Your Undivided Attention

Is the US really in an AI race with China—or are we racing toward completely different finish lines?In this episode, Tristan Harris sits down with China experts Selina Xu and Matt Sheehan to separate fact from fiction about China's AI development. They explore fundamental questions about how the Chinese government and public approach AI, the most persistent misconceptions in the West, and whether cooperation between rivals is actually possible. From the streets of Shanghai to high-level policy discussions, Xu and Sheehan paint a nuanced portrait of AI in China that defies both hawkish fears and naive optimism.If we're going to avoid a catastrophic AI arms race, we first need to understand what race we're actually in—and whether we're even running toward the same finish line.Note: On December 8, after this recording took place, the Trump administration announced that the Commerce Department would allow American semiconductor companies, including Nvidia, to sell their most powerful chips to China in exchange for a 25 percent cut of the revenue.RECOMMENDED MEDIA“China's Big AI Diffusion Plan is Here. Will it Work?” by Matt SheehanSelina’s blogFurther reading on China’s AI+ PlanFurther reading on the Gaither Report and the missile gapFurther Reading on involution in ChinaThe consensus from the international dialogues on AI safety in ShanghaiRECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESThe Narrow Path: Sam Hammond on AI, Institutions, and the Fragile FutureAI Is Moving Fast. We Need Laws that Will Too.The AI ‘Race’: China vs. the US with Jeffrey Ding and Karen Hao Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

No matter where you sit within the economy, whether you're a CEO or an entry level worker, everyone's feeling uneasy about AI and the future of work. Uncertainty about career paths, job security, and life planning makes thinking about the future anxiety inducing. In this episode, Daniel Barcay sits down with two experts on AI and work to examine what's actually happening in today's labor market and what's likely coming in the near-term. We explore the crucial question: Can we create conditions for AI to enrich work and careers, or are we headed toward widespread economic instability? Ethan Mollick is a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he studies innovation, entrepreneurship, and the future of work. He's the author of Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI.Molly Kinder is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, where she researches the intersection of AI, work, and economic opportunity. She recently led research with the Yale Budget Lab examining AI's real-time impact on the labor market. RECOMMENDED MEDIACo-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI by Ethan MollickFurther reading on Molly’s study with the Yale Budget LabThe “Canaries in the Coal Mine” Study from Stanford’s Digital Economy LabEthan’s substack One Useful Thing RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESIs AI Productivity Worth Our Humanity? with Prof. Michael SandelWe Have to Get It Right’: Gary Marcus On Untamed AIAI Is Moving Fast. We Need Laws that Will Too.Tech's Big Money Campaign is Getting Pushback with Margaret O'Mara and Brody Mullins CORRECTIONSEthan said that in 2022, experts believed there was a 2.5% chance that ChatGPT would be able to win the Math Olympiad. However, that was only among forecasters with more general knowledge (the exact number was 2.3%). Among domain expert forecasters, the odds were an 8.6% chance.Ethan claimed that over 50% of Americans say that they’re using AI at work. We weren’t able to independently verify this claim and most studies we found showed lower rates of reported use of AI with American workers. There are reports from other countries, notably Denmark, which show higher rates of AI use.Ethan indirectly quoted the Walmart CEO Doug McMillon as having a goal to “keep all 3 million employees and to figure out new ways to expand what they use.” In fact, McMillon’s language on AI has been much softer, saying that “AI is expected to create a number of jobs at Walmart, which will offset those that it replaces.” Additionally, Walmart has 2.1 million employees, not 3. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week, we’re bringing you Tristan’s conversation with Tobias Rose-Stockwell on his podcast “Into the Machine.”  Tobias is a designer, writer, and technologist and the author of the book “The Outrage Machine.” Tobias and Tristan had a critical, sobering, and surprisingly hopeful conversation about the current path we’re on AI and the choices we could make today to forge a different one. This interview clearly lays out the stakes of the AI race and helps to imagine a more humane AI future—one that is within reach, if we have the courage to make it a reality. If you enjoyed this conversation, be sure to check out and subscribe to “Into the Machine”:YouTube: Into the Machine ShowSpotify: Into the MachineApple Podcasts: Into the MachineSubstack: Into the MachineYou may have noticed on this podcast, we have been trying to focus a lot more on solutions. Our episode last week imagined what the world might look like if we had fixed social media and all the things that we could've done in order to make that possible.  We'd really love to hear from you about these solutions and any other questions you're holding.  So please, if you have more thoughts or questions, send us an email at [email protected].    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We really enjoyed hearing all of your questions for our annual Ask Us Anything episode. There was one question that kept coming up: what might a different world look like? The broken incentives behind social media, and now AI, have done so much damage to our society, but what is the alternative? How can we blaze a different path?In this episode, Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin set out to answer those questions by imagining what a world with humane technology might look like—one where we recognized the harms of social media early and embarked on a whole of society effort to fix them.This alternative history serves to show that there are narrow pathways to a better future, if we have the imagination and the courage to make them a reality.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 MEDIADopamine Nation by Anna LembkeThe Anxious Generation by Jon HaidtMore information on Donella MeadowsFurther reading on the Kids Online Safety ActFurther reading on the lawsuit filed by state AGs against MetaRECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESFuture-proofing Democracy In the Age of AI with Audrey TangJonathan Haidt On How to Solve the Teen Mental Health CrisisAI Is Moving Fast. We Need Laws that Will Too. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's been another big year in AI. The AI race has accelerated to breakneck speed, with frontier labs pouring hundreds of billions into increasingly powerful models—each one smarter, faster, and more unpredictable than the last. We’re starting to see disruptions in the workforce as human labor is replaced by agents. Millions of people, including vulnerable teenagers, are forming deep emotional bonds with chatbots—with tragic consequences. Meanwhile, tech leaders continue promising a utopian future, even as the race dynamics they've created make that outcome nearly impossible.It’s enough to make anyone’s head spin. In this year’s Ask Us Anything, we try to make sense of it all.You sent us incredible questions, and we dove deep: Why do tech companies keep racing forward despite the harm? What are the real incentives driving AI development beyond just profit? How do we know AGI isn't already here, just hiding its capabilities? What does a good future with AI actually look like—and what steps do we take today to get there? Tristan and Aza explore these questions and more on this week’s episode.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 system card for Claude 4.5Our statement in support of the AI LEAD ActThe AI DilemmaTristan’s TED talk on the narrow path to a good AI futureRECOMMENDED YUA EPISODESThe Man Who Predicted the Downfall of ThinkingHow OpenAI's ChatGPT Guided a Teen to His DeathMustafa Suleyman Says We Need to Contain AI. How Do We Do It?War is a Laboratory for AI with Paul ScharreNo One is Immune to AI Harms with Dr. Joy Buolamwini“Rogue AI” Used to be a Science Fiction Trope. Not Anymore.Correction: When this episode was recorded, Meta had just released the Vibes app the previous week. Now it’s been out for about a month.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.