In a world racing toward smarter machines, empathy speakers and authors Rob Volpe and Maria Ross get curious in this limited subseries about what only humans can feel, do, and be — and why that's our greatest competitive advantage. Enjoy this limited subseries here on The Empathy Edge.

What does it mean to be aware that you exist? In this first episode of the What Does It Mean to Be Human? subseries, Maria Ross and Rob Volpe dig into one of the most profound and surprisingly unsettled questions in science and philosophy: what makes human consciousness distinct from every other species on the planet — and why does that question matter more urgently now than ever before?

From the evolutionary leap of the prefrontal cortex, to Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey's field evidence of chimp and gorilla emotional lives, to Michael Pollan's exploration of "the hard problem" of consciousness, Maria and Rob explore the idea that humans aren't running a different program than other animals — we're running a souped-up version of largely the same one. And yet something tipped. Something made us capable of recursive self-awareness: knowing that we exist, wondering why, and imagining how others see us. What was that tipping point? And can any technology ever cross it?

To access the episode transcript, go to www.TheEmpathyEdge.com, search by episode title.

"People interact with AI as though there is a human behind it, because it communicates, and I think that's part of the danger that we're running into." —  Rob Volpe

Episode References: 

• Jane Goodall Institute: Now We Must Redefine Man, or Accept Chimpanzees as Humans? https://news.janegoodall.org/2019/07/24/now-we-must-redefine-man-or-accept-chimpanzees-ashumans/
• PNAS Study on Human vs. Chimp Brain Connectivity: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1818512116
• The Conversation: What Makes the Human Brain Unique? https://theconversation.com/what-makes-the-human-brain-unique-we-compared-it-with-monkeys-and-apes-to-find-out-252331
• Michael Pollan: A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness https://michaelpollan.com/books/a-world-appears/
• The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist: https://www.focusfeatures.com/the-ai-doc-or-how-i-became-an-apocaloptimist 
• The Confessions by Paul Bradley Carr: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Confessions/Paul-Bradley-Carr/9781668074411

About Rob Volpe: 

Rob Volpe is the Founder/CEO of Empathy Activist and the creator of The 5 Steps to Empathy, which he chronicles in his award-winning book Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation at a Time. He is a recognized thought leader,  speaker, and consultant in the improvement of communication and collaboration in organizations of all sizes in all industries.  He is a graduate of Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and lives in San Francisco with his husband and 3 cats.  Learn more at his website: www.robvolpe.expert or follow on Instagram: @Empathy_Activist.

Connect with Rob Volpe:  

Website: robvolpe.expert 

Book: Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation

X: x.com/rmvolpe 

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rmvolpe 

Facebook: facebook.com/EmpathyActivist 

Instagram: instagram.com/empathy_activist 

Connect with Maria:

Get Maria's books: Red-Slice.com/books

Hire Maria to speak: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

Take the LinkedIn Learning Courses! Leading with Empathy and Balancing Empathy, Accountability, and Results as a Leader 

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Facebook: Red Slice