Carl Pei on Futurism, AI and the Prospect of Civil War

For Episode Eight, Evgeny is joined by Carl Pei, founder and CEO of Nothing, the London-based consumer tech company trying to make devices feel fun. 

Carl explains how Nothing evolved from earbuds to smartphones, why he believes design and “focus-first” features can counter distraction, and what it means to build products with a distinct, instantly recognisable identity.

Evgeny and Carl also explore the psychological cost of always-on devices, the battle for attention and consciousness, and what it might mean to build technology that helps people stay intentional. The episode ends on a wider view of the AI era: enormous promise for medicine and science, but serious unanswered questions about jobs, governance, and whether society is ready for what comes next.

This episode was produced by Message Heard and The Standard.

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