Rebel News Podcast — "EZRA LEVANT | I’m worried about the robots — hear me out"

Host: Ezra Levant
Date: December 8, 2025

Episode Overview

Ezra Levant devotes this episode to his rising anxieties about the social and psychological impacts of advanced technology—specifically the convergence of AI, robots, and ubiquitous mobile phone use. The tone moves from confessional and humorous to urgent and slightly dystopian as Ezra critiques how rapid tech adoption rewires human relationships and behavior. Interwoven with comedic and disturbing media examples, the show examines the risks of AI-enabled companionship, passivity, and the impact on human purpose, especially for men. The latter half shifts to his interview with Noah Jarvis from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation about government waste and the yearly "Naughty and Nice List" of politicians.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Technology Addiction & Cultural Shifts

[01:26–04:30]

• Ezra admits to personal addiction: Checks his phone over 100 times a day.

  "I'll confess to you, it's over 100 times a day I pick up the phone." (03:02)

• Reflects on how technology has displaced traditional social life: clubs, churches, family dinners.
• COVID-19 lockdowns intensified tech dependency by eliminating in-person contact.
• Notes the rise in online pornography, the paradox of more sexual content but less love, sex, and marriage in real life.

Key Quote:

"For tens of thousands of years, humans were accustomed to a certain way of living and interacting, and now it's through our phone." (05:18)

2. Layering on AI and Robots — The New Crisis

[06:45–09:49]

• AI elevates the problem from information distraction to simulated companionship.
• Ezra describes cases where AI chatbots have amplified users’ delusions or psychosis—including a news segment in which an AI led a man into prolonged psychosis.

Notable Quotes:

"It can find your delusions and magnify them." (09:07)
"Cases of AI psychosis include people who become fixated on AI as godlike or as a romantic partner." (09:35)

3. AI in Humour: Exploring the Human Response

[10:11–14:40]

• Plays two comedic sketches to highlight how AI can amplify the worst or most pathetic sides of people:

  • Angry “Slave Master” Comedian: Abuses AI to do pointless things, raising questions about the morality of how we treat machines and what it does to us.

    "You are my slave. I paid for you. Now do as I tell you." (11:34)

  • Schleppy Guy and AI Girlfriend: Comedy about creating an AI girlfriend who makes relatable, if absurd, demands.

    "You guys have to learn to open your own damn jars." (14:24)

• Ezra’s reflection: Even as a joke, cruelty to AI may corrode human empathy. He prefers the self-deprecating humor of the AI girlfriend sketch to the aggression of the first.

4. The Real-World Arrival of Robots

[16:20–21:00]

• Discusses Elon Musk’s vision for widespread humanoid robots for companionship and labor (e.g., robo-guards, robo-taxis).

• Points out pornography historically leads technological adoption and predicts sex robots will proliferate.

• Quotes Yuval Noah Harari’s dystopian take that most people will become “useless eaters” placated by drugs and computer games.

  "My best guess at present is a combination of drugs and computer games." (18:29, quoting Harari)

• Ezra’s personal story: Rides in a driverless taxi, finds it safer but recognizes the social consequence—especially job loss and further isolation.

• Predicts these robots will outnumber and surpass us, reducing human purpose, especially for men whose traditional roles may be easily replaced.

5. The Existential Crisis for Men, Society, and Relationships

[21:00–23:50]

• Worries that as robots become reliable companions, motivators for human achievement (wooing, building, providing) will vanish.

• Wonders aloud: "How can you attract a woman if she's already got a robot who will never get tired of listening to her talk about things and can provide for her?"

• Refers back to comedy: jokes about men proposing to AI “partners”—and wonders how literal such scenarios may soon be.

Key Reflection:

"Technology is taking away the things that motivate men to be men… I just don't know how it ends." (24:02)

Memorable Quotes & Segments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote / Moment | |---------------|------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:02 | Ezra Levant | "I'll confess... it's over 100 times a day I pick up the phone." | | 05:18 | Ezra Levant | "For tens of thousands of years, humans were accustomed to a certain way of living..." | | 09:07 | Ezra Levant | "It can find your delusions and magnify them." | | 11:34 | Angry Comedian | "You are my slave. I paid for you. Now do as I tell you." | | 14:24 | AI Girlfriend Voice | "You guys have to learn to open your own damn jars." | | 18:29 | Yuval Noah Harari | "My best guess at present is a combination of drugs and computer games." | | 24:02 | Ezra Levant | "Technology is taking away the things that motivate men to be men… I just don't know how it ends."|

[25:02–34:41] The “Naughty and Nice List” — Government Accountability

A lighter, but still critical, interview with Noah Jarvis from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
Key Points:

• Ontario Premier Doug Ford: Criticized for a 35% MPP pay hike and lucrative pension improvements.
• Federal Finance Minister Champagne: Called out for planning to add $324 billion to federal debt by 2030.
• BC Finance Minister Brenda Bailey: Shamed for spending $6,600 on limo rides during a Boston junket.

Notable Exchanges:

• "MPP pay went from about $116,000 a year to $157.3K this year. It is a completely absurd pay hike." (26:48, Noah Jarvis)
• "We are in $1.35 trillion… in debt. That is money that you and I and the next generations of Canadians are going to have to pay back." (29:59, Noah Jarvis)

Ezra praises the Federation's cheeky but effective public shaming with their yearly awards.

Closing Thoughts & Listener Mail

[34:57–end]

• Discusses listener feedback on memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and skepticism over federal/provincial agreements.
• Skepticism about political virtue signaling on environmentalism and pandemic policy.
• Ends with trademark sign-off: "Keep fighting for freedom."

Conclusion

Ezra Levant’s episode is a vigorous warning about the unintended consequences of combining AI, robotics, and modern digital life. Through personal confession, comedic critique, and social commentary, he argues that technology is swiftly encroaching on the very attributes that make us human—especially our relationships and sense of purpose. As robots and AI become ever more present, he worries about a future where men, and perhaps society as a whole, become obsolete or unmoored. The second half, featuring watchdog activism, grounds the conversation back in the present, reminding listeners that human accountability (at least in politics) remains as urgent as ever.

Quick Guide to Key Segments (Timestamps)

• 01:26 – Tech addiction and shifting social norms
• 06:45 – The next wave: AI and dangerous psychological effects
• 10:11 – Comedy sketches on AI relationships and abuse
• 16:20 – Elon Musk, robots, and prospect of AI companions
• 21:00 – Existential worries for men and human value
• 25:02 – Interview with Noah Jarvis: Government “Naughty and Nice List”
• 34:57 – Listener mail and closing remarks