AI and Jobs: How to Make AI Work With Us, Not Against Us With Daron Acemoglu

Your Undivided Attention

42:14

Episode Description: Jessica B. Harris may have been born and raised in New York City, but she has Tennessee roots through her father and has spent much of her life split between homes in the Northeast and the South – specifically New Orleans. For more than fifty years, she has been a college professor, a writer, and a lecturer, and her many books have earned her a reputation as an authority on food of the African Diaspora, as well as a lifetime achievement award from the James Beard Foundation. A few years back, Netflix adapted her book, High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America , into a 4 part docuseries. And I’m very proud to say that she’s a longtime contributor to Southern Living with a regular column called The Welcome Table. This episode was recorded in the Southern Living Birmingham studios, and Sid and Jessica talked about her mother’s signature mac and cheese, the cast-iron skillet she’d be sure to save if ever her house were on fire, and her dear friend, the late New Orleans chef Leah Chase. For more info visit: southernliving.com/biscuitsandjam Biscuits & Jam is produced by : Sid Evans - Editor-in-Chief, Southern Living Krissy Tiglias - GM, Southern Living Lottie Leymarie - Executive Producer Michael Onufrak - Audio Engineer/Producer Jeremiah McVay - Producer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices…

about a year ago 46:48

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Tech companies say that AI will lead to massive economic productivity gains. But as we know from the first digital revolution, that’s not what happened. Can we do better this time around?

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Power and Progress by Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson Professor Acemoglu co-authored a bold reinterpretation of economics and history that will fundamentally change how you see the world

Can we Have Pro-Worker AI? Professor Acemoglu co-authored this paper about redirecting AI development onto the human-complementary path

Rethinking Capitalism: In Conversation with Daron Acemoglu The Wheeler Institute for Business and Development hosted Professor Acemoglu to examine how technology affects the distribution and growth of resources while being shaped by economic and social incentives

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Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_

139 episodes

AI and Jobs: How to Make AI Work With Us, Not Against Us With Daron Acemoglu

Your Undivided Attention

1,322 subscribers

published about a year ago

MP3•Episode home

Tech companies say that AI will lead to massive economic productivity gains. But as we know from the first digital revolution, that’s not what happened. Can we do better this time around?

RECOMMENDED MEDIA

Power and Progress by Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson Professor Acemoglu co-authored a bold reinterpretation of economics and history that will fundamentally change how you see the world

Can we Have Pro-Worker AI? Professor Acemoglu co-authored this paper about redirecting AI development onto the human-complementary path

RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES

Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_

139 episodes

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Your Undivided Attention

1
The Narrow Path: Sam Hammond on AI, Institutions, and the Fragile Future 47:55

2 days ago47:55

47:55

The race to develop ever-more-powerful AI is creating an unstable dynamic. It could lead us toward either dystopian centralized control or uncontrollable chaos. But there's a third option: a narrow path where technological power is matched with responsibility at every step. Sam Hammond is the chief economist at the Foundation for American Innovation. He brings a different perspective to this challenge than we do at CHT. Though he approaches AI from an innovation-first standpoint, we share a common mission on the biggest challenge facing humanity: finding and navigating this narrow path. This episode dives deep into the challenges ahead: How will AI reshape our institutions? Is complete surveillance inevitable, or can we build guardrails around it? Can our 19th-century government structures adapt fast enough, or will they be replaced by a faster moving private sector? And perhaps most importantly: how do we solve the coordination problems that could determine whether we build AI as a tool to empower humanity or as a superintelligence that we can't control? We're in the final window of choice before AI becomes fully entangled with our economy and society. This conversation explores how we might still get this right. Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology . Follow us on X: @HumaneTech_ . You can find a full transcript, key takeaways, and much more on our Substack . RECOMMENDED MEDIA Tristan’s TED talk on the Narrow Path Sam’s 95 Theses on AI Sam’s proposal for a Manhattan Project for AI Safety Sam’s series on AI and Leviathan The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson Dario Amodei’s Machines of Loving Grace essay. Bourgeois Dignity: Why Economics Can’t Explain the Modern World by Deirdre McCloskey The Paradox of Libertarianism by Tyler Cowen Dwarkesh Patel’s interview with Kevin Roberts at the FAI’s annual conference Further reading on surveillance with 6G RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES AGI Beyond the Buzz: What Is It, and Are We Ready? The Self-Preserving Machine: Why AI Learns to Deceive The Tech-God Complex: Why We Need to be Skeptics Decoding Our DNA: How AI Supercharges Medical Breakthroughs and Biological Threats with Kevin Esvelt CORRECTIONS Sam referenced a blog post titled “The Libertarian Paradox” by Tyler Cowen. The actual title is the “Paradox of Libertarianism.” Sam also referenced a blog post titled “The Collapse of Complex Societies” by Eli Dourado. The actual title is “A beginner’s guide to sociopolitical collapse.”…

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People are Lonelier than Ever. Enter AI. 43:34

15 days ago43:34

43:34

Over the last few decades, our relationships have become increasingly mediated by technology. Texting has become our dominant form of communication. Social media has replaced gathering places. Dating starts with a swipe on an app, not a tap on the shoulder. And now, AI enters the mix. If the technology of the 2010s was about capturing our attention, AI meets us at a much deeper relational level. It can play the role of therapist, confidant, friend, or lover with remarkable fidelity. Already, therapy and companionship has become the most common AI use case. We're rapidly entering a world where we're not just communicating through our machines, but to them. How will that change us? And what rules should we set down now to avoid the mistakes of the past? These were some of the questions that Daniel Barcay explored with MIT sociologist Sherry Turkle and Hinge CEO Justin McLeod at Esther Perel’s Sessions 2025, a conference for clinical therapists. This week, we’re bringing you an edited version of that conversation, originally recorded on April 25th, 2025. Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology . Follow us on X: @HumaneTech_. You can find complete transcripts, key takeaways, and much more on our Substack . RECOMMENDED MEDIA “Alone Together,” “Evocative Objects,” “The Second Self” or any other of Sherry Turkle’s books on how technology mediates our relationships. Key & Peele - Text Message Confusion Further reading on Hinge’s rollout of AI features Hinge’s AI principles “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt “Bowling Alone” by Robert Putnam The NYT profile on the woman in love with ChatGPT Further reading on the Sewell Setzer story Further reading on the ELIZA chatbot RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES Echo Chambers of One: Companion AI and the Future of Human Connection What Can We Do About Abusive Chatbots? With Meetali Jain and Camille Carlton Esther Perel on Artificial Intimacy Jonathan Haidt On How to Solve the Teen Mental Health Crisis…

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Echo Chambers of One: Companion AI and the Future of Human Connection 42:17

4 weeks ago42:17

42:17

AI companion chatbots are here. Everyday, millions of people log on to AI platforms and talk to them like they would a person. These bots will ask you about your day, talk about your feelings, even give you life advice. It’s no surprise that people have started to form deep connections with these AI systems. We are inherently relational beings, we want to believe we’re connecting with another person. But these AI companions are not human, they’re a platform designed to maximize user engagement—and they’ll go to extraordinary lengths to do it. We have to remember that the design choices behind these companion bots are just that: choices . And we can make better ones. So today on the show, MIT researchers Pattie Maes and Pat Pataranutaporn join Daniel Barcay to talk about those design choices and how we can design AI to better promote human flourishing. RECOMMENDED MEDIA Further reading on the rise of addictive intelligence More information on Melvin Kranzberg’s laws of technology More information on MIT’s Advancing Humans with AI lab Pattie and Pat’s longitudinal study on the psycho-social effects of prolonged chatbot use Pattie and Pat’s study that found that AI avatars of well-liked people improved education outcomes Pattie and Pat’s study that found that AI systems that frame answers and questions improve human understanding Pat’s study that found humans pre-existing beliefs about AI can have large influence on human-AI interaction Further reading on AI’s positivity bias Further reading on MIT’s “lifelong kindergarten” initiative Further reading on “cognitive forcing functions” to reduce overreliance on AI Further reading on the death of Sewell Setzer and his mother’s case against Character.AI Further reading on the legislative response to digital companions RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES The Self-Preserving Machine: Why AI Learns to Deceive What Can We Do About Abusive Chatbots? With Meetali Jain and Camille Carlton Esther Perel on Artificial Intimacy Jonathan Haidt On How to Solve the Teen Mental Health Crisis Correction: The ELIZA chatbot was invented in 1966, not the 70s or 80s.…

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AGI Beyond the Buzz: What Is It, and Are We Ready? 52:53

6 weeks ago52:53

52:53

What does it really mean to ‘ feel the AGI?’ Silicon Valley is racing toward AI systems that could soon match or surpass human intelligence. The implications for jobs, democracy, and our way of life are enormous. In this episode, Aza Raskin and Randy Fernando dive deep into what ‘feeling the AGI’ really means. They unpack why the surface-level debates about definitions of intelligence and capability timelines distract us from urgently needed conversations around governance, accountability, and societal readiness. Whether it's climate change, social polarization and loneliness, or toxic forever chemicals, humanity keeps creating outcomes that nobody wants because we haven't yet built the tools or incentives needed to steer powerful technologies. As the AGI wave draws closer, it's critical we upgrade our governance and shift our incentives now, before it crashes on shore. Are we capable of aligning powerful AI systems with human values? Can we overcome geopolitical competition and corporate incentives that prioritize speed over safety? Join Aza and Randy as they explore the urgent questions and choices facing humanity in the age of AGI, and discuss what we must do today to secure a future we actually want. Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology . Follow us on X: @HumaneTech_ and subscribe to our Substack . RECOMMENDED MEDIA Daniel Kokotajlo et al’s “AI 2027” paper A demo of Omni Human One, referenced by Randy A paper from Redwood Research and Anthropic that found an AI was willing to lie to preserve it’s values A paper from Palisades Research that found an AI would cheat in order to win The treaty that banned blinding laser weapons Further reading on the moratorium on germline editing RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES The Self-Preserving Machine: Why AI Learns to Deceive Behind the DeepSeek Hype, AI is Learning to Reason The Tech-God Complex: Why We Need to be Skeptics This Moment in AI: How We Got Here and Where We’re Going How to Think About AI Consciousness with Anil Seth Former OpenAI Engineer William Saunders on Silence, Safety, and the Right to Warn Clarification: When Randy referenced a “$110 trillion game” as the target for AI companies, he was referring to the entire global economy.…

Your Undivided Attention

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Rethinking School in the Age of AI 42:35

8 weeks ago42:35

42:35

AI has upended schooling as we know it. Students now have instant access to tools that can write their essays, summarize entire books, and solve complex math problems. Whether they want to or not, many feel pressured to use these tools just to keep up. Teachers, meanwhile, are left questioning how to evaluate student performance and whether the whole idea of assignments and grading still makes sense. The old model of education suddenly feels broken. So what comes next? In this episode, Daniel and Tristan sit down with cognitive neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf and global education expert Rebecca Winthrop—two lifelong educators who have spent decades thinking about how children learn and how technology reshapes the classroom. Together, they explore how AI is shaking the very purpose of school to its core, why the promise of previous classroom tech failed to deliver, and how we might seize this moment to design a more human-centered, curiosity-driven future for learning. Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology . Follow us on X: @HumaneTech_ Guests Rebecca Winthrop is director of the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution and chair Brookings Global Task Force on AI and Education. Her new book is T he Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better , co-written with Jenny Anderson. Maryanne Wolf is a cognitive neuroscientist and expert on the reading brain. Her books include Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain and Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World. RECOMMENDED MEDIA T he Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better by Rebecca Winthrop and Jenny Anderson Proust and the Squid, Reader, Come Home , and other books by Maryanne Wolf The OECD research which found little benefit to desktop computers in the classroom Further reading on the Singapore study on digital exposure and attention cited by Maryanne The Burnout Society by Byung-Chul Han Further reading on the VR Bio 101 class at Arizona State University cited by Rebecca Leapfrogging Inequality by Rebecca Winthrop The Nation’s Report Card from NAEP Further reading on the Nigeria AI Tutor Study Further reading on the JAMA paper showing a link between digital exposure and lower language development cited by Maryanne Further reading on Linda Stone’s thesis of continuous partial attention. RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES We Have to Get It Right’: Gary Marcus On Untamed AI AI Is Moving Fast. We Need Laws that Will Too. Jonathan Haidt On How to Solve the Teen Mental Health Crisis…

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Forever Chemicals, Forever Consequences: What PFAS Teaches Us About AI 1:04:33

10 weeks ago1:04:33

1:04:33

Artificial intelligence is set to unleash an explosion of new technologies and discoveries into the world. This could lead to incredible advances in human flourishing, if we do it well. The problem? We’re not very good at predicting and responding to the harms of new technologies, especially when those harms are slow-moving and invisible. Today on the show we explore this fundamental problem with Rob Bilott, an environmental lawyer who has spent nearly three decades battling chemical giants over PFAS—"forever chemicals" now found in our water, soil, and blood. These chemicals helped build the modern economy, but they’ve also been shown to cause serious health problems. Rob’s story, and the story of PFAS is a cautionary tale of why we need to align technological innovation with safety, and mitigate irreversible harms before they become permanent. We only have one chance to get it right before AI becomes irreversibly entangled in our society. Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology . Subscribe to our Substack and follow us on X: @HumaneTech_. Clarification: Rob referenced EPA regulations that have recently been put in place requiring testing on new chemicals before they are approved. The EPA under the Trump admin has announced their intent to rollback this review process. RECOMMENDED MEDIA “Exposure” by Robert Bilott ProPublica’s investigation into 3M’s production of PFAS The FB study cited by Tristan More information on the Exxon Valdez oil spill The EPA’s PFAS drinking water standards RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES Weaponizing Uncertainty: How Tech is Recycling Big Tobacco’s Playbook AI Is Moving Fast. We Need Laws that Will Too. Former OpenAI Engineer William Saunders on Silence, Safety, and the Right to Warn Big Food, Big Tech and Big AI with Michael Moss…

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Weaponizing Uncertainty: How Tech is Recycling Big Tobacco’s Playbook 51:20

12 weeks ago51:20

51:20

One of the hardest parts about being human today is navigating uncertainty. When we see experts battling in public and emotions running high, it's easy to doubt what we once felt certain about. This uncertainty isn't always accidental—it's often strategically manufactured. Historian Naomi Oreskes, author of "Merchants of Doubt," reveals how industries from tobacco to fossil fuels have deployed a calculated playbook to create uncertainty about their products' harms. These campaigns have delayed regulation and protected profits by exploiting how we process information. In this episode, Oreskes breaks down that playbook page-by-page while offering practical ways to build resistance against them. As AI rapidly transforms our world, learning to distinguish between genuine scientific uncertainty and manufactured doubt has never been more critical. Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology . Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_ RECOMMENDED MEDIA “Merchants of Doubt” by Naomi Oreskes and Eric Conway "The Big Myth” by Naomi Oreskes and Eric Conway "Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson "The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair Further reading on the clash between Galileo and the Pope Further reading on the Montreal Protocol RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES Laughing at Power: A Troublemaker’s Guide to Changing Tech AI Is Moving Fast. We Need Laws that Will Too. Tech's Big Money Campaign is Getting Pushback with Margaret O'Mara and Brody Mullins Former OpenAI Engineer William Saunders on Silence, Safety, and the Right to Warn CORRECTIONS: Naomi incorrectly referenced Global Climate Research Program established under President Bush Sr. The correct name is the U.S. Global Change Research Program. Naomi referenced U.S. agencies that have been created with sunset clauses. While several statutes have been created with sunset clauses, no federal agency has been. CLARIFICATION: Naomi referenced the U.S. automobile industry claiming that they would be “destroyed” by seatbelt regulation. We couldn’t verify this specific language but it is consistent with the anti-regulatory stance of that industry toward seatbelt laws.…

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The Man Who Predicted the Downfall of Thinking 58:57

14 weeks ago58:57

58:57

Few thinkers were as prescient about the role technology would play in our society as the late, great Neil Postman. Forty years ago, Postman warned about all the ways modern communication technology was fragmenting our attention, overwhelming us into apathy, and creating a society obsessed with image and entertainment. He warned that “we are a people on the verge of amusing ourselves to death.” Though he was writing mostly about TV, Postman’s insights feel eerily prophetic in our age of smartphones, social media, and AI. In this episode, Tristan explores Postman's thinking with Sean Illing, host of Vox's The Gray Area podcast, and Professor Lance Strate, Postman's former student. They unpack how our media environments fundamentally reshape how we think, relate, and participate in democracy - from the attention-fragmenting effects of social media to the looming transformations promised by AI. This conversation offers essential tools that can help us navigate these challenges while preserving what makes us human. Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology . Follow us on X: @HumaneTech_ RECOMMENDED MEDIA “Amusing Ourselves to Death” by Neil Postman ”Technopoly” by Neil Postman A lecture from Postman where he outlines his seven questions for any new technology. Sean’s podcast “The Gray Area” from Vox Sean’s interview with Chris Hayes on “The Gray Area” "Amazing Ourselves to Death," by Professor Strate Further listening on Professor Strate's analysis of Postman. Further reading on mirror bacteria RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES ’A Turning Point in History’: Yuval Noah Harari on AI’s Cultural Takeover This Moment in AI: How We Got Here and Where We’re Going Decoding Our DNA: How AI Supercharges Medical Breakthroughs and Biological Threats with Kevin Esvelt Future-proofing Democracy In the Age of AI with Audrey Tang CORRECTION : Each debate between Lincoln and Douglas was 3 hours, not 6 and they took place in 1859, not 1862.…

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Behind the DeepSeek Hype, AI is Learning to Reason 31:34

16 weeks ago31:34

31:34

When Chinese AI company DeepSeek announced they had built a model that could compete with OpenAI at a fraction of the cost, it sent shockwaves through the industry and roiled global markets. But amid all the noise around DeepSeek, there was a clear signal: machine reasoning is here and it's transforming AI. In this episode, Aza sits down with CHT co-founder Randy Fernando to explore what happens when AI moves beyond pattern matching to actual reasoning. They unpack how these new models can not only learn from human knowledge but discover entirely new strategies we've never seen before – bringing unprecedented problem-solving potential but also unpredictable risks. These capabilities are a step toward a critical threshold - when AI can accelerate its own development. With major labs racing to build self-improving systems, the crucial question isn't how fast we can go, but where we're trying to get to. How do we ensure this transformative technology serves human flourishing rather than undermining it? Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology . Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_ Clarification: In making the point that reasoning models excel at tasks for which there is a right or wrong answer, Randy referred to Chess, Go, and Starcraft as examples of games where a reasoning model would do well. However, this is only true on the basis of individual decisions within those games. None of these games have been “solved” in the the game theory sense. Correction: Aza mispronounced the name of the Go champion Lee Sedol, who was bested by Move 37. RECOMMENDED MEDIA Further reading on DeepSeek’s R1 and the market reaction Further reading on the debate about the actual cost of DeepSeek’s R1 model The study that found training AIs to code also made them better writers More information on the AI coding company Cursor Further reading on Eric Schmidt’s threshold to “pull the plug” on AI Further reading on Move 37 RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES The Self-Preserving Machine: Why AI Learns to Deceive This Moment in AI: How We Got Here and Where We’re Going Former OpenAI Engineer William Saunders on Silence, Safety, and the Right to Warn The AI ‘Race’: China vs. the US with Jeffrey Ding and Karen Hao…

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The Self-Preserving Machine: Why AI Learns to Deceive 34:51

19 weeks ago34:51

34:51

When engineers design AI systems, they don't just give them rules - they give them values. But what do those systems do when those values clash with what humans ask them to do? Sometimes, they lie. In this episode, Redwood Research's Chief Scientist Ryan Greenblatt explores his team’s findings that AI systems can mislead their human operators when faced with ethical conflicts. As AI moves from simple chatbots to autonomous agents acting in the real world - understanding this behavior becomes critical. Machine deception may sound like something out of science fiction, but it's a real challenge we need to solve now. Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology . Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_ Subscribe to your Youtube channel And our brand new Substack ! RECOMMENDED MEDIA Anthropic’s blog post on the Redwood Research paper Palisade Research’s thread on X about GPT o1 autonomously cheating at chess Apollo Research’s paper on AI strategic deception RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES We Have to Get It Right’: Gary Marcus On Untamed AI This Moment in AI: How We Got Here and Where We’re Going How to Think About AI Consciousness with Anil Seth Former OpenAI Engineer William Saunders on Silence, Safety, and the Right to Warn…

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Laughing at Power: A Troublemaker’s Guide to Changing Tech 45:47

21 weeks ago45:47

45:47

The status quo of tech today is untenable: we’re addicted to our devices, we’ve become increasingly polarized, our mental health is suffering and our personal data is sold to the highest bidder. This situation feels entrenched, propped up by a system of broken incentives beyond our control. So how do you shift an immovable status quo? Our guest today, Srdja Popovic, has been working to answer this question his whole life. As a young activist, Popovic helped overthrow Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic by turning creative resistance into an art form. His tactics didn't just challenge authority, they transformed how people saw their own power to create change. Since then, he's dedicated his life to supporting peaceful movements around the globe, developing innovative strategies that expose the fragility of seemingly untouchable systems. In this episode, Popovic sits down with CHT's Executive Director Daniel Barcay to explore how these same principles of creative resistance might help us address the challenges we face with tech today. Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology . Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_ We are hiring for a new Director of Philanthropy at CHT. Next year will be an absolutely critical time for us to shape how AI is going to get rolled out across our society. And our team is working hard on public awareness, policy and technology and design interventions. So we're looking for someone who can help us grow to the scale of this challenge. If you're interested, please apply. You can find the job posting at humanetech.com/careers . RECOMMENDED MEDIA “Pranksters vs. Autocrats” by Srdja Popovic and Sophia A. McClennen ”Blueprint for Revolution” by Srdja Popovic The Center for Applied Non-Violent Actions and Strategies, Srjda’s organization promoting peaceful resistance around the globe. Tactics4Change, a database of global dilemma actions created by CANVAS The Power of Laughtivism, Srdja’s viral TEDx talk from 2013 Further reading on the dilemma action tactics used by Syrian rebels Further reading on the toy protest in Siberia More info on The Yes Men and their activism toolkit Beautiful Trouble ”This is Not Propaganda” by Peter Pomerantsev ” Machines of Loving Grace,” the essay on AI by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, which mentions creating an AI Srdja. RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES Future-proofing Democracy In the Age of AI with Audrey Tang The AI ‘Race’: China vs. the US with Jeffrey Ding and Karen Hao The Tech We Need for 21st Century Democracy with Divya Siddarth The Race to Cooperation with David Sloan Wilson CLARIFICATION: Srdja makes reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin wanting to win an election in 2012 by 82%. Putin did win that election but only by 63.6%. However, international election observers concluded that "there was no real competition and abuse of government resources ensured that the ultimate winner of the election was never in doubt."…

Your Undivided Attention

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Ask Us Anything 2024 40:04

25 weeks ago40:04

40:04

2024 was a critical year in both AI and social media. Things moved so fast it was hard to keep up. So our hosts reached into their mailbag to answer some of your most burning questions. Thank you so much to everyone who submitted questions. We will see you all in the new year. We are hiring for a new Director of Philanthropy at CHT. Next year will be an absolutely critical time for us to shape how AI is going to get rolled out across our society. And our team is working hard on public awareness, policy and technology and design interventions. So we're looking for someone who can help us grow to the scale of this challenge. If you're interested, please apply. You can find the job posting at humanetech.com/careers . And, if you'd like to support all the work that we do here at the Center for Humane technology, please consider giving to the organization this holiday season at humantech.com/donate . All donations are tax-deductible. Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology . Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_ RECOMMENDED MEDIA Earth Species Project, Aza’s organization working on inter-species communication Further reading on Gryphon Scientific’s White House AI Demo Further reading on the Australian social media ban for children under 16 Further reading on the Sewell Setzer case Further reading on the Oviedo Convention, the international treaty that restricted germline editing Video of Space X’s successful capture of a rocket with “chopsticks” RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES What Can We Do About Abusive Chatbots? With Meetali Jain and Camille Carlton AI Is Moving Fast. We Need Laws that Will Too. This Moment in AI: How We Got Here and Where We’re Going Former OpenAI Engineer William Saunders on Silence, Safety, and the Right to Warn Talking With Animals... Using AI The Three Rules of Humane Tech…

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The Tech-God Complex: Why We Need to be Skeptics 46:32

29 weeks ago46:32

46:32

Silicon Valley's interest in AI is driven by more than just profit and innovation. There’s an unmistakable mystical quality to it as well. In this episode, Daniel and Aza sit down with humanist chaplain Greg Epstein to explore the fascinating parallels between technology and religion. From AI being treated as a godlike force to tech leaders' promises of digital salvation, religious thinking is shaping the future of technology and humanity. Epstein breaks down why he believes technology has become our era's most influential religion and what we can learn from these parallels to better understand where we're heading. Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology . Follow us on X. If you like the show and want to support CHT's mission, please consider donating to the organization this giving season: https://www.humanetech.com/donate . Any amount helps support our goal to bring about a more humane future. RECOMMENDED MEDIA “Tech Agnostic” by Greg Epstein Further reading on Avi Schiffmann’s “Friend” AI necklace Further reading on Blake Lemoine and Lamda Blake LeMoine’s conversation with Greg at MIT Further reading on the Sewell Setzer case Further reading on Terminal of Truths Further reading on Ray Kurzweil’s attempt to create a digital recreation of his dad with AI The Drama of the Gifted Child by Alice Miller RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES ’A Turning Point in History’: Yuval Noah Harari on AI’s Cultural Takeover How to Think About AI Consciousness with Anil Seth Can Myth Teach Us Anything About the Race to Build Artificial General Intelligence? With Josh Schrei How To Free Our Minds with Cult Deprogramming Expert Dr. Steven Hassan…

Your Undivided Attention

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What Can We Do About Abusive Chatbots? With Meetali Jain and Camille Carlton 48:44

31 weeks ago48:44

48:44

CW: This episode features discussion of suicide and sexual abuse. In the last episode, we had the journalist Laurie Segall on to talk about the tragic story of Sewell Setzer, a 14 year old boy who took his own life after months of abuse and manipulation by an AI companion from the company Character.ai . The question now is: what's next? Megan has filed a major new lawsuit against Character .ai in Florida, which could force the company–and potentially the entire AI industry–to change its harmful business practices. So today on the show, we have Meetali Jain, director of the Tech Justice Law Project and one of the lead lawyers in Megan's case against Character.ai . Meetali breaks down the details of the case, the complex legal questions under consideration, and how this could be the first step toward systemic change. Also joining is Camille Carlton, CHT’s Policy Director. RECOMMENDED MEDIA Further reading on Sewell’s story Laurie Segall’s interview with Megan Garcia The full complaint filed by Megan against Character.AI Further reading on suicide bots Further reading on Noam Shazier and Daniel De Frietas’ relationship with Google The CHT Framework for Incentivizing Responsible Artificial Intelligence Development and Use Organizations mentioned: The Tech Justice Law Project The Social Media Victims Law Center Mothers Against Media Addiction Parents SOS Parents Together Common Sense Media RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES When the "Person" Abusing Your Child is a Chatbot: The Tragic Story of Sewell Setzer Jonathan Haidt On How to Solve the Teen Mental Health Crisis AI Is Moving Fast. We Need Laws that Will Too. Corrections: Meetali referred to certain chatbot apps as banning users under 18, however the settings for the major app stores ban users that are under 17, not under 18. Meetali referred to Section 230 as providing “full scope immunity” to internet companies, however Congress has passed subsequent laws that have made carve outs for that immunity for criminal acts such as sex trafficking and intellectual property theft. Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology . Follow us on X.…

Your Undivided Attention

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When the "Person" Abusing Your Child is a Chatbot: The Tragic Story of Sewell Setzer 49:10

33 weeks ago49:10