Age of AI

Episoade

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  S15E1: Can Data Rights Associations Help Communities Take Back Control of the AI Economy? 11.10.2026 45min

  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. Daniel explains how Data Rights Associations (DRAs) could give those communities a coll...
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  S14E8 (Season Finale): Before Nolan's Odyssey — The Robots of Ancient Greece and the History of AI 09.08.2026 48min

  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) traces that story from Homer's self-navigating ships and golden handmaidens, through the bronze giant Talos ...
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  S14E7: Is AI Governable? 26.07.2026 50min

  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 fostered dialogue, and what the discussions revealed about the growing divide between AI leaders and...
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  S14E6: Who Pays for the Cloud? The Politics of AI Infrastructure and Data Centers 12.07.2026 27min

  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 releases AI data center research in new series on technology policy https://www.datacenterpoli...
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  S14E5: Putting the Pieces Together - How Can AI Help Communities Make Decisions? 28.06.2026 28min

  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 ProjectAI & Our CommunitiesAI and the Future of Our CommunitiesThe American Public Trust
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  S14E4: Trump’s New AI Strategy With Adam Billen 14.06.2026 34min

  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 about Washington's evolving approach to artificial intelligence, the changing relationship between government a...
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  S14E3: Michael Toscano on Pope Leo XIV’s AI Encyclical 31.05.2026 34min

  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-magnifica-humanitas.htmlhttps://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_...
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  S14E2: The Last Human Marketer with Josh Porter 17.05.2026 22min

  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 a legacy constraint — it's a competitive edge. He also introduces the "Customer Connect Code," his framework fo...
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  S14E1: Valerie Hudson on Tech Lords, Democracy, and AI Governance 10.05.2026 29min

  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 power, and what a more democratic future for AI might require. Links: The Oxford Handbook of AI Gove...
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  S13E8: What’s Driving the AI Economy? 19.04.2026 27min

  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, capital, and inequality intersect. Grounded in TechEquity’s work, the episode also considers what ...
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  S13E7: Surprising Risks in Artificial Intelligence 05.04.2026 35min

  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 geopolitical competition, the discussion highlights how current governance frameworks are desi...
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  S13E6: Inside America’s AI Policy Divide with Trooper Sanders 22.03.2026 32min

  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 authority — and making the case that AI policy ranks among the defining societal challenges of our time, comp...
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  S13E5: AI at the Bar: Law, Power, and the Future of Regulation 09.03.2026 30min

  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 AI may ultimately be a race to define standards rather than simply build faster models. Drawing on...
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  S13E4: Who Governs AI? The U.S. State vs. Federal Showdown, with Alexandra Tsalidis 22.02.2026 28min

  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 backing these efforts, and how a growing federal preemption fight could determine who governs AI in ...
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  S13E3: The Last Book Written by a Human with Jeff Burningham 09.02.2026 32min

  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, loss, and wisdom ground us in an age of acceleration, the risks of synthetic relationships an...
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  S13E2: Why Online Harm to Kids Is Not an Accident 26.01.2026 30min

  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 incentives. Online harm to children is not inevitable. It appears to be designed, normalized, and pr...
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  S13E1: What does AI mean for journalism and human communication? 18.01.2026 29min

  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 technology to an active participant in communication, how it shapes trust in society, and how we c...
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  S12E7: Would You Fly With an AI Pilot? | AI, Trust, and Aviation Futures 21.12.2025 31min

  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 societal challenges of introducing AI pilots into the cockpit. The conversation moves beyond techn...
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  S12E6: Pro-Human AI | Insights from the 2025 Utah AI Summit 07.12.2025 31min

  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 itself at the forefront of responsible AI leadership. Links: Margaret Busse Utah Office of Ar...
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  S12E5: Who Controls AI? EU Reforms and a Controversial Proposed US Executive Order 30.11.2025 26min

  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 crossroads of technology, law, and society." Links: Digital Omnibus Regulation ProposalLaunching the Genesis...