Public Interest, Politics and Privacy with Paulo Carvão

Pondering AI

Paulo Carvão discusses AI’s impact on the public interest, emerging regulatory schemes, progress over perfection, and education as the lynchpin for ethical tech.

In this thoughtful discussion, Paulo outlines the cultural, ideological and business factors underpinning the current data economy. An economy in which the manipulation of personal data into private corporate assets is foundational. Opting for optimism over cynicism, Paul advocates for a first principles approach to ethical development of AI and emerging tech. He argues that regulation creates a positive tension that enables innovation. Paulo examines the emerging regulatory regimes of the EU, the US and China. Preferencing progress over perfection, he describes why regulating technology for technology’s sake is fraught. Acknowledging the challenge facing existing school systems, Paulo articulates the foundational elements required of a ‘bilingual’ education to enable future generations to “do the right things.”

Paulo Carvão is a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative, a global tech executive and investor. Follow his writings and subscribe to his newsletter on the Tech and Democracy substack.

A transcript of this episode is here.