As AI continues to make our lives more convenient, the temptation to use it to outsource judgment will also grow, threatening to erode human decision-making altogether. Brendan McCord, founder of Cosmos Institute, has spent his career advancing AI in the private and national security sectors. Led by a foundation in both technology and philosophy, he is proposing a new kind of technologist – a Philosopher-Builder – that could guide planetary-scale decision-making technology. According to McCord, approaching AI development with philosophical scrutiny is what will preserve our ability to live self-directed lives and flourish as humans.

01:10 – What happens when AI becomes life's autocomplete

02:20 – Why philosophy is essential to building technology

03:30 – Silicon Valley's lost moral ambition

04:30 – Three types of builders holding us back

05:45 – A new kind of builder: the philosopher-builder

07:00 – Benjamin Franklin as the archetype

08:30 – The future of AI and the case for human flourishing

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About Brendan McCord:

Brendan McCord is the founder and Chair of the Cosmos Institute and a key thinker at the intersection of AI and philosophy. In the private sector, Brendan was the founding CEO of two AI startups that were acquired for $400 million. In the public sector, Brendan was the principal founder of the first applied AI organization for the US Department of Defense and author of its first AI strategy. Brendan is a graduate of MIT and Harvard Business School and was a Visiting Fellow at St Catherine’s College at the University of Oxford. After MIT, he spent 610 days underwater on a submarine. He lives in Austin, TX with his wife and two children.

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