Walter Isaacson is launching a new podcast about the people building artificial intelligence, beginning Oct. 20 with an interview with Elon Musk. The series, The Builders with Walter Isaacson, will feature technology leaders including Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel, “Godmother of AI” Fei-Fei Li, Anthropic co-founders Dario and Daniela Amodei, Palantir CEO Alex Karp and Oculus VR creator Palmer Luckey.

Isaacson told The Hollywood Reporter that he wanted to speak directly with the people creating AI while the technology develops quickly. He said the conversations would explore both its opportunities and dangers, including questions about autonomous agents that may operate beyond human control.

Walter Isaacson Seeks Answers on AI Control

Isaacson said his interviews raised a tension: leaders can express concern about AI risks while competing to advance the technology. He said Dario and Daniela Amodei, as well as Musk, believe safeguards are needed. Those could take the form of guardrails, regulation, self-regulation or a pause, Isaacson said.

He added that governments and institutions may struggle to respond quickly enough. In his view, competition makes it difficult for individual companies to slow down on their own. Isaacson compared that challenge with earlier periods involving major companies, saying government rules were needed to set boundaries.

The podcast company Kaleidoscope is launching the show in partnership with Ramp, with distribution by iHeartPodcasts. After its Oct. 20 debut, the program is scheduled to continue twice weekly into January. Isaacson is continuing to record interviews throughout the fall, so the lineup may extend beyond the guests already named.

Walter Isaacson Connects AI to Its Builders

Isaacson said he wants to examine how the character and convictions of technology leaders connect with the tools they create. He described Thiel as an especially interesting guest because he has been criticized and has also criticized others in speeches about the Antichrist. Isaacson said the conversation helped him consider how technology can push forward while becoming polarizing and divisive.

The same theme informs his return to ideas from The Innovators, his book about the people behind earlier computing advances. Isaacson said leaders of the personal computer era, with Steve Jobs foremost among them, believed machines should work closely with people. He recalled Jobs describing computers as “a bicycle for the mind” that could extend human imagination and creativity.

Isaacson contrasted that partnership with the development of autonomous agents. He said some current efforts move away from keeping people and machines in a close working relationship. He argues that technology should help people work together with machines to serve humanity, rather than aim to replace that partnership.

Walter Isaacson’s Earlier Work Shapes the Series

Isaacson is known for biographies of Steve Jobs, Leonardo da Vinci and Musk. His 2023 Musk biography drew criticism from some readers who said it did not fully examine Musk’s darker side. Isaacson later launched another podcast, On Musk, with Kaleidoscope.

He told the publication that he will continue writing biographies while making future podcasts. In the new series, the planned conversations will connect leaders’ accomplishments and personalities with the technologies they are building. That approach also reflects the wider public debate over who controls AI and what safeguards should govern its use.

Smartech Daily has also covered questions around autonomous AI agents, AI’s effect on trust and industry discussions about AI.