Reclaiming the Future from the Algorithm
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Guest:
Vilas Dhar – President, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation; philanthropist, technologist and advocate for human-centred AI
What Next? Leadership Conversations for a Better Future explores how leaders can help build future-fit economies, bringing fresh perspectives, provocative questions and conversations with leaders shaping the future of markets, business and society.
Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping economies, societies and power structures — yet much of the conversation has swung between uncritical optimism and existential fear.
In this episode of What Next? Lindsay Hooper and Marc Kahn explore how leaders can reclaim agency over the future of AI, ensuring it serves human progress rather than narrow commercial or political interests. Vilas Dhar argues that the real challenge is not whether AI will become uncontrollable (this is the realm of Sci-Fi), but whether societies can adapt quickly enough to its social, economic and cultural impacts. He makes the case for shifting the focus away from hype and dominance towards participation, institutional imagination and moral courage — and for designing AI systems that restore human agency and democratic participation, while supporting inclusion and long-term resilience.
Key Takeaways
1. The greatest risk of AI is social disruption, loss of human agency and participation.
2. AI must be shaped as a societal project, not left to markets or geopolitics alone.
3. Civil society, government and business all have roles as co-architects of the future – but civil society has not yet stepped up.
4. Leadership today requires moral courage, humility and long-term thinking.
5. A better AI future is possible — but only if participation replaces passivity.
Selected Quotes
“I’m not worried about an AI system 100 years from now that decides that humans are bad. I’m worried about 10 years from now, whether we have the capacity to deal with what happens when millions of people feel not just displaced, but fully kicked out of a social contract that hasn’t really worked for them for decades.”
— Vilas Dhar
“Inertia does not equal inevitability. Because we’re on that path doesn’t mean that we can’t do better.”
— Vilas Dhar
“The question becomes who will hold the moral courage to say that whatever it is that we create has to work for everyone.”
— Vilas Dhar
Credits
Presented by:
Lindsay Hooper, Chief Executive, CISL
Marc Kahn, Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer, Investec
Produced by: Carl Homer (Cambridge TV) & Alexa Sellwood
Executive Producer: Gillian Secrett
In partnership with: Investec
Listen and Subscribe:
Available on all major podcast platforms or visit the Leadership Hub on the CISL website or Investec Focus for more episodes and insights.
Disclaimer:
The views in this podcast are those of the contributors, and don’t necessarily represent those of CISL, the University of Cambridge, or Investec, and should not be taken as advice or a recommendation.
Vilas Dhar – President, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation; philanthropist, technologist and advocate for human-centred AI
What Next? Leadership Conversations for a Better Future explores how leaders can help build future-fit economies, bringing fresh perspectives, provocative questions and conversations with leaders shaping the future of markets, business and society.
Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping economies, societies and power structures — yet much of the conversation has swung between uncritical optimism and existential fear.
In this episode of What Next? Lindsay Hooper and Marc Kahn explore how leaders can reclaim agency over the future of AI, ensuring it serves human progress rather than narrow commercial or political interests. Vilas Dhar argues that the real challenge is not whether AI will become uncontrollable (this is the realm of Sci-Fi), but whether societies can adapt quickly enough to its social, economic and cultural impacts. He makes the case for shifting the focus away from hype and dominance towards participation, institutional imagination and moral courage — and for designing AI systems that restore human agency and democratic participation, while supporting inclusion and long-term resilience.
Key Takeaways
1. The greatest risk of AI is social disruption, loss of human agency and participation.
2. AI must be shaped as a societal project, not left to markets or geopolitics alone.
3. Civil society, government and business all have roles as co-architects of the future – but civil society has not yet stepped up.
4. Leadership today requires moral courage, humility and long-term thinking.
5. A better AI future is possible — but only if participation replaces passivity.
Selected Quotes
“I’m not worried about an AI system 100 years from now that decides that humans are bad. I’m worried about 10 years from now, whether we have the capacity to deal with what happens when millions of people feel not just displaced, but fully kicked out of a social contract that hasn’t really worked for them for decades.”
— Vilas Dhar
“Inertia does not equal inevitability. Because we’re on that path doesn’t mean that we can’t do better.”
— Vilas Dhar
“The question becomes who will hold the moral courage to say that whatever it is that we create has to work for everyone.”
— Vilas Dhar
Credits
Presented by:
Lindsay Hooper, Chief Executive, CISL
Marc Kahn, Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer, Investec
Produced by: Carl Homer (Cambridge TV) & Alexa Sellwood
Executive Producer: Gillian Secrett
In partnership with: Investec
Listen and Subscribe:
Available on all major podcast platforms or visit the Leadership Hub on the CISL website or Investec Focus for more episodes and insights.
Disclaimer:
The views in this podcast are those of the contributors, and don’t necessarily represent those of CISL, the University of Cambridge, or Investec, and should not be taken as advice or a recommendation.
Chapters
- 00:00 From Tech Optimism to a Vacuum of Meaning
- 08:45 Power, Participation and the Social Contract
- 18:45 Institutions, Markets and Shared Ownership
- 29:30 Leadership, Moral Courage and a Participatory Future
