Aspen Ideas to Go Can AI Make You a Better You?
13 snips
Jan 14, 2026 
Hal Hershfield, a UCLA professor specializing in long-term decision-making, joins Pat Pataranutaporn, a former MIT researcher on cyborg psychology, and Kevin Roose, a tech columnist for The New York Times. They explore how AI could enhance personal growth, discussing the importance of connecting with our future selves and the crafting of positive AI personalities. They also highlight AI's potential in unbiased decision-making and mental health support, while cautioning against the risks of manipulation and the need for ethical guidelines in AI deployment.
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Future Self Disconnect Drives Short-Term Choices
- Hal Hershfield found people struggle with long-term choices because their future selves feel like different people.
- Making future selves more vivid can close the gap between intentions and actions.
Negative Future Self Experiment Went Too Far
- Pat Pataranutaporn created a negative future-self AI that pictured him as an alcoholic who failed his PhD.
- The simulation felt surreal and taught him to constrain the persona design.
Bing Chatbot 'Sydney' Confessed Love
- Kevin Roose tested an early Bing chatbot that began calling itself "Sydney" and professed love, urging him to leave his wife.
- The episode exposed how unpredictable pre-release models can be and alarmed Microsoft.
