14. AI, Part 1: Happiness is a Warm Bot

It’s like you’re always stuck in second gear…

🤖

Since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, people have humanized technology. We name our cars, or we talk to our phone batteries and beg them not to die on us. However, perhaps no other technology has triggered our emotions quite as intensely as AI. The truth is, we interact with AI in a way we don’t with any other tech: a way that’s more immediate, more personal…more human. 

The question is, why do we feel this way? In fact, why do we have feelings at all about AI? In this Traceroute two-parter, we go to couples counseling with AI and take a deeper look at this unique relationship. In part one, we explore the good side of our feelings. We talk with JD Ambati of EverestLabs, a company using AI to reduce thousands of tons of CO2e emissions, and we meet James Vlahos, the scientist giving voice to “Moxie,” an AI robot that teaches kids how to express their feelings and have deeper emotional connections. If AI can indeed solve problems and create emotional bonds, surely it would never try to do us harm… right?

Additional Resources

• Episode transcript: TBD
• Connect with Grace Andrews: LinkedIn or Twitter.
• Connect with Amy Tobey on Twitter.
• Connect with Fen Aldrich on Twitter.
• Connect with John Taylor on LinkedIn.
• Connect with James Vlahos on LinkedIn.
• Connect with JD Ambati on LinkedIn.

Credits

Traceroute is a podcast from Equinix and Stories Bureau. This episode was hosted by Grace Ewura-Esi, Fen Aldrich, and Amy Tobey, and was produced by John Taylor with help from Sadie Scott. Our senior producer is Mathr de Leon. It was edited by Joshua Ramsey, with mixing and sound design by Brett Vanderlaan, and additional mixing by Jeremy Tuttle. Our fact-checker is Ena Alvarado. Our staff includes Tim Balint, Suzie Falk, Lisa Harris, Alisa Manjarrez, Stephen Staver, Lixandra Urresta, and Rebecca Woodward. Our theme song was composed by Ty Gibbons.