When the world of AI feels so dramatically new, it’s hard to look anywhere except toward the future. But previous examples of technological innovation can teach us a lot about building public trust and collaboration. 

This week on Generative Now, Lightspeed Partner and host Michael Mignano talks to Verity Harding, one of TIME magazine’s most influential people in AI. Her debut book is AI Needs You: How We Can Change AI's Future and Save Our Own. She points to moments like the Space Race, the development of IVF, and the internet as inspiration for today’s potential regulatory framework for AI. 

Verity is the Director of the AI and Geopolitics Project at the Bennett Institute of Public Policy at Cambridge. She also runs the tech consultancy Formation Advisory. She previously directed policy for Google DeepMind and worked for Deputy Prime Minister the Rt Hon Sir Nick Clegg.

Episode Chapters
(00:00) Introduction to Verity Harding

(01:36) Verity Harding's Transition from Politics to Google DeepMind

(08:28) AI Needs You: Unpacking the Book's Message

(11:43) Building Public Trust and Engagement in a Polarized Environment

(20:34) Advice for Builders Who Don’t Want to Decelerate 

(24:11) Who are the Stakeholders of AI Governance? 

(36:06) AI and the Future: Optimism, Challenges, and the Path Forward

(41:18) Closing Thoughts and Where to Find the Book

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