Empowering Futures: The Role of AI Assistants

AI systems are beginning to act on our behalf — executing tasks, making decisions, and influencing daily life in ways that often escape direct human oversight. What are the consequences of delegating decision-making to systems we don’t fully understand? How do we design AI to enhance human capabilities without sidelining human judgment?



In this episode, host Aleksander Mądry welcomes Jonathan Zittrain, Professor at Harvard Law School and Co-Founder of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society. They explore the legal, ethical, and societal challenges of living alongside increasingly autonomous AI. Drawing on lessons from the internet’s evolution, Zittrain examines how we can structure responsibility, foster innovation, and build systems that truly serve the public good — all while navigating the profound opportunities and risks of this technological transformation.

09:20 - Three eras of internet evolution

14:56 - Generative tech and equilibrium challenges

20:59 - Generativity vs. closed systems

26:36 - The promise and pitfalls of AI assistants

32:56 - Privacy, privilege, and AI user rights

39:01 - Regulation, self-regulation, and global policy

48:28 - Defining AI agents and their real-world impact

52:26 - AI’s potential to empower the marginalized

1:15:41 - Acceleration, agency, and the future