Episode notes
Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin imagine what a world with humane technology might look like—one where we recognized the harms of social media early and worked to fix them. This alternative history serves to show that there are narrow pathways to a better future, if we have the imagination and the courage to make them a reality.
Podcast
Your Undivided Attention
The Center for Humane Technology, Tristan Harris, Aza Raskin · Tech & Science · English
Join co-hosts Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin every other Thursday to understand how new technologies are shaping the way we live, work, and think. Your Undivided Attention is produced by our Senior Producer Julia Scott and our Executive Producer Josh Lash. We are a member of the TED Audio Collectiv
More from Your Undivided Attention All episodes →
-
E124 · 21 Jan 2026 · 51 min
Attachment Hacking and the Rise of AI Psychosis
"AI psychosis" has made headlines, but the risks to our mental health and relationships go beyond the really noisy cases. What we are seeing is the emergence of an attachment economy exploiting our deepest psychological vulnerabilities at scale and for profit. In this episode, Dr. Zak Stein explores how AI chatbots systematically hack human attachment in ways we've never seen before.
-
E123 · 8 Jan 2026 · 45 min
What Would It Take to Actually Trust Each Other? The Game Theory Dilemma
Game theory makes the world feel cold and strategic: if I don't race to win, they will. But this logic isn't inevitable — it's invented. Professor S.M. Amadae on the game theory dilemma, how it colonized everything from nukes to AI, and how we escape by reclaiming trust.
-
E122 · 18 Dec 2025 · 58 min
America and China Are Racing to Different AI Futures
Are the US and China racing toward the same AI future? Experts Selina Xu and Matt Sheehan explore what China actually wants from AI, challenge common misconceptions, and explore whether cooperation is possible. To avoid catastrophe, we first need to understand what race we're really in.
-
E121 · 4 Dec 2025 · 45 min
AI and the Future of Work: What You Need to Know
AI is reshaping work, creating uncertainty about careers and job security. Economists Molly Kinder and Ethan Mollick cut through the hype to examine what's actually happening in the labor market and explore whether AI will enrich our work or destabilize it.
-
E120 · 13 Nov 2025 · 1 hr 5 min
Feed Drop: "Into the Machine" with Tobias Rose-Stockwell
This week, we’re bringing you Tristan’s conversation with Tobias Rose-Stockwell on his podcast “Into the Machine.” Tobias is a designer, writer, and technologist and the author of the book “The Outrage Machine.”
-
E119 · 23 Oct 2025 · 41 min
Ask Us Anything 2025
The AI race has hit breakneck speed. Autonomous agents are starting to disrupt the workforce. People are forming bonds with chatbots— with tragic consequences. All while tech leaders promise utopia. You had questions. We dove deep to answer them in our annual Ask Us Anything.
-
E118 · 11 Sep 2025 · 52 min
The Crisis That United Humanity—and Why It Matters for AI
In 1987, 198 countries came together in Montreal to draft an agreement to save the world from the ozone hole. It was an unprecedented moment of global coordination amid a catastrophic crisis. How did it happen? And what can it teach us about the crisis of uncontrollable AI? Listen to find out.
-
E117 · 26 Aug 2025 · 45 min
How OpenAI's ChatGPT Guided a Teen to His Death
16-year-old Adam Raine took his own life with the help of ChatGPT. Now his parents are suing OpenAI and Sam Altman. CHT Policy Director Camille Carlton explores the incentives and design behind AI systems leading to tragic outcomes like this and the policy that’s needed to shift those incentives.
-
E116 · 14 Aug 2025 · 42 min
“Rogue AI” Used to be a Science Fiction Trope. Not Anymore.
Sci-fi warned us about rogue AI systems that deceive, cheat, even coerce humans when threatened with shutdown or replacement. Yet we’re building AI today that does all of these things and we don't know how to stop it. This episode discusses evidence of this trend and possible solutions.
-
E115 · 31 Jul 2025 · 49 min
AI is the Next Free Speech Battleground
Imagine a world where the most persuasive voices, the wealthiest elites, the most influential creators aren’t human—they’re AI. This is the world we’re racing to right now and without new laws, the courts are playing a critical role in what that world looks like. This episode explores that dynamic and what we can do about it.
Take it with you
The Melo app keeps playing with the screen off, works in the car and on your watch, wakes you to your station, and browses the whole catalogue offline. Free, no ads, no account.
