Age of AI

What can medieval manuscripts teach us about artificial intelligence? In this episode of Age of AI, Medlir speaks with Sonja Drimmer, a scholar of medieval European art, about the relationship between technology, knowledge, and power.  Drawing on her research into illuminated manuscripts, authorship, and the making of literary canons, we explore how technologies shape what societies remember, how...

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in our lives, are we building systems that enhance human flourishing—or undermine it? In this episode of Age of AI, we speak with Erika Anderson, founder of Building Humane Tech and co-creator of HumaneBench, about what it means to design AI around human well-being. We explore the impact of AI on human relationships, autonomy, and trust; the...

In this episode of Age of AI, Jean Garcia Periche of the Center for Public Intelligence joins Medlir to explore how artificial intelligence could fundamentally transform public institutions. We discuss why traditional government structures struggle with today's complex challenges, how AI agents and digital public infrastructure could enable a shift from digital to agentic government, and what...

Who decides how our data is collected and used?  In the first episode of Season 15 of Age of AI, Medlir is joined by Daniel Cochrane to discuss a new proposal from the Institute for Family Studies: “associational data rights.”  The report argues that data is not simply an individual asset. Much of it is created through families, workplaces, churches, schools, communities, and other relationships....

What if one of the oldest stories in Western literature is also one of the earliest stories about artificial intelligence? Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey has brought new attention to Homer's epics — but they're only the beginning of a much longer story about intelligent machines.  In this Season 14 finale, historian of science Professor Elly R. Truitt (University of Pennsylvania) t...

In this episode of Age of AI, we speak with Branka Panic about the first-ever UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance, where representatives from nearly 170 countries gathered in Geneva to discuss the future of global AI policy. Drawing on her firsthand experience at the conference, Branka explains what happened beyond the official speeches, why many participants questioned whether the event truly fos...

AI may appear immaterial, but the cloud has a physical footprint. In this episode of Age of AI, Ford Copple joins us to discuss the data centers behind artificial intelligence, including their economic benefits, energy and water demands, local impacts, and the policy choices communities face as AI infrastructure expands. Links: Building a Human-Centered Digital Future   Sutherland Institute releas...

In this episode, Medlir is joined by Clara Long, a human rights lawyer turned democracy strategist and co-lead of BLOOM. We discuss why public deliberation matters in an age of polarization and disinformation, how technology can support rather than replace civic judgment, and what it takes to help communities reason and decide together across difference. Bloom Project AI & Our Communities AI a...

In this episode, host Medlir Mema sits down with Adam Billen, Co-Executive Director of Encode, to examine a surprising shift in U.S. AI policy. They discuss the Trump administration's recent efforts to establish a federal framework for frontier AI models, expand AI's role in national security, and limit state-level regulation. The conversation explores what these developments reveal abou...

Michael Toscano joins Age of AI to discuss Pope Leo XIV’s first AI encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas . The conversation explores human dignity, digital dependency, family life, AI personhood, and why the Vatican believes the future of artificial intelligence is ultimately a question about what it means to be human. Links: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magni...

AI is supposed to make marketing easier. So why are so many companies more confused about their messaging than ever? In this episode, Medlir talks with Josh Porter — author of The Last Human Marketer — about what he calls "drowning in automation": the paradox where scaling content and tools produces less clarity, not more. Josh makes the case that human judgment in positioning isn't...

To open Season 14 of Age of AI, and to mark the podcast’s 5-year anniversary, we are joined by Dr. Valerie Hudson for a wide-ranging conversation on AI, governance, and the future of political order. Drawing on her decades of work at the intersection of international relations and emerging technology, Dr. Hudson reflects on how we arrived at this moment, the risks of concentrated technological pow...

In this episode, Catherine Bracy, Founder and CEO of TechEquity and author of World Eaters, joins Medlir to examine how the venture capital model shapes not just startups, but the broader economy. From labor disruption and “ghost workers” to the growing concentration of power in the AI stack and the transformation of housing markets through tech platforms, the discussion explores how innovation, c...

Caryn Lusinchi, Young Diogenes, and Medlir are back to unpack the rapidly shifting landscape of AI safety following the IASEAI Conference in Paris.  They explore how AI risk is evolving beyond technical challenges into global coordination problems, especially as systems become autonomous and agentic.  From “synthetic outlaws” and shifting accountability, to emerging economic disruption and geopoli...

Trooper Sanders joins the show for a wide-ranging conversation on artificial intelligence and its effects on the economy, governance, and everyday life. Drawing on his experience advising on national AI policy, Sanders walks through the White House's new AI framework and the competing legislation it faces, unpacking the key tensions between innovation, safety, and federal versus state authori...

In this episode of Age of AI, I share a conversation with international business attorney Jonathan Bench on what it means to govern intelligence in a rapidly shifting legal and geopolitical landscape. We explore how AI is reshaping the practice of law, what is keeping boards and executives up at night, whether regulation is constraining or enabling innovation, and why the global competition over A...

From AI built religions on Moltbook to human simulation platforms like RentAHuman, the boundaries between human and machine are already blurring. While Congress debates national frameworks, US states are advancing their own AI transparency and safety laws. In this episode, Alexandra Tsalidis of the Future of Life Institute breaks down how state governments are shaping AI policy, why voters are bac...

In this episode, we sit down with entrepreneur, investor, educator, and author Jeff Burnigham to explore what it truly means to be human in the age of artificial intelligence. The author of  bestselling book: The Last Book Written by a Human, Jeff reframes AI not as a technological challenge but as a human one. We discuss why simulated understanding is not the same as lived experience, how love, l...

In this episode of Age of AI, Medlir sits down with Melissa McKay, Founder of the Digital Childhood Institute. They examine how Big Tech platforms and app store gatekeepers have failed to protect kids online. From Google emailing children in order to remove parental controls, to deceptive app age ratings, we discuss how safety breakdowns are not accidents but predictable outcomes of misaligned inc...

In this episode of Age of AI, Medlir speaks with Seth Lewis, professor at the University of Oregon and a leading scholar of journalism, AI, and communication. The conversation explores what Lewis calls the “AI turn” in journalism: a moment when generative AI begins to challenge core ideas about authorship, creativity, trust, and professional identity. We examine how AI is moving from a backstage t...

In this episode, host Chris Lamont is joined by Christoph Regli, Swiss Air Force drone pilot, commercial airline pilot, and aviation scholar, to explore one of the most unsettling questions in civil aviation governance: would you trust an aircraft with no human pilot on board? Drawing on his experience as a pilot, engineer, regulator, and researcher, Regli unpacks the regulatory, technical, and so...

Fresh off the 2025 Utah AI Summit, Utah’s Department of Commerce director Margaret Busse joins us to break down what really happened when policymakers, educators, and tech leaders came together to imagine a Pro Human future. We talk standout moments, surprises, and why Utah’s new Office of AI Policy is getting national attention. This conversation offers a clear view into how Utah is positioning i...

Caryn Lusinchi returns to unpack a whirlwind week in AI policy across the EU and the United States. We break down the European Commission's new Digital Omnibus proposals and a leaked US executive order that aims to rein in state-level AI rules, looking at what these moves could mean for companies, regulators, and the future of AI governance. A fast-moving and timely conversation at the crossr...

In this episode, Medlir sits down with Dr. Elke Schwarz—Professor of Political Theory at Queen Mary University of London and author of Death Machines: The Ethics of Violent Technologies —to explore how AI is transforming not only the tools of war, but the very way we understand conflict, responsibility, and humanity itself. We also explore the rise of apocalyptic narratives surrounding AI—what Dr....

In this episode, Eugene Tan from RSIS Singapore and Chris explore how advances in aviation technology are transforming our airspace. With cargo drones and urban air taxis taking to the skies, how will an increasing number of autonomous or remotely piloted aircraft safely share the airspace with traditional aviation? What new security, privacy, and safety risks do such air mobility systems bring? A...