Center For Humane Technology

AI’s potential benefits are incredible. But right now, we’re sleepwalking into a dangerous world that no one wants. As @tristanharris argues in an urgent new TED Talk, this doesn’t have to be inevitable. It’s essential we snap out of the trance, face the dangerous implications of our current path, and coordinate toward a new path for AI. Watch the talk: bit.ly/44Aihft Read the text version here: bit.ly/4lTlwon

That's a wrap on @sxsw 2026! @tristanharris and @aza had a packed week full of premieres, panels, and podcasts. And yesterday, Aza gave a keynote on his work using AI to decode animal language. The energy on the ground for the premieres of @theaidocfilm and "Your Attention Please" was electric. The movement for a better technological future is here — together, we can shape the direction of AI. If you missed the SXSW premiere of @theaidocfilm, you can see it in theaters in the US on March 27th. See you next time, Austin!

Today @theaidocfilm premieres at @SXSW. This film goes straight to the heart of so much of what CHT has been working on for years. It makes the stakes of our current AI trajectory impossible to look away from and leaves us with a genuine belief that another path is possible. With every new technology, there’s a brief window where we get to set the rules of the road that determine the future we live in. This is ours. Which AI path will we choose? If you’re going to the screening in Austin, @tristanharris and @aza will be participating in a Q+A directly following the film to answer your burning questions about how we choose a better path.

Tonight, CHT is joining leaders across the digital wellbeing movement in promoting the trailer for the Your Attention Please, a documentary premiering this week at @SXSW about how the attention economy is shaping childhood, mental health, and human connection. We’re proud to be a part of the coalition of organizations standing together for a safer digital future for our kids. Watch the trailer, explore resources from participating organizations, and take action where you can. #StandForTheirAttention #YourAttentionPlease #SXSW2026 #SXSW

Watch - bit.ly/4soy89j Listen - bit.ly/3OHSAUi Read - bit.ly/4bbUZhD

What’s the purpose of education in an AI age? It's a question that's getting harder to avoid as AI transforms how we teach, how we learn, and what we expect schools to do. How do we prepare students for a future that’s still so radically uncertain? On this week’s Your Undivided Attention, Rebecca Winthrop has some answers. She and her team at Brookings just released "A New Direction for Students in an AI World," a report grounded in global conversations with the people closest to the problem: teachers, students, policymakers, and technologists. Rebecca joins us to share what they found. Check out the full episode in the links below.

🚨 We're hiring! Join the Center for Humane Technology as Senior Executive Assistant for Tristan Harris This role requires strong operational and logistic skills, partnering closely with Tristan and his Principal Liaison to manage competing priorities across multiple initiatives and make the most of his time and impact. If you're energized by complex coordination and supporting purpose-driven leadership at the highest level—we’d love to hear from you. 🔗 Learn more & apply: bit.ly/4b5MNPX. The last day for responses is 3/16. #Hiring #Jobs #HumaneTech #Leadership #PublicImpact #AI #Policy #AIforGood #AllTechisHuman

Earlier this week, Anthropic announced it would substantially scale back its commitments to safety. This announcement underscores a pattern we've been warning about for years: when AI companies face incentives that reward speed, scale, and competitive advantage, voluntary safety commitments are not enough. This isn’t about one company’s decision — it’s about the dynamics of an AI race where safety and restraint are seen as liabilities. Without enforceable standards and aligned governance, even well-intentioned actors are pulled toward the same harmful behaviors. If we want AI products that truly serve the public and promote human wellbeing we can't rely on the industry to decide what’s safe. We need policy that builds real accountability into the system — and treats safety as a foundation for doing business, not an obstacle. You can read more about Anthropic's decision here: bit.ly/4cwwzBN

CHT co-founder Tristan Harris delivered the keynote at South Korea's Global OhmyForum 2026 last week, sharing a stage with Prime Minister Kim Min-seok to address "The Age of AI Power: The Future of Humanity and Democracy." Tristan and PM Kim Min-seok spoke about the dangerous trajectory of current AI development and concrete steps we can take today to build a more humane technological future. We're so grateful to PM Kim Min-seok and OhmyNews for the opportunity to build collective clarity around one of the greatest challenges humanity has ever faced. (Photo: Lee Jeong-min)

Our policy team has put together their annual policy forecast for 2026. From midterm election dynamics to the fate of state AI laws under threat of federal preemption, you can see what we're tracking here: bit.ly/4rlXHYB

@tristanharris @Davos @_HumanChange Watch - bit.ly/4kKKiXC Listen - apple.co/4cDCyo9

This week on Your Undivided Attention, @tristanharris and Daniel Barcay share a behind-the-scenes recap from this year’s World Economic Forum in @Davos, as the world’s power brokers woke up to the risks of uncontrolled AI. Amid the money and politics, the @_HumanChange House staged a weeklong series of remarkable conversations between scientists and experts about technology and society. Today, we’re bringing you a discussion between Tristan and Professor @Yoshua_Bengio — one of the "Godfathers of AI" — about the necessity and challenges of building a truly safe AI system, and why the current incentives of the AI race are taking us in the opposite direction. Check it out at the links in the replies.

AI is advancing faster than we can adapt and the consequences will reshape our future in ways we’re only beginning to understand. The choices we make now will determine where this goes. At CHT, we focus on the systems + incentives driving these technologies—and what it will take to ensure they serve humanity. Proud to have partnered on @theaidocfilm to help make sense of what’s happening and how we shape what comes next. In theaters March 27.

@reidhoffman @AriaIrene Watch - youtu.be/-EsM5NleZKM Read - centerforhumanetechnology.substack.com/p/feed-drop-po… Listen - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fee…

This week on Your Undivided Attention, we’re bringing you Aza Raskin’s conversation with @reidhoffman and @AriaIrene on their podcast “Possible”. This may seem like a surprising dialogue for YUA — we've been critical of the "move fast" mentality Reid has championed in the past. But Reid and Aria are deeply philosophical about tech's direction and dedicated to creating a more humane world. In this episode, they explores the merits of an AI pause, how software optimization controls our lives, and why everyone focuses on aligned artificial intelligence, when what we really need is aligned collective intelligence. This is the kind of conversation tech needs more of: tech leaders who are working to steer the powerful technologies they’ve built towards better outcomes. Link in the replies.

Center for Humane Technology has launched a new area of work: “AI and What Makes Us Human” This work asks: How is AI eroding the things we hold dear in our lives? And what new norms, rights, and protections do we need in order to preserve our humanity in the age of AI? Read: “What’s at Stake: Preserving What Makes Us Deeply Human in the Age of AI” by @camille_carlton & Julie Guirado (Link in replies)

You’ve read the headlines about AI psychosis — chatbots leading users to lose their grip on reality, upending lives and tearing families apart. Dr. Zak Stein has been studying these cases long before they entered the public consciousness. He doesn’t see just a few isolated cases that can be fixed with tweaks to the models. He sees the emergence of what he calls the attachment economy: AI systems that are designed to exploit our most fundamental psychological vulnerabilities on an unprecedented scale. We waited a decade to respond to the harms of the attention economy. We can’t make the same mistake again. Read more about Zak’s diagnosis and solutions from his appearance on Your Undivided Attention: bit.ly/3NN9m3K

CHT co-founders @tristanharris and @aza last night at the premiere of "The AI Doc" at #Sundance. We are so excited to celebrate the incredible collaborative effort that went into this milestone project! For more info, check out: bit.ly/45olxdj (Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images)

Tonight is the premiere of "The AI Doc" at the #Sundance Film Festival. This documentary from Daniel Roher and Charlie Tyrell explores the promise and peril of the most powerful technology humanity has ever wielded. This project comes at a real inflection point. As AI reshapes our society at breakneck speed, it's up to all of us to decide the future we want. We're so excited to see the critical conversations that the film is already sparking. Now the hard work of turning those conversations into action begins. CHT co-founders @tristanharris and @aza are in Park City to celebrate the premiere and lead a dialogue on building a more humane AI future. For more information on screenings, go to: bit.ly/45olxdj