Podcasts about your undivided attention

Imagine a future where the most persuasive voices in our society aren't human. Where AI generated speech fills our newsfeeds, talks to our children, and influences our elections. Where digital systems with no consciousness can hold bank accounts and property.  Where AI companies have transferred the wealth of human labor and creativity to their own ledgers without having to pay a cent. All without any legal accountability.This isn't a science fiction scenario. It's the future we're racing towards right now. The biggest tech companies are working right now to tip the scale of power in society away from humans and towards their AI systems. And the biggest arena for this fight is in the courts.In the absence of regulation, it's largely up to judges to determine the guardrails around AI. Judges who are relying on slim technical knowledge and archaic precedent to decide where this all goes. In this episode, Harvard Law professor Larry Lessig and Meetali Jain, director of the Tech Justice Law Project help make sense of the court's role in steering AI and what we can do to help steer it better.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“The First Amendment Does Not Protect Replicants” by Larry LessigMore information on the Tech Justice Law ProjectFurther reading on Sewell Setzer's storyFurther reading on NYT v. SullivanFurther reading on the Citizens United caseFurther reading on Google's deal with Character AIMore information on Megan Garcia's foundation, The Blessed Mother Family FoundationRECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESWhen the "Person" Abusing Your Child is a Chatbot: The Tragic Story of Sewell SetzerWhat Can We Do About Abusive Chatbots? With Meetali Jain and Camille CarltonAI Is Moving Fast. We Need Laws that Will Too.The AI Dilemma 

In 2023, researcher Daniel Kokotajlo left OpenAI—and risked millions in stock options—to warn the world about the dangerous direction of AI development. Now he's out with AI 2027, a forecast of where that direction might take us in the very near future. AI 2027 predicts a world where humans lose control over our destiny at the hands of misaligned, super-intelligent AI systems within just the next few years. That may sound like science fiction but when you're living on the upward slope of an exponential curve, science fiction can quickly become all too real. And you don't have to agree with Daniel's specific forecast to recognize that the incentives around AI could take us to a very bad place.We invited Daniel on the show this week to discuss those incentives, how they shape the outcomes he predicts in AI 2027, and what concrete steps we can take today to help prevent those outcomes.  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 MEDIAThe AI 2027 forecast from the AI Futures ProjectDaniel's original AI 2026 blog post Further reading on Daniel's departure from OpenAIAnthropic recently released a survey of all the recent emergent misalignment researchOur statement in support of Sen. Grassley's AI Whistleblower bill RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESThe Narrow Path: Sam Hammond on AI, Institutions, and the Fragile FutureAGI Beyond the Buzz: What Is It, and Are We Ready?Behind the DeepSeek Hype, AI is Learning to ReasonThe Self-Preserving Machine: Why AI Learns to DeceiveClarification: Daniel K. referred to whistleblower protections that apply when companies “break promises” or “mislead the public.” There are no specific private sector whistleblower protections that use these standards. In almost every case, a specific law has to have been broken to trigger whistleblower protections. 

Tech leaders promise that AI automation will usher in an age of unprecedented abundance: cheap goods, universal high income, and freedom from the drudgery of work. But even if AI delivers material prosperity, will that prosperity be shared? And what happens to human dignity if our labor and contributions become obsolete?Political philosopher Michael Sandel joins Tristan Harris to explore why the promise of AI-driven abundance could deepen inequalities and leave our society hollow. Drawing from his landmark work on justice and merit, Sandel argues that this isn't just about economics — it's about what it means to be human when our work role in society vanishes, and whether democracy can survive if productivity becomes our only goal.We've seen this story before with globalization: promises of shared prosperity that instead hollowed out the industrial heart of communities, economic inequalities, and left holes in the social fabric. Can we learn from the past, and steer the AI revolution in a more humane direction?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 MEDIAThe Tyranny of Merit by Michael SandelDemocracy's Discontent by Michael SandelWhat Money Can't Buy by Michael SandelTake Michael's online course “Justice”Michael's discussion on AI Ethics at the World Economic ForumFurther reading on “The Intelligence Curse”Read the full text of Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 speechRead the full text of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1968 speechNeil Postman's lecture on the seven questions to ask of any new technologyRECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESAGI Beyond the Buzz: What Is It, and Are We Ready?The Man Who Predicted the Downfall of ThinkingThe Tech-God Complex: Why We Need to be SkepticsThe Three Rules of Humane TechAI and Jobs: How to Make AI Work With Us, Not Against Us with Daron AcemogluMustafa Suleyman Says We Need to Contain AI. How Do We Do It?

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 PathSam's 95 Theses on AISam's proposal for a Manhattan Project for AI SafetySam's series on AI and LeviathanThe Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty by Daron Acemoglu and James RobinsonDario Amodei's Machines of Loving Grace essay.Bourgeois Dignity: Why Economics Can't Explain the Modern World by Deirdre McCloskeyThe Paradox of Libertarianism by Tyler CowenDwarkesh Patel's interview with Kevin Roberts at the FAI's annual conferenceFurther reading on surveillance with 6GRECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESAGI 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 EsveltCORRECTIONSSam 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.”

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 featuresHinge's AI principles“The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt“Bowling Alone” by Robert PutnamThe NYT profile on the woman in love with ChatGPTFurther reading on the Sewell Setzer storyFurther reading on the ELIZA chatbotRECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESEcho Chambers of One: Companion AI and the Future of Human ConnectionWhat 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

Today, Tim is joined by  Jen Leban for a discussion centered around technology, focus, and the changing dynamics of student engagement. Tim begins with some reflections on learning, creativity, and multitasking, and Jen dives into the impact of the attention economy on how students receive, process, and learn information. The conversation continues and covers the concept of continuous partial attention, the use of AI, and how the arts can help us continue to learn in creative ways. Resources and Links Join the Art of Ed Community Continuous Partial Attention Listen to the Your Undivided Attention podcast The Disengaged Teen  

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. 

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

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

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. 

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 (PDF of full book)”Technopoly” by Neil Postman (PDF of full book) 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” Further reading on mirror bacteriaRECOMMENDED 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 GoingDecoding Our DNA: How AI Supercharges Medical Breakthroughs and Biological Threats with Kevin Esvelt Future-proofing Democracy In the Age of AI with Audrey TangCORRECTION:  Each debate between Lincoln and Douglas was 3 hours, not 6 and they took place in 1859, not 1862.

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 MEDIAFurther 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 37RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESThe 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 

Episode 147: Kender du betydningen af sproget? I denne episode taler vi om god kommunikation er i stand til at fange os når vi er ubevogtede og hvordan vi derfor er lette at manipulere med. Vi taler om hvor vigtig framing er. Hack: Når man bliver følelsemæssige engageret i en debat , så vær nysgerrig på hvorfor - hvad fik dig lige så engageret? - Og vær nysgerrig på hvilken frem den anden kommer fra og hvordan den påvirker digReferencer:Your Undivided Attention. Podcastvært Tristan Harris: 'How Political Language Is Engineered with Drew Westen & Frank Lunt'Your Undivided Attention. Podcastvært Tristan Harris: The Invisible Influence of Language with Lera BoroditskyVi har tidligere lavet en anden episode om sproget, som hedder 'Spogets betydning' (episode 143) - og den er der er et link til herFor musikken takker vi Yuliana Wiyaya Music StudioFølg os gerne på instagram på MisforståetpodcastOg endnu vigtigere T A K fordi du lytter med. Kærlig hilsen Laura og Pia fra Misforstået-podcast

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 channelAnd 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 deceptionRECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESWe Have to Get It Right': Gary Marcus On Untamed AIThis 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 Warn

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 communicationFurther reading on Gryphon Scientific's White House AI DemoFurther reading on the Australian social media ban for children under 16Further 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 EPISODESWhat Can We Do About Abusive Chatbots? With Meetali Jain and Camille CarltonAI Is Moving Fast. We Need Laws that Will Too.This Moment in AI: How We Got Here and Where We're GoingFormer OpenAI Engineer William Saunders on Silence, Safety, and the Right to WarnTalking With Animals... Using AIThe Three Rules of Humane Tech

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 EpsteinFurther 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 MillerRECOMMENDED 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 

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 MEDIAFurther reading on Sewell's storyLaurie 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 ProjectThe Social Media Victims Law CenterMothers Against Media AddictionParents SOSParents TogetherCommon Sense MediaRECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESWhen the "Person" Abusing Your Child is a Chatbot: The Tragic Story of Sewell SetzerJonathan Haidt On How to Solve the Teen Mental Health CrisisAI 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 Twitter: @HumaneTech_

Content Warning: This episode contains references to suicide, self-harm, and sexual abuse.Megan Garcia lost her son Sewell to suicide after he was abused and manipulated by AI chatbots for months. Now, she's suing the company that made those chatbots. On today's episode of Your Undivided Attention, Aza sits down with journalist Laurie Segall, who's been following this case for months. Plus, Laurie's full interview with Megan on her new show, Dear Tomorrow.Aza and Laurie discuss the profound implications of Sewell's story on the rollout of AI. Social media began the race to the bottom of the brain stem and left our society addicted, distracted, and polarized. Generative AI is set to supercharge that race, taking advantage of the human need for intimacy and connection amidst a widespread loneliness epidemic. Unless we set down guardrails on this technology now, Sewell's story may be a tragic sign of things to come, but it also presents an opportunity to prevent further harms moving forward.If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, you can reach out to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988; this connects you to trained crisis counselors 24/7 who can provide support and referrals to further assistance.Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_RECOMMENDED MEDIAThe CHT Framework for Incentivizing Responsible AI Development Further reading on Sewell's caseCharacter.ai's “About Us” page Further reading on the addictive properties of AIRECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESAI Is Moving Fast. We Need Laws that Will Too.This Moment in AI: How We Got Here and Where We're GoingJonathan Haidt On How to Solve the Teen Mental Health CrisisThe AI Dilemma

Social media disinformation did enormous damage to our shared idea of reality. Now, the rise of generative AI has unleashed a flood of high-quality synthetic media into the digital ecosystem. As a result, it's more difficult than ever to tell what's real and what's not, a problem with profound implications for the health of our society and democracy. So how do we fix this critical issue?As it turns out, there's a whole ecosystem of folks to answer that question. One is computer scientist Oren Etzioni, the CEO of TrueMedia.org, a free, non-partisan, non-profit tool that is able to detect AI generated content with a high degree of accuracy. Oren joins the show this week to talk about the problem of deepfakes and disinformation and what he sees as the best solutions.Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_ RECOMMENDED MEDIATrueMedia.orgFurther reading on the deepfaked image of an explosion near the PentagonFurther reading on the deepfaked robocall pretending to be President Biden Further reading on the election deepfake in Slovakia Further reading on the President Obama lip-syncing deepfake from 2017 One of several deepfake quizzes from the New York Times, test yourself! The Partnership on AI C2PAWitness.org Truepic RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES‘We Have to Get It Right': Gary Marcus On Untamed AITaylor Swift is Not Alone: The Deepfake Nightmare Sweeping the InternetSynthetic Humanity: AI & What's At Stake CLARIFICATION: Oren said that the largest social media platforms “don't see a responsibility to let the public know this was manipulated by AI.” Meta has made a public commitment to flagging AI-generated or -manipulated content. Whereas other platforms like TikTok and Snapchat rely on users to flag.

Historian Yuval Noah Harari says that we are at a critical turning point. One in which AI's ability to generate cultural artifacts threatens humanity's role as the shapers of history. History will still go on, but will it be the story of people or, as he calls them, ‘alien AI agents'?In this conversation with Aza Raskin, Harari discusses the historical struggles that emerge from new technology, humanity's AI mistakes so far, and the immediate steps lawmakers can take right now to steer us towards a non-dystopian future.This episode was recorded live at the Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California.Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_RECOMMENDED MEDIANEXUS: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI by Yuval Noah Harari You Can Have the Blue Pill or the Red Pill, and We're Out of Blue Pills: a New York Times op-ed from 2023, written by Yuval, Aza, and Tristan The 2023 open letter calling for a pause in AI development of at least 6 months, signed by Yuval and Aza Further reading on the Stanford Marshmallow Experiment Further reading on AlphaGo's “move 37” Further Reading on Social.AIRECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESThis Moment in AI: How We Got Here and Where We're GoingThe Tech We Need for 21st Century Democracy with Divya SiddarthSynthetic Humanity: AI & What's At StakeThe AI DilemmaTwo Million Years in Two Hours: A Conversation with Yuval Noah Harari

With the election just over a month away, Americans are caught between a flood of political promises and the reality that we live in a time of political dysfunction. Joining us this week to explore the root causes are Ezra Klein, opinion columnist at The New York Times, host of "The Ezra Klein Show" podcast, and author of "Why We're Polarized," alongside Tristan Harris, co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology and co-host of "Your Undivided Attention" podcast. We examine how engagement-driven metrics and algorithms shape public discourse, fueling demagoguery and widening the gap between political rhetoric and public needs. Follow The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart on social media for more:  > YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@weeklyshowpodcast > Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weeklyshowpodcast > TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@weeklyshowpodcast  > X: https://x.com/weeklyshowpod Host/Executive Producer – Jon Stewart Executive Producer – James Dixon Executive Producer – Chris McShane Executive Producer – Caity Gray Lead Producer – Lauren Walker Producer – Brittany Mehmedovic Video Editor & Engineer – Rob Vitolo Audio Editor & Engineer – Nicole Boyce Researcher/Associate Producer – Gillian Spear Music by Hansdle Hsu — This podcast is brought to you by: ZipRecruiter Try it for free at this exclusive web address: ziprecruiter.com/ZipWeekly Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a confusing moment in AI. Depending on who you ask, we're either on the fast track to AI that's smarter than most humans, or the technology is about to hit a wall. Gary Marcus is in the latter camp. He's a cognitive psychologist and computer scientist who built his own successful AI start-up. But he's also been called AI's loudest critic.On Your Undivided Attention this week, Gary sits down with CHT Executive Director Daniel Barcay to defend his skepticism of generative AI and to discuss what we need to do as a society to get the rollout of this technology right… which is the focus of his new book, Taming Silicon Valley: How We Can Ensure That AI Works for Us.The bottom line: No matter how quickly AI progresses, Gary argues that our society is woefully unprepared for the risks that will come from the AI we already have.Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_ RECOMMENDED MEDIALink to Gary's book: Taming Silicon Valley: How We Can Ensure That AI Works for UsFurther reading on the deepfake of the CEO of India's National Stock ExchangeFurther reading on the deepfake of of an explosion near the Pentagon.The study Gary cited on AI and false memories.Footage from Gary and Sam Altman's Senate testimony. RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESFormer OpenAI Engineer William Saunders on Silence, Safety, and the Right to WarnTaylor Swift is Not Alone: The Deepfake Nightmare Sweeping the InternetNo One is Immune to AI Harms with Dr. Joy Buolamwini Correction: Gary mistakenly listed the reliability of GPS systems as 98%. The federal government's standard for GPS reliability is 95%.

AI is moving fast. And as companies race to rollout newer, more capable models–with little regard for safety–the downstream risks of those models become harder and harder to counter. On this week's episode of Your Undivided Attention, CHT's policy director Casey Mock comes on the show to discuss a new legal framework to incentivize better AI, one that holds AI companies liable for the harms of their products. Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_RECOMMENDED MEDIAThe CHT Framework for Incentivizing Responsible AI DevelopmentFurther Reading on Air Canada's Chatbot Fiasco Further Reading on the Elon Musk Deep Fake Scams The Full Text of SB1047, California's AI Regulation Bill Further reading on SB1047 RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESFormer OpenAI Engineer William Saunders on Silence, Safety, and the Right to WarnCan We Govern AI? with Marietje SchaakeA First Step Toward AI Regulation with Tom WheelerCorrection: Casey incorrectly stated the year that the US banned child labor as 1937. It was banned in 1938.

[This episode originally aired on August 17, 2023] For all the talk about AI, we rarely hear about how it will change our relationships. As we swipe to find love and consult chatbot therapists, acclaimed psychotherapist and relationship expert Esther Perel warns that there's another harmful “AI” on the rise — Artificial Intimacy — and how it is depriving us of real connection. Tristan and Esther discuss how depending on algorithms can fuel alienation, and then imagine how we might design technology to strengthen our social bonds.RECOMMENDED MEDIA Mating in Captivity by Esther PerelEsther's debut work on the intricacies behind modern relationships, and the dichotomy of domesticity and sexual desireThe State of Affairs by Esther PerelEsther takes a look at modern relationships through the lens of infidelityWhere Should We Begin? with Esther PerelListen in as real couples in search of help bare the raw and profound details of their storiesHow's Work? with Esther PerelEsther's podcast that focuses on the hard conversations we're afraid to have at work Lars and the Real Girl (2007)A young man strikes up an unconventional relationship with a doll he finds on the internetHer (2013)In a near future, a lonely writer develops an unlikely relationship with an operating system designed to meet his every needRECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESBig Food, Big Tech and Big AI with Michael MossThe AI DilemmaThe Three Rules of Humane TechDigital Democracy is Within Reach with Audrey Tang CORRECTION: Esther refers to the 2007 film Lars and the Real Doll. The title of the film is Lars and the Real Girl. Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_

Today, the tech industry is  the second-biggest lobbying power in Washington, DC, but that wasn't true as recently as ten years ago. How did we get to this moment? And where could we be going next? On this episode of Your Undivided Attention, Tristan and Daniel sit down with historian Margaret O'Mara and journalist Brody Mullins to discuss how Silicon Valley has changed the nature of American lobbying. Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_RECOMMENDED MEDIAThe Wolves of K Street: The Secret History of How Big Money Took Over Big Government - Brody's book on the history of lobbying.The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America - Margaret's book on the historical relationship between Silicon Valley and Capitol HillMore information on the Google antitrust rulingMore Information on KOSPAMore information on the SOPA/PIPA internet blackoutDetailed breakdown of Internet lobbying from Open Secrets RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESU.S. Senators Grilled Social Media CEOs. Will Anything Change?Can We Govern AI? with Marietje SchaakeThe Race to Cooperation with David Sloan Wilson CORRECTION: Brody Mullins refers to AT&T as having a “hundred million dollar” lobbying budget in 2006 and 2007. While we couldn't verify the size of their budget for lobbying, their actual lobbying spend was much less than this: $27.4m in 2006 and $16.5m in 2007, according to OpenSecrets. The views expressed by guests appearing on Center for Humane Technology's podcast, Your Undivided Attention, are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of CHT. CHT does not support or oppose any candidate or party for election to public office 

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 Spotlight episode, the guys discuss what's happened since then–as funding, research, and public interest in AI has exploded–and where we could be headed next. Plus, some major updates on social media reform, including the passage of the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act in the Senate. Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_ RECOMMENDED MEDIAThe AI Dilemma: Tristan and Aza's talk on the catastrophic risks posed by AI.Info Sheet on KOSPA: More information on KOSPA from FairPlay.Situational Awareness by Leopold Aschenbrenner: A widely cited blog from a former OpenAI employee, predicting the rapid arrival of AGI.AI for Good: More information on the AI for Good summit that was held earlier this year in Geneva. Using AlphaFold in the Fight Against Plastic Pollution: More information on Google's use of AlphaFold to create an enzyme to break down plastics. Swiss Call For Trust and Transparency in AI: More information on the initiatives mentioned by Katharina Frey. RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESWar is a Laboratory for AI with Paul ScharreJonathan Haidt On How to Solve the Teen Mental Health CrisisCan We Govern AI? with Marietje Schaake The Three Rules of Humane TechThe AI Dilemma Clarification: Swiss diplomat Nina Frey's full name is Katharina Frey.  

Thomas is joined by Co-Founder of the Center for Humane Technology, Randima Fernando. They discuss how technology hijacks our dopamine response and reinforces trauma symptoms. Randima explains the downstream consequences of the “attention economy,” including social media's addictiveness and its negative impacts on our psychology. He and Thomas explore how better technology education, along with mindfulness practices, can offset these negative effects and help us bring our dopamine systems back into balance. Randima emphasizes how important it is, for both children and adults, to understand our own moral motivations so that we can become less susceptible to manipulation from technology and media. This episode is part one of a four-part series on Technology, Innovation, and Consciousness. ✨  Join Thomas for a free, live online event with Q&A - The Evolving Map for Trauma Healing

Joe Rogan delves into the realm of artificial intelligence with a sense of urgency and newfound apprehension. The episode begins with Rogan candidly expressing how he had previously dismissed concerns about AI, considering them exaggerated or distant threats. However, as the conversation unfolds, it becomes evident that his perspective has undergone a profound shift. Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin are the co-founders of the Center for Humane Technology and the hosts of its podcast, "Your Undivided Attention." Watch the Center's new film "The A.I. Dilemma" on YouTube.

Prepare for an eye-opening conversation that will change the way you think about kids and tech. Join Nicki of Scrolling 2 Death as she dives into an enlightening discussion with attorney Laura Marquez-Garrett (of the Social Media Victims Law Center), unearthing the harsh realities of the harm lurking behind the screens.  We get into loads of hot tech topics, including: Social media harms vs. benefits Trends in social media harms Addictiveness of social media platforms Which are the most harmful platforms? Much, much more Laura pulls back the curtain on the profound impacts of social media on our children, sharing real stories of social media harm and offering tips for parents navigating the ever-evolving digital landscape.  More about Laura:  Laura Marquez-Garrett is a 2002 Harvard Law School graduate and spent the first twenty-years of her career in Big Law, where she oversaw complex litigation matters and specialized in electronic evidence and forensic investigation. In January of 2022, Laura met ⁠Social Media Victims Law Center⁠ (SMVLC) founder, Matthew Bergman, and watched the Netflix documentary, Social Dilemma. The following month, she left her predominantly defense-oriented practice to join SMVLC to contribute to the Center's mission of change and holding social media companies accountable for the harms they are causing to children and families. Since then, Laura has participated in the filing of more than 100 complaints against social media companies in state and federal courts across the country. She filed an Amicus brief in Netchoice v. Bonta on behalf of Fairplay and several other civil society organizations, and in support of California's Age-Appropriate Design Code (CADC); serves as a Discovery Steering Committee co-lead in the California Judicial Counsel Coordinated Proceedings (JCCP No. 5255); has appeared on podcasts, such as Your Undivided Attention, and other forms of media, such as the released documentary titled “Mark, What's the Plan,” about social media harms and related issues; addressed the House Energy & Commerce Committee at a Roundtable on the Dangers of Big Tech and the Fentanyl Poisoning Crisis; authored an Op-Ed in the Los Angeles Blade in support of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA); has spoken on panels, met with hundreds of children and families, and is otherwise actively involved in efforts across the globe to force change and hold social media companies accountable for the harms they cause as a matter of platform design.   

2024 will be the biggest election year in world history. Forty countries will hold national elections, with over two billion voters heading to the polls. In this episode of Your Undivided Attention, two experts give us a situation report on how AI will increase the risks to our elections and our democracies. Correction: Tristan says two billion people from 70 countries will be undergoing democratic elections in 2024. The number expands to 70 when non-national elections are factored in.RECOMMENDED MEDIA White House AI Executive Order Takes On Complexity of Content Integrity IssuesRenee DiResta's piece in Tech Policy Press about content integrity within President Biden's AI executive orderThe Stanford Internet ObservatoryA cross-disciplinary program of research, teaching and policy engagement for the study of abuse in current information technologies, with a focus on social mediaDemosBritain's leading cross-party think tankInvisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality by Renee DiRestaPre-order Renee's upcoming book that's landing on shelves June 11, 2024RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESThe Spin Doctors Are In with Renee DiRestaFrom Russia with Likes Part 1 with Renee DiRestaFrom Russia with Likes Part 2 with Renee DiRestaEsther Perel on Artificial IntimacyThe AI DilemmaA Conversation with Facebook Whistleblower Frances HaugenYour Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_ 

Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin are the co-founders of the Center for Humane Technology and the hosts of its podcast, "Your Undivided Attention." Watch the Center's new film "The A.I. Dilemma" on Youtube.https://www.humanetech.com"The A.I. Dilemma"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoVJKj8lcNQ

Last week, Senator Chuck Schumer brought together Congress and many of the biggest names in AI for the first closed-door AI Insight Forum in Washington, D.C. Tristan and Aza were invited speakers at the event, along with Elon Musk, Satya Nadella, Sam Altman, and other leaders. In this update on Your Undivided Attention, Tristan and Aza recount how they felt the meeting went, what they communicated in their statements, and what it felt like to critique Meta's LLM in front of Mark Zuckerberg.Correction: In this episode, Tristan says GPT-3 couldn't find vulnerabilities in code. GPT-3 could find security vulnerabilities, but GPT-4 is exponentially better at it.RECOMMENDED MEDIA In Show of Force, Silicon Valley Titans Pledge ‘Getting This Right' With A.I.Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai and others discussed artificial intelligence with lawmakers, as tech companies strive to influence potential regulationsMajority Leader Schumer Opening Remarks For The Senate's Inaugural AI Insight ForumSenate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) opened the Senate's inaugural AI Insight ForumThe Wisdom GapAs seen in Tristan's talk on this subject in 2022, the scope and speed of our world's issues are accelerating and growing more complex. And yet, our ability to comprehend those challenges and respond accordingly is not matching paceRECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESSpotlight On AI: What Would It Take For This to Go Well?The AI ‘Race': China vs. the US with Jeffrey Ding and Karen HaoSpotlight: Elon, Twitter and the Gladiator Arena Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_   

This is an episode from Your Undivided Attention, another podcast from the TED Audio Collective. At Center for Humane Technology, we want to close the gap between what the world hears publicly about AI from splashy CEO presentations and what the people who are closest to the risks and harms inside AI labs are telling us. We translated their concerns into a cohesive story to heads of institutions and major media organizations in New York, Washington DC, and San Francisco. The talk you're about to hear is the culmination of that work, which is ongoing. For more Your Undivided Attention, listen wherever you get your podcasts. Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow them on Twitter: @HumaneTech_

In the next two episodes of Your Undivided Attention, we take a close look at two respective industries: big food and social media, which represent dangerous “races to the bottom” and have big parallels with AI.  And we are asking: what can our past mistakes and missed opportunities teach us about how we should approach AI harms? In this first episode, Tristan talks to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Michael Moss. His book Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us rocked the fast food industry when it came out in 2014. Tristan and Michael discuss how we can leverage the lessons learned from Big Food's coordination failures, and whether it's the responsibility of the consumer, the government, or the companies to regulate. RECOMMENDED MEDIA Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked UsMichael's New York Times bestseller. You'll never look at a nutrition label the same way againHooked: Food, Free Will, and How the Food Giants Exploit Our AddictionsMichael's Pulitzer Prize-winning exposé of how the processed food industry exploits our evolutionary instincts, the emotions we associate with food, and legal loopholes in their pursuit of profit over public healthControl Your Tech UseCenter for Humane Technology's recently updated Take Control ToolkitRECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESAI Myths and MisconceptionsThe AI DilemmaHow Might a long-term stock market transform tech? (ZigZag episode) Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_

You're likely familiar with the modern zombie trope: a zombie bites someone you care about and they're transformed into a creature who wants your brain. Zombies are the perfect metaphor to explain something Tristan and Aza have been thinking about lately that they call zombie values.In this Spotlight episode of Your Undivided Attention, we talk through some examples of how zombie values limit our thinking around tech harms. Our hope is that by the end of this episode, you'll be able to recognize the zombie values that walk amongst us, and think through how to upgrade these values to meet the realities of our modern world. RECOMMENDED MEDIA Is the First Amendment Obsolete?This essay explores free expression challengesThe Wisdom GapThis blog post from the Center for Humane Technology describes the gap between the rising interconnected complexity of our problems and our ability to make sense of themRECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES A Problem Well-Stated is Half Solved with Daniel SchmachtenbergerHow To Free Our Minds with Cult Deprogramming Expert Steve HassanYour Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_

Democracy in action has looked the same for generations. Constituents might go to a library or school every one or two years and cast their vote for people who don't actually represent everything that they care about. Our technology is rapidly increasing in sophistication, yet our forms of democracy have largely remained unchanged. What would an upgrade look like - not just for democracy, but for all the different places that democratic decision-making happens?On this episode of Your Undivided Attention, we're joined by political economist and social technologist Divya Siddarth, one of the world's leading experts in collective intelligence. Together we explore how new kinds of governance can be supported through better technology, and how collective decision-making is key to unlocking everything from more effective elections to better ways of responding to global problems like climate change.Correction:Tristan mentions Elon Musk's attempt to manufacture ventilators early on in the COVID-19 pandemic. Musk ended up buying over 1,200 ventilators that were delivered to California.RECOMMENDED MEDIAAgainst Democracy by Jason BrennanA provocative challenge to one of our most cherished institutionsLedger of HarmsTechnology platforms have created a race for human attention that's unleashed invisible harms to society. Here are some of the costs that aren't showing up on their balance sheetsThe Wisdom GapThis blog post from the Center for Humane Technology describes the gap between the rising interconnected complexity of our problems and our ability to make sense of themDemocracyNextDemocracyNext is working to design and establish new institutions for government and transform the governance of organizations that influence public lifeCIP.orgAn incubator for new governance models for transformative technologyEtheloTransform community engagement through consensusKazm's Living Room ConversationsLiving Room Conversations works to heal society by connecting people across divides through guided conversations proven to build understanding and transform communitiesThe Citizens DialogueA model for citizen participation in Ostbelgien, which was brought to life by the parliament of the German-speaking communityAsamblea Ciudadana Para El ClimaSpain's national citizens' assembly on climate changeClimate Assembly UKThe UK's national citizens' assembly on climate changeCitizens' Convention for the ClimateFrance's national citizens' assembly on climate changePolisPolis is a real-time system for gathering, analyzing and understanding what large groups of people think in their own words, enabled by advanced statistics and machine learningRECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESDigital Democracy is Within Reach with Audrey Tang They Don't Represent Us with Larry LessigA Renegade Solution to Extractive Economics with Kate RaworthYour Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_

A few episodes back, we presented Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin's talk The AI Dilemma. People inside the companies that are building generative artificial intelligence came to us with their concerns about the rapid pace of deployment and the problems that are emerging as a result. We felt called to lay out the catastrophic risks that AI poses to society and sound the alarm on the need to upgrade our institutions for a post-AI world.The talk resonated - over 1.6 million people have viewed it on YouTube as of this episode's release date. The positive reception gives us hope that leaders will be willing to come to the table for a difficult but necessary conversation about AI.However, now that so many people have watched or listened to the talk, we've found that there are some AI myths getting in the way of making progress. On this episode of Your Undivided Attention, we debunk five of those misconceptions. Correction: Aza says that the head of the alignment team at OpenAI has concerns about safety. It's actually the former head of language model alignment, Paul Christiano, who voiced this concern. He left OpenAI in 2021.RECOMMENDED MEDIA Opinion | Yuval Harari, Tristan Harris, and Aza Raskin on Threats to Humanity Posed by AI - The New York TimesIn this New York Times piece, Yuval Harari, Tristan Harris, and Aza Raskin call upon world leaders to respond to this moment at the level of challenge it presents.Misalignment, AI & MolochA deep dive into the game theory and exponential growth underlying our modern economic system, and how recent advancements in AI are poised to turn up the pressure on that system, and its wider environment, in ways we have never seen beforeRECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESThe AI DilemmaThe Three Rules of Humane TechCan We Govern AI? with Marietje SchaakeYour Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_ 

Despite our serious concerns about the pace of deployment of generative artificial intelligence, we are not anti-AI. There are uses that can help us better understand ourselves and the world around us. Your Undivided Attention co-host Aza Raskin is also co-founder of Earth Species Project, a nonprofit dedicated to using AI to decode non-human communication. ESP is developing this technology both to shift the way that we relate to the rest of nature, and to accelerate conservation research.Significant recent breakthroughs in machine learning have opened ways to encode both human languages and map out patterns of animal communication. The research, while slow and incredibly complex, is very exciting. Picture being able to tell a whale to dive to avoid ship strikes, or to forge cooperation in conservation areas. These advances come with their own complex ethical issues. But understanding non-human languages could transform our relationship with the rest of nature and promote a duty of care for the natural world.In a time of such deep division, it's comforting to know that hidden underlying languages may potentially unite us. When we study the patterns of the universe, we'll see that humanity isn't at the center of it. Corrections:Aza refers to the founding of Earth Species Project (ESP) in 2017. The organization was established in 2018.When offering examples of self-awareness in animals, Aza mentions lemurs that get high on centipedes. They actually get high on millipedes.  RECOMMENDED MEDIA Using AI to Listen to All of Earth's SpeciesAn interactive panel discussion hosted at the World Economic Forum in San Francisco on October 25, 2022. Featuring ESP President and Cofounder Aza Raskin; Dr. Karen Bakker, Professor at UBC and Harvard Radcliffe Institute Fellow; and Dr. Ari Friedlaender, Professor at UC Santa CruzWhat A Chatty Monkey May Tell Us About Learning to TalkThe gelada monkey makes a gurgling sound that scientists say is close to human speechLemurs May Be Making Medicine Out of MillipedesRed-fronted lemurs appear to use plants and other animals to treat their afflictionsFathom on AppleTV+Two biologists set out on an undertaking as colossal as their subjects – deciphering the complex communication of whales Earth Species Project is Hiring a Director of ResearchESP is looking for a thought leader in artificial intelligence with a track record of managing a team of researchers RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES The Three Rules of Humane TechThe AI DilemmaSynthetic Humanity: AI & What's At Stake Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_

Air Date 4/26/2023 Today, we take a look at the trials and tribulations facing the youth today as men and boys are being surpassed academically by women and girls and girls are suffering disproportionately under the weight of the toxic forces of social media. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Content) Join our Discord community! OUR AFFILIATE LINKS: ExpressVPN.com/BestOfTheLeft GET INTERNET PRIVACY WITH EXPRESS VPN! SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: Senator Josh Hawley on masculinity - Axios on HBO - Air Date 11-7-21 Axios' Mike Allen sits down with Missouri Senator Josh Hawley to discuss the senator's comments on masculinity. Ch. 2: Male inequality, explained by an expert | Richard Reeves - Big Think - Air Date 1-4-23 Modern males are struggling. Author Richard Reeves outlines the three major issues boys and men face and shares possible solutions. Ch. 3: Liz Plank & Richard Reeves Debate Gender Inequality - The Man Enough Podcast - Air Date 4-5-23 Brookings Institution scholar and acclaimed author Richard Reeves tackles the pressing issue of young men falling behind, on a mission to uplift them without jeopardizing women's rights. Ch. 4: Teenage girls experiencing record high levels of sadness, violence and trauma, CDC says - PBS Newshour - Air Date 2-20-23 In 2021, the CDC saw an increase in mental health challenges across the board, but it's girls in the U.S. that are engulfed in a wave of sadness, violence, and trauma.Stephanie Sy spoke with Sharon Hoover about the survey. Ch. 5: The Number One Reason This Generation Is Struggling | Scott Galloway Part 1 - The Diary of a CEO - Air Date 10-27-22 Scott Galloway, or ‘Prof G' to his fans, is one of the most influential business thought leaders in the world. Host of The Prof G Show, one of the most popular business podcasts in America Ch. 6: What the Andrew Tate phenomenon reveals about our society | Richard Reeves - Keep Talking - Air Date 11-13-22 Ch. 7: Social media companies face legal scrutiny over deteriorating mental health among teens - PBS Newshour - Air Date 2-14-23 A national survey by the CDC sounded a new alarm about teens in crisis. It shows nearly 30% of teenage girls said they considered dying by suicide, and three out of five girls said they felt persistently sad or hopeless. Ch. 8: Are the Kids Alright — with Jonathan Haidt Part 1 - Your Undivided Attention - Air Date 10-27-20 NYU social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has spent the last few years trying to figure out why, working with fellow psychologist Jean Twenge, and he believes social media is to blame. Ch. 9: The Number One Reason This Generation Is Struggling | Scott Galloway Part 2 - The Diary of a CEO - Air Date 10-27-22 Ch. 10: Are the Kids Alright — with Jonathan Haidt Part 2 - Your Undivided Attention - Air Date 10-27-20 MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S) Ch. 11: Spotlight — Addressing the TikTok Threat - Your Undivided Attention - Air Date 9-8-22 This week on Your Undivided Attention, we bring you a bonus episode about TikTok. Co-hosts Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin explore the nature of the TikTok threat, and how we might address it. Ch. 12: Male inequality, explained by an expert | Richard Reeves Part 2 - Big Think - Air Date 1-4-23 VOICEMAILS Ch. 13: Continuing discussion of J.K. Rowling episode - VoiceMailer Boris Ch. 14: Marking an isolating Black leaders - V from Central New York FINAL COMMENTS Ch. 15: Final comments on the fundamental disconnections that tend to drive modern debate MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere! Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

Air Date 3/8/2023 Today, we take a look at some of the emerging elements of technology and regulation that will likely shape the next era of the internet and our relationship to it. For today, these will include synthetic relationships with artificial intelligence, fake audio and video virtually indistinguishable from reality that will facilitate disinformation, reinterpreting Section 230 for a new era of internet content and the ongoing struggle to regulate social media platforms. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com  Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Content) Join our Discord community! Watch/Listen: The Laura Flanders Show SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: What is ChatGPT, the AI software taking the internet by storm - BBC News - Air Date 1-15-23 While its popularity is soaring amid reports that OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is closing in on a $10bn investment from Microsoft, there are fears the technology could cause more harm than good. Ch. 2: Synthetic Humanity AI & Whats At Stake - Your Undivided Attention - Air Date 2-16-23 In this episode of Your Undivided Attention, Tristan and Aza reach beyond the moment to talk about this powerful new AI, and the new paradigm of humanity and computation we're about to enter. Ch. 3: What are deepfakes and are they dangerous? - Start Here, Al Jazeera English - Air Date 6-21-21 What are deepfakes? How are they made? And should they worry us? Ch. 4: Creating a lie detector for deepfakes - CBS Sunday Morning - Air Date 1-29-23 Adobe and Microsoft have teamed up to develop new tools for verifying the attributes and history of images and videos on the web. Ch. 5: Free Speech on Trial: Supreme Court Hears Cases That Could Reshape Future of the Internet - Democracy Now! - Air Date 2-27-23 We speak with Aaron Mackey, senior staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who says Section 230 “powers the underlying architecture” of the internet. Ch. 6: SCOTUS on the Internet Its Complicated Part 1 - Amicus with Dahlia Lithwick - Air Date 2-25-23 Two big tech cases before the US Supreme Court this week promised justices tackling the thorny issues of content moderation, liability, and internet platforms, but instead delivered confusion and dodges. Ch. 7: Why Some See Web 3.0 as the Future of the Internet - WSJ - Air Date 2-15-22 Some see Web 3.0 as the next generation of the internet, a decentralized version of the web-based on the blockchain. Here are the key principles behind it, and why skeptics are unconvinced it could scale globally. Ch. 8: Real Social Media Solutions, Now — with Frances Haugen - Your Undivided Attention - Air Date 11-23-22 Tristan sits with Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, a friend of Center for Humane Technology, to discuss the harm caused to our mental health and global democracy when platforms lack accountability and transparency. Ch. 9: SCOTUS on the Internet It's Complicated Part 2 - Amicus with Dahlia Lithwick - Air Date 2-25-23 MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S) Ch. 10: Synthetic Humanity AI & Whats At Stake Part 2 - Your Undivided Attention - Air Date 2-16-23 Ch. 11: Ban TikTok? - Today, Explained - Air Date 2-21-23 Politicians across the United States are calling for an outright ban on the popular social media platform. Alex Heath, deputy editor at The Verge, explains how TikTok hopes to pre-empt one from ever passing. VOICEMAILS Ch. 13: What does re-Indigenization mean for White folks and racial tribalism? - Pat from Chicago FINAL COMMENTS Ch. 14: Final comments on what re-Indigenization means for the rest of us MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions) SHOW IMAGE:  Description: A dark, abstract image with the appearance of staining or mildew. In the center, there is a dark silhouette of hands holding the outline of a smartphone. A dark question mark is on the phone screen. Credit: "Phone-question-screen-online" by ChenSpec | License

A few months ago on Your Undivided Attention, we released a Spotlight episode on TikTok's national security risks. Since then, we've learned more about the dangers of the China-owned company: We've seen evidence of TikTok spying on US journalists, and proof of hidden state media accounts to influence the US elections. We've seen Congress ban TikTok on most government issued devices, and more than half of US states have done the same, along with dozens of US universities who are banning TikTok access from university wifi networks. More people in Western governments and media are saying that they used to believe that TikTok was an overblown threat. As we've seen more evidence of  national security risks play out, there's even talk of banning TikTok itself in certain countries. But is that the best solution? If we opt for a ban, how do we, as open societies, fight accusations of authoritarianism? On this episode of Your Undivided Attention, we're going to do a deep dive into these questions with Marc Faddoul. He's the co-director of Tracking Exposed, a nonprofit investigating the influence of social media algorithms in our lives. His work has shown how TikTok tweaks its algorithm to maximize partisan engagement in specific national elections, and how it bans international news in countries like Russia that are fighting propaganda battles inside their own borders. In other words, we don't all get the same TikTok because there are different geopolitical interests that might guide which TikTok you see. That is a kind of soft power that TikTok operates on a global scale, and it doesn't get talked about often enough.We hope this episode leaves you with a lot to think about in terms of what the risks of TikTok are, how it's operating geopolitically, and what we can do about it.RECOMMENDED MEDIATracking Exposed Special Report: TikTok Content Restriction in RussiaHow has the Russian invasion of Ukraine affected the content that TikTok users see in Russia? [Part 1 of Tracking Exposed series]Tracking Exposed Special Report: Content Restrictions on TikTok in Russia Following the Ukrainian WarHow are TikTok's policy decisions affecting pro-war and anti-war content in Russia? [Part 2 of Tracking Exposed series]Tracking Exposed Special Report: French Elections 2022The visibility of French candidates on TikTok and YouTube search enginesThe Democratic Surround by Fred TurnerA dazzling cultural history that demonstrates how American intellectuals, artists, and designers from the 1930s-1960s imagined new kinds of collective events that were intended to promote a powerful experience of American democracy in actionRECLOMMENDED YUA EPISODESWhen Media Was for You and Me with Fred TurnerAddressing the TikTok ThreatA Fresh Take on Tech in China with Rui Ma and Duncan ClarkYour Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_

It may seem like the rise of artificial intelligence, and increasingly powerful large language models you may have heard of, is moving really fast… and it IS. But what's coming next is when we enter synthetic relationships with AI that could come to feel just as real and important as our human relationships... And perhaps even more so. In this episode of Your Undivided Attention, Tristan and Aza reach beyond the moment to talk about this powerful new AI, and the new paradigm of humanity and computation we're about to enter. This is a structural revolution that affects way more than text, art, or even Google search. There are huge benefits to humanity, and we'll discuss some of those. But we also see that as companies race to develop the best synthetic relationships, we are setting ourselves up for a new generation of harms made exponentially worse by AI's power to predict, mimic and persuade.It's obvious we need ways to steward these tools ethically. So Tristan and Aza also share their ideas for creating a framework for AIs that will help humans become MORE humane, not less.RECOMMENDED MEDIA Cybernetics: or, Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine by Norbert WienerA classic and influential work that laid the theoretical foundations for information theoryNew Chatbots Could Change the World. Can You Trust Them?The New York Times addresses misinformation and how Siri, Google Search, online marketing and your child's homework will never be the sameOut of One, Many: Using Language Models to Simulate Human Samples by Lisa P. Argyle, Ethan C. Busby, Nancy Fulda, Joshua Gubler, Christopher Rytting, David WingateThis paper proposes and explores the possibility that language models can be studied as effective proxies for specific human sub-populations in social science researchEarth Species ProjectEarth Species Project, co-founded by Aza Raskin, is a non-profit dedicated to using artificial intelligence to decode non-human communicationHer (2013)A science-fiction romantic drama film written, directed, and co-produced by Spike JonzeWhat A Chatty Monkey May Tell Us About Learning To TalkNPR explores the fascinating world of gelada monkeys and the way they communicateRECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESHow Political Language is Engineered with Drew Westen & Frank LuntzWhat is Humane Technology?Down the Rabbit Hole by Design with Guillaume Chaslot 

Welcome to our first-ever Ask Us Anything episode. Recently we put out a call for questions… and, wow, did you come through! We got more than 100 responses from listeners to this podcast from all over the world. It was really fun going through them all, and really difficult to choose which ones to answer here. But we heard you, and we'll carry your amazing suggestions and ideas forward with us in 2023.When we created Your Undivided Attention, the goal was to explore the incredible power technology has over our lives, and how we can use it to catalyze a humane future. Three years and a global pandemic later, we're more committed than ever to helping meet the moment with crucial conversations about humane technology - even as the tech landscape constantly evolves and world events bring more urgency to the need for technology that unites us, invests in democratic values, and enhances our well-being.We've learned from our guests alongside all of you. Sixty-one episodes later, the podcast has over 16 million unique downloads! That's a lot of people who care about the promise of humane technology and are working to construct a more humane version of technology in their lives, their family's lives, and within their communities and society at large. We're a movement! Thank you to everyone who submitted questions and comments for us. We loved doing this, and we're looking forward to doing it again!Correction:When discussing DeepMind's recent paper, Aza said the premise was four people entering their views and opinions, with AI finding the commonality between all of those viewpoints. It was actually three people entering their views and opinions.RECOMMENDED MEDIA CHT's Recommended Reading List:Foundations of Humane TechnologyOur free, self-paced online course for professionals shaping tomorrow's technologyThe Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff Foundational reading on the attention economyAlgorithms of Oppression by Safiya Umoja Noble Seminal work on how algorithms in search engines replicate and reinforce bias online and offlineAmusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman Written in 1985, Postman's work shockingly predicts our current media environment and its effectsAttention Merchants by Tim WuA history of how advertisers capture our attentionDoughnut Economics by Kate Raworth A compass for how to upgrade our economic models to be more regenerative and distributiveThinking in Systems by Donella MeadowsThis excellent primer shows us how to develop systems thinking skillsWhat Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets by Michael SandelSandel explores how we can prevent market values from reaching into spheres of life where they don't belongEssay: Disbelieving Atrocities by Arthur KoestlerOriginally published January 9, 1944 in The New York TimesHumane Technology reading listComprehensive for those who want to geek outORGANIZATIONS TO EXPLORE Integrity InstituteIntegrity Institute advances the theory and practice of protecting the social internet, powered by their community of integrity professionalsAll Tech Is Human job boardAll Tech Is Human curates roles focused on reducing the harms of technology, diversifying the tech pipeline, and ensuring that technology is aligned with the public interestDenizenDenizen brings together leaders across disciplines to accelerate systemic changeNew_PublicNew_Public is place for thinkers, builders, designers and technologists to meet and share inspirationPsychology of Technology InstitutePTI is non-profit network of behavioral scientists, technology designers, and decision-makers that protects and improves psychological health for society by advancing our understanding and effective use of transformative technologiesRadicalxChangeRxC is a social movement for next-generation political economiesThe School for Social DesignThe School for Social Design offers three courses on articulating what's meaningful for different people and how to design for it at smaller and larger scalesTechCongressTechCongress is a technology policy fellowship on Capitol HillRECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES An Alternative to Silicon Valley Unicornshttps://www.humanetech.com/podcast/54-an-alternative-to-silicon-valley-unicornsA Problem Well-Stated is Half-Solvedhttps://www.humanetech.com/podcast/a-problem-well-stated-is-half-solvedDigital Democracy is Within Reachhttps://www.humanetech.com/podcast/23-digital-democracy-is-within-reachYour Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_

The weekly American news show 60 Minutes invited Center for Humane Technology co-founder Tristan Harris back recently to discuss political polarization and the anger and incivility that gets elevated on social media as a matter of corporate profit. We're releasing a special episode of Your Undivided Attention this week to dig further into some of the important nuances of the complexity of this problem.CHT's work was actually introduced to the world by Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes back in 2017, and we're honored to have been invited back. In this new interview, we cover the business model of competing for engagement at all costs - the real root of the problem that we're thrilled to be able to discuss on a far-reaching platform.We also busted the myth that if you're not on social media, you don't need to be concerned. Even if you're not on social media, you likely live in a country that will vote based on other people's collective choices and behaviors. We know that the media we engage with shapes the people who consume it. CORRECTION: Tristan notes that Facebook's Head of Global Policy, Monika Bickert, says in the  interview that social media can't be the root of America's anger because it's people over the age of 60 who are most polarized. She actually said that people over the age of 65 are most polarized.RECOMMENDED MEDIA60 Minutes: “Social Media and Political Polarization in America”https://humanetech.com/60minutesAmusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postmanhttps://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/297276/amusing-ourselves-to-death-by-neil-postman/Neil Postman's groundbreaking book about the damaging effects of television on our politics and public discourse has been hailed as a twenty-first-century book published in the twentieth century.60 Minutes: “Brain Hacking”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awAMTQZmvPERECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES Elon, Twitter, and the Gladiator Arenahttps://www.humanetech.com/podcast/elon-twitter-and-the-gladiator-arenaAddressing the TikTok Threathttps://www.humanetech.com/podcast/bonus-addressing-the-tiktok-threatWhat is Civil War In The Digital Age? With Barbara F Walterhttps://www.humanetech.com/podcast/50-what-is-civil-war-in-the-digital-age

Since it's looking more and more like Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, will probably soon have ownership of Twitter, we wanted to do a special episode about what this could mean for Twitter users and our global digital democracy as a whole.Twitter is a very complicated place. It is routinely blocked by governments who fear its power to organize citizen protests around the world. It's also where outrage, fear and violence get amplified by design, warping users' views of each other and our common, connected humanity.We're at a fork in the road, and we know enough about humane design principles to do this better. So we thought we would do a little thought experiment: What if we applied everything we know about humane technology to Twitter, starting tomorrow? What would happen?This is the second part in a two-part conversation about Twitter that we've had on Your Undivided Attention about Elon Musk's bid for Twitter and what it could mean in the context of the need to go in a more humane direction.RECOMMENDED MEDIA On Liberty by John Stuart MillPublished in 1859, this philosophical essay applies Mill's ethical system of utilitarianism to society and stateElon Musk Only Has “Yes” Men by Jonathan L. FischerReporting from Slate on the subject Foundations of Humane TechnologyThe Center for Humane Technology's free online course for professionals shaping tomorrow's technologyRECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES A Bigger Picture on Elon and Twitterhttps://www.humanetech.com/podcast/bigger-picture-elon-twitterTranscending the Internet Hate Game with Dylan Marronhttps://www.humanetech.com/podcast/52-transcending-the-internet-hate-gameFighting With Mirages of Each Other with Adam Mastroiannihttps://www.humanetech.com/podcast/56-fighting-with-mirages-of-each-otherYour Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_

We often talk about the need to protect American democracy. But perhaps those of us in the United States don't currently live in a democracy.As research shows, there's pretty much no correlation between the percentage of the population that supports a policy and its likelihood of being enacted. The strongest determinant of whether a policy gets enacted is how much money is behind it.So, how might we not just protect, but better yet revive our democracy? How might we revive  the relationship between the will of the people and the actions of our government?This week on Your Undivided Attention, we're doing something special. As we near the election, and representation is on our minds, we're airing a talk by Harvard Law professor and Creative Commons co-founder Larry Lessig. It's a 2019 talk he gave at the Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, DC about his book, They Don't Represent Us.The book title has two meanings: first, they — as in our elected representatives — don't represent us. And second, we — as in the people — don't represent ourselves. And this is where social media comes in: we don't represent ourselves because the more we use social media, the more we see extreme versions of the other side, and the more extreme, outraged, and polarized we ourselves become.Last note: Lessig's talk is highly visual. We edited it lightly for clarity, and jump in periodically to narrate things you can't see. But if you prefer to watch his talk, you can find the link below in Recommended Media. RECOMMENDED MEDIA Video: They Don't Represent UsThe 2019 talk Larry Lessig gave at Politics and Prose in Washington, DC about his book of the same nameBook: They Don't Represent UsLarry Lessig's 2019 book that elaborates the ways in which democratic representation is in peril, and proposes a number of solutions to revive our democracy -- from ranked-choice voting to non-partisan open primariesTesting Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens Princeton's Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page study measuring the correlation between the preferences of different groups and the decisions of our government RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESDigital Democracy is Within Reach with Audrey Tanghttps://www.humanetech.com/podcast/23-digital-democracy-is-within-reachHow Political Language Is Engineered with Drew Westen and Frank Luntzhttps://www.humanetech.com/podcast/53-how-political-language-is-engineeredYour Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_

Air Date 9/17/2022 Today, we take a look at the way terrible patterns of the past like colonialism, racism, propaganda, feudalism, and abuse of corporate monopoly power are recreating and re-entrenching themselves in the digital world Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com  Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Content) Join our Discord community! OUR AFFILIATE LINKS: ExpressVPN.com/BestOfTheLeft GET INTERNET PRIVACY WITH EXPRESS VPN! BestOfTheLeft.com/Libro SUPPORT INDIE BOOKSHOPS, GET YOUR AUDIOBOOK FROM LIBRO! SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: Rise Of Digital Oligarchy w/ Jillian York - The Majority Report - Air Date 8-4-22 Emma hosts Jillian York, Director of International Freedom of Expression at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, to discuss her recent book Silicon Values: The Future of Free Speech Under Surveillance Capitalism. Ch. 2: How Social Media Profits Off Your Anger - Wisecrack - Air Date 8-26-22 Does the internet run on rage? If you've spent any time online, you know that anger is to the internet as cake is to a birthday party. But why have the interwebs become a place of such division and rage? It's complicated, but we'll explain Ch. 3: Using AI to Say the Word - This Machine Kills - Air Date 9-2-22 We discuss a new startup doing the rounds called Sanas that uses AI “accent translation” to make "non-white" call center workers speak English with a white American accent. This is some real retro throwback tech solutionism Ch. 4: Addressing the TikTok Threat - Your Undivided Attention - Air Date 9-8-22 This week on Your Undivided Attention, we bring you a bonus episode about TikTok. Co-hosts Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin explore the nature of the TikTok threat, and how we might address it. Ch. 5: Edward Ongweso Jr: Peter Thiel & The Post-Capitalism of Tech's Far Right - The Arts of Travel - Air Date 6-27-21 We conclude our conversation with Vice's Edward Ongweso Jr. by looking at Peter Thiel's role in bankrolling Uber as the 'Tip of the Spear' for rolling back labor laws, workers' rights and Unions. Ch. 6: Break Up Monopolies: Zephyr Teachout - Future Hindsight - Air Date 8-11-22 Zephyr Teachout is Senior Counsel for Economic Justice for the New York AG and law professor at Fordham University. We revisit our conversation with her about her book, Break 'Em Up: Recovering Our Freedom from Big Ag, Big Tech, and Big Money. MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S) Ch. 9: The Digital Self, Web3 and reclaiming your online identity - Future Tense - Air Date 7-23-22 How is our sense of identity changing as our online and offline experiences increasingly merge? What grounds a person's online persona (or personas) to the physical world? And is such a tie important? Ch. 8: Refusing the Everyday Fascism of Artificial Intelligence (ft. Dan McQuillan) - This Machine Kills - Air Date 8-25-22 We are joined by Dan McQuillan to discuss his great new book Resisting AI. “With analytical and moral clarity, McQuillan makes the case for recognizing the radical politics of AI and meeting its goose step march head-on.” FINAL COMMENTS Ch. 12: Final comments on how to fix the internet for yourself MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions): Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr  Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent Activism Music: This Fickle World by Theo Bard (https://theobard.bandcamp.com/track/this-fickle-world) Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere! Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

Cindy Otis (@cindyotis_) is a former CIA military analyst specializing in disinformation threat analysis and counter-messaging, and is the author of True or False: A CIA Analyst's Guide to Spotting Fake News. What We Discuss with Cindy Otis: What is fake news, and why does it spread six times faster than real news? How is fake news different from satire? How does misinformation differ from disinformation? The historical consequences of using fake news to influence a population. How to spot fake news and inoculate ourselves (and our children) against its intended impact. And much more... Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/715 Sign up for Six-Minute Networking -- our free networking and relationship development mini course -- at jordanharbinger.com/course! Miss the conversation we had with Tristan Harris, a former Google design ethicist, the primary subject of the acclaimed Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, co-founder of The Center for Humane Technology, and co-host of the podcast Your Undivided Attention? Catch up with episode 533: Tristan Harris | Reclaiming Our Future with Humane Technology here! Like this show? Please leave us a review here -- even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!

On this episode of "The Federalist Radio Hour," Tristan Harris, co-founder and president of the Center for Humane Technology and co-host of the "Your Undivided Attention" podcast, joins Federalist Culture Editor Emily Jashinsky to discuss the dangers of persuasive technology and why Silicon Valley needs to abandon attention-grabbing control methods for more ethical practices.

Johann Hari (@johannhari101) is a New York Times best-selling author and top-rated TED speaker. His latest book is Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention—And How to Think Deeply Again. What We Discuss with Johann Hari: It's not just your imagination: attention spans are shortening, and finding the mental state that fosters deep thinking is increasingly elusive. It's not just kids: college-age people switch tasks, on average, every 65 seconds. Adults? Every three minutes. We've become accustomed to interrupting ourselves when external distractions aren't there to do it for us. It's not your fault: your inability to focus isn't a personal failure; your focus has been stolen from you by powerful external forces that have left all of us uniquely vulnerable to corporations determined to raid our attention for profit. It's not just the internet and technology: our lack of focus has actually been happening for generations. Discover what Johann learned about reclaiming this focus—as individuals, and as a society—on a trip that took him around the world. And much more... Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/707 Sign up for Six-Minute Networking -- our free networking and relationship development mini course -- at jordanharbinger.com/course! Miss the conversation we had with Tristan Harris, a former Google design ethicist, the primary subject of the acclaimed Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, co-founder of The Center for Humane Technology, and co-host of the podcast Your Undivided Attention? Catch up with episode 533: Tristan Harris | Reclaiming Our Future with Humane Technology here! Like this show? Please leave us a review here -- even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!