Some colleagues read Leo XIV's first encyclical as a policy document and came away disappointed. I think it's wrestling with something deeper: the dominant AI narrative says capability is the answer, but Augustine would ask whether being known, being loved, and having purpose were ever capability problems in the first place.
The main theme at this year’s Google I/O is that the next phase of AI isn't about the extraordinary, it's about the everyday.
Most of the conversation so far has been about frontier capabilities: models that pass the bar, write production code, do PhD-level research. Google spent the week pointing somewhere else. The through-line across 100+ announcements wasn't a better benchmark score — it was the parent on snack duty, the inbox that manages itself, the search that finishes the task instead of just handing back links. Agents built not for developers shipping code faster, but for the rest of us who just want life to feel a little simpler.
The most profound way I used AI in 2025 wasn't at work. It was during one of the hardest stretches my family has faced, when my mother's cancer came back. I built an assistant that could translate pathology reports into plain language, reason through her case like a tumor board, and carry her full medical history into rooms where the EHRs couldn't talk to each other. And I built something else: a chatbot she could ask anything, at any hour, without feeling like a burden. This isn't a story about AI curing cancer — cancer is navigated decision by decision. But in a fight measured in small gains, clarity was its own kind of gift.
As large language models (LLMs) increasingly replace traditional search engines as tools for information gathering, the use of AI in the political arena—and its impact on elections—is inevitable. Recent research published in Nature and Science suggests that AI chatbots are not merely passive sources of election information; they can actively shape voter attitudes in measurable and durable ways.
I was honored to testify before the Senate HELP Committee, in my capacity as a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at AEI, on how AI can strengthen support for patients, workers, children, and families. It is no secret that I am an optimist about AI’s promise to expand opportunity and make learning more personal. But optimism must be matched with responsibility, including being honest about the emerging challenges and risks. As AI becomes more persuasive and more present in classrooms, we need to take seriously the risks of over-reliance, misalignment with educational goals, and emotional dependence on systems designed to imitate empathy.
Some colleagues read Leo XIV's first encyclical as a policy document and came away disappointed. I think it's wrestling with something deeper: the dominant AI narrative says capability is the answer, but Augustine would ask whether being known, being loved, and having purpose were ever capability problems in the first place.
The main theme at this year’s Google I/O is that the next phase of AI isn't about the extraordinary, it's about the everyday.
Most of the conversation so far has been about frontier capabilities: models that pass the bar, write production code, do PhD-level research. Google spent the week pointing somewhere else. The through-line across 100+ announcements wasn't a better benchmark score — it was the parent on snack duty, the inbox that manages itself, the search that finishes the task instead of just handing back links. Agents built not for developers shipping code faster, but for the rest of us who just want life to feel a little simpler.
The most profound way I used AI in 2025 wasn't at work. It was during one of the hardest stretches my family has faced, when my mother's cancer came back. I built an assistant that could translate pathology reports into plain language, reason through her case like a tumor board, and carry her full medical history into rooms where the EHRs couldn't talk to each other. And I built something else: a chatbot she could ask anything, at any hour, without feeling like a burden. This isn't a story about AI curing cancer — cancer is navigated decision by decision. But in a fight measured in small gains, clarity was its own kind of gift.
