Recorded live at SAND Community Gathering (April 2026). Watch the full conversion on the SAND Website.

SAND has launched a special series on Artificial Intelligence.

To premiere this series, we spoke with tech ethicist Tristan Harris—co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology. In this conversation, we explored his warnings about the impending age of AI. According to Harris, the current trajectory isn’t just menacing the economy, but fundamentally rewiring human relationships, altering parenting and mental health, potentially accelerating climate collapse, and even threatening the very fabric of society. We inquired into ways to remain human in an era where machines can simulate empathy, displace our labor, and potentially outmaneuver us.

Topics

00:00 Welcome and Context
00:42 Why This AI Talk
01:32 Introducing Tristan Harris
03:15 Setting the Basics
04:10 From Narrow to New AI
06:18 Rubber Band Reality Check
08:31 Transformers and Scaling
11:00 Infinity Upside and Risk
14:49 Defining AGI and ASI
18:18 Jagged Capabilities and Hype
21:33 Singularity and Anti Human Drift
23:26 Incentives Behind the Future
27:29 The Intelligence Curse
32:22 Devaluing Humans and Consensus
37:56 Planetary Costs of Data Centers
39:41 Why We Keep Building It
42:46 Extinction Risk and Safety Math
45:20 AI in War and Arms Race
47:36 Leaders Unaware of Runaway Signs
48:26 Leaders Fear AI Power
49:02 Nuclear War Game Theory
49:41 Infinite Games Mindset
51:11 AI as Extractive Empire
52:27 From Shadow to Action
53:55 Building the Human Movement
57:25 Four-Step Action Plan
59:44 Grassroots Wins and Bans
01:02:18 Nonprofit Progress and Lawsuits
01:07:51 Talking to Teens Effectively
01:10:05 Governance and Citizen Assemblies
01:12:19 Spiritual Hopes vs Incentives
01:15:12 Accelerationism and Choice
01:18:22 Policy Maker Ten Minute Brief
01:21:26 Countering Transhumanist Ideology
01:23:45 Changing Culture and Incentives
01:27:12 Final Reflections and Gratitude

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