Sam Harris speaks with Tristan Harris about the dangers of AI and the race to build it. They discuss the new documentary The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist, the lessons of The Social Dilemma, the arms race dynamics between AI labs, the “intelligence curse” and its implications for human political power, the psychology of tech CEOs indifferent to extinction risk, the possibilities of US-China coordination on AI safety, and other topics.
Tristan Harris, described by The Atlantic as “the closest thing Silicon Valley has to a conscience,” is a technology ethicist and co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology, a nonprofit dedicated to aligning technology with humanity’s best interests. Tristan gained international recognition when he was featured in the Emmy-winning Netflix documentary, The Social Dilemma, seen by over 150 million people in 190 countries and 30 languages. Named to the TIME100 AI list in 2023, Tristan is “a tech leader committed to ensuring that we get this generation of AI right, because we simply can’t afford to get it wrong.” Most recently, Tristan is featured in The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist, a new documentary from Focus Features in theaters March 27, 2026.
Website: humanetech.com
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