Technology is the most powerful force in history, and whether it liberates or consumes us depends entirely on how aligned it is with human agency.

For Amanda Cassatt, this belief underpins her techno-optimism: the conviction that progress must be actively built, not passively awaited. In this solo episode, she explains how she sees technology as upstream of culture, economics, and politics, and views optimism as a necessary stance for shaping systems that improve the future rather than accepting stagnation.

In her view, one of AI’s most powerful use cases will be hyper-addictive entertainment and persuasion, with millions of intelligent agents optimized to capture attention, shape behavior, and extract value.

But Cassatt argues that AI also holds the potential to act as a personal ally: an intelligent layer that enforces individual priorities, shields users from exploitative systems, and restores agency in an increasingly manipulative digital environment.As technology progresses, so will the need for “envelope technologies” and personal AI systems that protect users, preserve agency, and give people real control over the tools that mediate their lives.

For Cassatt, the future of technology hinges on alignment and ownership, determining whether we build systems that mine human attention or systems that empower humans to shape their own trajectories.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction

01:31 Telling the Story of New Technology

05:13 Innovation or Financial Nihilism?

09:12 Birth of Two Markets

15:38 Key to Successful Startups

18:14 The Role of Brands

27:06 Stories to Understand the World

29:01 The AI Conundrum

39:02 Is AI the Tool or Are We?

44:11 The Case for Techno Optimism

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