The Feedback Loop by Singularity

This week our guest is Stanford neuroscientist, Robert Sapolsky. You may know Dr. Sapolsky from his incredible 25-part lecture series on Youtube, his triumphant book, Behave, or his guest appearances on the Joe Rogan and Huberman Lab podcasts.

And if you know him from any of these things, you may also know that Sapolsky isn’t a big fan of free will. In fact, he wrote an entire book about it, Determined, which is set to release on Oct 20th. And it is this very book we will explore in this episode, in no small part because understanding how we make choices will drastically alter how we shape our future societies.

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This week our guest is Tokyo-based writer, David Marx, who recently wrote Status and Culture: How Our Desire for Social Rank Creates Taste, Identity, Art, Fashion, and Constant Change.

In this episode, we explore the ideas at the heart of David’s book as they relate to the modern technological paradigm we find ourselves in. In other words, how has the digital world shaped our cultural behavior and how we compare ourselves with others. This leads to discussing topics around social media status comparisons, how information abundance has undermined expertise as a status symbol, the ways in which cancel culture might reflect a shift in cultural currency, the impacts of rapidly changing trends, and much more.

Our guest is professor and director of the Digital Life Institute at Ontario Tech University, Isabel Pedersen, who specializes in the study of wearables, embodied computing, and similar technologies.

In this episode, we take a tour through what Isabel calls the continuum of embodiment, starting with the defining characteristics of the field, exploring its many manifestations and advancements over the decades, and even looking into the future when we may see applications such as brain computer interfaces. Along the way we discuss the impacts of embodied technology, including topics like the impacts of rhetoric on design and adoption of technology, the societal impacts, and much much more.

This week our guest is author and podcast, Chris Ryan, who is well known for exploring the evolution of human society and behavior through his books, Sex at Dawn and Civilized to Death. 

In this episode, we take a candid tour through the many misconceptions and misunderstandings of early hunter-gatherer lifestyles and how an alternative view could benefit us in modernity. This includes topics such as cooperation vs competition, resource control, capitalism, mental health issues, the current ways technologies like energy production and social media alter our lifestyles, and much more.

This week our guest is investor and researcher, Lauren Wagner, who has extensive experience shaping the trust and safety protocols at some of the world’s most influential platforms and institutes. 

In this episode, we explore the lessons Lauren has learned from her time at Cornell, Oxford, Meta, and Google, and how that’s shaped her current approach to policy building. This takes us a tour of the impact of free speech, community building, social media’s impact on polarization, governmental regulation, and much, much more. Lauren provides a unique and candid insight into what it’s like working at the crossroads of societal well-being and the tech industry.

This week our guest is psychologist and professor at Northwestern University, Adam Waytz, who specializes in the study of technology, ethics, and how people think about the minds of others.

In this episode, we take a wide tour across many topics as we explore Adam’s different areas of interest and focus. This often centers around how our demonization of technology often blinds us to the real source of our societal struggles: the people using the technology. This leads to discussions around meaning, religion, echo chambers, ethical dilemmas around AI advancement, the differences between in-person and online interactions, and more.

This week our guest is Harvard-train physician and Chief Innovation Officer at Betterup Labs, Gabriella Rosen Kellerman, who co-authored the recently released book Tomorrowmind: Thriving at Work with Resilience, Creativity, and Connection―Now and in an Uncertain Future.

In this episode, we take a tour of the many behavioral traits and characteristics that are becoming increasingly necessary as the structures of our work lives change in response to technological innovation. Along the way, Gabriella provides an incredible amount of actionable insights and tips on how to improve one’s work circumstances, making this one of the more pragmatic conversations on our show.

This week our guest is writer and technology researcher, Tobias Rose-Stockwell, who has just published a brand new book: The Outrage Machine: How Tech Amplifies Discontent, Disrupts Democracy―And What We Can Do About It.

In this episode, we explore Tobias’ book, which takes us on a journey through topics such as the power of virality for better or worse, algorithmic manipulation, the features of technology that lead to outrage,  legislation, digital IDs, and the broader consequences for government and democracy.

This week my guest is psychologist Nicholas Kardaras, a leading expert in the study of addiction, especially as it relates to digital technologies. In addition to running recovery centers in both Maui and Austin, he’s also the author of Glow Kids: How Screen Addiction is Hijacking Our Kids and How to Break the Trance, as well as his recently published, Digital Madness: How Social Media is Driving Our Mental Health Crisis–and How to Restore Our Sanity. 

In this episode, we begin with a short history of Nicholas’ own experiences with addiction and how that shaped his understanding of the situation we currently find ourselves in. From there, we explore the deeper details and impacts of digital addiction as well as the ways in which we might be able to lessen its impact and treat this growing pathology.

This week my guest is neuroscientist and entrepreneur, Adam Gazzaley, who co-authored the 2016 book The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World, and whose company Akili Interactive has developed the world's first video game approved by the FDA for the medical treatment of ADHD.

Adam and I start the conversation with a robust exploration of attention from a neuroscientific perspective, investigating the modern impacts of distraction and technological stimuli. From there, we delve into how technology can also be used to improve our cognitive functioning, including through unexpected avenues like video games.

This week our guest is futurist and speaker, Gerd Leonhard, who authored the 2016 book Technology vs Humanity: The Coming Clash Between Man and Machine. 

In this episode, we explore the ideas Gerd puts forth in his book, with a heavy emphasis on how the humanities are a necessary part of what he calls a "Good Future.” This takes us on a tour of the failings of transhumanism, the need to update our regulatory systems, questions around our economic models, the impact of culture and storytelling on how we shape our future, and much more.

This week our guest is author David Auerbach, who was a software engineer at Microsoft and Google during their rise to become the dominant companies they are today. 

In this episode, David and I discuss his latest publication, Meganets: How Digital Forces Beyond Our Control Commandeer Our Daily Lives and Inner Realities. David explains how, despite what many tend to think, the realm of digital technology we all occupy is beyond the control of any of us, even the major companies who are creating the technology. He suggests that, similar to the weather, it’s become a complex system that is difficult if not impossible to predict and control. This takes on us on tour of the many consequences and benefits this paradigm, including the loss of individuality, the impacts of chatGPT, the loss of a shared reality, regulatory possibilities, and more.

This week our guest is distinguished professor in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at UC Berkeley, Edward A. Lee, who has written extensively about the relationship between humans and technology in books such as Plato and the Nerd and The Coevolution.

In this episode, Edward lays out his argument against the status quo of "digital creationism," which states that humans are the gods shaping technology, and proposes an alternative narrative where humans and technology are symbiotic entities navigating a very Darwinian relationship. This takes on a tour of the many different facets of this relationship, including the pros and cons, the philosophical implications, the regulatory ramifications, and much more.

This week our guest is Nita Farahany, a Distinguished Professor at Duke University where she heads the Science, Law, and Policy Lab. The research she conducts in her lab specifically focuses on the implications of emerging neuroscience, genomics, and artificial intelligence; and, as a testament to her expertise, there is a long, long list of awards and influential positions she can lay claim to, including an appointment by Obama to the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues.

In this episode, we explore Nita’s recent publication, provocatively entitled, The Battle for Your Brain: Defending the Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology. This takes us on our tour of the current neurotechnology that exists, the upcoming ways in which this tech will be integrated into our daily products, how it will shape our decision making, the profound list of ethical considerations surrounding cognitive liberty, and much more.

This week my guest Anne Scherer, a professor of marketing at the University of Zurich who specializes in the psychological and societal impacts that result from the increased automation and digitization of the consumer-company relationship.

In this episode we focus on the details Anne covers in, You and AI, a book she co-authored with Cindry Candrian to bring an accessible understanding of the ways in which AI is shaping our lives. This takes on a tour of topics such as our symbiotic relationship with AI, manipulation, regulation, the proposed 6 month pause on AI development, the business advantages of better data policies around AI, the difference between artificial intelligence and human intelligence, and more. 

To celebrate our 100th episode, we welcome one of the co-founders of Singularity himself, Peter Diamandis.

And although his educational background at MIT and Harvard Medical school is impressive enough, Peter has also built and invested in many successful companies and organizations dedicated to shaping a better world, including his famous X-Prize Foundation and of course the home of this podcast, Singularity.

In this episode, Peter and I attempt to update the ideas around the singularity–questions like what predictions have come true, what’s changed, what’s been surprising, and what can we expect? More specifically though, we focus on artificial intelligence, its sudden exponential leap into mainstream culture via large language models like GPT, and what future we can expect from upcoming AI advancements. Along the way we discuss gene editing, biotech, quantum computers, and other important facets of technological convergence that will assist AI in reshaping society.

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This week my guest is professor of neuroscience at University College London, Karl Friston. Viewed by many as one of the world’s most influential neuroscientists, Friston rose to prominence when he pioneered one of the key techniques that allows neuroscientists to analyze brain activity. And as if that wasn’t enough, he has since developed the Free Energy Principle, which some see as monumental to the field as Darwin’s theory of evolution was for biology and genetics. 

It’s this work on the Free Energy principle that will be the bulk of our conversation in this episode, and I warn you that this is probably one of the most intellectually challenging conversations we’ve had on the show. To help you navigate this, I want to offer just a quick overview that may aid in understanding the ideas. In essence, Friston’s work roughly states that entities that exist must track information from the world around them, create an internal model of that information, and then use that model to navigate the world in a way that reduces the difference (the error) between what was actually experienced and what one’s model predicted. 

While this concept may seem simple on the surface, the actual science behind it is detailed, complex, and holds immense influence for how we develop artificial intelligence.

This week my guest is Jean Twenge, a renowned psychologist, professor, and author who has been one of the world’s leading researchers investigating generational differences and the impacts of technology. This includes her books The Narcissism Epidemic, Generation Me, and my personal favorite iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy–and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood.

In this episode we explore Jean’s wonderful collection of work through the lens of her newest book, Generations, where we investigate how Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z have been shaped by technology and the implications this holds for the future. This takes us on a tour of discussions around the animosity between generations, mental health, personality traits like narcissism, regulations for social media platforms, and more.

This week our guest is British biologist, Nessa Carey, who has researched and written extensively about the latest trends in molecular biology and biotechnology for several decades now. This includes her 2011 book, the Epigenetics Revolution, and her more recent 2019 book, Hacking the Code of Life. 

In this episode, we lay some biological groundwork by first discussing the often misunderstood field of epigenetics, a process wherein our DNA changes how it's expressed throughout our lives. From there we dive deeply into gene editing and CRISPR, discussing the current state of the art, what’s possible and what isn’t, how to use gene editing to heal disease and address ecological issues, the existential threats gene editing poses for our species and planet, regulation, and much more. 

This week my guest is professor and fellow of the Institute for Social Futures at Lancaster University, Mike Berners-Lee. 

With a brother who is often referred to as the inventor of the internet, Mike Berners-Lee carries on his family’s legacy of scientific brilliance through the domain of climate change. Specifically, Mike is considered one of the leading experts studying carbon footprints, and has written extensively on the subject in books such as The Carbon Footprint of Everything and There Is No Planet B. In this episode we discuss Mike’s work more broadly, focusing on some of the big questions and criticisms facing climate science. For example, what are the common misconceptions around climate change? Is it man-made? Can we fix it? And what role will technology play?

This week my guest is Sander Van Der Linden, Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Cambridge where he has also directed the Social Decision-Making Lab since 2016.

In this episode we explore Sander’s latest publication, Foolproof, in which he details the many ways in which humans fall prey to misinformation and ways in which we can resist such persuasion. This primarily takes us on a tour of his work around “pre-bunking,” an experience that gives one an increased resistance to misinformation almost by acting as a mental vaccine.

This week our guest is philosopher and author, Max Borders, who founded the non-profit Social Evolution in order to solve social problems through innovation, and who has also authored three books deeply exploring humanity’s movement to a society of decentralized governance.

In this episode, we explore some of the finer details of decentralization, including how it manifests itself in the digital and physical worlds, how bad actors are kept in check in a society without a central authority, the types of technologies that will help mediate the transition to such a world, and the many flaws and opportunities that exist in such a paradigm.

This week our guest is Professor of Story Science at Ohio State University’s Project Narrative, Angus Fletcher, who pulls on his background of literature and neuroscience to understand how brains and machines process story and narrative.

Angus has recently made some extremely bold claims, including putting forth a proof that “even a sentient, self-aware, and infinitely powerful computer could never innovate” because it can’t engage in narrative thought. In essence, computer AI cannot replicate human creativity, and all of our expectations around self-driving cars and ChatGPT come down to a human-guided prank that pretends to do something it’s not really doing. In this episode, I obviously push back on this idea that narrative limits computer AI, but Angus makes some strong counter-arguments.

This week our guest is writer, educator, and futurist, Zak Stein, who is well known for co-founding the Consilience Project with Daniel Schmachtenberger, as well as his recent publication, Education in a Time Between Worlds: Essays on the Future of Schools, Technology, and Society.

In this episode, Zak takes us on a well-articulated tour of the philosophical and sociocultural conditions that are causing us to fail at our central task of educating the next generation. Along the way we discuss how technology is playing a role in this struggle for sensemaking, from social media to the future of AI tutors. Much of this, Zak explains, is due to the current issues in the information ecology, issues that he explains could have catastrophic consequences if not rectified. 

This week our guest is AI researcher and founder of Conjecture, Connor Leahy, who is dedicated to studying AI alignment. Alignment research focuses on gaining an increased understanding of how to build advanced AI systems that pursue the goals they were designed for instead of engaging in undesired behavior. Sometimes, this means just ensuring they share the values and ethics we have as humans so that our machines don’t cause serious harm to humanity.

In this episode, Connor provides candid insights into the current state of the field, including the very concerning lack of funding and human resources that are currently going into alignment research. Amongst many other things, we discuss how the research is conducted, the lessons we can learn from animals, and the kind of policies and processes humans need to put into place if we are to prevent what Connor currently sees as a highly plausible existential threat. 

In this episode we check back in with one-time presidential candidate and author of The Transhumanist Wager, Zoltan Istvan, to see how his views have changed since we last talked. This included exploring his changing views in ethics thanks to his study at Oxford, the incredible changes that chatGPT appears to be bringing to society, the disappointments of the longevity movement, and especially concerns around AGI retribution and the “useless” class of humans who will have very few skills that are needed in the transhuman future. 

This week’s guest is lawyer, author, and Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Ethics in AI at Oxford University, Elizabeth M. Renieris.

In this episode, we explore Elizabeth's brand new book, Beyond Data: Reclaiming Human Rights at the Dawn of the Metaverse. This takes us on a tour through the ways in which our obsession with data has failed and distracted us, how we need to return to the pillars of basic human rights law that are already well established if we are to regulate technology appropriately. In essence, there is little need to separate the digital from the physical. Elizabeth argues that to think about it otherwise allows for government regulations to become outdated and for corporations to get away with bad behavior. 

This week I’m honored to be joined by MIT Professor, Rosalind Picard, who not only founded the field of affective computing, but is easily considered one of the most impactful inventors alive.

In this episode, we explore affective computing and its many impacts on society. This takes on a tour through concepts as wide-ranging as manipulating emotions, treating health challenges, surveillance, social robots, and more.

This week my guest is entrepreneur and technologist, Christopher Nguyen, who–in addition to starting his own companies–has spent four decades working at some of the world’s biggest tech giants.

In this episode we explore many facets of AI, including Christopher’s ideas around knowledge-first AI, bad training data for AI, issues with the black box, GPT3, deepfakes, and much more.

This week my guest is computation social scientist and professor at Columbia University, Sandra Matz, who recently published her book, The Psychology of Technology: Social Science Research in the Age of Big Data.

In this episode, we explore many different ways in which technology and psychology are influencing one another in the modern era. This includes but isn’t limited to the influence of big data on psychological research, the battle between exploitation and exploration as fundamental dynamics in our digital lives, the ways in which algorithms shape our views of the world, and a whole lot more. Sandra delivers her expertise with candor and humor, and this makes for a truly enjoyable discussion that I hope you’ll all enjoy as much as I did.

Our final guest of 2022 is entrepreneur, product innovator, and lecturer at MIT, David Rose. Pulling on an extensive background as VP at Warby Parker and as a long-time explorer of ambient technologies, David recently released his book Supersight: What Augmented Reality Means for Our Lives, Our Work, and the Way We Imagine the Future.

Exploring this topic takes us on a tour of some of the incredible work currently taking place and the pragmatic impacts many industries will soon experience, as well as the not-too-distant future where we might all walk around with AR glasses that change the look of reality itself. In addition to the many opportunities this presents for businesses and individuals, we naturally explore the potential dystopian downfalls. We explore the lessons the rapid adoption of GPT3 and AI art have for AR, and ways we might stay optimistic as tech appears to gain increasingly human-like performance.

This week our guest is Distinguished Professor in Law at the University of Virginia, Danielle Citron, who recently released her book The Fight for Privacy: Protecting Dignity, Identity, and Love in the Digital Age.

Danielle’s book, as well as this episode, explores the darker side of technology as it relates to the data of our intimate lives. This includes sensitive and challenging topics such as revenge porn and online abuse. We additionally explore the broader topics of online privacy, including nuances in section 230 (often considered the most important law in tech), as well as digital IDs, deepfakes, and even potential solutions to some of our current problems.

This week our guest is law professor, author, and distinguished speaker, Orly Lobel, who recently published her latest of three books, The Equality Machine: Harnessing Digital Technology for a Brighter, More Inclusive Future.

In this episode we explore the thread that weaves through Orly’s work, which often emphasizes the way economic markets, technology, and the human condition interact. Specifically, we take a deep dive into the limitations and future of intellectual property and monopolies; the way in which cynicism and unrealistic standards hold us back from seeing and implementing humanistic technological solutions; the way in which technology could bring more equality to our societies, and much more.

This week my guest is Rama Chellappa, a pioneering AI researcher and distinguished professor at John Hopkins University who recently published his book, Can We Trust AI?

In this episode we try to tackle the question posed by Rama’s book from many angles, exploring topics such as the transparency of AI in regards to the black box issue, the accountability issues for when programmers create algorithms that end lives, the reliability of self-driving cars to navigate an ever-changing environment, and much more. Ultimately, Rama puts forth an argument that is often overlooked: in a world of chaos where things will go wrong and nothing is perfect, are we holding AI to a standard that goes above what we even ask of our human peers?

This week our guest is David Wood, a long-time futurist and renowned transhumanist thinker. David has authored 10 books on the subject of our technological future, including his recently published book Singularity Principles: Anticipating and Managing Cataclysmically Disruptive Technologies.

In addition to exploring some of the principles and ideas from David’s latest publication, this episode takes a wide but succinct tour of the singularity. This includes (but is certainly not limited to) the rise of artificial general intelligence, and whether we should merge with AI or if it will be a conscious entity separate from humans. We also discuss the variety of challenges that could push us towards a negative Singularity, as well as the many opportunities that could propel us toward an abundant and thriving future. 

This week our guest is Dr. Gloria Mark, who is Chancellor's Professor of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine. In addition to having a PhD in psychology and acting as a visiting senior researcher at Microsoft since 2012, Gloria has recently authored the book Attention Span, which will release on January 10th, 2023.

In this conversation, we explore many different facets of attention, including but certainly not limited to how our attention span is decreasing, how technology is shaping our attention habits, the consequences of a struggling attention span, and many different solutions that we might consider to take back control of our attention.

This week our guest is writer, artist and technologist, James Bridle. Famous for trapping a self-driving car with salt in the mountains of Greece, his artworks have been commissioned by numerous galleries and institutions and have been exhibited worldwide. His writing on literature, culture and networks has appeared in magazines and newspapers including Wired, the Atlantic, the New Statesman, the Guardian, and the Financial Times. He is the author of 'New Dark Age' (2018) and his recently published 'Ways of Being' (2022). In this episode, we explore James’ books, with a particular emphasis on the lessons the natural world is teaching us about intelligence and how we can leverage that information to alter A.I.'s development towards something more humanistic and harmonious with the planet.

This week our guest is Brett Johnson, who was listed on America’s Most Wanted list in 2006 for cyber-crime and who the secret service once declared as the “original internet godfather.” Since serving his jail sentence and leaving behind his criminal past, Brett has become a leading consultant on tech security, now helping people learn how to protect themselves against the type of person he once was. In this discussion, we explore a wide variety of topics, including social engineering, deceit in the security sector, common hacking vulnerabilities, the legal abuse of data and privacy by big corporations, digital IDs, the future of deep fakes and brain computer interfaces, and a whole lot more. 

This week our guest is David Carroll, a professor of media design at the New School in New York City who gained worldwide renown when he decided to engage in a legal battle with the Cambridge Analytica. For those who may not know, Cambridge Analytica was involved in a massive data scandal using Facebook data to manipulate voters into voting for Donald Trump and Brexit. In this conversation, we explore David’s battle against Cambridge Analytica from start to finish, attempting to go beyond the details captured in the documentary that was made about his fight, The Great Hack. We additionally discuss the current and future dynamics of data privacy and protection, including the often overlooked risks and the potential legislation that could drastically change humanity’s relationship with data.

This week our guest is business and technology reporter, Peter Ward. Earlier this year, Peter released his book The Price of Immortality: The Race to Live Forever, where he investigates the many movements and organizations that are seeking to extend human life, from the Church of Perpetual Life in Florida, to some of the biggest tech giants in Silicon Valley. 

In this episode, we explore Peter’s findings, which takes us on a tour from cryonics to mind uploading, from supplements to gene editing, and much more. Along the way, we discuss the details of how one might actually achieve immortality, the details of senescent cells and telomeres, whether it's better to live healthy than to live long, the scams and failures that seem to dominate the space, as well as the efforts that seem most promising.

This week our guest is author and podcaster, Azeem Azhar, who has a robust background as an investor, founder, and regulator in the tech space, including several years working with the World Economic Forum on the Global Future Council on Digital Economy and Society. 

Azeem spends much of his time these days creating content for ExponentialView.co, where he provides weekly assessments of the dynamics at play in humanity’s exponential transformation. The key ideas he’s uncovered on this journey can be found in his latest book, The Exponential Age: How Accelerating Technology is Transforming Business, Politics and Society.

In this episode, we review his book and the wisdom he’s gained over the years, with an emphasis on the impacts of the growing divide taking place between technology’s advancements and society’s ability to keep up with it. 

This week our guest is Michael Shermer, who founded Skeptic Magazine and is the executive director of the Skeptic’s Society. Michael’s written many books over the years, including Heavens on Earth, which explores technologists efforts towards immortality; Giving the Devil His Due, which is a collection of essays on scientific humanism; and later this month he’ll be publishing Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational.

Given Michael’s wide array of interest, we take a wide tour of many different ideas in this episode, including: free speech online, governmental regulation, how the internet has impacted conspiracy theories, reasons to be skeptical about technology, and much more.

Hi everyone, 

Just wanted to make a quick episode to let you know we're taking a short break for these next few weeks, but we'll be back with a steady stream of more episodes on October 2nd. I also wanted to take a moment to say thank you to all of those who take time to listen every week. With your support we've been able to consistently rank as one of the most listened to tech podcasts in the world, attracting a remarkable lineup of guests who I've felt truly honored to talk to and whose conversations I hope you've enjoyed as much as I have. 

This week our guest is Kevin Roose, a tech columnist for The New York Times and author of several books including his latest Futureproof: 9 Rules for Humans in the Age of Automation.

In this episode, Kevin and I discuss how the world’s tendency towards automation is leading to the end of many professions as well as a world of individuals whose behavior is shaped by algorithms. We explore how humans have promoted technology from an assistant that helps us meet our goals into now being a boss that controls our filter on reality by controlling what information we see. This includes things like recommendation engines, what we see in our news feeds, what ideas we’re exposed to most frequently, and a whole lot more. Kevin proposes that to be more employable and free from these behavioral constraints, we should focus on being social, surprising, and scarce.

This week our guest is Mark Mills, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute who recently authored The Cloud Revolution: How the Convergence of New Technologies Will Unleash the Next Economic Boom and A Roaring 2020s.

In this episode, Mark and I discuss how the latest advancements in materials, machines, and information are unlocking a profound new paradigm represented by the cloud, the impact of which Mark argues has been severely underestimated. As part of this conversation, we also explore the ways such tech will impact automation, governmental regulation, and our on-going tension between climate and energy production. As Mark describes it himself, he’s a realist and an optimist, and both of those things are conveyed in this information rich episode. 

This week our guest is author and technologist, David Weinberger, who has spent years lecturing at Harvard as well as acting as a fellow and senior researcher at the renowned Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society. And just prior to covid, David released his latest book, Everyday Chaos: Technology, Complexity, and How We’re Thriving in a New World of Possibility.

In this episode, David and I explore some of the key ideas he focused on in Everyday Chaos. This includes looking at the ways in which we have historically used reductionist thinking to make generalizations for society, products, and technology, and how the latest technologies like the internet and Machine learning are revealing how much more we can thrive when we embrace chaos and customization. This means letting individuals and data tell us what people want by exploring all the possibilities rather than attempting to predict and shape outcomes beforehand. 

This week our guest is lecturer, investor, and author, Nir Eyal, whose previous two books include Hooked: How To Build Habit Forming Products and Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life.

Nir has a lot of experience teaching and discussing these subjects, so we were able to explore many different aspects of attention in a very short time. This include the triggers that drive us to get hooked to products, the morality of “hooking” people’s attention, the distinction between addiction and distraction, why Nir thinks social media hijacking attention is a dangerous myth, how managing our attention is about managing our pain, and many ways in which we can bolster our defenses against distraction and control our attention. 

This week our guest is NBC technology correspondent, Jacob Ward, who recently released his book, The Loop: How Technology Is Creating a World Without Choices and How to Fight Back.

In this episode we focus broadly on the ways in which technology and AI are learning from the worst instincts of human beings, and then using those bad behaviors to shape our future choices. As a result, Jacob suggests this creates feedback loops of increasingly limited and increasingly short-sighted behavior. This conversation includes exploring topics such as big data, bad incentives for programmers, profit motives, historical bias reflected in data, system 1 vs system 2 thinking, and much more. 

This week our guest is Rob Reich, a professor of political science at Stanford University and co-author of the recently published book System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot.

In this episode, we focus heavily on how the tech industry’s obsession with efficiency and optimization has often meant sacrificing our values and even democracy itself. This includes conversations about data privacy, the tension between recklessly fast innovation and mindful but slow progress, concerns over China, the job market, and much much more. Additionally, we discuss some optimistic and very actionable steps that individuals, universities, and businesses can take to help society reboot our failed relationship with Big Tech.