Episode 129

AI Needs You

Verity Harding (director of the AI & Geopolitics Project @ the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at the University of Cambridge | founder of Formation Advisory)

With the development of artificial intelligence on the rise, we are at a crossroads.

Guest headshot of Verity Harding

In conversation with

Verity Harding

director of the AI & Geopolitics Project @ the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at the University of Cambridge | founder of Formation Advisory

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Episode 129 with Verity Harding, originally published Jul 23, 2025.

With the development of artificial intelligence on the rise, we are at a crossroads. How will we continue our innovations and regulations of this new technology?

With the development of artificial intelligence on the rise, we are at a crossroads. How will we continue our innovations and regulations of this new technology? But, this is more than a technological question. As my guest, Verity Harding states, “AI needs you.”

In this episode, I sit down with Verity Harding to discuss her book, AI Needs You: How We Can Change AI’s Future and Save Our Own.

How we apply AI is a multi-disciplinary issue. We need everyone, from tech people to teachers, to students, to nurses and doctors, and to everyone else.

A guided path through the source-provided topic list for this episode.

01

Why AI Needs Everyone

02

Technology's Shadow Self

03

The Socio-Technical Approach to AI

Recurring Question

"What books have had an impact on you?"

For Young Listeners

"What advice do you have for teenagers?"

One of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in AI, Verity Harding is director of the AI & Geopolitics Project at the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at the University of Cambridge and founder of Formation Advisory, a consultancy firm that advises on the future of technology and society. She worked for many years as Global Head of Policy for Google DeepMind and as a political adviser to Britain’s deputy prime minister.