Can AI Save America’s Broken Political System? ft. Andrew Yang | Shane Has Questions

From Shane Smith Has Questions by VICE News & Studio71

November 20, 2025 · 1h 25m · Episode 41

About this episode

Shane Smith interviews Andrew Yang about the intersection of AI and America's political system, discussing topics like Universal Basic Income and the future of independent candidates.

Shane sits down with Andrew Yang, entrepreneur, Forward Party founder, and former presidential and mayoral candidate for a wide-open conversation about what happens to America when AI collides with a political system stuck in the 1800s. They start with why anyone even runs for office in the age of opposition-research-as-bloodsport, then rewind to Yang’s 2020 run, when he was dismissed as the “magical Asian man from the future” warning truckers in Iowa that automation and AI would wipe out their jobs. Now that ChatGPT and self-driving tech are here, Shane presses Yang on UBI 2.0, why his original $1,000 “Freedom Dividend” is probably too low, and what a truly human centered economy would look like, one where people are rewarded not just in dollars, but through new forms of value for art, care, health, and community. By the end, Shane issues a call to podcasters and young voters to use their outsized cultural power to help build whatever comes after the two-party era, while Yang predicts that America will elect an independent president in his lifetime. Get 50% off your first box plus free breakfast for 1 year at https://www.factormeals.com/SHANE50OFF and use code SHANE50OFF…

People in this episode

Host: Shane Smith

Guest: Andrew Yang

Topics covered

AI
politics
economy
Universal Basic Income
independent candidates
automation
cultural power

Keywords

AI
political system
Andrew Yang
Universal Basic Income
automation
cultural power
independent president

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Forward Party, VICE News, Studio71

Products: Freedom Dividend, ChatGPT, self-driving tech

Places: America, Iowa