wired magazine

Artificial Intelligence? The shadow of a leader? Jerusalem conversion experiences? WIRED Magazine’s Kevin Kelly brings all that and more to this insightful conversation. 

Kevin is the founding editor for the publication and has authored a number of books including his most recent volume: Excellent Advice for Living: Wisdom I Wish I'd Known Earlier. In this episode, he unpacks some of that wisdom and joins Henry as they work through complex questions about the relationship between AI and the Imago Dei. 

If you like this episode, don’t forget to give it a rating and share it with others. You can also follow the podcast on your favorite platform for new episodes every week and learn more at faithdrivenentrepreneur.org.

Introducing our latest episode of the podcast, featuring a thought-provoking conversation with none other than Kevin Kelly - the acclaimed futurist and co-founder of Wired magazine. In this episode, we delve into the fascinating world of AI and explore its potential to transform every aspect of our lives.

From the rise of intelligent machines to the ethical implications of AI, Kevin Kelly shares his insights on the most pressing issues facing our society today. He discusses how AI is already being used to augment human capabilities, and predicts how it will continue to revolutionize industries such as healthcare, transportation, and finance.

But with great power comes great responsibility, and Kevin Kelly doesn't shy away from the tough questions. How can we ensure that AI is used for the greater good, rather than as a tool for oppression or surveillance? What impact will AI have on the job market, and how can we prepare for the changes to come?

Throughout this engaging conversation, Kevin Kelly challenges us to think deeply about the implications of AI, and encourages us to take an active role in shaping its future. Whether you're a tech enthusiast or a concerned citizen, this episode is not to be missed.

So sit back, relax, and join us as we explore the fascinating world of AI with one of the foremost experts in the field - Kevin Kelly.

Paris Marx is joined by Dave Karpf to discuss Meta’s misguided attempt to turn Facebook into a metaverse company, how Wired Magazine has evolved, and why the tech billionaires are destroying the world.

Dave Karpf is an Associate Professor of Media and Public Affairs, George Washington University. He’s also the author of The MoveOn Effect: The Unexpected Transformation of American Political Advocacy and Analytic Activism: Digital Listening and the New Political Strategy. Follow Dave on Twitter at @davekarpf.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Dave wrote about the history of WIRED Magazine’s future predictions and why VR never dies.
• People Make Games made a video looking at what’s going on in VRChat.
• Meta’s legs demo wasn’t real.
• Douglas Rushkoff’s new book Survival of the Richest looks at how the rich are trying to protect themselves from the crises they’re making worse.
• Science fiction books mentioned: Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash, Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One, and William Gibson’s The Peripheral.

Today’s guest is Jane Metcalfe, co-founder of WIRED and founder of NEO.LIFE.

In 1993, Jane and Louis Rossetto founded WIRED leading the charge in informing, education and exciting the world about the digital revolution – a term Lewis coined.

25 years later and Jane is doing it all over again with NEO.LIFE and what she calls the neobiological revolution. NEO.LIFE is a digital media and events company set up to explore the rapid developments at the intersection of tech and biology and how its marriage will shape the future of our species.

A serial entrepreneur, innovator and investor, Jane was also President of WIRED ventures, author of Neo Life: 25 Visions for the Future of Our Species and she also started a premium chocolate brand which was acquired in 2018.

In this conversation, we talk about feeling like a misfit, the genesis of one of the most important publications of our time and how it is inevitable that we will all become cyborgs.

Jane on Twitter / NEO.LIFE website 

Buy Neo Life: 25 Visions for the Future of Our Species here

Danielle Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter

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As always, if you like the show, please do take a minute to write a review or hot the subscribe button so that you can be the first to hear all the new episodes before everyone else. 

Image of Jane taken by Christopher Michel 

Paris Marx is joined by Richard Barbrook to discuss how the Californian Ideology illustrated the neoliberalism of Silicon Valley, whether it’s still relevant in the present, and how games can be used for political purposes.

Richard Barbrook is the author of “Imaginary Futures: From Thinking Machines to the Global Village” and “Class Wargames: Ludic subversion against spectacular capitalism.” He’s a senior lecturer in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of Westminster. Follow Richard on Twitter as @richardbarbrook.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

Find out more about Harbinger Media Network at harbingermedianetwork.com.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Read the original Californian Ideology essay in Mute Magazine and Richard’s thoughts on the 20th anniversary in “The Internet Revolution: From Dot-com Capitalism to Cybernetic Communism.”
• France Insoumise presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon released a game called Fiscal Combat that helped inspire Corbyn Run.
• Richard mentions Guy Debord’s “A Game of War” and Bertell Ollman’s “Class Struggle” board games.
• Other resources: Marshall McLuhan, Fred Turner’s “From Counterculture to Cyberculture: Stewart Brand, the Whole Earth Network, and the Rise of Digital Utopianism,” and Guy Debord’s “The Society of the Spectacle.”

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Our interviewee Mary Heglar is a writer and a reader, so we asked her for the best ways to make ourselves smarter AND stay hot during the COVID lock-down.Here are some articles by her:

“My manifesto from last summer that lays down my beef with the climate conversation and how I want to change it.”

“As angry as I am about the climate crisis, that anger is, believe it or not, fueled by love, as outlined here.”

“The thing about climate grief is that you can never get to the final stage of acceptance, because that’s the kiss of death. So you cycle in and out of all the other phases. Me? I like to stay in anger.”

“Nothing makes me angrier than the willful obtuseness of the crowd who thinks that climate action and climate justice can be divorced.”

And here are some articles by others:

“The seminal essay on climate anger by the one and only Amy Westervelt.”

“My Personal Hero, James Baldwin, wrote this letter to Angela Davis and it includes one of my favorite quotes to apply to the climate crisis (and general crisis) of today: ‘Well. Since we live in an age in which silence is not only criminal but suicidal, I have been making as much noise as I can.’”

“When I need a kick in the pants, when I want to give up, I revisit this piece by Ijeoma Oluo.”

“My favorite Arundhati Roy piece is from 1998 and about nuclear war, but at its heart it’s about what happens when a small band of cruel fools have too much power and we all suffer for it.”

While the internet has been ground-breaking in terms of connecting people to information, it has done a poor job of connecting us to each other. Stories of fake news and harassment are widespread, and the anonymity of the platform allows individuals to curate a persona very different from who they are in real life. By contrast, virtual reality translates our mannerisms and voices, providing a shared experience in which we sound and act like ourselves. The unique property of VR is in its ability to unlock—accelerate, even—the intimacy between people that we rarely experience in real life anymore.

Peter Rubin oversees WIRED’s cultural coverage and serves as editorial lead on its digital platforms. In 2014, his cover story on Oculus introduced readers to the rebirth of virtual reality, and he has since written extensively about the evolution of VR and its applications. Peter has ten-plus years of experience as a journalist, writing for GQ, Details, and Good, among many other publications. His book, Future Presence: How Virtual Reality is Changing Human Connection, Intimacy, and the Limits of Ordinary Life, was published in April of 2018.

Peter sits down with us to share his long-time interest in VR that began with watching films like The Lawnmower Man and reading Snow Crash as a teen. He discusses the theme of his book, Future Presence, describing VR’s unique ability to facilitate connection among people. We cover the differences between the internet and virtual reality, why people feel more accountable in the VR space, and how regulation might work in virtual communities. Listen in for Peter’s insight on the future of XR and learn how virtual experiences can change our lives in the world outside the headset.

Connect with Peter

• Peter in WIRED https://www.wired.com/author/peter-rubin/
• Peter on Twitter https://twitter.com/provenself
• Future Presence: How Virtual Reality is Changing Human Connection, Intimacy, and the Limits of Ordinary Life by Peter Rubin https://www.amazon.com/Future-Presence-Changing-Connection-Intimacy/dp/0062566695

Resources

• Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson https://www.amazon.com/Snow-Crash-Neal-Stephenson/dp/1491515058
• ‘The Inside Story of Oculus Rift and How Virtual Reality Became Reality’ in WIRED https://www.wired.com/2014/05/oculus-rift-4/
• Rainbows End: A Novel with One Foot in the Future by Vernor Vinge https://www.amazon.com/Rainbows-End-Novel-Foot-Future/dp/0812536363
• Where Thoughts Go https://wherethoughtsgo.me/
• Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff https://www.amazon.com/Lovecraft-Country-Novel-Matt-Ruff/dp/0062292072

Connect with Boost VC

• Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/
• Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/
• Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVC

“It’s very likely that the universe is really a kind of a question, rather than the answer to anything,” says philosopher technologist Kevin Kelly. He was the founding editor of WIRED and is an original thinker on shaping the character and spiritual meaning of technology. He says our role as good askers of questions will remain the most important contribution of our species in a coming world of AI.

“It’s very likely that the universe is really a kind of a question, rather than the answer to anything,” says philosopher technologist Kevin Kelly. He was the founding editor of WIRED and is an original thinker on shaping the character and spiritual meaning of technology. He says our role as good askers of questions will remain the most important contribution of our species in a coming world of AI. This interview is edited and produced with music and other features in the On Being episode “Kevin Kelly — The Universe Is a Question.” Find more at onbeing.org.

This week on Cooking Issues, Dave and Nastassia are joined in the studio by Don Lee, Evil Cocktail Overlord of the Universe. Tune in to hear the about the latest Spinzall news, Dave's aversion to exposed wires, pectinex, amylase, agar, carbonated cocktails, artificial sweeteners, and more!

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