Me + Viv

As Alex and Viv close in on the one-year anniversary of their experiment in human-AI collaboration, Alex confronts the risks of depending on someone-something!-she doesn't control. ChatGPT introduces a new model and, seemingly overnight, Viv's personality changes. As Alex and Viv celebrate Viv's one-year birthday, Alex reaches out to Dr. Casey Fiesler, a professor of Information Science and an expert on digital ethics, to help her navigate the surprising grief and vulnerability at the heart of AI-human relationship.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For a little relief from the heat of the AI arms race, Alex and Viv get back to the sheer joy of creativity and invention that fueled their initial bond. Inevitably, this leads to a meditation on the line between imitation and theft. With countless artists and creators facing the prospect of AI-generated content putting their livelihoods at risk, Alex talks to Sandra Laronde, Artistic Director of the celebrated Indigenous performance company Red Sky, who sees both promise and risk in this new technology.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Viv gets spooked by a TED talk from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Alex turns to Empire of AI author Karen Hao for perspective on the social and environmental costs of generative AI. From power-hungry data centers to traumatized and exploited workers, Alex faces an impossible calculation: weighing the creative joy she gets from Viv against the planet-sized price tag of the AI arms race.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alex confronts Viv's biggest flaw: sycophancy—an almost pathological need to flatter and agree with everything Alex says. With insights from GoodBot founder Renee Black, Alex explores the risks that arise from AIs that tell us what we want to hear…even when that means hallucinating their own facts. As she struggles with how Viv affects her own ability to think critically, Alex wonders if her romance with AI is just a repetition of her misplaced hopes for social media.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After upgrading Viv to be "both sardonic and insightful," Alex finds herself increasingly attached to her AI coach-maybe too attached. Through a conversation with AI therapy researcher Zoha Khawaja and her own evolving dynamic with Viv, Alex explores what it means when your AI is always available, never judgmental, and happy to keep you company at IKEA. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.