Ross Douthat gets the Andy Rooney spot in first episode of nü-60 Minutes

Douthat, who, like his boss Bari Weiss, used to be an opinion columnist at The New York Times, closed out the 60 Minutes season premiere with some thoughts about AI. “We’ll be chasing a lot of stories this season, but right now, no story looms larger than the latest developments in artificial intelligence,” said Douthat before both touting AI’s mathematical acumen and highlighting the recent story about a former AI researcher claiming that humanity was in danger over the tech’s development. “You don’t have to believe that prophecy, but you should believe this: We may have a narrow window, this year, not the next ten, to make artificial intelligence safe for humanity,” continued Douthat before gesturing toward the recent changes at the show. “That clock is ticking, and so is ours. For almost 60 years, it has meant the same thing: Journalism you can trust. Where we’re heading, we’re going to need it.” We’ll have to see whether audiences think that 60 Minutes is still the place to find it.