What's Working in Washington - Ep 530 - Final Episode - Richard Powers, Ed Finn, Corey Doctorow, Christopher DiCarlo, Jennifer Ives

·43 min·4 clips

The host ends his eight-year podcast to launch Hupside, an AI startup aiming to protect human originality.

The episode opens with host Jonathan Aberman announcing it is the final show after eight years and nearly 600 episodes. He explains he is leaving to become CEO of Hupside, an AI startup aiming to protect human originality in AI environments. The episode compiles excerpts from five past interviews, each focusing on AI and society. First, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Richard Powers discusses how stories, not arguments, change minds by engaging emotions and intuition, referencing his book Playground. Second, Ed Finn, head of the Center for Science and Imagination, explores human-machine collaboration using the concept of centaurs from chess grandmaster Gary Kasparov, arguing that teams combining human intuition and machine calculation outperform either alone. Third, science fiction writer and activist Cory Doctorow frames technology as a moral choice between freeing people or putting them in chains, noting Edward Snowden packed his novel when fleeing. Fourth, ethicist Christopher DiCarlo warns of a global angst over AI's rapid advance with few guardrails, comparing it to nuclear weapons and urging public awareness and ethical maturation. Fifth, Jennifer Ives, vice president of AI at the Partnership for Public Service, emphasizes AI fluency for public sector leaders, stating it is a leadership and cultural challenge beyond just technology. The host then delivers a monologue comparing the AI boom to the internet bubble of the late 1990s, noting hype, investment, and potential shakeouts but asserting AI's long-term staying power. He predicts stratification of AI, growth in robotics, and the importance of human originality. The episode ends with thanks to listeners and a plug for Hupside.com.

As heard by us

A farewell episode that treats AI as a civic issue, not just a technical one.

What's Working in Washington closes by taking stock of the show's eight years on air and its newer focus on AI and society. It returns to the familiar idea of Washington, D.C.

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Why you'd press play

A farewell roundtable that turns AI ethics, civic urgency, and public service into one last broadcast.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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