AI & Human Thriving: The Droids We’re Looking For
Summary
Senate hearings. Teen suicides. Parents demanding new laws. Whatever happened to the cheerful sci-fi future our movies and TV promised us? We’re a long way from AI like Data and C-3PO, who help us be us without pretending to be us. <br><br> AI doesn’t have to be this bleak. But the deeper question isn’t better guardrails or tougher regulation. It’s what we ask AI to optimize for: human thriving, or human imitation? <br><br> Anastasia Uglova, founder of Better Half, argues AI needs something the industry hasn’t built yet: relational intelligence — the capacity to drive trust, agency, and real connection.
- Format: Presentation
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Contributors
- Anastasia Uglova
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