What happens when AI changes our jobs, fights our wars and becomes something we can't run our businesses, or our lives, without?

Sheelam Chadha sits down with Caleb Cicek, Chief AI Officer at the Institute of AI, for a candid conversation about where all this is taking us. From the US-China technology race and Europe's dependence on foreign providers to robot soldiers and competition for energy, we explore who holds the power and what happens when they decide to switch it off.

Then there's the human question. Are we becoming more capable, or simply handing over our ability to think? We discuss job losses, accountability, AI companions and "cognitive surrender": believing the machine because it sounds like it knows.

I use AI every day and love what it makes possible. That doesn't mean I'm comfortable with everything that might come next.

Some dark predictions, some disagreement and a few laughs, because you can be excited about the technology and still ask difficult questions.

Recorded on 8 September 2026. Future scenarios discussed are predictions and opinions.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction

01:00 Caleb's story: engineer first, consultant second

04:37 What the Institute of AI actually does

05:47 Ethics, regulation and standards are not the same thing

07:47 Nobody types any more

08:31 "I wouldn't hire someone who can't use AI properly"

09:59 The regulation we missed on social media

11:57 Is AI good for us?

12:52 A robot in the house, and what it can see

14:29 Cognitive surrender

15:32 Idiocracy, and what we are losing

17:14 The EU AI Act and the December 2027 deadline

19:03 Should a model decide who gets a mortgage?

22:10 What happens to work

25:17 The AI race with China

27:03 What if another country switches you off?

29:40 Who actually controls AI

32:18 Which AI does he actually use?

37:20 Jobs, robots and manual labour

41:37 2030: robot soldiers and the war for energy

43:05 What he hopes for

Follow Load Bearing for more: https://loadbearingpodcast.com