This is NOT a podcast about AI
This week on Modem Futura Sean and I try desperately hard not to talk about AI, and end up chatting about tech, story telling, sci-fi, and the art of doing nothing
[Image: Image: Midjourney — view image]
A few weeks ago, my podcast co-host Sean Leahy and I sat down in the Modem Futura studio and agreed that the last thing we could face was recording yet another episode about artificial intelligence — AI fatigue had hit us both!
Ironically, there’s been so much going on with AI that we had to bump that episode a couple of times. But we’ve finally decided that enough is enough and we really need a break from all things artificial intelligence — and we suspect our listeners do as well. So here is that episode (which is also, officially, our 20th episode of the podcast!).
Sadly, we didn’t quite pull it off, as you’ll her if you tune into. But we almost did, as we explore everything from how technology, life and art are intertwined to the power of narrative in how we make sense of the world — and how the narratives others write for us impact our own sense-making.
And, perhaps most importantly, we talk about the regenerative power of simply doing nothing.
Listen to the whole episode here or jump in at the rough time stamps below. And if you’re enjoying the podcast, please do take a minute to leave a rating or review:
(Also available on Spotify and YouTube)
If you’re pushed for time, jump right in to the conversation at these entry points:
00:00 Cold open: Can we record an episode without talking about AI?
04:45 Introduction
05:44 Whose story are we living?
06:25 Resisting the lure of new technologies
11:00 Technology nostalgia (and the Apple Newton)
14:30 Stories of technologies past, and story co-creation
16:55 Navigating the hype of new technologies
18:20 The influence of AI on our narratives (and we failed!)
20:15 Who is controlling the narrative?
21:45 The challenge of disconnecting from big tech
24:44 Going manual
27:55 The art of doing nothing
31:50 Creativity and the pressures of hustle culture
34:05 Do we have a creativity problem in research?
38:08 All the world looks like a nail … (and a link to quantum computing)
41:15 The need for space to play
42:10 Slipping into art, connection, and inspiration.
44:05 Science fiction and imagination
46:00 The danger of sci-fi in the hands of someone with an imagination deficit
48:10 What is the purpose (and responsibility) of humanity?
51:40 Art, connection, and the dark side of humanity
54:20 The possible dangers of dystopian stories
59:00 AI, narrative, and who’s story are we living? (and we failed again)
And finally, a reminder that you can watch is recording this week’s episode on YouTube:
Thanks for listening!