Conversation with @_ethanleonard, Founder of EcoGPT 0:00 Mission & Sustainable AI 2:00 Finland Data Center Infrastructure 3:27 Ethan's Origin Story & Leaving CS 5:13 Partnering with Blake Anderson 6:24 Organic Growth & Tree Planting Virality 8:57 UGC Strategy & App Monetization 10:02 Hiring Strategy & AI Sourcing Agents 13:15 Critique of Big AI Labs & Data Privacy 15:08 Founder Mindset & Obsession Over Balance 16:47 Setting Ceilings & Execution 18:27 Product-Market Fit & Community Sentiment 19:31 Scaling Pains & Delegating Engineering 21:07 Running Start & High School Sacrifices 25:41 Sourcing Talent with a Chip on Their Shoulder 26:18 Finding Fulfillment in Helping Others 27:50 The Risks of Centralized AI Power 29:51 AI Abundance vs. Human Purpose 31:18 EcoGPT's Long-Term Vision 33:57 Environmental Impact & Model Efficiency 36:28 Decentralization & AI Safety Spectrum 38:02 One-Year Goals & 100M WAU Target

While Silicon Valley and Washington fight over AI’s future, a 20-year-old shipped his own answer and a million people are using it. This is Ethan Leonard, and he’s built an eco-conscious alternative to ChatGPT called EcoGPT. His case is blunt: AI Labs are draining countries’ water and power, training on your private data, and cashing in on the very risks it warns about. That AI Labs are headed down the same path as Big Pharma: profit over people. Full Episode releasing tomorrow on YouTube and Spotify.