Echo Chambers of One: Companion AI and the Future of Human Connection
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 MEDIAFurther reading on the rise of addictive intelligence More information on Melvin Kranzberg’s laws of technologyMore information on MIT’s Advancing Humans with AI labPattie and Pat’s longitudinal study on the psycho-social effects of prolonged chatbot usePattie and Pat’s study that found that AI avatars of well-liked people improved education outcomesPattie and Pat’s study that found that AI systems that frame answers and questions improve human understandingPat’s study that found humans pre-existing beliefs about AI can have large influence on human-AI interaction Further reading on AI’s positivity biasFurther reading on MIT’s “lifelong kindergarten” initiativeFurther reading on “cognitive forcing functions” to reduce overreliance on AIFurther reading on the death of Sewell Setzer and his mother’s case against Character.AIFurther reading on the legislative response to digital companionsRECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESThe Self-Preserving Machine: Why AI Learns to DeceiveWhat Can We Do About Abusive Chatbots? With Meetali Jain and Camille CarltonEsther Perel on Artificial IntimacyJonathan 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?
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 MEDIADaniel Kokotajlo et al’s “AI 2027” paperA demo of Omni Human One, referenced by RandyA paper from Redwood Research and Anthropic that found an AI was willing to lie to preserve it’s valuesA paper from Palisades Research that found an AI would cheat in order to winThe treaty that banned blinding laser weaponsFurther reading on the moratorium on germline editing RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESThe Self-Preserving Machine: Why AI Learns to DeceiveBehind the DeepSeek Hype, AI is Learning to ReasonThe Tech-God Complex: Why We Need to be SkepticsThis Moment in AI: How We Got Here and Where We’re GoingHow to Think About AI Consciousness with Anil SethFormer OpenAI Engineer William Saunders on Silence, Safety, and the Right to WarnClarification: When Randy referenced a “$110 trillion game” as the target for AI companies, he was referring to the entire global economy.
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Rethinking School in the Age of AI
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_GuestsRebecca 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 The 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 The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better by Rebecca Winthrop and Jenny AndersonProust and the Squid, Reader, Come Home, and other books by Maryanne WolfThe OECD research which found little benefit to desktop computers in the classroomFurther 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 WinthropThe 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 EPISODESWe 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
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 EPISODESWeaponizing 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 WarnBig Food, Big Tech and Big AI with Michael Moss
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Weaponizing Uncertainty: How Tech is Recycling Big Tobacco’s Playbook
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 EPISODESLaughing 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 WarnCORRECTIONS: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.
Join us every other Thursday to understand how new technologies are shaping the way we live, work, and think.
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