From Ozone to AI: Breaking the Spell of Inevitability

And: Breakthroughs and Breakdowns: The State of AI This Month

Hi everyone,

One of the most dangerous myths about our future is inevitability—that the trajectory of technology is fixed, and we’re powerless to change it. But history tells us otherwise.

On this week’s Your Undivided Attention, Tristan and Aza talk with Nobel Prize–winning scientist Susan Solomon, who helped uncover the ozone hole and then watched the world come together to solve it.

The Crisis That United Humanity—and Why It Matters for AI

In our Quick Read, we distill Solomon’s lessons into the “Three P’s” of transformation: when a crisis feels personal, perceptible, and practical, people move—and institutions follow.

We Solved Global Crises Before. Can We Do It Again?

And in his September AI Update, CHT Co-founder

Randima Fernando

breaks down the breakthroughs and breakdowns of the moment—from new world-building AI systems, to lawsuits exposing dangerous design choices, to the realities of how AI is reshaping work and adolescence.

September AI Update

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Together, these pieces remind us that inevitability is a spell—and spells can be broken. The ozone story shows that when we see a crisis clearly, we can solve it. The question is: will we rise to the challenge again, this time with AI?

Cheers,

Sasha Fegan