'Shared Wisdom': A top AI expert considers how the potent tech can help us heal our polarized world

In an era of acute political and social polarization, it's tempting to think of people in America and around the world as sequestered in insular camps, talking over each other and rarely achieving a meeting of the minds that can lead to cooperation and progress. But separating and isolating ourselves from each other attenuates or destroys any chance we might have to grow together from the collective wisdom we all can help cultivate. Tom's guest for the hour today is a renowned data scientist whose new book argues that our societies cannot move forward if we don't actively share the stories that form what we know about the world. And he contends that advances in powerful digital technologies such as artificial intelligence can help us craft civic structures and institutions that further human rights and build strong, open communities. Alex Pentland is a research fellow at Stanford University's Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) and faculty lead at the Institute's Digital Economy Lab. Previously, Pentland founded and directed the Connection Science and Human Dynamics Lab at MIT. He has advised the UN Secretary General’s office; he’s a regular at the World Economic Forum in Davos; he serves on advisory boards of major corporations, and as an entrepreneur, he has founded more than a dozen companies himself. Enriched by his expertise in Artificial Intelligence, or AI, Pentland’s new book is Shared Wisdom: Cultural Evolution in the Age of AI. It is a hopeful treatise on how AI can help to advance, not harm, the human condition. Professor Alex Pentland spoke with Tom on December 9, 2025. Because our conversation was recorded, we aren’t able to take any calls or online comments today.