Will ChatGPT Ads Change OpenAI? + Amanda Askell Explains Claude's New Constitution

January 23, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

🎙️ The Voices & The Context

The Format: Casual tech news chat between two hosts, blending banter, analysis, and a deep-dive interview with a guest expert.
The Key Players:
- Kevin Roose: NYT Tech Columnist, witty straight man with sharp insights on AI commercialization.
- Casey Newton: Platformer journalist, provides insider scoops and playful chemistry—hosts riff like old friends, trading jokes on tech woes.
- Guest: Amanda Askell: Anthropic philosopher ("Claude Mother"), PhD ethicist shaping AI personalities; fascinating for turning navel-gazing philosophy into high-stakes AI ethics.
The Vibe: Fun and educational, with humorous gripes (e.g., CAPTCHA hell), tech optimism laced with skepticism, and mind-bending philosophy on AI "souls."

🗝️ Key Themes & Topics

The episode dives into AI monetization pressures and ethical sculpting, mixing dread of ad creep with wonder at AI personhood.

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What you'll learn

1 (00:00) **🎙️ Introduction: Amanda Askell**
2 (00:32) **CAPTCHA and Login Frustrations**
3 (02:45) **Ads Arrive in ChatGPT**
4 (05:52) **OpenAI's Ad Principles and Concerns**
5 (10:38) **Ads for Scale and Revenue Needs**
6 (15:20) **Competitive Landscape**
7 (17:23) **Motivations Behind OpenAI's Move**

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

Ads are coming to ChatGPT’s free and low-cost subscription tiers. We explain what they’ll look like, why OpenAI is taking this approach and whether the company can court advertising dollars without compromising quality and user trust. Then, Amanda Askell, Anthropic’s in-house philosopher in charge of shaping Claude’s personality, joins us to discuss the company’s newly released “Claude Constitution” and what it takes to teach a chatbot to be good.

As a bonus, if you’re interested in learning how to get started with Claude Code, you can check out our tutorial on YouTube.

Guest:

Amanda Askell, a member of Anthropic’s technical staff

Additional Reading:

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