Your Undivided Attention
Co-hosts Tristan Harris, Aza Raskin, and Daniel Barcay explore the unprecedented power of emerging technologies: how they fit into both our lives and 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 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.
Episode 92
How to Think About AI Consciousness with Anil Seth
Will AI ever start to think by itself? If it did, how would we know, and what would it mean? In this episode, Professor of Neuroscience Anil Seth and Aza discuss the science, ethics, and incentives of artificial consciousness.
Episode 91
Why Are Migrants Becoming AI Test Subjects? With Petra Molnar
In response to the growing global refugee crisis, governments are employing novel AI and surveillance technologies to slow the influx of migrants. But will this rollout stop at the border? Tristan and Aza sit down with immigration lawyer Petra Molnar to discuss how borderlands have become a proving ground for high-risk AI technology.
Episode 90
Former OpenAI Engineer William Saunders on Silence, Safety, and the Right to Warn
Whistleblower William Saunders quit over systemic issues at OpenAI. Now he’s put his name to an open letter that proposes 4 principles to protect the right of industry insiders to warn the public about AI risks. On the show this week, Tristan and Aza sit down with Saunders to discuss.
Episode 89
War is a Laboratory for AI with Paul Scharre
Today’s battlefields have become laboratories for the use of AI weaponry and drones. From Ukraine to Gaza, weapons systems with increasing levels of autonomy are being used to kill people and destroy infrastructure. So what does this mean for the future of warfare? Author and former Pentagon policymaker Paul Scharre joins the show to discuss.
Episode 88
AI and Jobs: How to Make AI Work With Us, Not Against Us with Daron Acemoglu
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?
