Oprah Winfrey to host new primetime special, 'AI and the Future of Us: An Oprah Winfrey Special'

Airing Thursday, Sept. 12, on ABC and next day on Hulu; TV event features exclusive conversations with key technology experts Sam Altman, Bill Gates, YouTuber Marques Brownlee

Press Release

Oprah Winfrey hosts an eye-opening new special that explores the profound impact of artificial intelligence on people’s daily lives, demystifying the technology and empowering viewers to understand and navigate the rapidly evolving AI future. The one-hour primetime event, “AI and the Future of Us: An Oprah Winfrey Special,” airs Thursday, Sept. 12 (8-9:03 p.m. EDT), on ABC and the next day on Hulu.

The special features Winfrey’s exclusive interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in AI including the following:

√ Sam Altman, CEO of Open AI, who will explain how AI works in layman’s terms and discusses the immense personal responsibility that must be borne by the executives of AI companies.

√ Microsoft co-founder and Chair of the Gates Foundation Bill Gates will lay out the AI revolution coming in science, health and education, and warns of the once-in-a-century type of impact AI may have on the job market.

√ YouTube creator and technologist Marques Brownlee will walk Winfrey through mind-blowing demonstrations of AI’s capabilities.

√ Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin, co-founders of Center for Humane Technology, walk Winfrey through the emerging risks posed by powerful and superintelligent AI – sounding the alarm about the need to confront those risks now.

√ FBI Director Christopher Wray reveals the terrifying ways criminals and foreign adversaries are using AI.

√ Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marilynne Robinson reflects on AI’s threat to human values and the ways in which humans might resist the convenience of AI.

“AI and the Future of Us: An Oprah Winfrey Special” provides a serious, entertaining and meaningful base for every viewer to understand AI, and empowers everyone to be a part of one of the most important global conversations of the 21st century.

More about Oprah Winfrey

Winfrey is a global media leader, producer, philanthropist, actress and author. Over the course of her esteemed career, she has created an unparalleled connection with people around the world, making her one of the most respected and admired figures today. For 25 years, Winfrey was host and producer of the award-winning talk show “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” engaging in a range of multifaceted cultural conversations. Currently, Oprah oversees Harpo Productions; serves as chairman and CEO of OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network; is the founder of O, The Oprah Magazine and digital companion site OprahDaily.com; and the host of the award-winning podcast “Super Soul.”

For more information on “AI and the Future of Us: An Oprah Special” (#OprahSpecial), visit abc.com and follow ABC on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.