Big Think The last human choice: surrendering agency to AI
Aug 12, 2025
Brendan McCord, founder of the Cosmos Institute, discusses the urgent need to preserve human agency in an AI-dominated world. He warns against outsourcing our thought processes to technology, emphasizing the risks to independent decision-making. McCord advocates for the integration of philosophy into tech development, promoting the idea of the 'philosopher builder.' He contrasts human flourishing with profit-driven motives, calling for a moral vision that prioritizes autonomy and collective wisdom in the age of AI.
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Autocomplete For Life
- AI is beginning to automate tasks that shape our thoughts and decisions, moving beyond mere convenience.
- This raises the possibility that AI could determine which ideas reach us, reshaping autonomy and life choices.
Protect Your Capacity To Self-Direct
- Resist outsourcing your thinking to AI to preserve self-direction and human flourishing.
- Keep deliberate philosophic reflection central when building or using AI technologies.
Engineering Lost Its Moral North
- Silicon Valley shifted from marrying humanities with engineering to optimizing attention and data extraction.
- Reintroducing moral ambition and reflection is necessary to build products that truly matter.