In this first episode of Season 2 for academic year 2026-2027, the Future Tech & Policy (FTP) panel discusses a lot of news from over the summer since the show took summer off for break! The group first considers the implications of some of the claims coming from the frontier AI companies that development needs to slow down amid growing functionality and capabilities of AI models, as well as the competition among AI companies for model superiority and possible claims of large-scale harm to humans. Additionally, the panel takes up the debate about OpenAI stating they solved the Navier-Stokes math problem and several of the impacts of AI-based work on not just mathematics, but all academic and research disciplines. Join the panel as we discuss these hot news items and more!


Links to articles discussed

- We Must Pace the Frontier (Dario Amodei)
https://darioamodei.com/post/we-must-pace-the-frontier

- Anthropic boss Dario Amodei calls for AI development to slow down (BBC)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c14dpgm0rg4o

- Dario Amodei says OpenAI's Hugging Face hack helped convince him AI needs to slow down (Business Insider)
https://www.businessinsider.com/dario-amodei-slow-ai-safety-essay-openai-hugging-face-hack-2026-9

- Biggest AI Rivals Agree They Need to Slow It Down (Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/anthropic-boss-warns-ai-industry-must-slow-the-pace-a4267b56

- On the Navier–Stokes Millennium Prize Problem (OpenAI)
https://openai.com/index/navier-stokes-solution/

- OpenAI Says It Has Cracked One of Math's 'Millennium Problems' (NY Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/science/openai-proof-millennium-problem.html


Panelists

- Zachary McDowell, Associate Professor, Communication, University of Illinois Chicago
https://comm.uic.edu/profiles/zachary-mcdowell/

- Jeremy Riel (Host), Assistant Professor, Educational Psychology, University of Illinois Chicago & IGPA Science and Technology Working Group Co-Lead
https://education.uic.edu/profiles/riel-jeremy/

- Gagandeep Singh, Assistant Professor, Computer Science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign & IGPA Science and Technology Working Group Co-Lead
https://siebelschool.illinois.edu/about/people/faculty/ggnds

- Ken Suh, Adjunct Professor, Law, University of Illinois Chicago & University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
https://linkedin.com/in/kensuh


About The FTP Podcast

The FTP podcast brings together a panel of interdisciplinary faculty experts across the University of Illinois System to discuss trends and news from recent weeks in tech and policy while looking toward the future. Produced by the Science and Technology Working Group, Institute of Government and Public Affairs (IGPA), University of Illinois System.

https://igpa.uillinois.edu

All opinions expressed on the FTP Podcast are those of the individual panelists and not the opinions of the University of Illinois System, The Institute of Government and Public Affairs, or the three UI universities in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago, or Springfield.

In this episode of the Future Tech & Policy (FTP) Podcast, the panel discusses new legislation passed in Illinois (SB 315) on AI transparency and auditing and what useful information audits and reporting might include for different stakeholders. We also discuss the recent overflow of AI-generated content and sycophantic behavior, as well as Anthropic's recent call to slow down advanced AI development amid the world's quest to achieve AGI.


Links to articles discussed

- Illinois Legislature passes historic AI bill that would require third-party safety audits (NBC News)
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/illinois-legislature-passes-historic-ai-bill-rcna347191

- We need to stop AI developing without humans, says Anthropic co-founder (BBC)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2124z7g45o

- When AI Builds Itself (Anthropic)
https://www.anthropic.com/institute/recursive-self-improvement

Panelists

- Zachary McDowell, Associate Professor, Communication, University of Illinois Chicago
https://comm.uic.edu/profiles/zachary-mcdowell/

- Jeremy Riel (Host), Assistant Professor, Educational Psychology, University of Illinois Chicago & IGPA Science and Technology Working Group Co-Lead
https://education.uic.edu/profiles/riel-jeremy/

- Gagandeep Singh, Assistant Professor, Computer Science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign & IGPA Science and Technology Working Group Co-Lead
https://siebelschool.illinois.edu/about/people/faculty/ggnds


About The FTP Podcast

The FTP podcast brings together a panel of interdisciplinary faculty experts across the University of Illinois System to discuss trends and news from recent weeks in tech and policy while looking toward the future. Produced by the Science and Technology Working Group, Institute of Government and Public Affairs (IGPA), University of Illinois System.

https://igpa.uillinois.edu

All opinions expressed on the FTP Podcast are those of the individual panelists and not the opinions of the University of Illinois System, The Institute of Government and Public Affairs, or the three UI universities in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago, or Springfield.

In this episode of the Future Tech & Policy (FTP) Podcast, the panel discusses the new encyclical by Pope Leo entitled "Magnifica Humanitas", which represents the Vatican's look at AI and its relationship to humanity and is being widely discussed in policy circles. We also explore the recent changes to Google's primary search results to be more of an AI-results-first approach, and the implications of that on search, discovery, and advertising. Finally, we examine recent changes to data management procedures in the age of AI for research that have been released from the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health, which will certainly impact research across disciplines.


Links to articles discussed

- Pope Leo's 'Magnifica humanitas': AI must serve humanity not concentrate power (Vatican News)
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2026-05/pope-leo-xiv-encyclical-magnifica-humanitas-ai.html

- Google is going to ruin the internet (Business Insider)
https://www.businessinsider.com/google-new-ai-search-will-ruin-internet-web-2026-5

- 2026 Pilot Data Management and Sharing Plan Format Available (NIH News)
https://grants.nih.gov/news-events/nih-extramural-nexus-news/2026/04/2026-pilot-data-management-and-sharing-plan-format-available

Panelists

- Alvin Chin, Visiting Clinical Assistant Professor, Information and Decision Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alvinchin/

- Abigail Goben, Professor and Data Management Librarian, University Library
https://research.uic.edu/profiles/goben-abigail/

- Zachary McDowell, Associate Professor, Communication, University of Illinois Chicago
https://comm.uic.edu/profiles/zachary-mcdowell/

- Jeremy Riel (Host), Assistant Professor, Educational Psychology, University of Illinois Chicago & IGPA Science and Technology Working Group Co-Lead
https://education.uic.edu/profiles/riel-jeremy/

- Ken Suh, Adjunct Professor, UIC and UIUC Law, University of Illinois
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kensuh


About The FTP Podcast

The FTP podcast brings together a panel of interdisciplinary faculty experts across the University of Illinois System to discuss trends and news from recent weeks in tech and policy while looking toward the future. Produced by the Science and Technology Working Group, Institute of Government and Public Affairs (IGPA), University of Illinois System.

https://igpa.uillinois.edu

All opinions expressed on the FTP Podcast are those of the individual panelists and not the opinions of the University of Illinois System, The Institute of Government and Public Affairs, or the three UI universities in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago, or Springfield.