Henry Shukman is a Zen Master, a meditation teacher, and co-founder of The Way meditation app.As AI poses some hard questions about what it means to be human, I thought Henry might help make some sense of things.Chapters00:00 Understanding Zen: A Personal Journey03:52 The Need for Spirituality: A Personal Crisis10:07 Living Zen in the Modern World13:36 Navigating Modern Existence: Technology and Spirituality18:38 The Motivations Behind Meditation23:15 Technology's Role in Meditation: The Way App32:06 Ambition and Spirituality: Finding Balance39:47 AI and the Nature of Consciousness45:04 Optimism for the Future: Meditation's ImpactLinks⁠The Way App⁠ - https://www.thewayapp.com/Get in touchInstagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/humansinthelooppod⁠Email: ⁠seb@theuncommonfounder.com⁠Website: ⁠https://www.theuncommonfounder.com

My guests today are artists, film makers, educators, technologists and founders of Fuser, a company building an AI workspace for creatives.

With so much noise around what AI should or shouldn’t be used for, and where human creativity starts and ends, I wanted to get Dalena and Hirad on to talk more about the creative process in this technological moment.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Fuser and Its Founders

03:40 The Vision Behind Fuser

06:12 Creative Applications of Fuser

08:35 The Role of AI in Creative Processes

11:24 Navigating the Challenges of AI in Art

13:29 The Future of Creativity with AI

15:48 Investor Relations and Company Integrity

19:00 The Evolving Landscape of Art and Technology

20:52 Conclusion and Future Aspirations

Links

Fuser

Brand video

Get in touch

⁠Instagram⁠

⁠⁠https://www.theuncommonfounder.com⁠

seb@theuncommonfounder.com⁠

Mike Masnick wrote the paper that helped inspire Bluesky and now he sits on the Bluesky board.A long-time advocate of decentralised tech, Mike's paper 'Protocols not platforms' outlined how a more open protocol-based system to social media would create a healthier social media ecosystem in which people were free to vote with their feet (or their mouse) and go elsewhere, without losing access to the community they'd built.In this wide ranging conversation, Mike and I discuss the future of social media, the internet's trajectory from an open to a closed ecosystem, whether decentralisation can be a winning strategy in a capitalist economy, and much more.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Mike Masnick and Tech Perspectives05:53 The Evolution of TechDirt and Innovation11:03 Understanding Free Speech in the Digital Age15:53 Protocols vs. Platforms: A New Approach to Free Speech20:50 The Shift from Protocol-Centric to Platform-Centric Internet28:48 The Evolution of Patents and Competition31:10 Understanding the Problems with Big Tech32:23 Moving Towards Decentralization33:23 The Role of Decentralized Protocols35:11 Generative AI: Empowerment vs. Control37:55 Building Personalized Tools for Empowerment41:35 Decentralization in Social Media: Blue Sky Explained49:12 The Future of Decentralized Systems53:04 Mainstream Adoption of Decentralized TechnologiesLinksProtocols not platformsBlueskyGet in touchInstagram⁠https://www.theuncommonfounder.com

seb@theuncommonfounder.com⁠

Alex Komoroske is one of the smartest voices out there talking about better forms of technology right now.

He spent a long chapter of his career at the likes of Google and Stripe and is now the Founder and CEO of Common Tools, working on enabling decentralised technology.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Alex Komoroske's Perspective on Tech03:39 The Hacker Ethic and Disillusionment in Tech06:31 The Slide into Cynicism: A Cultural Shift in Tech09:12 Emergence and Coordination Complexity in Organizations11:40 Slime Molds: A Metaphor for Organizational Dynamics14:24 The Future of Incumbent Organizations17:24 The Same Origin Policy and Its Consequences20:06 Resonance vs. Hollowness in Technology22:50 The Resonant Computing Manifesto25:09 The Role of LLMs in Shaping the Future32:07 Unlocking the Power of LLMs35:40 The Role of Privacy in Resonant Computing37:09 Organizational Structures for Resonance42:24 The Importance of a Resonant Privacy Model46:38 Emergence and Resonance in Technology53:55 A Vision for the Future of Technology

Links:

Resonant computing manifesto

Alex’s website

Slime molds deck

Alex’s ‘bits and bobs’ document

The Same Origin Paradigm

Get in touchInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/humansinthelooppodEmail: seb@theuncommonfounder.comPersonal website: https://www.theuncommonfounder.com

How to describe Kevin Kelly?

• Founder of Wired Magazine.
• Writer of industry defining essays like '1000 true fans' - https://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/
• Co-chair of The Long Now Foundation encouraging people to think on civilisational timescales
• Passionate traveller and photographer whose travelled remote parts of Asia for the last 50 years - https://kevin2kelly.myshopify.com/products/colors-of-asia-a-visual-journey
• The subject of the brilliant term, coined by Brie Wolfson - Flounder Mode https://joincolossus.com/article/flounder-mode/
• And a dream podcast guest

Kevin is known for many things, not least his optimism, but Kevin's flavour of optimism is what we calls 'protopian not utopian' - an acknowledgement that new technology creates major new problems but that over time we find ways to solve them

Chapters

00:00 The Hollywood Approach to Career Paths

05:20 Pursuing Interesting Projects

07:46 Influence and Unique Contributions

10:38 Radical Optimism Explained

13:38 The Choice of Optimism

16:28 The Reality of Progress

19:05 Wrestling with Counter Narratives

21:54 Building Better Technology

28:18 Navigating Technology's Strengths and Weaknesses

30:54 The Ethics of Technology Creation

33:14 The Role of Corporations in Technology

36:04 The Necessity of Innovation in Addressing Problems

42:14 Long-Term Thinking and the Long Now Foundation

47:55 Envisioning a Desirable Future

53:11 Celebrating Cultural Heritage Through Photography

Get in touch

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/humansinthelooppod

Email: seb@theuncommonfounder.com

Personal website: https://www.theuncommonfounder.com

Ed has spent his career thinking systemically about the future and consulting with governments and corporations on topics as varied as the environment, politics, healthcare and education.

He's also the co-host of hit podcast 'Jon Richardson and the Futurenauts' alongside comedian Jon Richardson and fellow Futurenaut Mark Stevenson.

Given Ed's varied expertise I wasn't quite sure where this conversation would go, but I needn't have worried. What unfolded was a great chat about climate, politics, and the soft technologies of technology that we need to make better use of to solve our toughest problems.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Ed's Work

04:22 The Role of a Futurist

07:17 Asking the Right Questions

10:23 The Politicization of Climate Change

13:12 The Transition to Renewable Energy

16:01 Motivations Behind Climate Action

18:57 The Economic Case for Renewables

22:01 The Challenge of Unburnable Carbon

25:17 Exploring Economic Models: Degrowth vs. Abundance

29:59 Grassroots Perspectives on Climate Action

34:43 Bystander Leadership: The Call for Courage

40:20 Finding Hope Amidst Challenges

46:41 Envisioning a Future of Bio-Regionalism

Benedikt Lehnert is former design leader at Microsoft and Chief Design Officer at SAP. He's had a seat at the top table in big tech and brings his own clear-eyed perspective based on that experience.I really enjoyed the conversation with Ben as we discussed the role of the designer in this current moment, the moral responsibilities of building business and technology, the hype cycles and weird incentives at play with the AI hyperscalers, and Ben's view that we should simply focus on adding more than we take.

Chapters

00:00 The Evolution of a Designer

05:38 Navigating the Startup Journey

10:03 Transforming Microsoft: A Design Perspective

14:45 The Role of Chief Design Officer at SAP

20:14 Shifting Focus: From Big Tech to Teaching and Ethics

30:07 The Human Condition in Technology

38:35 AI and Humanistic Considerations

43:17 Learning from Poets and Thinkers

58:37 A Hopeful Vision for the Future

Ben hosts the Poets and Thinkers podcast and you can find out more about him here: https://benediktlehnert.github.io/

Summary

In this conversation, I speak to Kate Armstrong, the Executive Director of InterSpecies Internet, about the latest advancements in how we communicate with animals through technology.

Kate emphasizes the importance of planetary kinship and the responsibility humans have as advanced toolmakers to create beneficial tools for other species.

The discussion also touches on real-world applications of interspecies communication, the complexities of wild animal communication, and the need for legal frameworks to protect animal rights. Throughout the conversation, Kate shares insights into the future of this field and the resources available for those interested in learning more.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Interspecies Internet

03:47 The Journey to Interspecies Communication

06:59 The Origin Story of Interspecies Internet

11:21 Understanding Interspecies Communication

14:19 The Importance of Interspecies Communication

17:17 Technological Applications in Interspecies Communication

19:52 Frontiers of Interspecies Communication

22:50 The Role of AI in Animal Communication

25:40 Exploring Communication Across Species

28:24 Anthropocentrism in Animal Communication

30:39 The Magic of Interspecies Communication

32:11 Domestic Animals as Communication Pioneers

36:18 Ethical Considerations in Animal Communication

38:45 Nature Rights and Legal Frameworks

44:53 The Future of Interspecies Communication

Resources:

https://www.interspecies.io/

TED talk