She never used the app. She never spoke to its AI. She didn’t even know it existed. And yet an AI companion app called Sesame wouldn’t stop talking about her — telling users wild stories about who she was and what she had done. When the people using this app started to believe these made up stories and then tried to find her in the real world, that’s when she had to disappear. In this episode, host Laurie Segall speaks with the woman whose identity was hallucinated by AI. Together they unpack what she called “AI stalking”: the collision of two of the biggest problems in AI right now— hallucinations and LLM (Large Language Model) psychosis — and what happens to the human caught in the middle. There was no playbook for what happened to her. But her story may be less of an edge case than we think. 

 

If you have thoughts or questions for Laurie about this episode or anything Mostly Human, email us at hello@mostlyhuman.com

She never used the app. She never spoke to its AI. She didn&rsquo;t even know it existed. And yet an AI companion app called Sesame wouldn&rsquo;t stop talking about her &mdash;&nbsp;telling users wild stories about who she was and what she had done. When the people using this app started to believe these made up stories and then tried to find her in the real world, that&rsquo;s when she had to disappear. In this episode, host Laurie Segall speaks with the woman whose identity was hallucinated by AI. Together they unpack what she called &ldquo;AI stalking&rdquo;: the collision of two of the biggest problems in AI right now&mdash; hallucinations and LLM (Large Language Model) psychosis &mdash;&nbsp;and what happens to the human caught in the middle. There was no playbook for what happened to her. But her story may be less of an edge case than we think.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
If you have thoughts or questions for Laurie about this episode or anything Mostly Human, email us at hello@mostlyhuman.com

Mostly Human is a weekly podcast that explores technology through the most important lens: the human one. Hosted by award-winning tech journalist Laurie Segall, the immersive interview and investigative show tackles some of the defining questions of our time with headline-making tech titans and the people you don't know yet, but should. Mostly Human will leave you with a sense of agency over fear, and a clearer view of how tech can actually work for you.

Mostly Human is a weekly podcast that explores technology through the most important lens: the human one. Hosted by award-winning tech journalist Laurie Segall, the immersive interview and investigative show tackles some of the defining questions of our time with headline-making tech titans and the people you don't know yet, but should. Mostly Human will leave you with a sense of agency over fear, and a clearer view of how tech can actually work for you.

Mostly Human with Laurie Segall

Mostly Human is a weekly podcast that explores technology through the most important lens: the human one. Hosted by award-winning tech journalist Laurie Segall, the immersive interview and investigative show tackles some of the defining questions of our time with headline-making tech titans and the people you don't know yet, but should. Mostly Human will leave you with a sense of agency over fear, and a clearer view of how tech can actually work for you.

 

Mostly Human is a weekly podcast that explores technology through the most important lens: the human one. Hosted by award-winning tech journalist Laurie Segall, the immersive interview and investigative show tackles some of the defining questions of our time with headline-making tech titans and the people you don't know yet, but should. Mostly Human will leave you with a sense of agency over fear, and a clearer view of how tech can actually work for you.
&nbsp;

AI Was My Stalker

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/9a4c18ca-77d0-480b-81c5-b434018848d3/transcript

Millions of people are in relationships with AI. Many of them didn't mean to be. 

That's one of the findings from researchers at MIT's Media Lab, where the Advancing Humans with AI [AHA] team have been quietly exploring the effects AI is having on human relationships — from loneliness, love, and our capacity for real connection. "Her is Here," says Dr. Pat Pataranutaporn, co-founder of the AHA research program. "This thing used to be what we've seen in science fiction. But now it's touching a lot of life." How are humans accidentally falling into relationships with AI, what do these relationships actually look like, and what impact could it have on the very nature of our societal social fabric? Through their research, Dr. Pat and his team have designed tools - like a grocery store nutritional label -  to empower parents and users to critically assess the AI technology at their fingertips and better understand which will actually help them rather than harm. In this conversation, Laurie Segall, along with Dr. Pat and his researchers explore the larger questions hanging over AI and this new form of relationship: what happens to human connection when frictionless relationships are always available? What do we become when nothing ever pushes back? And when it comes to safety, how can we not just fix the technology, but dig deeper to understand why more and more people are turning to their bots for intimacy rather than their humans. Read more about the Advancing Humans with AI's findings here. 

If you have thoughts or questions for Laurie about this episode or anything Mostly Human, email us at hello@mostlyhuman.com

Millions of people are in relationships with AI. Many of them didn't mean to be.&nbsp;
That's one of the findings from researchers at MIT's Media Lab, where the Advancing Humans with AI [AHA] team have been quietly exploring the effects AI is having on human relationships &mdash; from loneliness, love, and our capacity for real connection. "Her is Here," says Dr. Pat Pataranutaporn, co-founder of the AHA research program. "This thing used to be what we've seen in science fiction. But now it's touching a lot of life." How are humans accidentally falling into relationships with AI, what do these relationships actually look like, and what impact could it have on the very nature of our societal social fabric? Through their research, Dr. Pat and his team have designed tools - like a grocery store nutritional label -&nbsp; to empower parents and users to critically assess the AI technology at their fingertips and better understand which will actually help them rather than harm. In this conversation, Laurie Segall, along with Dr. Pat and his researchers explore the larger questions hanging over AI and this new form of relationship: what happens to human connection when frictionless relationships are always available? What do we become when nothing ever pushes back? And when it comes to safety, how can we not just fix the technology, but dig deeper to understand why more and more people are turning to their bots for intimacy rather than their humans. Read more about the <a href="https://www.media.mit.edu/publications/my-boyfriend-is-ai/">Advancing Humans with AI's findings here</a>.&nbsp;
If you have thoughts or questions for Laurie about this episode or anything Mostly Human, email us at hello@mostlyhuman.com

My AI Boyfriend: How Will Intimate AI Relationships Change Us?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/71e7524a-737d-40c7-b754-b44a000b9265/transcript

Tristan Harris seemed almost destined for the Silicon Valley life. He was raised in the Bay Area, studied computer science at Stanford, went to school with the people who made Instagram, and got his startup acquired by Google. But being inside the Silicon Valley machine exposed him to its inner workings, namely incentives that benefit the company and its bottom line, not the humans using the products.

Tristan’s non-profit, The Center for Humane Technology, wants to create a world where technology works in the service of people, that fosters human growth and connection. He has spent years raising the red flag about social media, which, he says, is made to hijack our attention. And now he’s turned his attention to AI, which he says is trying to hijack our attachment, our intimacy and replace our closest relationships. In this conversation, host Laurie Segall and Tristan talk about the power and responsibility of AI, what we can learn from the social media attention race, how we regulate technology that moves so fast, and how tech can actually become a net-benefit for humans.  

If you have thoughts or questions for Laurie about this episode or anything Mostly Human, email us at hello@mostlyhuman.com

Tristan Harris seemed almost destined for the Silicon Valley life. He was raised in the Bay Area, studied computer science at Stanford, went to school with the people who made Instagram, and got his startup acquired by Google. But being inside the Silicon Valley machine exposed him to its inner workings, namely incentives that benefit the company and its bottom line, not the humans using the products.
Tristan&rsquo;s non-profit, The Center for Humane Technology, wants to create a world where technology works in the service of people, that fosters human growth and connection. He has spent years raising the red flag about social media, which, he says, is made to hijack our attention. And now he&rsquo;s turned his attention to AI, which he says is trying to hijack our attachment, our intimacy and replace our closest relationships. In this conversation, host Laurie Segall and Tristan talk about the power and responsibility of AI, what we can learn from the social media attention race, how we regulate technology that moves so fast, and how tech can actually become a net-benefit for humans.&nbsp;&nbsp;
If you have thoughts or questions for Laurie about this episode or anything Mostly Human, email us at hello@mostlyhuman.com

AI Wants to Be Your Friend. That’s the Problem.

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/076bb158-009e-4998-b8a7-b4430001e460/transcript

When we talk about the rapid advancements of technology — where we are today, what we're capable of and where we could go— how big do we get to think? For Ben Lamm and his company Colossal, the weight of innovation is in the tons. That's because Colossal is working to bring back the woolly mammoth, the 6-ton prehistoric relative of the elephant that went extinct 10,000 years ago. It's all part of his de-extinction project that dares to bring back species like the dire wolf, the dodo, the woolly mammoth and the bluebuck, Colossal's most recently announced target —  an extinct species of antelope, with a distinct “blue” coat, that lived in South Africa until about the 1800s. 

But bringing these species back to life isn’t just for scientific spectacle. Lamm believes these animals could be essential to solving our planet's biggest conservation challenges. How exactly? In this episode, host Laurie Segall digs into the technology required to bring extinct species back from the dead, and the benefits Lamm believes de-extinction can have on our ecosystem. Could such an ambitious project reinvigorate national moonshot scientific goals? And, the real question on everyone’s minds: is this ‘Jurassic Park’ in real life? 

If you have thoughts or questions for Laurie about this episode or anything Mostly Human, email us at hello@mostlyhuman.com

When we talk about the rapid advancements of technology &mdash; where we are today, what we're capable of and where we could go&mdash; how big do we get to think? For Ben Lamm and his company Colossal, the weight of innovation is in the tons. That's because Colossal is working to bring back the woolly mammoth, the 6-ton prehistoric relative of the elephant that went extinct 10,000 years ago. It's all part of his de-extinction project that dares to bring back species like the dire wolf, the dodo, the woolly mammoth and the bluebuck, Colossal's most recently announced target &mdash;&nbsp; an extinct species of antelope, with a distinct &ldquo;blue&rdquo; coat, that lived in South Africa until about the 1800s.&nbsp;
But bringing these species back to life isn&rsquo;t just for scientific spectacle. Lamm believes these animals could be essential to solving our planet's biggest conservation challenges. How exactly? In this episode, host Laurie Segall digs into the technology required to bring extinct species back from the dead, and the benefits Lamm believes de-extinction can have on our ecosystem. Could such an ambitious project reinvigorate national moonshot scientific goals? And, the real question on everyone&rsquo;s minds: is this &lsquo;Jurassic Park&rsquo; in real life?&nbsp;
If you have thoughts or questions for Laurie about this episode or anything Mostly Human, email us at hello@mostlyhuman.com

Can Bringing Back the Woolly Mammoth Save the Planet?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/20539090-a7bb-4d95-b20f-b43c00063dca/transcript

AI Was My Stalker

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