Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost poke fun at an Alexa mind-reading future in this year’s Amazon Super-Bowl ad, but is the company hiding worrying longer-term aspirations in plain sight? — This year’s Super Bowl ad from Amazon feature Scarlett Johansson and husband Colin Jost imagining a future where Alexa reads their minds. The commercial’s a playful take on places we probably don’t want smart speakers to go as they try to serve our every need. …

Of course, given how polarizing COVID-19 is, I couldn’t simply get away with producing a conventional “what to do” video! — Over the next few weeks, colleges will see a massive influx of students onto campuses and into dorms. I’m looking forward to being able to interact with students in person again, and to soak up the vibe of a buzzing campus. At the same time, the next few months are…

Addressing the ethics of artificial intelligence is important. But are we becoming so obsessed with the rights and wrongs of AI that we’re taking our eye off the potential risks? — In a recent presentation that was part of a National Academies of Science-sponsored symposium series, I argued that we need to pay more attention to easy-to-overlook risks presented by AI, and how we can effectively navigate them.

Surely there are already too many big-vision books about the future, so why write another one? — I must confess that I get frustrated with best-selling books that paint epic visions of the future. Too often, they seem to sacrifice nuance and thoughtfulness in favor of crowd-pleasing extremes, from how technologies will utterly transform humanity, to how our technological mis-steps will ultimately destroy us all.

We talk a lot about the power of reason, and how important it is in making sound decisions in today’s world. But what is “reason” and how is it connected to the various futures we aspire to? — A few weeks back I started a new podcast based on the book Future Rising. The podcast is a series of short reflections on our relationship with the future that, together, paint a bigger picture of this relationship. And today’s episode-the last in this current season-tackles reason.