Is AI Productivity Worth Our Humanity? with Prof. Michael Sandel

Tech leaders promise that AI automation will usher in an age of unprecedented abundance: cheap goods, universal high income, and freedom from the drudgery of work. But even if AI delivers material prosperity, will that prosperity be shared? And what happens to human dignity if our labor and contributions become obsolete? Political philosopher Michael Sandel joins Tristan Harris to explore why the promise of AI-driven abundance could deepen inequalities and leave our society hollow. Drawing from his landmark work on justice and merit, Sandel argues that this isn't just about economics — it's about what it means to be human when our work role in society vanishes, and whether democracy can survive if productivity becomes our only goal. We've seen this story before with globalization: promises of shared prosperity that instead hollowed out the industrial heart of communities, economic inequalities, and left holes in the social fabric. Can we learn from the past, and steer the AI revolution in a more humane direction? Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on X: @HumaneTech_. You can find a full transcript, key takeaways, and much more on our Substack. RECOMMENDED MEDIA The Tyranny of Merit by Michael Sandel Democracy’s Discontent by Michael Sandel What Money Can’t Buy by Michael Sandel Take Michael’s online course “Justice” Michael’s discussion on AI Ethics at the World Economic Forum Further reading on “The Intelligence Curse” Read the full text of Robert F. Kennedy’s 1968 speech Read the full text of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1968 speech Neil Postman’s lecture on the seven questions to ask of any new technology RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES AGI Beyond the Buzz: What Is It, and Are We Ready? The Man Who Predicted the Downfall of Thinking The Tech-God Complex: Why We Need to be Skeptics The Three Rules of Humane Tech AI and Jobs: How to Make AI Work With Us, Not Against Us with Daron Acemoglu Mustafa Suleyman Says We Need to Contain AI. How Do We Do It?