Jasmine Sun

Writer and Commentator on the Culture and Politics of AI

Jasmine Sun is a writer covering the culture and politics of AI on her Substack. She is also a contributor at The Atlantic, has published stories for outlets including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, and frequently discusses her reporting on podcasts such as The Ezra Klein Show, Odd Lots, Hard Fork, and NPR.

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With a deep understanding of the subculture that shapes the frontier AI labs– such as OpenAI and Anthropic– and socially embedded in the tech industry as well, Jasmine produces deeply investigated pieces at the intersections of technology, society, and culture and has become one of the most trusted voices in AI.

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With her AI populism– which refers to the political elitism and resistance to AI– and anthropology of disruption– pulling the human from the machine– approach, Jasmine offers a refreshing perspective on all the noise and politics of AI. She doesn’t recount the news, she uncovers the deeper stories behind the biggest headlines-- data centers and the disconnect between Main Street and Silicon Valley, the future of education, work and software, and the people behind the decisions and businesses at the frontier of technology.

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Before pivoting to journalism in 2025, Jasmine spent 4 years at Substack, where she led the core product team and oversaw its top writers, mobile apps, podcast tools, and social features. She has also worked in AI policy research at Mozilla and Schmidt Futures. She has received fellowships from Emergent Ventures and the Omidyar Network’s Reporters in Residence program. She lives in sunny San Francisco.

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Topics

Gen Z and Tech

As the Anthropologist of Silicon Valley, Jasmine Sun analyzes the people at the intersection of technology, society, and culture. With a deep understanding of the subculture that shapes the frontier AI labs, Jasmine discusses what it is like to be young and in tech right now and furthermore, how it feels to be young and NOT in tech right now. In this talk, Jasmine dives into the backlash- the harms of social media, low trust in institutions, growing disdain over income inequality, and security and surveillance concerns- and how AI developers and Big Tech are missing the moment. Generally early adopters, younger people- Gen Z particularly- are suspicious and resistant of the adoption of AI in their careers, their educations, and their everyday lives. What does Gen Z’s proven dislike for AI mean for the development of new applications and uses of it? What does it mean for the politics of it? And what does it mean for the future of it?

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Anthropology of Disruption

Jasmine Sun is one of the most trusted voices covering Silicon Valley and the technologies disrupting life as we know it. She covers the gap between Silicon Valley and the people impacted by their products which have quickly become intertwined into all aspects of society– in work, policing, democracy, social media, education, dating, and on and on. Known as Silicon Valley's Anthropologist, Jasmine does not merely react to all this developing technology but also thinks deeply about what it means to pull the human from the machine– not focusing on just what the technology does, but how it makes humans feel. Using her anthropology of disruption approach, Jasmine explores the places and cultures where the past and future collide, telling in-depth stories about what happens when frontier technologies meet established communities and institutions– working to define and fill trust gaps between man and the machine.