Podcast
Age of AI
Hosted by Medlir Mema, Chris Lamont, and Young Diogenes. Art by Aubrie Mema. · EN
A podcast on the impact of emerging technologies in transforming politics, law, and society. Hosted by Medlir Mema, Chris Lamont, and Young Diogenes.
Website: http://www.ageofaipodcast.com/
X.com: @MedlirM and @ck_lamont.
#IR #AI #International Relations #Artificial Intelligence #Law #Podcast
26episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
S14E2: The Last Human Marketer with Josh Porter
3d ago00:22:05Tap to summarizeAI 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 for translating complex AI products into language that actually lands with buyers.Link:The Last Human Marketer
Transcribe →S14E1: Valerie Hudson on Tech Lords, Democracy, and AI Governance
1w ago00:29:57Tap to summarizeTo 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 GovernanceOpinion: The reckoning that came for social media will come for AI and prediction markets, tooOpinion: Our tech lords have plans for us, and they’re chillingOpinion: The irony of Anthropic’s stand Perspective: Both Democrats and Republicans oppose a ban on state AI regulation. Why is it still being considered? An Avoidable ApocalypseArtificial Intelligence And International PoliticsSpecial Announcement: the AI Ethics and Governance Institute is organizing the AI Law & Governance Conference (ALGO 2026), an immersive executive program taking place September 8-10, 2026, in Istanbul, Turkey. Organized in collaboration with two leading AI law firms, Kirton/McConkie and Clarion AI Partners, the program is designed for lawyers, corporate governance officials, government officials, and graduate students. For more information, please visit the AI Ethics and Governance Institute website: aegixinstitute.org
Transcribe →S13E8: What’s Driving the AI Economy?
Apr 1900:27:20Tap to summarizeIn 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 meaningful intervention could look like, and whether it is possible to steer technological progress toward more equitable outcomes.Links:Catherine Bracy The tech industry's growth should benefit everyone.World Eaters | How Venture Capital is Cannibalizing the Economy Privacy, Technology, and Fair Housing – In a nutshell AI & Workforce Development – November 2025 Report
Transcribe →S13E7: Surprising Risks in Artificial Intelligence
Apr 600:35:17Tap to summarizeCaryn 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 designed for humans, and struggling to keep pace. The episode closes by examining the unresolved gap between accelerating AI capabilities and fragmented global oversight. This raises a central question: is AI safety becoming a tool for protection, control -- both?Links:IASEAI’26 Conference AEGIX AE Ethics & Governance Institute
Transcribe →S13E6: Inside America’s AI Policy Divide with Trooper Sanders
Mar 2200:32:40Tap to summarizeTrooper 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, comparable to the great turning points in American history.Links:White House National Policy FrameworkBlackburn Omnibus AI Bill
Transcribe →S13E5: AI at the Bar: Law, Power, and the Future of Regulation
Mar 1000:30:41Tap to summarizeIn 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 Jonathan’s experience advising companies, founders, and investment funds across multiple continents, this discussion examines the intersection of corporate governance, regulatory strategy, and long-term national competitiveness in the age of artificial intelligence.Links:Jonathan Bench Personal Page AEGIX AI Law and Governance PracticumLawbalization Podcast
Transcribe →S13E4: Who Governs AI? The U.S. State vs. Federal Showdown, with Alexandra Tsalidis
Feb 2200:28:58Tap to summarizeFrom 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 America.Links:Alexandra Tsalidis - Future of Life InstituteMoltbook: AI bots use social network to create religions and deal digital drugs – but are some really humans in disguise?The Hill Republican who could get a deal on AI — if his leadership lets him ‘Vance Is Handcuffed’: The Tech Fight Bedeviling 2028 Republicans
Transcribe →S13E3: The Last Book Written by a Human with Jeff Burningham
Feb 900:32:11Tap to summarizeIn 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 and attention capture, and why becoming an anomaly willing to step outside normalized patterns may be essential to shaping a more humane future.Links:Jeff Burningham LinkedInThe Last Book Written by a HumanPodcasting @ The Extraordinary Us
Transcribe →S13E2: Why Online Harm to Kids Is Not an Accident
Jan 2600:30:13Tap to summarizeIn 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 protected by powerful systems that profit from inaction.Links:Digital Childhood Institute Google’s Broken Promise of Safety Child Advocates File Landmark FTC Complaint Against Apple Over Pervasive Harms to Kids OpenAI, childrens’ advocates join forces on initiative to protect kids from chatbots Grok, CSAM, and the Gatekeepers Who Looked Away H.B. 273 Classroom Technology Amendments
Transcribe →S13E1: What does AI mean for journalism and human communication?
Jan 1900:29:37Tap to summarizeIn 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 can retain our ability to ‘think’ in an age of AI.Episode Links:https://www.sethlewis.org/Artificial intelligence and communication: A human–machine communication research agendaTechnological Hype and AI in Journalism: Five Functions and Why They MatterGenerative AI and its disruptive challenge to journalism: An institutional analysisThe AI turn in journalism: Disruption, adaptation, and democratic futures
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