Hubris, Humility, and the AI Revolution with Walter Isaacson

The people building artificial intelligence worry there’s a real chance it could doom us all. Walter Isaacson, biographer extraordinaire, talks with EconTalk’s Russ Roberts about why the AI innovators keep building anyway. Drawing on a new podcast he’s launched, The Builders, Isaacson explains why the AI innovators feel trapped in a race none of them can pause, why so many see humility and empathy as handicaps rather than virtues, and why he worries they’re pouring their talent into autonomous agents that leave humans out of the loop. Isaacson traces today’s AI debate back to the rival visions of Alan Turing and Ada Lovelace, reveals why Musk once told him his empathy was really vanity, and recalls Benjamin Franklin’s surprising lesson about faking humility. Plus: a Marie Curie story involving a secret affair and a second Nobel Prize. Listen to the episode: https://www.econtalk.org/ __________ 🔔 Subscribe for more discussions: @HooverInstitution 👍 Like and share this video! 🌐 Follow the Hoover Institution on social media: • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HooverInstStanford • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hoover-institution-at-stanford-university • Instagram: https://instagram.com/hooverinstitution • X: https://www.twitter.com/HooverInst The opinions expressed in this video are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Hoover Institution or Stanford University. © 2026 by the Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University.