Ed Zitron is Compensated for His Affection and Critique of AI.

In his day job, Ed Zitron leads a boutique public relations agency known as EZPR. This may astonish those familiar with Zitron through his podcast, social media, or his newsletter, where he unabashedly states opinions like “Sam Altman is full of shit” and “Mark Zuckerberg is a putrid ghoul.” Typically, PR professionals avoid such blunt language, often sending polished emails to journalists who, on rare occasions, might express themselves similarly. They prefer to connect, hop on calls, and clarify unsettling allegations about their CEOs being labeled as “chunderfucks.”

“That’s one of the issues with people like Sam Altman and Dario Amodei from Anthropic,” Zitron remarked over burgers on a lovely September afternoon in Manhattan. “I work with founders regularly. I consider myself one, though I don’t particularly like the title. When you’re someone who must generate more revenue than what you spend to maintain your business, and then you watch these chunderfucks waste billions—5, 10 billion dollars in a single year—while everyone celebrates them? It’s offensive.”

We discussed whether Zitron’s outspoken views on the AI sector had adversely affected his PR business. He said it hadn’t. There was one client who thought Zitron was being a tad harsh towards Altman, the CEO of OpenAI and the biggest chunderfuck, in Zitron’s opinion. The client argued that starting a company is difficult. “I responded, ‘I get your point, but this isn’t about you,’” Zitron recounted. “His company is losing billions. He’s an awful businessman.”

This encapsulates Zitron’s signature style: a personal affront articulated through the lens of a small business owner who scorns the unchecked extravagance of large corporations. (One might wonder if these CEOs would seem less egregious if their companies were actually profitable.) Zitron has constructed a remarkable niche for himself through bold commentary. His weekly podcast, Better Offline, which examines “the tech industry’s influence and manipulation of society,” has made its way into Spotify’s top 20 tech shows, while his newsletter, Ed Zitron’s Where’s Your Ed At, has soared past 80,000 subscribers. The Ed Zitron media experience also includes a lively Bluesky account, a football podcast, occasional baseball writing, active engagement with r/BetterOffline users, and a book set to release next year that discusses, in his words, “why everything stopped working.” Additionally, he has emerged as a go-to commentator for critiques of AI. When publications like Slate’s What’s Next: TBD or WNYC’s On the Media needed perspectives on the AI bubble, they looked to Zitron. It’s his unique blend of output quantity and an aggrieved tone that has distinguished him in discussions about media personalities and industry giants.

Recently, that combination of volume and style culminated in a quintessential Zitron piece for his newsletter titled “How to Argue With an AI Booster,” stretching over 15,000 words.

Zitron has amassed a following with nearly 200 fans purchasing a $24 Better Offline challenge coin, inscribed with his mantra: “NEVER FORGIVE THEM FOR WHAT THEY’VE DONE TO THE COMPUTER.” I’ve spotted his quotes adorning motivational posters, often in an ironic context. One Threads user expressed her “parasocial crush on a tech critic & writer” who, though unnamed, clearly refers to Zitron. “I just want him to take me to dinner, take me gently but firmly by the hand, and tell me in his confusing, muddled British accent to throw away my goddamn phone,” she lamented. “This would fix me. I’m sure of it.” (A fellow tech journalist noted, “If your writing is inspiring people to develop a crush on you, it could mean you’re doing something very right or very wrong.”)

Functionally, Zitron is fulfilling a need for a critical voice countering the overwhelming optimism around AI. Critics of AI come from diverse perspectives, ranging from those fearing it could herald a momentous superintelligence to deniers who believe it will never replace human judgment. Zitron offers something distinct. He gives people, amidst rampant boosterism and growing distaste for the tech industry, a moral framework for opposing generative AI. “He approaches the subject like a journalist eager for information but free from institutional constraints,” describes Allison Morrow, a business reporter for CNN and a regular guest on Better Offline. “Most journalists shy away from advocating for an industry’s collapse. Their organizations typically don’t endorse that kind of pursuit.”