AI is impacting every part of our lives—and we need to start paying more attention.

Watch this timely conversation with Dr. Darin Johnson, Professor of Law at Howard University, former attorney at the Pentagon, U.S. State Department, and White House, and author of Digital Coup, whose work sits at the intersection of AI, democracy, national security, and constitutional law.

We discuss:

• How social media has become one of the greatest threats to democracy

• The "digital coup economy" and how AI is accelerating political manipulation

• What citizens can do to fight back and become more discerning in the face of these threats

• Why empathy is essential for protecting democracy, human rights, and the rule of law

  
  

If you care about democracy, free elections, misinformation, and the future of human rights—you don't want to miss this conversation.

00:00 Preview

00:49 Episode introduction

02:46 About Dr. Darin Johnson

05:42 Darin’s backstory11:31 Why Darin is still optimistic about America's ongoing democratic crisis13:35 Darin’s book, Digital Coup: The Conspiracy  to Thwart Global Democracy17:31 Why Darin remains optimistic about the democratic crisis in the U.S.21:22 How free speech is being weaponized to undermine democracy26:28 How social media went from empowering citizens to undermining their agency31:45 The global election super cycle and AI-powered disinformation34:41 The rise of the "digital coup economy"37:34 Big Tech, AI, and the future of democratic governance43:18 Why empathy is essential to democracy and human rights47:03 Dr. Darin Johnson's Purposeful Empathy story

Episode #3 of Empathy in the Age of AI part II, a special 25-part series: https://tinyurl.com/exyw2nua 

CONNECT WITH DARIN

✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/darin-johnson-5305ab/

✩ Website http://www.darin-johnson.com 

CONNECT WITH ANITA

✩ Email [email protected] 

✩ Website https://www.anitanowak.com

✩ Buy a copy of Purposeful Empathy http://tiny.cc/PurposefulEmpathyCA

✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/anitanowak/

✩ Instagram https://tinyurl.com/anitanowakinstagram

✩ Podcast Audio https://tinyurl.com/PurposefulEmpathyPodcast

✩ Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/anitanowak.bsky.social

SHOW NOTES

✩ Digital Coup: The Conspiracy  to Thwart Global Democracy https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Coup-Conspiracy-Thwart-Democracy/dp/B0FCCD2W16 

✩ The Empathic Civilization: The Race to Global Consciousness in a World in Crisis

https://www.amazon.com/Empathic-Civilization-Global-Consciousness-Crisis/dp/1585427659

Video edited by Jad Misri, Green Horizon Studio

AI is impacting every part of our lives—and we need to start paying more attention.

Watch this urgent and deeply personal conversation with youth advocate Ava Smithing, host of the podcast Left to Their Own Devices, whose work sits at the intersection of social media, online safety, youth mental health and digital well-being.

We discuss:

• What parents, educators and policy-makers need to understand about AI chatbots, social media, and online safety

• How social media platforms profit by exploiting young people’s insecurities, attention, and personal data

• How AI companions may weaken children’s resilience, relationships, and connection with their parents

• Why the attention economy threatens not only our mental health—but our privacy, agency, and empathy

If you care about protecting children’s mental health, cognitive agency and relationships in an online world increasingly shaped by AI—you don’t want to miss this conversation.

00:00 Preview

00:52 Episode introduction

02:49 About Ava Smithing06:02 Ava’s backstory

07:09 How social media algorithms pushed Ava into a near-fatal eating disorder at age 12

13:41 How young people can resist social media pressure and reclaim their identities

17:28 Why a social media break/detox can improve happiness and well-being

22:54 What is the “Attention Economy” — and why is it harmful?27:19 Why AI chatbots may be dangerous for children's development

31:48 What happens when children trust AI more than their parents?

34:17 What lawmakers misunderstand about protecting children online

38:50 Ava’s reflection on testifying to Congress

44:40 Why big tech’s power is becoming a threat to democracy

48:25 The Attention Sphere: Ava’s non-profit organization, committed to designing tech that strengthens real-world community

50:42 Why banning children from social media may not solve the problem

54:17 Why data privacy and antitrust laws are essential for online safety

57:07 How growing up online is affecting Gen Z’s capacity for empathy

01:01:54  Ava Smithing’s Purposeful Empathy story

Episode #2 of Empathy in the Age of AI part II, a special 25-part series: https://tinyurl.com/exyw2nua 

CONNECT WITH AVA

✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ava-smithing-8485931b4/ 

✩ Website https://theattentionstudio.com 

✩ Podcast https://www.mediatechdemocracy.com/podcasts-left-to-their-own-devices 

CONNECT WITH ANITA

✩ Email [email protected] 

✩ Website https://www.anitanowak.com

✩ Buy a copy of Purposeful Empathy http://tiny.cc/PurposefulEmpathyCA

✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/anitanowak/

✩ Instagram https://tinyurl.com/anitanowakinstagram

✩ Podcast Audio https://tinyurl.com/PurposefulEmpathyPodcast

✩ Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/anitanowak.bsky.social

SHOW NOTES

✩ Ava’s Testimonial before the U.S. Congress: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJewHYRUKjE

✩ Ava’s Testimonial before the U.S. Congress https://www.congress.gov/118/meeting/house/117146/witnesses/HHRG-118-IF17-Wstate-SmithingA-20240417.pdf

✩ Op-Ed: Social media nearly ruined my life. This is how I saved myself — and how we save kids today https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/social-media-nearly-ruined-my-life-this-is-how-i-saved-myself-and-how-we/article_f97fd1ea-53f3-420c-b276-9bcd7fc153ad.html

Video edited by Jad Misri, Green Horizon Studio

AI is impacting every part of our lives—and we need to start paying more attention.

Listen to this fascinating conversation with Dr. Simon Dubé, Research Fellow at the Kinsey Institute and one of the world's leading researchers studying erobotics, space sexology, and human-machine intimacy.

We discuss:

• Why "Erobotics" may become one of the most important fields in the age of AI

• How space exploration is forcing us to rethink intimacy, reproduction, and human flourishing

• How AI companions and partners may reshape human intimacy and relationships

• What empathy, agency, and human connection will look like as we co-evolve with AI

If you're curious about how AI will transform intimacy, sexuality, relationships and mental health—you don't want to miss this conversation.

00:00 Preview

00:47 Episode introduction

02:43 About Dr. Simon Dubé

05:54 Simon’s backstory

12:56 Why intimacy and sexuality are central to human flourishing

21:15 How studying sex in space could improve life on Earth

24:16 What is "Erobotics" and why does it matter?

31:26 How AI can improve sex education, therapy, and sexual health

41:07 Are AI companions replacing relationships or simply filling unmet needs?

47:29 Can AI help us become more empathic?

53:16 Will AI influence who we love and how we connect?

56:22 How AI and pornography are changing human sexuality

01:02:46  Why evidence-based sex education matters—especially for young people

01:11:34  Dr. Simon Dubé's Purposeful Empathy story

Episode #1 of Empathy in the Age of AI part II, a special 25-part series: https://tinyurl.com/exyw2nua 

CONNECT WITH SIMON

✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-dube-phd/

✩ Kinsey Institute https://kinseyinstitute.org/about/staff/dube-simon.html

✩ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sci_dub/ 

CONNECT WITH ANITA

✩ Email [email protected] 

✩ Website https://www.anitanowak.com

✩ Buy a copy of Purposeful Empathy http://tiny.cc/PurposefulEmpathyCA

✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/anitanowak/

✩ Instagram https://tinyurl.com/anitanowakinstagram

✩ Podcast Audio https://tinyurl.com/PurposefulEmpathyPodcast

✩ Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/anitanowak.bsky.social

SHOW NOTES

✩ Sex in Space? Michael Kosta Learns How to Join the Thousand-Mile-High Club | The Daily Show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA6Pu6ZUrqI

✩ Sex Robots & Personality: It Is More about Sex than Robots https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563222002254

Video edited by Jad Misri, Green Horizon Studio

AI is impacting every part of our lives—and we need to start paying more attention.

Watch this eye-opening conversation with Dr. Clare McGlynn, Professor of Law at Durham University, whose work sits at the intersection of AI, image-based sexual abuse, pornography and digital rights.

We discuss:

• How AI-generated deepfake pornography poses a serious  threat to women and girls

• Why "revenge porn" should be called image-based sexual abuse

• How mainstream pornography is reshaping relationships

• Why empathy is essential for survivors of online sexual violence

If you’re a parent, guardian or educator concerned about the wellbeing of children and youth—you don't want to miss this conversation.

00:00 Preview

01:09 Episode introduction

03:48 About Dr. Clare McGlynn

05:45 Clare’s backstory

08:43 What is “Image-based sexual abuse”?

12:22 How does AI enable image-based sexual abuse—and what are the consequences?

18:46 Clare’s book, Exposed: The Rise of Extreme Porn and How We Fight Back

22:56 What happens when pornography becomes sex education?

31:02 The campaign that criminalized AI deepfake pornography in the UK

38:18 AI girlfriends, sex robots, and the future of human relationships

41:39 Why online sexual violence should be treated as a public health crisis

46:14 The role of empathy in justice for survivors of sexual violence

49:41 Dr. Clare McGlynn's Purposeful Empathy story

Episode #10 of Empathy in the Age of AI, a special 25-part series: https://tinyurl.com/exyw2nua 

CONNECT WITH CLARE

✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/clare-mcglynn-32b898238/

✩ Website https://www.claremcglynn.com/

✩ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/claremcglynn_/ 

CONNECT WITH ANITA

✩ Email [email protected] 

✩ Website https://www.anitanowak.com

✩ Buy a copy of Purposeful Empathy http://tiny.cc/PurposefulEmpathyCA

✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/anitanowak/

✩ Instagram https://tinyurl.com/anitanowakinstagram

✩ Podcast Audio https://tinyurl.com/PurposefulEmpathyPodcast

✩ Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/anitanowak.bsky.social

CLARE’S WORK

✩ Invisible No More: How AI Chatbots Are Reshaping Violence Against Women and Girls https://e87dab74-be98-4bb1-83c5-05251d2bc6f4.usrfiles.com/ugd/e87dab_06a7f0801de549689c294d42e0478a3c.pdf

✩ Marginalizing feminism: debating extreme pornography laws in public and policy discourse https://tinyurl.com/3vjy5m7d

SHOW NOTES

✩ Exposed: The Rise of Extreme Porn and How We Fight Back https://tinyurl.com/2mwt3t39 

✩ Why Young Men are Turning Against Feminism https://www.americansurveycenter.org/newsletter/why-young-men-are-turning-against-feminism/

✩ End Violence Against Women https://www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk/

Video edited by Jad Misri, Green Horizon Studio

AI is impacting every part of our lives—and we need to start paying more attention.

Listen to this insightful conversation with Dr. Steven Wang, CEO of Venture for Canada, whose work sits at the intersection of AI, entrepreneurship and public policy.

We discuss:

• How AI is transforming the workforce and traditional careers

• How to prepare the next generation for an AI-driven economy

• What governments, businesses, and citizens must do to ensure AI benefits everyone

• Why entrepreneurship skills—and empathy!—offer competitive advantages

If you're looking for strategies to future-proof your career, you don't want to miss this conversation.

00:00 Preview

00:59 Episode introduction

03:36 About Dr. Steven Wang

05:27 Steven’s backstory

08:16 Why AI governance matters more than AI technology

11:01 What does “Responsible AI” mean?

18:26 Why every young person needs an entrepreneurial mindset

23:32 How can fresh graduates overcome the experience gap?

28:14 Why buying a business may be smarter than launching one in the age of AI

31:58 The human skills that AI cannot replace

38:52 Smart ways to use AI during a job search

46:27 How “reverse mentorship” can transform a workplace

17:40 How to prepare young people for an AI-ubiquitous future

30:42 Dr. Steven Wang’s Purposeful Empathy story

Episode #9 of Empathy in the Age of AI, a special 25-part series: https://tinyurl.com/exyw2nua 

CONNECT WITH STEVEN

✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/stwang12/ 

✩ Website https://ventureforcanada.ca/

✩ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/venture4canada/ 

CONNECT WITH ANITA

✩ Email [email protected] 

✩ Website https://www.anitanowak.com

✩ Buy a copy of Purposeful Empathy http://tiny.cc/PurposefulEmpathyCA

✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/anitanowak/

✩ Instagram https://tinyurl.com/anitanowakinstagram

✩ Podcast Audio https://tinyurl.com/PurposefulEmpathyPodcast

✩ Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/anitanowak.bsky.social

SHOW NOTES

✩ From Brain Drain to Talent Circulation: Why Canada Needs a Diaspora Strategy https://opencanada.org/from-brain-drain-to-talent-circulation-why-canada-needs-a-diaspora-strategy/

✩ The Perils of Using AI to Replace Entry-Level Jobs https://hbr.org/2025/09/the-perils-of-using-ai-to-replace-entry-level-jobs 

Video edited by Jad Misri, Green Horizon Studio

AI is impacting every part of our lives—and we need to start paying more attention.

Listen to this fascinating conversation with Dr. Ekaterina Muravevskaia, Assistant Professor at Indiana University, whose work sits at the intersection of empathy, virtual reality, AI, and early childhood development.

We discuss:

• The promise and perils of AI companions, tutors, and emotionally intelligent technologies

• What parents and educators need to know (and do) to ensure that AI becomes a coach—not a replacement for human relationships

• How VR can help children develop empathy and social-emotional skills

• How VR empathy games might transform education and mental health

If you’re concerned about the mental health and loneliness crisis facing kids and care about the future of childhood in the era of AI —you don't want to miss this conversation.

If you're wondering how emotionally intelligent technologies and Ed Tech may reshape childhood development and relationships—you don't want to miss this conversation.

00:00 Preview

01:08 Episode introduction

03:11 About Dr. Ekaterina Muravevskaia

06:47 Ekaterina’s backstory

13:01 What is the Studying Empathy, Technology, and Humans lab?

15:54 How virtual reality can help children develop empathy

21:28 The science of social emotional learning (aka SEL)

23:21 How virtual characters shape behaviour and predict real-world relationships

31:20 The psychological risks of AI companions for children

33:03 Could AI replace human connection and create emotional dependency?

42:59 How AI could help teachers personalize social-emotional learning in classrooms

45:34 What happens when AI starts shaping human emotions?

52:32 The importance of embodied learning in the age of AI

58:54 Can AI detect mental health problems? 

01:00:13  Will AI make us smarter or erode our cognition?

01:05:20  Ekaterina’s Purposeful Empathy story

Episode #8 of Empathy in the Age of AI, a special 25-part series: https://tinyurl.com/exyw2nua 

CONNECT WITH EKATERINA

✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ekaterinasavkina/ 

✩ Website https://ekmurav.wixsite.com/empathy 

CONNECT WITH ANITA

✩ Email [email protected] 

✩ Website https://www.anitanowak.com

✩ Buy a copy of Purposeful Empathy http://tiny.cc/PurposefulEmpathyCA

✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/anitanowak/

✩ Instagram https://tinyurl.com/anitanowakinstagram

✩ Podcast Audio https://tinyurl.com/PurposefulEmpathyPodcast

✩ Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/anitanowak.bsky.social

EKATERINA’S WORK

✩ How VR and AI could help the next generation grow kinder and more connected

https://theconversation.com/how-vr-and-ai-could-help-the-next-generation-grow-kinder-and-more-connected-263181

✩ “You Need to Know What Not To Do”: Co-Designing VR to Support Empathy and Social Decision-Making in Children https://www.researchgate.net/publication/407416948_You_Need_to_Know_What_Not_To_Do_Co-Designing_VR_to_Support_Empathy_and_Social_Decision-Making_in_Children

✩ Designing a Role-Play Activity about Social-Emotional Learning for the Indian Context Based on the Integrated Design Framework for Playful Learning https://www.researchgate.net/publication/395919012_Designing_a_Role-Play_Activity_about_Social-Emotional_Learning_for_the_Indian_Context_Based_on_the_Integrated_Design_Framework_for_Playful_Learning

SHOW NOTES

✩ SETH Lab https://sethlab.lab.indianapolis.iu.edu/index.html

Video edited by Jad Misri, Green Horizon Studio

Episode #7 of Empathy in the Age of AI, a special 25-part series: https://tinyurl.com/exyw2nua 

AI is impacting every part of our lives—and we need to start paying more attention.

Listen to this thought-provoking conversation with Mitch Joel, an entrepreneur, author and podcast host, whose work sits at the intersection of technology, business, innovation and culture.

We discuss:

• The difference between using AI as an answer engine versus a thinking partner

• The impact AI is having on human intelligence

• How AI can enhance creativity and diminish trust

• The risks of AI companions, tutors, and therapists

• How technology is reshaping empathy, intimacy, and human connection

If you're wondering how to stay ahead in a world of constant reinvention and why the future belongs to those who think with AI rather than simply ask it for answers—you won't want to miss this conversation.

00:00 Preview

00:53 Episode introduction

02:57 About Mitch Joel

05:51 Mitch’s backstory

08:47 Revisiting the 5 predictions from Mitch’s book, CTRL, ALT, Delete: What he got right and what AI has changed

12:19 The podcast conversations that completely changed Mitch’s perspective

20:32 How AI is reshaping the workplace

25:11 Why it’s important to know that ChatGPT isn’t intelligent; just predictive

28:49 Does AI create art or mimic human creativity?

32:17 Will AI make us smarter or create cognitive dependency?

36:54 Should smartphones and AI be restricted in schools?

40:26 What it means to anthropomorphize systems that don’t have inner lives

44:51 What’s at stake when a machine knows you better than you know yourself?

50:54 Childhood risk: What if AI chatbots replace their parents as confidants? 

58:19 The regulation we never built: AI's unchecked rise

01:02:23  Empathy in the age of AI

01:05:07  Mitch Joel’s Purposeful Empathy story

CONNECT WITH MITCH

✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitchjoel/ 

✩ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mitchjoel/

✩ X https://x.com/mitchjoel?lang=en

✩ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/mitchjoelsixpixels/

✩ Website https://www.mitchjoel.com/

✩ Medium https://mitchjoel.medium.com/

✩ Six Pixels https://www.sixpixels.com/

✩ ThinkersOne https://thinkersone.com/

CONNECT WITH ANITA

✩ Email [email protected] 

✩ Website https://www.anitanowak.com

✩ Buy a copy of Purposeful Empathy http://tiny.cc/PurposefulEmpathyCA

✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/anitanowak/

✩ Instagram https://tinyurl.com/anitanowakinstagram

✩ Podcast Audio https://tinyurl.com/PurposefulEmpathyPodcast

✩ Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/anitanowak.bsky.social

MITCH’S WORK

✩ Six Pixels of Separation https://www.amazon.com/Six-Pixels-Separation-Connected-Everyone/dp/0446548235

✩ CTRL, ALT, Delete https://www.amazon.com/Ctrl-Alt-Delete-Business-Depends/dp/1455523305 

✩ Bot-On-Bot Action is Not Hot https://www.sixpixels.com/articles/archives/bot-on-bot-action-is-not-hot/

SHOW NOTES

✩ Anointed: The Extraordinary Effects of Social Status in a Winner-Take-Most World https://www.amazon.com/Anointed-Extraordinary-Effects-Social-Winner-Take-Most/dp/166800187X

✩ Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success https://www.amazon.com/Give-Take-Helping-Others-Success/dp/0143124986

Video edited by Jad Misri, Green Horizon Studio

Episode #6 of Empathy in the Age of AI, a special 25-part series: https://tinyurl.com/exyw2nua 

AI is impacting every part of our lives—and we need to start paying more attention.

Listen to this grounded conversation with Dr. Sean Welsh, a philosopher and computer programmer whose work sits at the intersection of robotics, machine ethics, and moral decision-making.

We discuss:

• If robots and AI systems can make moral and ethical decisions

• The risks of anthropomorphism and emotional intimacy with AI

• Whether AI will create mass unemployment or unlock new possibilities

• How machines simulate empathy and what that means for the future of relationships

If you’re concerned about sharing a planet with billions of humanoid robots—as tech CEOs are predicting—you don’t want to miss this conversation.

00:00 Preview

01:00 Episode Introduction

03:05 About Dr. Sean Welsh

05:15 Sean’s backstory

11:47 What are the ethical considerations of robotics?

17:30 AI warfare and the risk of “slaughterbots”

19:52 What happens when AI carries out military strikes

24:35 Can robots make moral decisions and who is responsible when they fail?

36:12 Anthropomorphism and the psychology behind human-like robots

41:00 The growing market for sex robots and what it could mean for society

47:58 The hidden psychological risks of emotionally convincing AI relationships

54:35 What happens when children interact more with chatbots than people?

01:06:40  Could AI relationships reshape human intimacy and social connection?

01:10:24  The hidden energy cost of ChatGPT and large AI models

01:15:37  Will AI and robots actually cause mass unemployment?

01:21:09  Sean Welsh’s Purposeful Empathy story

CONNECT WITH SEAN

✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanwelsh77/

✩ Website https://engineno2.com/

CONNECT WITH ANITA

✩ Email [email protected] 

✩ Website https://www.anitanowak.com

✩ Buy a copy of Purposeful Empathy http://tiny.cc/PurposefulEmpathyCA

✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/anitanowak/

✩ Instagram https://tinyurl.com/anitanowakinstagram

✩ Podcast Audio https://tinyurl.com/PurposefulEmpathyPodcast

✩ Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/anitanowak.bsky.social

SEAN’S WORK

✩ An Introduction to Ethics and Robotics in AI https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-51110-4

✩ Ethics and Security Automata: 

Policy and Technical Challenges of the Robotic Use of Force https://www.routledge.com/Ethics-and-Security-Automata-Policy-and-Technical-Challenges-of-the-Robotic-Use-of-Force/Welsh/p/book/9781032096117

✩ The drive towards ethical AI and responsible robots has begun https://theconversation.com/the-drive-towards-ethical-ai-and-responsible-robots-has-begun-52300

SHOW NOTES

Humans https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4122068/

✩ Ex Machina https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0470752/

✩ “Slaughterbots” video by the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7659054/

✩ Soul Machines https://www.soulmachines.com/

Video edited by Jad Misri, Green Horizon Studio

Episode #5 of Empathy in the Age of AI, a special 25-part series: https://tinyurl.com/exyw2nua 

AI is impacting every part of our lives—and we need to start paying more attention.

Listen to this powerful conversation with Valentine Goddard, founder of the AI Impact Alliance, whose work sits at the intersection of Responsible AI, governance, art, and human rights.

We discuss:

• How AI is reshaping culture and civic life and why we need responsible AI governance

• The need to protect human agency in a world increasingly influenced by machines

• Why art and civic engagement are essential to preserving our humanity

• What citizens need to know about political bias baked into AI systems

• UNESCO’s role in developing human-centered AI governance

• Why empathy and democracy are at risk in the age of AI

If you care about protecting democratic freedoms, human creativity, cultural knowledge, and our shared humanity — you don’t want to miss this conversation.

00:00 Preview

00:46 Episode Introduction

02:49 About Valentine Goddard

05:49 Valentine’s backstory

12:49 About the AI Impact Alliance (AIIA)

14:02 Why civic engagement is urgently needed to shape AI governance

19:21 What does “human-centric AI” mean?

23:35 How kids may lose their “cognitive freedom/agency” to AI

28:53 The risks of AI companions and tutors

33:34 How can art inform AI ethics and policy?

37:12 Using art to reclaim agency in the age of AI

43:28 Are there political biases in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Claude?

45:16 The risks of “artificial intimacy” 

49:17 What happens when AI starts shaping human thought?

51:32 How does fake information on AI systems pose national security risks?

01:00:12 UNESCO Report: Protecting cultural data in the age of AI

01:10:50 Valentine Goddard’s Purposeful Empathy story

CONNECT WITH VALENTINE

✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/valentine-goddard-a4123a1/

✩ Website https://www.valentinegoddard.com/

✩ AI Impact Alliance https://www.allianceimpact.org 

✩ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/gabelle

✩ X https://x.com/vavacolor

CONNECT WITH ANITA

✩ Email [email protected] 

✩ Website https://www.anitanowak.com

✩ Buy a copy of Purposeful Empathy http://tiny.cc/PurposefulEmpathyCA

✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/anitanowak/

✩ Instagram https://tinyurl.com/anitanowakinstagram

✩ Podcast Audio https://tinyurl.com/PurposefulEmpathyPodcast

✩ Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/anitanowak.bsky.social

SHOW NOTES

✩ Algorithmic Frontiers https://www.algorithmicfrontiers.com/

✩ Une Vie Intelligente https://duceppe.com/une-vie-intelligente/

✩ Perplexity https://www.perplexity.ai/

✩ Claude https://claude.ai/login

✩ ChatGPT https://chatgpt.com 

✩ Democratic Infrastructure for Creative Futures: Building the AI, IP & Culture Repository – UNESCO Report https://ai-update.co.uk/2026/05/01/democratic-infrastructure-for-creative-futures-building-the-ai-ip-culture-repository-unesco/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Video edited by Jad Misri, Green Horizon Studio

Episode #4 of Empathy in the Age of AI, a special 25-part series: https://tinyurl.com/exyw2nua 

AI is impacting every part of our lives—and we need to start paying more attention.

Watch this counter-hegemonic conversation with Dr. Adio-Adet Dinika, whose work exposes the hidden trauma and labour exploitation behind today’s AI systems.

We discuss:

• How the AI industry offloads human suffering onto the Global South

• How large language models (like ChatGPT) are built on the backs of exploited workers

• How AI is creating a new class of digitally disposable workers

• Why AI slop and porn is not “innocent” or “immaterial”—but involves real trauma

• And what all of this means for empathy and human dignity

  
  

If you care about justice and want to understand the human consequences of AI — you don’t want to miss this conversation.

00:00 Preview

02:57 Episode Introduction 

06:08 About Dr. Adio-Adet Dinika

09:06 The emotional toll of building AI systems

13:07 Why AI cannot moderate content without human help

21:51 How is AI development the new form of colonialism?

27:34 How weak labour laws are being exploited to power the AI industry

29:20 The new digital divide: Who builds AI and who benefits from it?

37:45 The database secret behind every AI-generated image

42:17 Why should AI not be trusted to support a child's mental health?

52:50 Can AI be trusted to make moral decisions for human beings?

58:03 How AI is already affecting our capacity to empathize

01:01:07 Adio-Adet Dinika’s Purposeful Empathy story

CONNECT WITH ADIO

✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/adiodinika/ 

✩ Website https://www.adiodinika.com/

CONNECT WITH ANITA

✩ Email [email protected] 

✩ Website https://www.anitanowak.com

✩ Buy a copy of Purposeful Empathy http://tiny.cc/PurposefulEmpathyCA

✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/anitanowak/

✩ Instagram https://tinyurl.com/anitanowakinstagram

✩ Podcast Audio https://tinyurl.com/PurposefulEmpathyPodcast

✩ Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/anitanowak.bsky.social

SHOW NOTES

✩ How Europe Underdeveloped Africa https://tinyurl.com/296cxbvx 

✩ The Anxious Generation https://www.amazon.com/Anxious-Generation-Rewiring-Childhood-Epidemic/dp/0593655036

Video edited by Jad Misri, Green Horizon Studio