Will You Be AI's Pet? - Matt Jones

00:00 // Welcome + series recap: how AI might change us 01:17 // The paradox: AI becoming human vs humans becoming AI 03:56 // From Tamagotchi to “emotional AI” digital pets (2025) 05:11 // Big question: will we become AI’s pets? 06:16 // Dogs & domestication: trading freedom for comfort 08:20 // Pet spectrum as AI futures: cat, reptile, bird, fish 12:14 // “Dog AI”: personalized care, health monitoring, convenience 14:49 // The downside: quantifying life into data & dashboards 15:30 // Gamified nudges: Duolingo-style engagement and control 16:44 // “Cat AI” = meaningful exit; “reptile AI” = designed choices 17:55 // “Bird AI” = creativity behind bars; “fish AI” = fragile perfection 20:34 // Who wants to be a wolf? Reclaiming wild agency 21:30 // AI taming across life: babies, work, and behavior monitoring 23:17 // Aging & smart homes: protection vs empowerment 25:06 // A better model: in-home sensors for reflection, not surveillance 27:12 // Generative AI reports: benefits, mistakes, and misread lives 29:05 // Where do LLMs fit? Rethinking what “intelligence” means 33:34 // Ladder vs landscape: slime mold, octopus, crows, dogs 35:29 // “Stochastic parrot”: why LLMs mimic without understanding 37:45 // “Crow AI” in practice: narrow tools that do one thing well 39:54 // Animal-computer interaction: designing tech to empower beings 42:27 // Rewilding AI: principles for humane, diverse, agency-first design 45:10 // Final provocation: pet or wilder? Watch the Q&A session here:    • Q&A: Will You Be AI's Pet? - Matt Jones   I have two pet dogs; they are happy, wagging their tails and reacting well when I come home from work. They are well fed; have good healthcare; get daily exercise; and have times of play; they do no work or chores. But their long-gone ancestors were wolves, howling at the moon, hunting, creating their packs, taking risks. In this lecture, we will consider a similar domestication of humans by AI, pondering benefits as well as being clear about the costs. This lecture was recorded by Professor Matt Jones on the 3rd Feb 2026 at Barnard’s Inn Hall, London. Matt Jones is a computer scientist at Swansea University - and a Fellow of the British Computer Society - who works alongside colleagues from many other disciplines and directly with everyday folk across the world to explore the future of digital technologies. Over the last 30-plus years, this human-centred approach has led to novel approaches for, amongst other things, mobile phone-based information searching and browsing, pedestrian navigation, voice assistants and deformable displays. Much of his work has been driven by intense and sustained engagements with “low resource” communities from informal settlements in India, South Africa, and Kenya. Through their generous and gracious participation, these extra-ordinary users with the fresh and diverse perspectives have stimulated insights into the future of digital technologies for everyone, globally. In all this work, Matt works as part of a long-standing collaborative team with Jen Pearson, Simon Robinson and Thomas Reitmaier (from Swansea) and colleagues in India (including Dani Raju) and South Africa (including Minah Radebe). His work has been supported by the UK’s science funders (EPSRC and UKRI). Currently, this funding includes a Fellowship to explore the future of interactive AI and leadership roles in responsible AI and inclusive digital technologies. This funding has led to a series of impactful publications, talks and influences on people, policies, and practices. Matt has collaborated with private, public and third sector organisations, including Microsoft, the NHS, Google, IIT-B, the BBC and IBM. He is a member of the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office’s Research Advisory Group and Welsh Government’s AI reviews. The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/a... Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: https://gresham.ac.uk/support/ Website: https://gresham.ac.uk Twitter:   / greshamcollege   Facebook:   / greshamcollege   Instagram:   / greshamcollege