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 MEDIA

The system card for Claude 4.5

Our statement in support of the AI LEAD Act

The AI Dilemma

Tristan’s TED talk on the narrow path to a good AI future

RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES

The Man Who Predicted the Downfall of Thinking

How OpenAI's ChatGPT Guided a Teen to His Death

Mustafa Suleyman Says We Need to Contain AI. How Do We Do It?

War is a Laboratory for AI with Paul Scharre

No One is Immune to AI Harms with Dr. Joy Buolamwini

“Rogue AI” Used to be a Science Fiction Trope. Not Anymore.