly become the world’s main regulator of AI by passing more than 30 AI related laws, since so many major AI companies are based here or do business here. They break down new laws that criminalize deepfake “undressing” images, protect people’s likeness after death, require government transparency about AI use, and mandate hard to remove watermarks so people can tell when content is AI generated.
X then connects this to Trump’s executive order that tries to block AI regulations and frames it as both an attack on states rights and a gift to tech companies that want to avoid accountability. They explain why self regulation is a myth for profit driven corporations and walk through laws that protect people from AI chatbots that encourage self harm, close loopholes around political deepfakes during elections, and make it easier to sue when AI systems discriminate in hiring, pricing, or housing.
From there, the conversation shifts to data as the new oil. X breaks down why AI cannot function without organic human data, what “model collapse” is, and how companies are quietly harvesting our voices, texts, images, and documents through terms of service, often without real consent or payment. They distinguish between data sets and data centers and unpack how data centers affect energy, water, and frontline communities, including the Memphis facility using methane that is poisoning a nearby Black neighborhood.
X also explains that much of the current environmental strain is temporary because future quantum computers will drastically shrink the hardware needed to run AI. The show closes with a sobering but mobilizing warning. X predicts that by 2026 AI generated images and video will be visually indistinguishable from reality and local personal AI will become common. They argue that 2026 will be a decisive year when communities must step in with local ordinances and organizing to shape how AI is used in schools, workplaces, and everyday life. If people do not act, AI will be used to automate and hard code discrimination and roll back hard won gains, especially for already targeted communities.
Hard Knock Radio is a drive-time Hip-Hop talk show on KPFA (94.1fm @ 4-5 pm Monday-Friday), a community radio station without corporate underwriting, hosted by Davey D and Anita Johnson.