Podcast Summary: "AI Needs Intention, Not Fear"

Tomorrow, Today with Shekhar Natarajan | Guest: will.i.am
Date: February 10, 2026

Overview

In this episode, Shekhar Natarajan sits down with visionary artist, technologist, and entrepreneur will.i.am at CES 2026 to discuss the profound questions and everyday realities at the intersection of artificial intelligence, intention, ethics, and creativity. The conversation moves from will.i.am’s origins in East LA to his mission-driven ventures in robotics and agentic AI, and tackles societal fears around AI, the critical role of intention, and what it means to remain creative in an AI-powered era. Diverse guests in the live audience add global, personal, and nuanced perspectives on how AI is shaping work, creativity, relationships, and the future of human identity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origins, Intention, and the Power of Community

• Humble Beginnings and Exposure to Inequality
  • Will.i.am narrates his upbringing in East LA, exposure to wealth in Brentwood, and how meeting a Persian immigrant family inspired his "focus" and "work ethic."
  • “You only know you’re poor when you see how someone else is living… But it wasn’t till I met a Persian family, Ms. Sharif, and I asked, how do you live like this?... I wanted to apply that same type of focus.” (01:32)
• Giving Back and Social Impact
  • Will describes his mission to uplift his community through education and technology initiatives, such as robotics programs and scholarships for underserved youth.
  • “Now that I made it out, I want to go back… I brought free Wi-Fi to my neighborhood during COVID, I have a robotics program… now I want to, like, take it to the next level. Let’s build a vehicle.” (05:09)

2. Intention as the Core of Technology (vs. Greed)

• Intention Over Technology
  • Will repeatedly argues the challenge with technology is not the technology itself, but the intentions and ethics of those creating and deploying it.
  • “It’s not the tech, it’s the greed. Is that the fate of AI?” (00:01, 09:21)
• Focus on Societal Transformation Over Pure Profit
  • Using Shenzhen, Singapore, and UAE as examples, Will proposes inner-city transformation by adopting intentional, ethics-driven innovation:
  • “Why can’t that happen at Boyle Heights?... Intentions are all we need. Intentions is all we need and we will transcend.” (06:30)

3. AI: Optimism vs. Fear

• Overcoming Adversity Fuels Optimism
  • Will points out that fear of AI is overblown compared to the adversity many already face:
  • “I don’t think there’s anything going to be worse than being in the slum or being in the project... AI didn’t create that. Will it ever get any worse?” (07:44)
• AI as Liberator and Equalizer
  • He believes that if AI had been accessible earlier, it could have transformed marginalized lives:
  • “It’s a liberator if you think about it… when people are afraid of AI, they’re afraid of the business model. I don’t know if they’re truly afraid about AI.” (08:34, 09:21)

4. The Problem of Intent and Virtue in AI

• The "License to Deploy" Metaphor
  • Will compares AI deployment to getting a driver’s license—creators need to demonstrate intent and responsibility, which is lacking in today’s AI ecosystem:
  • “People that are deploying AI never took a test. They don’t have a license to deploy systems… One of the first things when you’re taking a driver’s test is your intentions.” (11:05)
• Teaching Virtue and Embedding Ethics
  • Will shares his course at Arizona State University, "The Agentic Self," focused on combining technical execution and self-awareness (“Who am I?”) to foster ethical AI creation:
  • “When the same system that you’re showing up to incognito is smart enough to learn you and knows you more than you know yourself… now asking ‘who am I?’ is the most important…” (14:15)
  • Visiting experts reinforce this mix of technical and ethical mentorship.

5. Agentic AI and the “Mofo” Device

• Redefining AI Assistants
  • Will describes the “mofo”—not a toy, but an “agentic AI collectible” and OS designed to help users orchestrate their digital lives by connecting calendars, emails, and tasks, all in one place.
  • “It’s a modular omnifunctional operator. So it’s an operator—it doesn’t need you to swipe… or tap through it for it to be functional.” (19:07)
• Addressing Loneliness and Digital Companionship
  • The mofo is a conversational, expressive agent designed to help users not just with productivity, but with companionship:
  • “Because it’s conversational at its core… you could talk about…what’s going on in the world… break out of emoji, and really have a dynamic facial expression while you’re speaking to the mofo.” (19:25)
• Will’s Broader Agentic AI Vision
  • He discusses expanding agentic AI into vehicles (Trinity electric car) and entertainment (agentic radio hosts), emphasizing ethical and modular integration.

6. Creativity in the Age of AI

• Defining Creativity
  • Will rejects the idea that AI threatens true creatives. Creativity, for him, means “making sense of noise,” being free to express and iterate, building new things and bridges—literal or metaphorical.
  • “Creativity is a rinse. I felt something, I rinse it out… The moment that you try to make your creative output perfect is when you have writer’s block.” (22:03)
• AI as Inspiration, Not Threat
  • Will uses nature as a metaphor for creative abundance; just as humans weren’t daunted by trees but inspired, creative humans shouldn’t feel threatened by AI:
  • “There’s nothing more powerful than nature… Now humans created AI, and now AI is created… whoever’s feeling that were not true creatives to begin with.” (25:09, 26:04)
  • He points to Charlie Chaplin’s embrace of film as an example of adapting to new creative paradigms:
  • “Did [Chaplin] shy away from film or did he go head at it and help birth Hollywood?... Embrace it and dreamt.” (26:11)

7. Philosophical Thought Experiments: Life Extension and Human Intention

• What If You Could Live 300 Years?
  • Will reflects that extended lifespan would only be valuable if one has purpose:
  • “I would take that pill if I knew exactly what I would do with that time. If I don’t… then that pill is prison.” (28:15)
  • He cautions against squandering time, drawing parallels to how humanity often fails to maximize even a short life.

8. Diverse Global Perspectives on AI’s Societal Impact (Audience Segment, 29:57–39:43)

• AI as Tool or Threat
  • Participants viewed AI variously as a creative tool, possible replacement for companionship, productivity booster, job destroyer, and force for medicine and education.
  • Some worried about job loss, especially in areas reliant on repetitive work; others were concerned about power, energy use, and regulatory oversight.
• Notable Quote:
  • “If you can give me an AI that can give me a companion replacing my wife, I will buy that.” (30:38)
  • “If you look at it both from the pros and cons perspective… a lot of diseases…are getting better with respect to adapting to newer medicines… I’m very optimistic.” (37:34)
• Call for Ethical Integration
  • Many saw the need for governments and society to “catch up” with regulation, balance progress and risk, and use AI for human betterment.

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• Will.i.am on Intentions in Tech:
  • “When you have the right intentions, when you have a moral compass, when there’s ethics at the core of the products you build… It’s not the tech, it’s the greed. Is that the fate of AI?” (00:01)
• On Community Impact:
  • “I have my foundation [in my neighborhood]… we serve about 500 schools with my robotics program… Because when I was in the hood, people came and gave us food. Somebody had a big heart.” (03:51, 05:09)
• On AI and Human Development:
  • “If I see AI, I’m like, no, that’s a solution for us… AI can be that. So when people are afraid of AI, they’re afraid of the business model.” (08:05, 09:21)
• On Virtue in AI:
  • “People that are deploying AI never took a test… [They should ask,] What are your intentions for society?” (11:05)
• On Privacy and the “Agentic Self”:
  • “When the same system… knows you more than you know yourself… owning your data is the most important… step… Each agent sits at your home like your refrigerator.” (14:15–16:49)
• On Creativity and AI:
  • “Creativity is making sense of noise… But the moment that you try to make your creative output perfect is when you have writer’s block.” (22:03)
  • “There’s nothing more powerful than nature… Humans created AI, and now AI is created… whoever’s feeling that [creative fear] were not true creatives to begin with.” (25:09–26:04)
• On Living 300 Years:
  • “I would take that pill if I knew exactly what I would do with that time. If I don’t… then that pill is prison…” (28:15)

Key Segments & Timestamps

• Introduction & Setting: CES, intention vs. fear – (00:00–01:32)
• Upbringing & Origin Story: Life lessons from East LA – (01:32–05:06)
• Community Work & Vision: Robotics, education, “Made in the Neighborhood” – (05:09–07:23)
• Addressing AI Fear: Optimism, slums vs. AI risk – (07:23–09:21)
• Business Model Critique: Greed vs. ethics in technology – (09:21–11:05)
• Virtue in AI Deployment: Licensing, intent-sharing metaphor – (11:05–13:49)
• The “Agentic Self” Course: Data, privacy, “who am I?" – (13:49–16:49)
• Will’s Agentic AI (“mofo”): Purpose, features, not a toy – (17:26–20:14)
• Connecting Agentic AI Across Domains: OS, car, radio – (20:18–21:45)
• Creativity & AI: Definitions, resilience, metaphors – (21:47–27:39)
• What If Scenarios: 300-year life, philosophical reflections – (27:42–29:57)
• Global Audience Segment: Diverse views, pros & cons, job impacts, ethics – (29:57–39:43)

Conclusion

will.i.am urges listeners to not fear AI itself, but to question the intentions guiding its creation and deployment. He champions a future where technology amplifies human agency, dignity, and creativity—provided we lead it with ethical intention. The episode blends sobering warnings, technical curiosity, and irrepressible optimism about what’s possible when creative minds harness technology with purpose.

“Intentions is all we need, and we will transcend.” — will.i.am (06:30)