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The Imperfects

Joel Pearson - I Think, Therefore AI

5/24/20261 hr 31 min

In the age of AI, do you feel that your future is more uncertain?

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In today’s Academy of Imperfection, we’re joined by Dr Joel Pearson; a neurofuturist, whose work centres around predicting how AI will impact every aspect of our lives from now on.

While many of us (us included) first and foremost imagine the impacts of AI in a tech-revolution-y, robot butler-y, terminator-adjacent way, this episode goes deeper.

Joel discusses how young people are forming attachments with AI companions and how we might see, perhaps the first generation in known history with a lower IQ than the one beforehand.

We talk about the tangible and interconnected mental health impacts that this major societal disruption will have, and Hugh and Josh ask how in the world can we broach this topic with our kids?

BUT, this episode isn’t all doom and gloom. Joel is a tech-optimist, after all.

We talk to Joel about how we can foster human connection, and continue to develop our critical thinking skills, whilst not turning away from AI altogether.

Joel, this has been invaluable.

If you want to watch this full video on YouTube, follow this link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPGa6heppjE 

0:00 – The episode we’ve been putting off
10:10 – The only certainty is disruption
14:15 – Impact of AI on the brain
21:23 – Rewards and moral responsibility
27:11 – A scary mental health spiral
30:31 – Think of the children
35:10 – You may now kiss the AI
45:06 – Purposeful Utopia
58:42 – Seeing is no longer believing
1:02:21 – The Roadmap to AI
1:11:35 – Finding Motivation in Limbo
1:18:15 – Let’s Stack Some Habits

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The Imperfects is not a licensed mental health service and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice, treatment or assessment. The advice given in this episode is general in nature, but if you’re struggling, please see a healthcare professional, or call lifeline on 13 11 14.

 

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Clips

Teens & AI Soulmates
Exponential Growth Reality Check
Future IQ Decline Warning
Moral Responsibility Offloaded
Humanoid Robots Incoming
Asking The Wrong Experts
Seeing Isn’t Believing Anymore

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Hugh van Cuylenburg· Host0:00

    In one word, how would you describe the future?

  2. Joel Pearson· Guest0:03

    [laughs] Word of the moment? Yeah, uncertain at the moment. AI is changing so quickly. People predict in this linear straight line, but AI is going like that.

  3. Hugh van Cuylenburg· Host0:11

    As the world's first neurofuturist, Joel studies how AI will impact human brains, and how we can best prepare for an AI future.

  4. Joel Pearson· Guest0:19

    We don't know how good it's gonna get, how far it's gonna go, and that just kinda gets to this sort of, this state where we can't predict the future at all. And that's where this uncertainty is coming from. Think of COVID times a thousand, times 10,000, like that kind of disruption. Everything we do more and more to AI, what is gonna happen to our brains? What's gonna happen to our ability to think and make decisions by ourselves?

  5. Hugh van Cuylenburg· Host0:43

    Mm.

  6. Joel Pearson· Guest0:43

    Some people are predicting that we're gonna see the first generation where the IQ is lower than the generation before. AI companions, the idea is this is, like, a companion you'll confide in, you'll talk to, and you'll build a relationship with. In adults, we've seen people having multi-year deep, loving relationships, marriage ceremonies. Now we have this sort of range of, you know, character AI, and all these other companion apps which are pretty much designed for young people. Some people are now talking about this. You know, we've been through however many a decade of this attention hacking, this attention economy of social media, these companion apps. That's attachment, hacking attachment.

  7. Ryan Shelton· Host1:23

    Jesus. So we've touched on how the human race is completely fucked. Um [laughs] [laughs] [laughs] You're,

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