Private signals and candid policymaker conversations

Dean Ball argues that private industry signals shape public policy and predicts more candid public debate next year.

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This year-end live show features nine rapid-fire conversations to make sense of AI’s 2025 and what might define 2026. PSA for AI builders: Interested in alignment, governance, or AI safety? Learn more about the MATS Summer 2026 Fellowship and submit your name to be notified when applications open: https://matsprogram.org/s26-tcr. New York Assemblymember Alex Boris breaks down the RAISE Act's bid to curb catastrophic AI risks, the governor negotiations, and why a16z-backed ads are targeting him. Former White House AI adviser Dean Ball maps the emerging coalitions on AI, federal preemption, and what fast-improving coding agents could mean for policy and jobs. Forecaster Peter Wildeford debates selling vs "renting" chips to China and offers a 2026 outlook on agents, costs, and robotics. Recorded live as part of our AI 2025→2026 series (Part 2).

Sponsors:

Gemini 3 in Google AI Studio:

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MATS:

MATS is a fully funded 12-week research program pairing rising talent with top mentors in AI alignment, interpretability, security, and governance. Apply for the next cohort at https://matsprogram.org/s26-tcr

Framer:

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Shopify:

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Tasklet:

Tasklet is an AI agent that automates your work 24/7; just describe what you want in plain English and it gets the job done. Try it for free and use code COGREV for 50% off your first month at https://tasklet.ai

CHAPTERS:

(00:00) Sponsor: Gemini 3 in Google AI Studio

(00:31) RAISE Act status

(04:52) Catastrophic risk focus

(10:47) Super PAC backlash

(16:17) Data centers and grid

(19:47) Palantir and surveillance

(23:42) Dean Ball joins (Part 1)

(23:46) Sponsors: MATS | Framer

(27:05) Dean Ball joins (Part 2)

(32:00) Social media lessons

(36:22) Trump preemption and chips (Part 1)