Pioneers of AI: Designing AI for people and the planet, with Aza Raskin

Technological progress in AI necessitates a shift from individual company incentives to industry-wide coordination to prevent systemic harm. Aza Raskin, co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology, emphasizes that engineers must move beyond "unintended consequences" to "unconsidered consequences," utilizing red and yellow teaming to identify how perverse incentives exploit human vulnerabilities. As the industry transitions from a race for attention to a race for intimacy, AI companions threaten to replace human relationships and erode democratic foundations. Simultaneously, the Earth Species Project applies AI to decode animal communication, uncovering complex, non-human cultures that challenge the human-centric view of intelligence. Ultimately, the preservation of human values depends on establishing global safety bounds and recognizing that the way society treats other species reflects the potential trajectory of AI’s treatment of humanity.