“It’s About Us” with guest Bryan Reimer, Research Scientist at MIT

“It’s About Us” with guest Bryan Reimer, Research Scientist at MIT

From Building AI Boston by Building AI Boston

March 29, 2026 · 32 min

About this episode

Bryan Reimer discusses the implications of AI technology on society and policy, emphasizing that the focus should be on human impact rather than the technology itself.

Most AI conversations start with the technology. Bryan Reimer thinks that's exactly the problem. A research scientist at MIT and global expert on AI, human behavior, mobility, and public policy, Bryan joins us to talk about his new book, How to Make AI Useful, and the thesis that cuts through the noise: the technology was never the point. We are. In this episode of Building AI Boston, we get into autonomous vehicles as a live case study in what happens when deployment outpaces policy, trust, and common sense — and what that tells us about where generative AI is headed next. We dig into: * Why 80% of today's generative AI advancements may already be beyond what businesses can actually use * What autonomous vehicles reveal about what happens when technology outruns policy — and why the next major incident isn't an if, it's a when * How to think about AI as a co-pilot, not an autopilot — and what gets lost when we confuse the two * The difference between the "wow" and the "whoa" in AI adoption * Why Bryan is betting on the wet computer — the brain between your ears — for a long time to come * What AI2030 is building to make sure the responsible side of this conversation doesn't get…

People in this episode

Host: Building AI Boston

Guest: Bryan Reimer

Topics covered

  • AI technology
  • human behavior
  • autonomous vehicles
  • public policy
  • generative AI
  • trust in technology

Keywords

  • AI
  • autonomous vehicles
  • generative AI
  • public policy
  • human behavior
  • trust
  • AI2030

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: MIT, AI2030

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