Your A.I. Questions Answered

September 29, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Your A.I. Questions Answered

When a middle school class in St. Genevieve, Missouri wrote in to ask whether AI could hack the self-driving features in a Tesla, they were voicing a concern that cuts across age groups: the technology feels both everywhere and opaque. In this special Q&A episode, New York Times reporters Mike Isaac and Cade Metz field listener questions about the practical realities of living with AI and the more speculative fears about where it might lead.

The Search Engine You Can't Escape

One of the most common questions from listeners was whether they're inevitably using AI every time they run a search. The answer, at least for Google users, is essentially yes. "It's very hard, if not impossible to turn off AI in Google search at this point," Isaac explained. For those who want to avoid AI entirely, alternatives like DuckDuckGo and Brave offer specifically non-AI search engines, but it now takes deliberate effort to opt out.

This shift reflects Google's conviction that AI search is the future, and users are increasingly forced to decide whether they want to be part of that future or not. The practical takeaway is straightforward: if you're using Google, you're using AI, and the only way to avoid it is to switch platforms entirely.

Privacy, Energy, and What You Shouldn't Type

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What you'll learn

1 (01:25) **AI Is Already in Your Search Engine** - Mike Isaac explains that Google's search is now effectively inseparable from AI, and avoiding it requires switching to alternative search engines.
2 (02:20) **The Real Environmental Cost: Energy Over Water** - Mike Isaac reframes the AI environmental debate, arguing that energy consumption is a more pressing concern than water usage.
3 (03:22) **Privacy: Don’t Paste Your Life Into the Chatbot** - Mike Isaac advises caution with personal data, noting that while companies anonymize information, the systems can still behave unpredictably.
4 (05:25) **Can AI Hack Your Stuff? Password Hygiene Is the Front Line** - Mike Isaac distinguishes between controllable personal security and uncontrollable systemic vulnerabilities.
5 (07:47) **The Existential Threat: A Hypothetical, Not a Current Reality** - Cade Metz explains that the doomsday scenarios are theoretical probabilities, not imminent dangers.
6 (10:00) **Can’t We Just Unplug It? Yes, For Now** - Cade Metz confirms that current AI systems can be shut off, but future systems might resist.
7 (11:24) **How to Talk to Your Kids About AI** - Cade Metz offers a grounded, non-alarmist approach for parents, focusing on present-day issues and human strengths.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

Mike Isaac

Show Notes

Are you using artificial intelligence without even knowing it? And what’s behind the wave of doomsday warnings? Mike Isaac and Cade Metz, technology reporters for The New York Times, field listeners’ questions on artificial intelligence and where it’s headed.

Tune in every weekday morning, and tell us what you think at: [email protected].

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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