Un-Assuming: We can't build a new world on the beliefs that made the old one

Our trust in our institutions, like government, media, universities, and healthcare, seems to be at an all-time low. With the increasing use of AI and with it, deep fakes, what does the future hold for trusting anything? Is trust a foundation for any functioning society or can we live is a world of mistrust? What would it take to begin trusting again?

With guests Gerald Harris, Charles Feltman, and Eric Best

We hear much about how AIs are trained on ethics and that should help safeguard us from the dystopian vision of oppressive, evil AI overlords. But is that even close to being realistic when: the question of right and wrong has been debated since the beginning of civilization? when there is a huge gap between what we know is moral and what we do? when human biases get baked into the algorithms? And when evil actors have a history of successfully manipulating both humans and machines?

Guests: Tony Ogden, Lisa Flynn, Ritzy Estrada Rivera

Karen reviews a brief biography of her life, emphasizing what led her to create this podcast.

Host Karen Phelan explains that the purpose of this podcast is help us imagine a future with AI that is utopian, rather than dystopian. We can't create a future we can't imagine. To do this, we need to change our perspective of the world and challenge our beliefs.

Join guests Jeannie Coyle and John Schuster as we discuss the nature of work. For many, work provides a purpose and an identity. Yet, many jobs and even professions are disappearing with automation and AI.  Some governments are experimenting with UBI to compensate for the lack of jobs.  But is work solely about earnings or do people need work to have happy and productive lives?  And does the type of work matter? 

We tell white lies all the time.  We construct fables and myths to make sense of the world.  We currently complain about a post-truth world, but have we ever really been truthful? Guests Julie Winkle Giulioni and Charles Feltman join Karen for an exploration of lying, whether truth and truthfulness are attainable, and what we can do to be better.

We can see what rapacious greed is doing, not only to humanity, but to our planet and all living things.  This episode explores money - what is it exactly, why does it make people behave badly, and what can we do about greed and exploitation.

Featuring guests Peter Neuwirth and Gerald Harris.