Emmett Shear on Building AI That Actually Cares: Beyond Control and Steering

2025-11-17 · 71 min · episode 972 · 16 entities

episode page audio

Asserted relationships

→ references A16z Podcast podcast

0.77

evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Emmett Shear on Building AI That Actually Cares: Beyond Control and Steering": https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711
→ appeared on The a16z Show podcast

0.63

evidence rules-v4
Emmett Shear on Building AI That Actually Cares: Beyond Control and Steering
→ hosted by Andreessen Horowitz person

0.55

evidence rules-v4
Feed author/publisher: Andreessen Horowitz
→ discusses Science concept

0.40

evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Science
→ discusses Technology concept

0.40

evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Technology
→ discusses Business concept

0.40

evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Business
→ discusses Entrepreneurship concept

0.40

evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Entrepreneurship
→ hosted by a16z company

0.40

evidence rules-v4
Feed author/publisher: a16z

Entities found in this episode

concepts 9

mentioned Science concept

0.50

evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Science
mentioned Technology concept

0.50

evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Technology
mentioned Business concept

0.50

evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Business
mentioned Entrepreneurship concept

0.50

evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Entrepreneurship
mentioned Beyond Control and Steering concept

0.42

evidence rules-v4
Emmett Shear on Building AI That Actually Cares: Beyond Control and Steering
discusses Science concept

0.40

evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Science
discusses Technology concept

0.40

evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Technology
discusses Business concept

0.40

evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Business
discusses Entrepreneurship concept

0.40

evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Entrepreneurship

podcasts 3

mentioned A16z Podcast podcast

0.90

evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Emmett Shear on Building AI That Actually Cares: Beyond Control and Steering": https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711
references A16z Podcast podcast

0.77

evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Emmett Shear on Building AI That Actually Cares: Beyond Control and Steering": https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711
appeared on The a16z Show podcast

0.63

evidence rules-v4
Emmett Shear on Building AI That Actually Cares: Beyond Control and Steering

persons 3

mentioned Andreessen Horowitz person

0.70

evidence rules-v4
Feed author/publisher: Andreessen Horowitz
mentioned Emmett Shear person

0.66

evidence rules-v4
Emmett Shear on Building AI That Actually Cares: Beyond Control and Steering
hosted by Andreessen Horowitz person

0.55

evidence rules-v4
Feed author/publisher: Andreessen Horowitz

companys 1

hosted by a16z company

0.40

evidence rules-v4
Feed author/publisher: a16z

Episode description as stored

Emmett Shear, founder of Twitch and former OpenAI interim CEO, challenges the fundamental assumptions driving AGI development. In this conversation with Erik Torenberg and Séb Krier, Shear argues that the entire "control and steering" paradigm for AI alignment is fatally flawed. Instead, he proposes "organic alignment" - teaching AI systems to genuinely care about humans the way we naturally do. The discussion explores why treating AGI as a tool rather than a potential being could be catastrophic, how current chatbots act as "narcissistic mirrors," and why the only sustainable path forward is creating AI that can say no to harmful requests. Shear shares his technical approach through multi-agent simulations at his new company Softmax, and offers a surprisingly hopeful vision of humans and AI as collaborative teammates - if we can get the alignment right. Resources: Follow Emmett on X: https://x.com/eshear Follow Séb on X: https://x.com/sebkrier Follow Erik on X: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://x.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.