A Former Spy Chief on How AI Really Manipulates You
Send us Fan MailAnthony Vinci — the first CTO of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and a member of the team behind Project Maven — joins Chris Brandt to talk about how AI and China are rewriting the rules of espionage.We get into why the most powerful manipulation isn't lies but facts, how "LLM grooming" poisons the AI you rely on, the shift from being in the loop to on the loop, and why Vinci argues every citizen now needs to think like an intelligence officer. Plus: his company Vico, which forecasts geopolitical and economic events to help people make better decisions.Anthony's book, The Fourth Intelligence Revolution, is a Financial Times best book of the year — well worth a read: https://amzn.to/4fgJRD7Guest links:Vico: https://vico.ioAnthony Vinci: https://anthonyvinci.comBook (The Fourth Intelligence Revolution): https://amzn.to/4fgJRD7Referenced in this episode:Zero Day Clock: https://zerodayclock.com/00:00 — The best way to manipulate you is with facts00:32 — Welcome & who is Anthony Vinci01:20 — Why he wrote The Fourth Intelligence Revolution03:51 — Why espionage is now in your living room05:31 — 2016, Facebook, and hacking an election09:00 — AI vs. Facebook: targeting you as an individual09:40 — LLM grooming and the Pravda network10:34 — Disinformation vs. misinformation13:02 — Why AI manipulation is subtle14:57 — We've been lying to each other forever16:20 — Training everyone to think like a spy18:51 — The cybersecurity parallel22:41 — RSA, agentic attacks, and AI in security24:57 — Mythos, zero-days, and weaponized exploits30:00 — Should powerful models be released in stages?32:20 — When one person has more power than a nation36:54 — The morality question for AI founders39:11 — Surveillance vs. thought control40:34 — Could we ever elect an AI president?41:16 — In the loop vs. on the loop44:22 — Why competitive pressure removes humans from the loop45:39 — What Vico does48:39 — Intelligence as war prevention51:14 — Where to find Anthony & VicoClick Here to Subscribe: FUTR.tv focuses on startups, innovation, culture and the business of emerging tech with weekly podcasts talking with Industry leaders and deep thinkers.Occasionally we share links to products we use. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases on Amazon.
