--- title: "Jurassic Park Was Right: AI, Inherited Power, and the Cost of Moving Too Fast" podcast: "Modem Futura" episode: "Episode 66" hosts: "Sean Leahy and Andrew Maynard" date: 2026-01-13 audio: https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/018f87c3-4d42-4bc0-9d66-53873b51ec68/episodes/354ff95d-ffb9-44d4-810f-dd214e60ae84/audio/bc44d99d-ce77-4cdd-b84d-fa0b1d40694c/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=3frRI0HN mirror: https://text.futureofbeinghuman.com/modemfutura/66-jurassic-park-was-right-ai-inherited-power-and-the-cost-of-m.html --- # Jurassic Park Was Right: AI, Inherited Power, and the Cost of Moving Too Fast Modem Futura · Episode 66 · January 13, 2026 · 50 min · Hosts: Sean Leahy and Andrew Maynard Listen: [MP3 audio](https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/018f87c3-4d42-4bc0-9d66-53873b51ec68/episodes/354ff95d-ffb9-44d4-810f-dd214e60ae84/audio/bc44d99d-ce77-4cdd-b84d-fa0b1d40694c/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=3frRI0HN) · [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jurassic-park-was-right-ai-inherited-power-and-the/id1771688480?i=1000744956575&uo=4) · [Spotify (show)](https://open.spotify.com/show/3eFl4hY4t1qTCWE2Bxotrg) · [YouTube (video)](https://www.youtube.com/@ModemFutura) --- In this playful yet deeply thoughtful episode of **Modem Futura**, hosts **Sean Leahy** and **Andrew Maynard** lean into speculative fun while wrestling with some of the most serious questions shaping our technological future. Sparked by a timeless passage from *Jurassic Park*, the conversation explores what happens when powerful technologies advance faster than our ability to understand, govern, or ethically wield them — a theme that feels especially resonant in today’s age of AI acceleration. Drawing on Michael Crichton’s iconic warning about “inherited power without discipline,” the hosts unpack how tools like generative AI can create the illusion of expertise, raising urgent questions about responsibility, humility, and what it truly means to *earn* knowledge. The discussion weaves through reflections on frictionless technologies, the dangers of techno-hubris, and why “show me the receipts” may be the most important mantra of the decade. The episode then pivots into a fan-favorite segment: **Futures Improv**. With rapid-fire speculative scenarios ranging from photosynthesis skin patches and post-scarcity socks to radically extended human lifespans, lunar independence movements, and the discovery of deeply boring aliens, Sean and Andrew riff on the social, economic, and philosophical implications of bizarre — yet strangely plausible — futures. By blending laughter with insight, this episode reminds us that imagining weird futures isn’t escapism; it’s a critical tool for breaking free from “used futures” and expanding our collective capacity to design better ones. Equal parts funhouse mirror and foresight exercise, this is Modem Futura at its most curious, creative, and human. -----Modem Futura is a production of the Future of Being Human initiative at Arizona State University. Be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. To learn more about the Future of Being Human initiative and all of our other projects visit - [https://futureofbeinghuman.asu.edu](https://futureofbeinghuman.asu.edu/)Subscribe to our [YouTube Channel: @ModemFutura](https://www.youtube.com/@ModemFutura)Follow us on Instagram: [@ModemFutura](https://www.instagram.com/modemfutura/)**Host Bios:****Sean M. Leahy, PhD** - [ASU Bio](https://search.asu.edu/profile/3183014)\ Sean is an internationally recognized technologist, futurist, and educator innovating humanistic approaches to emerging technology through a Futures Studies approach. He is the Executive Director for the [Future of Being Human Initiative](https://futureofbeinghuman.asu.edu/) and Research Scientist for the [School for the Future of Innovation in Society](https://sfis.asu.edu/) and Senior Global Futures Scholar with the [Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory](https://globalfutures.asu.edu/) at [Arizona State University](http://www.asu.edu/).**Andrew Maynard, PhD** - [ASU Bio](https://search.asu.edu/profile/2670673)\ Andrew is a scientist, author, thought leader, and Professor of Advanced Technology Transitions in the ASU [School for the Future of Innovation in Society](https://sfis.asu.edu/). He is the founder of the ASU [Future of Being Human initiative](https://futureofbeinghuman.asu.edu/), Director of the ASU [Risk Innovation Nexus](https://riskinnovation.org/), and was previously Associate Dean in the ASU [College of Global Futures](https://collegeofglobalfutures.asu.edu/).----- --- *These are the show notes for this episode of Modem Futura (), a podcast hosted by Sean Leahy and Andrew Maynard and part of the ASU Future of Being Human initiative (). This file is a text mirror of the episode’s show notes — not a transcript. Listen to the full episode via the links above, or watch it on YouTube ().*