Musk v. Altman Kicks Off, DOJ Guts Voting Rights Unit, and Is the AI Job Apocalypse Overhyped?

A striking development has emerged in artificial intelligence. Brian Barrett Zoë Schiffer Leah Feiger Business Apr 30, 2026 2:54 PM Musk v. Altman Kicks Off, DOJ Guts Voting Rights Unit, and Is the AI Job Apocalypse Overhyped? In this episode of Uncanny Valley , we get into how the Elon Musk-Sam Altman trial goes way beyond their rivalry and could have major implications both for OpenAI and also the AI industry at large.

Photo-Illustration: WIRED Staff; Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Comment Loader Save Story Save this story This week on Uncanny Valley , the team discusses the stakes behind the trial of Elon Musk against OpenAI’s leadership (and how Microsoft is trying to stay away from the drama). They also look into what recent layoffs announced at Meta and the industry at large say about the ways in which AI is—and isn’t—replacing jobs. Also, we dive into a WIRED investigation on how the Department of Justice has effectively hollowed out its voting rights work, and how this move could impact future elections.

Technical Details

Articles mentioned in this episode: Musk v. Altman Is a Battle for OpenAI’s Soul Some Musk v. Altman Jurors Don't Like Elon Musk ‘It’s Undignified’: Hundreds of Workers Training Meta’s AI Could Be Laid Off ‘The Damage Is Massive’: How the Justice Department Dismantled Its Voting Rights Section You can follow Brian Barrett on Bluesky at @brbarrett , Zoë Schiffer on Bluesky at @zoeschiffer , and Leah Feiger on Bluesky at @leahfeiger .

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Transcript Note: This is an automated transcript, which may contain errors. Zoë Schiffer: Welcome to WIRED's Uncanny Valley . I'm Zoë Schiffer, director of business and industry.

Industry Implications

Brian Barrett: I'm Brian Barrett, executive editor. Leah Feiger: And I'm Leah Feiger, director of politics and science. Zoë Schiffer: Today on the show, we're going to a federal courthouse in Oakland, California to take a look at what has been going down in the Elon Musk versus Sam Altman trial .

We're going to get into how the trial goes way beyond the rivalry between these two guys and could have major implications both for OpenAI , but also for the AI industry at large . Brian Barrett: Speaking of AI, we'll also discuss whether Meta's recent layoffs are a turning point for AI taken over certain jobs. Leah Feiger: And we're going to touch on a story that has gone a little bit under the radar, but it matters now more than ever.

The DOJ voting section has been gutted this past year. Dozens of lawyers have been ousted, and these lawyers were the ones in the government that were upholding the Voting Rights Act, lots to get into.

This advance offers important signals about the future of the sector, and the tech world is watching closely.