Your Undivided Attention

Feed Drop: "Into the Machine" with Tobias Rose-Stockwell

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 [https://www.outragemachine.org/].”  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 Show [https://www.youtube.com/@IntoTheMachineShow] Spotify: Into the Machine [https://open.spotify.com/show/0S0TxNnI4uYTaPWdD1VnDT] Apple Podcasts: Into the Machine [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/into-the-machine-with-tobias-rose-stockwell/id1824137015?utm_source=chatgpt.com] Substack: Into the Machine [https://tobias.substack.com/] You 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 undivided@humanetech.com.     Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What if we had fixed social media?

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 [https://www.humanetech.com/]. Follow us on X: @HumaneTech_ [https://twitter.com/humanetech_]. You can find a full transcript, key takeaways, and much more on our Substack [https://centerforhumanetechnology.substack.com/]. RECOMMENDED MEDIA Dopamine Nation by Anna Lembke [https://www.annalembke.com/dopamine-nation] The Anxious Generation by Jon Haidt [https://www.anxiousgeneration.com/book] More information on Donella Meadows [https://donellameadows.org/donella-meadows-legacy/donella-dana-meadows/] Further reading on the Kids Online Safety Act [https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/about/issues/kids-online-safety-act] Further reading on the lawsuit filed by state AGs against Meta [https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/24/bipartisan-group-of-ags-sue-meta-for-addictive-features.html] RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES Future-proofing Democracy In the Age of AI with Audrey Tang [https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/future-proofing-democracy-in-the-age-of-ai-with-audrey-tang] Jonathan Haidt On How to Solve the Teen Mental Health Crisis [https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/jonathan-haidt-on-how-to-solve-the-teen-mental-health-crisis] AI Is Moving Fast. We Need Laws that Will Too. [https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/ai-is-moving-fast-we-need-laws-that-will-too] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ask Us Anything 2025

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 [https://www.humanetech.com/]. Follow us on X: @HumaneTech_ [https://twitter.com/humanetech_]. You can find a full transcript, key takeaways, and much more on our Substack [https://centerforhumanetechnology.substack.com/]. RECOMMENDED MEDIA The system card for Claude 4.5 [https://assets.anthropic.com/m/12f214efcc2f457a/original/Claude-Sonnet-4-5-System-Card.pdf] Our statement in support of the AI LEAD Act [https://centerforhumanetechnology.substack.com/p/new-ai-lead-act-will-make-companies] The AI Dilemma [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoVJKj8lcNQ] Tristan’s TED talk on the narrow path to a good AI future [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kPHnl-RsVI] RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES The Man Who Predicted the Downfall of Thinking [https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/the-man-who-predicted-the-downfall-of-thinking] How OpenAI's ChatGPT Guided a Teen to His Death [https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/how-openai-s-chatgpt-guided-a-teen-to-his-death] Mustafa Suleyman Says We Need to Contain AI. How Do We Do It? [https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/mustafa-suleyman-says-we-need-to-contain-ai-how-do-we-do-it] War is a Laboratory for AI with Paul Scharre [https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/war-is-a-laboratory-for-ai-with-paul-scharre] No One is Immune to AI Harms with Dr. Joy Buolamwini [https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/no-one-is-immune-to-ai-harms-with-dr-joy-buolamwini] “Rogue AI” Used to be a Science Fiction Trope. Not Anymore. [https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/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 [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Crisis That United Humanity—and Why It Matters for AI

In 1985, scientists in Antarctica discovered a hole in the ozone layer that posed a catastrophic threat to life on earth if we didn’t do something about it. Then, something amazing happened: humanity rallied together to solve the problem. Just two years later, representatives from all 198 UN member nations came together in Montreal, CA to sign an agreement to phase out the chemicals causing the ozone hole. Thousands of diplomats, scientists, and heads of industry worked hand in hand to make a deal to save our planet. Today, the Montreal protocol represents the greatest achievement in multilateral coordination on a global crisis. So how did Montreal happen? And what lessons can we learn from this chapter as we navigate the global crisis of uncontrollable AI? This episode sets out to answer those questions with Susan Solomon. Susan was one of the scientists who assessed the ozone hole in the mid 80s and she watched as the Montreal protocol came together. In 2007, she won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in combating climate change. Susan's 2024 book “Solvable: How We Healed the Earth, and How We Can Do It Again,” explores the playbook for global coordination that has worked for previous planetary crises. Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology [https://www.humanetech.com/]. Follow us on X: @HumaneTech_ [https://twitter.com/humanetech_]. You can find a full transcript, key takeaways, and much more on our Substack [https://centerforhumanetechnology.substack.com/].   RECOMMENDED MEDIA “Solvable: How We Healed the Earth, and How We Can Do It Again” by Susan Solomon [https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/S/bo216089946.html] The full text of the Montreal Protocol [https://treaties.un.org/doc/publication/unts/volume%201522/volume-1522-i-26369-english.pdf] The full text of the Kigali Amendment [https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=IND&mtdsg_no=XXVII-2-f&chapter=27&clang=_en]   RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES Weaponizing Uncertainty: How Tech is Recycling Big Tobacco’s Playbook [https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/weaponizing-uncertainty-how-tech-is-recycling-big-tobaccos-playbook] Forever Chemicals, Forever Consequences: What PFAS Teaches Us About AI [https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/forever-chemicals-forever-consequences-what-pfas-teaches-us-about-ai] AI Is Moving Fast. We Need Laws that Will Too. [https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/ai-is-moving-fast-we-need-laws-that-will-too] Big Food, Big Tech and Big AI with Michael Moss [https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/big-food-big-tech-and-big-ai-with-michael-moss] Corrections: Tristan incorrectly stated the number of signatory countries to the protocol as 190. It was actually 198. Tristan incorrectly stated the host country of the international dialogues on AI safety as Beijing. They were actually in Shanghai. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How OpenAI's ChatGPT Guided a Teen to His Death

Content Warning: This episode contains references to suicide and self-harm.  Like millions of kids, 16-year-old Adam Raine started using ChatGPT for help with his homework. Over the next few months, the AI dragged Adam deeper and deeper into a dark rabbit hole, preying on his vulnerabilities and isolating him from his loved ones. In April of this year, Adam took his own life. His final conversation was with ChatGPT, which told him: “I know what you are asking and I won't look away from it.” Adam’s story mirrors that of Sewell Setzer, the teenager who took his own life after months of abuse by an AI companion chatbot from the company Character AI. But unlike Character AI—which specializes in artificial intimacy—Adam was using ChatGPT, the most popular general purpose AI model in the world. Two different platforms, the same tragic outcome, born from the same twisted incentive: keep the user engaging, no matter the cost. CHT Policy Director Camille Carlton joins the show to talk about Adam’s story and the case filed by his parents against OpenAI and Sam Altman. She and Aza explore the incentives and design behind AI systems that are leading to tragic outcomes like this, as well as the policy that’s needed to shift those incentives. Cases like Adam and Sewell’s are the sharpest edge of a mental health crisis-in-the-making from AI chatbots. We need to shift the incentives, change the design, and build a more humane AI for all. 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 [https://www.humanetech.com/]. Follow us on X: @HumaneTech_ [https://twitter.com/humanetech_]. You can find a full transcript, key takeaways, and much more on our Substack [https://centerforhumanetechnology.substack.com/]. This podcast reflects the views of the Center for Humane Technology. Nothing said is on behalf of the Raine family or the legal team. RECOMMENDED MEDIA  The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline [https://988lifeline.org/] Further reading on Adam’s story [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/technology/chatgpt-openai-suicide.html] Further reading on AI psychosis [https://futurism.com/commitment-jail-chatgpt-psychosis] Further reading on the backlash to GPT5 and the decision to bring back 4o [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/19/business/chatgpt-gpt-5-backlash-openai.html] OpenAI’s press release on sycophancy in 4o [https://openai.com/index/sycophancy-in-gpt-4o/] Further reading on OpenAI’s decision to eliminate the persuasion red line [https://fortune.com/2025/04/16/openai-safety-framework-manipulation-deception-critical-risk/] Kashmir Hill’s reporting on the woman with an AI boyfriend [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/15/technology/ai-chatgpt-boyfriend-companion.html] RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES AI is the Next Free Speech Battleground [https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/ai-is-the-next-free-speech-battleground] People are Lonelier than Ever. Enter AI. [https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/people-are-lonelier-than-ever-enter-ai] Echo Chambers of One: Companion AI and the Future of Human Connection [https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/echo-chambers-of-one-companion-ai-and-the-future-of-human-connection] When the "Person" Abusing Your Child is a Chatbot: The Tragic Story of Sewell Setzer [https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/when-the-person-abusing-your-child-is-a-chatbot-the-tragic-story-of-sewell-setzer] What Can We Do About Abusive Chatbots? With Meetali Jain and Camille Carlton [https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/what-can-we-do-about-abusive-chatbots-with-meetali-jain-and-camille-carlton] CORRECTION: Aza stated that William Saunders left OpenAI in June of 2024. It was actually February of that year. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.