Even as Overman began enlisting AI for his research, he grew wary of where the technology was headed. “This isn’t only about the apocalyptic potential of what could happen; I’m also thinking a lot about the future of human flourishing,” Overman says. He fears that misaligned AI could overstep its bounds—not necessarily maliciously—and inflict subtle yet real harms on people.

“To prevent that, we need to get this right,” Overman says.

“We must set up the proper interactions and training and incentives for these AI agents and models. It’s critical to think about shaping all of that now, so that these tools help make life better for us, not worse.”