Episode overview

EMERGENCY DEBATE: The Economy Is About To Collapse! The 2026 AI Crisis Nobody Sees Coming

Diary of a CEO · 28 May 2026 · 5 Egleze moments

What happened in this episode?

In this episode of The Diary of a CEO, host Steven Bartlett brought together entrepreneur Kevin O'Leary and political commentator Cenk Uygur for a wide-ranging debate on AI, geopolitics, and the future of American politics. The most explosive revelation came when O'Leary claimed he has provided federal agents with forensic evidence showing Chinese entities are secretly funding opposition to U.S. data center construction through an organization called Arabella, allegedly to slow American AI development. The conversation turned heated on AI-driven unemployment, with Uygur warning of an inevitable depression as companies plan to eliminate 10-25% of workforces, while O'Leary countered that new technologies always create opportunity and cited projects like Mars colonization as future job generators. On Middle East policy, Uygur accused Israel of driving U.S. war strategy through campaign donations totaling over $317 million to Trump from the Adelson family alone, claiming every attempted peace deal is blocked by Netanyahu. He alleged U.S. forces used AI to kill 160 schoolgirls in Tehran and warned the war will cause permanent economic damage. O'Leary presented a more optimistic view, arguing advanced precision weaponry and Chinese pressure on Iran will force a resolution. The episode closed with Uygur predicting Tucker Carlson will win the 2028 Republican primary and potentially the presidency, citing collapsing voter enthusiasm and coming disasters from AI unemployment and war.

What are the key points?

O'Leary provided federal agents with 90 pages of evidence linking Chinese entities to anti-data center campaigns across America through Arabella and IRS 990 filings.
Uygur warned that corporate plans to fire 10-25% of workforces using AI will trigger a depression worse than anything in our lifetimes.
Bartlett revealed Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi admitted he doesn't know what 9.4 million drivers will do after automation and that tech executives aren't being transparent publicly.
Uygur alleged U.S. forces used AI targeting to kill over 160 schoolgirls in a Tehran strike, citing it as evidence AI military applications produce catastrophic civilian casualties.
Uygur claimed the Adelson family has given Trump over $317 million and that Israel controls U.S. Middle East policy through campaign donations to 94% of Congress.
O'Leary argued new AI jobs in Mars colonization, space data centers, and engineering will offset displacement, comparing current fears to past technology disruptions.
Uygur predicted Tucker Carlson will definitively win the 2028 Republican primary if he runs, putting his reputation on the line similar to his correct 2016 Trump prediction.

Which topics are covered?

Espionage AI & Tech Money Military Politics

How is this page sourced?

Programme: Diary of a CEO
Published: 28 May 2026
Original episode: Open the original source ↗

Egleze verifies the speaker, source and timestamp for each linked moment. Unless a moment is explicitly marked independently verified, statements remain attributed claims by the named speaker rather than established facts.

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5 moments from this episode

Source-linked · editorially selected

Espionage

O'Leary Claims Chinese Operatives Are Secretly Funding Anti-Data Center Campaigns in Utah

at 4:46 · Attributed speaker claim

I caught him through the IRS 990 filings and I handed it over to the White House and to a bunch of special agents. I have irrefutable evidence the Chinese are meddling in every place where new power is being proposed in America, every state, every city.

Kevin O'Leary revealed he has provided U.S. federal agents with 90 pages of evidence showing Chinese entities, operating through an organization called Arabella and Neville Singham, are funding opposition to data center development across America. O'Leary hired forensic auditors who traced IP addresses and IRS 990 filings linking anti-infrastructure campaigns to Chinese sources, claiming this represents a deliberate effort to stymie U.S. AI development.

Read this moment → Check original at 4:46 ↗

AI & Tech

Uygur Predicts Mass Unemployment Depression Worse Than Anything in Our Lifetimes

at 9:59 · Attributed speaker claim

If everybody goes to fire 10 to 25% of their employees, we are going to have not just a recession but a depression like we've never seen in our lives. And everybody's whistling past the graveyard here.

Cenk Uygur warned that widespread corporate plans to eliminate 10-25% of workforces using AI will trigger an unprecedented economic depression. He stated that Wall Street is incentivizing mass layoffs without considering who will buy products when tens of millions are unemployed, and criticized the lack of government planning for this inevitable crisis beyond Congressman Ro Khanna.

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Military

Uygur Claims U.S. Used AI to Kill 160 Schoolgirls in Tehran Strike

at 19:14 · Attributed speaker claim

There are reports that we used AI in targeting that girl school in Tehran where we killed over 160 innocent schoolgirls. So if that's what AI is gonna bring us in precision, as Kevin called it, no thank you.

Cenk Uygur alleged that U.S. forces used AI-guided targeting systems in a strike on a girls' school in Tehran that killed more than 160 students. He cited this as evidence that AI military applications are already producing catastrophic civilian casualties and argued against trusting AI for life-and-death decisions in warfare.

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AI & Tech

Uber CEO Admits He Doesn't Know What 9.4 Million Drivers Will Do After Automation

at 45:32 · Attributed speaker claim

I spoke to Dara, the CEO of Uber, and when I asked him the question, what will those 9.4 million people do? And his response to me, the direct quote is he said, I don't know, which is pretty shocking.

Steven Bartlett revealed that Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi confirmed the company will automate its 9.4 million driver jobs with autonomous vehicles but admitted he has no answer for what those workers will do afterward. Bartlett noted Khosrowshahi privately acknowledged tech executives are not being transparent about AI's coming job displacement.

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Politics

Uygur Predicts Tucker Carlson Will Win 2028 Republican Primary and Possibly Presidency

at 1:38:36 · Attributed speaker claim

They only have one guy who could win, and I'm worried about it, and that's Tucker Carlson. If Tucker runs in the Republican primary, he definitely wins that primary. You can quote me on it.

Cenk Uygur made a bold prediction that Tucker Carlson would defeat all challengers if he runs in the 2028 Republican primary, citing Carlson's populist appeal and massive media base. Uygur warned that after disasters from AI unemployment and Middle East war policy, Carlson represents the only viable Republican path to victory, comparing it to his correct 2016 Trump prediction when polls showed Clinton ahead by 10 points.

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