In this episode, Sean  and Andrew dissect the newly released U.S. 2025 AI Action Plan, exploring its three pillars—accelerating innovation, building U.S. AI infrastructure, and leading global AI diplomacy. They probe the plan’s “build‑baby‑build” ethos, the push for deregulation, massive energy demands, and semiconductor incentives, and the geopolitical chess game with China. From there, the conversation pivots to the hype‑cycle around “agentic AI.” Sean tests OpenAI’s new Agent Mode live, while Andrew compares it with Chinese platform Manus, asking whether these tools truly deliver—or just search the web more slowly than a human. The conversation explores real‑world implications: privacy trade‑offs when bots manage your calendar or bank account, deepfake risks, and how AI tutors might predetermine children’s futures if social‑emotional data become fair game. They also weigh the productivity paradox—does editing AI output take longer than writing from scratch?—and consider what responsible innovation looks like when policy sprinting outruns public deliberation. Throughout, classic Hitchhiker’s Guide references keep the mood lively, reminding listeners that tech prognostication often veers from comic to cautionary. If you’ve wondered whether AI is a moon‑shot necessity, pure snake oil, or both, this episode equips you with the policy background, ethical questions, and pop‑culture touchstones to join the debate.

Links: 

• US 2025 AI Action Plan [PDF]
• Future of Being Human - AI Action Plan [Substack]
• OpenAI announces ChatGPT Agent [web]
• OpenAI and Instructure’s Canvas LMS to join up [web]
• OpenAI is now in the Consulting business?  [web]
• Are AI Companies like OpenAI in trouble? [web]
• When the prompting stops: exploring teachers’ work around the educational frailties of generative AI tools [pdf]
• Research article on GenAI and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) 

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Modem Futura is a production of the Future of Being Human initiative at Arizona State University. Be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. To learn more about the Future of Being Human initiative and all of our other projects visit - https://futureofbeinghuman.asu.edu

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Host Bios:

Sean M. Leahy, PhD - ASU Bio
Sean is an an internationally recognized technologist, futurist, and educator innovating humanistic approaches to emerging technology through a Futures Studies approach. He is a Foresight Catalyst for the Future of Being Human Initiative and Research Scientist for the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and Senior Global Futures Scholar with the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University.

Andrew Maynard, PhD - ASU Bio
Andrew is a scientist, author, thought leader, and Professor of Advanced Technology Transitions in the ASU School for the Future of Innovation in Society. He is the founder of the ASU Future of Being Human initiative, Director of the ASU Risk Innovation Nexus, and was previously Associate Dean in the ASU College of Global Futures.

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