Your Undivided Attention
Co-hosts Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin explore the unprecedented power of emerging technologies: how they fit into our lives, and how they fit into a humane future. Join us every other Thursday as we confront challenges and explore solutions with a wide range of thought leaders and change-makers.
Your Undivided Attention is produced by Executive Producer Sasha Fegan and Senior Producer Julia Scott. Our Researcher/Producer is Josh Lash.
Episode 96
We Have to Get It Right’: Gary Marcus On Untamed AI
Computer scientist Gary Marcus has been called AI’s loudest critic, and he predicts AI’s exponential curve will soon flatten out. He also thinks we’re unprepared to handle the AI we already have. In this episode, Gary discusses his AI skepticism and what we need to do to get this rollout right.
Episode 95
AI Is Moving Fast. We Need Laws that Will Too.
As companies race to roll out more capable AI models–with little regard for safety–the downstream risks become harder to counter. On Your Undivided Attention this week, our policy director Casey Mock outlines a new legal framework to incentivize better AI development through product liability law.
Esther Perel on Artificial Intimacy
[This episode originally aired on August 17, 2023] AI is harming our relationships, warns acclaimed psychotherapist Esther Perel. What would it look like for technology to strengthen our social bonds, rather than depriving us of the nuance that allows us to connect?
Episode 94
Tech's Big Money Campaign is Getting Pushback with Margaret O'Mara and Brody Mullins
Today, the tech industry is the second-biggest lobbying force in Washington, but that wasn’t true even ten years ago. How did we get here? And where are we headed next? Tristan and Daniel discuss how big tech has changed American lobbying with historian Margaret O’Mara and journalist Brody Mullins.
SPOTLIGHT
This Moment in AI: How We Got Here and Where We’re Going
It’s been a year and half since Tristan and Aza laid out their vision and concerns for the future of artificial intelligence in The AI Dilemma. In this episode, the guys discuss what’s happened since then and where we could be headed next.
Episode 93
Decoding Our DNA: How AI Supercharges Medical Breakthroughs and Biological Threats with Kevin Esvelt
AI has been a powerful accelerant for biological research, rapidly opening up new frontiers in medicine and public health. But that progress can also make it easier for bad actors to manufacture new biological threats. In this episode, Tristan and Daniel sit down with biologist Kevin Esvelt to discuss why AI has been such a boon for biologists and how we can safeguard society against the threats that AIxBio poses.
