AI and I

• Being Human in the Age of Intelligent Machines - Ep. 54 with Dr. Alan Lightman

  AI forces us to reckon with what makes us human—a question caught between science and spirituality that MIT’s Dr. Alan Lightman is uniquely placed to explore.Dr. Lightman is a physicist, bestselling novelist, and professor of the practice of humanities at MIT. As one of the first at MIT to hold a joint faculty position in both the sciences and the humanities, he’s at ease walking the line between the two disciplines.I loved Dr. Lightman’s book Einstein’s Dreams, so I was psyched to have him on the show. We spent an hour talking about:Being a “spiritual materialist”: Dr. Lightman’s philosophy that knowing the scientific explanation for natural phenomena—like spiderwebs and lightning bolts—deepens our experience and feeling of wonder.The nature of consciousness: He believes that consciousness is a subjective experience emerging from the tangible activity of billions of neurons firing in our brains.AI isn’t conscious, even though it might appear to be: AI might display manifestations of consciousness—like the ability to plan for the future—but whether it has an inner experience in the truest sense is a fundamentally different question.Challenge your conceptions of what “natural” means: Dr. Lightman argues that since humans evolved through natural selection, everything our brains create—from eyeglasses and hearing aids to AI—can be considered “natural” as they are inevitable consequences of our naturally evolved intelligenceAI that can do more than just data retrieval: Modern neural networks begin to approximate something resembling genuine thinking because the “digital neurons” process information in complex, non-linear ways.Evolution that blurs the lines between biology and technology: Dr. Lightman argues we’re driving our own evolution toward the “homo techno,” hybrid beings that merge human and machine; early examples include brain implants that enable paralyzed individuals to control robotic limbs.Dr. Lightman also recently published a new book called The Miraculous From the Material, a collection of essays that combine scientific explanations of natural phenomena with his personal reflections on them. It has tons of striking pictures that you should check out.This is a must watch for anyone interested in science, spirituality, and what it means to be human in the age of AI.If you found this episode interesting, please like, subscribe, comment, and share! Want even more?Sign up for Every to unlock our ultimate guide to prompting ChatGPT here: https://every.ck.page/ultimate-guide-to-prompting-chatgpt. It’s usually only for paying subscribers, but you can get it here for free.To hear more from Dan Shipper:Subscribe to Every: https://every.to/subscribe Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/danshipper Timestamps:Introduction: 00:01:18Science can deepen your sense of the spiritual: 00:02:36The nature of consciousness: 00:11:31AI might appear to be conscious, but it isn’t: 00:13:11Why AI can be considered to be “natural”: 00:19:50AI shifts the focus of science from explanations to predictions: 00:30:40How modern neural networks simulate thinking: 00:33:48Lightman’s vision for how humans and machines will merge: 00:39:38 Does AI know more about love than you?: 00:43:11How technology is accelerating the pace of our lives: 00:49:18Links to resources mentioned in the episode:Alan Lightman: https://cmsw.mit.edu/alan-lightman/ Lightman’s books: The Miraculous From the Material, Einstein's DreamsHis documentary: Searching: Our Quest for Meaning in the Age of ScienceWalt Whitman’s poem: When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer

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• He’s Using AI to Optimize His Life - Ep. 53 with Jonny Miller

  Jonny Miller uploaded his entire life to ChatGPT to use it as the ultimate AI coach. He created what he calls a Codex Vitae—with core personality traits, values, goals, burnout signals and more to load into ChatGPT. It hyper-customizes his responses, to help him access deep meditation states, create custom supplementation plans, and do deep research on areas of brain and body that he finds interesting.  Jonny runs a course on nervous system mastery, hosts a podcast, coaches founders and CEOs, and is building a wellness app—all using AI. As a long-time friend and writer for @every, I was psyched to have Jonny on AI & I to talk about how LLMs are expanding the breadth and depth of what he can do. We get into: Energy as your greatest asset: Jonny’s philosophy around pursuing a non-traditional path—like us at Every—by fiercely protecting his energy and optimizing for “aliveness” instead of higher revenue figures.ChatGPT projects for everything: His use of projects in @ChatGPTapp to organize different areas of his life; for example, he uploads his meditation journal to a Jhana project and asks it for advice when he’s struggling with the practice on a particular day.Deep research in action: How he uses @OpenAI’s deep research to tackle practical questions about moving his family to Costa Rica, hilariously esoteric ones about whether there’s a connection between Pokémon and shamanism, and everything that lies in between.The rise of “centaur” teams: Jonny’s belief that @kevin2kelly’s prediction around “centaurs”—human + AI teams outperforming either human or AI working alone—is becoming our reality.This is a must watch for anyone interested in using AI for personal development, coaching, or to build systems that can understand you. If you found this episode interesting, please like, subscribe, comment, and share! Want even more?Sign up for Every to unlock our ultimate guide to prompting ChatGPT here: https://every.ck.page/ultimate-guide-to-prompting-chatgpt. It’s usually only for paying subscribers, but you can get it here for free.To hear more from Dan Shipper:Subscribe to Every: https://every.to/subscribe Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/danshipper Timestamps:Introduction: 00:01:31Dan and Jonny’s approach to running non-traditional businesses: 00:02:18How Jonny uses ChatGPT to deepen his meditation practice: 00:12:04Jonny uses AI to research a theory of how trauma is stored in our bodies: 00:25:44Dan’s theory around how AI is changing science: 00:31:28Jonny’s method to build personalized AI coaches: 00:32:35How Jonny used OpenAI’s deep research to plan a move to Costa Rica: 00:47:07Dan is developing an app that can predict his OCD symptoms: 00:52:50AI makes the idea of a “quantified self” useful: 00:55:42The future of human-AI coaching teams: 00:58:28Links to resources mentioned in the episode:Jonny Miller: @jonnym1llerThe nervous system mastery bootcamp: https://www.nsmastery.com/ His podcast: Curious Humans with Jonny Miller The nervous system regulation mobile app: Stateshift Jonny’s method to build your AI coach: http://BuildyourAIcoach.com More about Jhana: https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/09/20/meditative-states-as-mental-feedback-loops/ Buster Benson’s Codex Vitate: https://2019.busterbenson.com/beliefs/The pieces Jonny has written for Every: “The Operating Manual for Your Nervous System,” “The Best Decision-Making Is Emotional,” “How to Pay Off Your Emotional Debt,” “The Art and Science of Interoception”     

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• I Interviewed New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy about AI - Ep. 52 with Governor Phil Murphy

  I interviewed the Governor of New Jersey Phil Murphy.We spent an hour talking about his vision for AI in government, economic development, and the regulatory challenges ahead. His approach is refreshingly pragmatic: Spark real innovation at scale. Governor Murphy is laying the groundwork through an AI hub that pools the strengths of the government, academia (Princeton University), legacy tech (Microsoft), and next-gen players (CoreWeave). Creating a place for the brightest minds to live and work. He’s making the Garden State irresistible for the best talent through walkable communities, legal recreational cannabis, and an angel investment tax credit.AI that augments teams, instead of replacing them. The Governor sees AI as an “accelerant” that enables teams to do more with the same number of employees. He’s walking the talk by training 61,000 NJ state employees in AI to automate busy work and free them to focus on strategic tasks.An integrated regulatory framework for AI. He believes that a technology as pervasive as AI should be regulated at a national level because the state-by-state approach could stifle innovation. Governor Phil Murphy is the first governor I’ve ever had on the show and I was honored he took the time to come on. I was also especially excited to do this because I grew up in New Jersey! This is a must watch for anyone interested in the intersection of AI and policy.If you found this episode interesting, please like, subscribe, comment, and share! Want even more?Sign up for Every to unlock our ultimate guide to prompting ChatGPT here: https://every.ck.page/ultimate-guide-to-prompting-chatgpt. It’s usually only for paying subscribers, but you can get it here for free.To hear more from Dan Shipper:Subscribe to Every: https://every.to/subscribe Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/danshipper Timestamps for Spotify:Introduction: 00:02:00Why there should be a nation-wide framework to regulate AI: 00:04:31How 61,000 state employees in New Jersey are adopting AI: 00:10:34Why new tech is key to transforming government services: 00:12:20The Governor is bringing startups back to New Jersey: 00:17:30How to stimulate innovation at scale: 00:25:28The Governor is making New Jersey a top choice for the best talent: 00:33:07Balancing technological progress while ensuring the workforce isn’t left behind: 00:36:56We’re moving toward an “allocation economy”: 00:41:39The Governor’s take on international regulation of AI: 00:43:43Links to resources mentioned in the episode:Governor Phil Murphy: @GovMurphyMore about the New Jersey AI Hub: https://njaihub.org/ 

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• Prompt Your Way To Personal Growth - Ep. 51 with Steve Schlafman

  Steve Schlafman is using a $20 ChatGPT subscription to expand his consciousness.He’s doing this through:Advanced dream work—Steve records himself talking about his dreams every morning, uploads the transcript to ChatGPT, and prompts the LLM to analyze it like a Jungian dream analyst would. The model pulls out archetypes and hidden emotions that he would’ve been oblivious to.Creating living records of meaningful experiences—Instead of losing key insights from therapy or coaching, Steve uses the LLM to highlight emotional patterns, pick out recurring symbols, and build a personal growth timeline.Leaning into voice interfaces—Diagnosed with ADD as a child, Steve often lost track of ideas because his brain processed information faster than he could type or write it out. AI voice interfaces free him to process information in a way that’s more natural to him.Steve is a former VC-turned-executive coach and the founder of Downshift, the “decelerator” for founders and executives. If you think this episode is too “woo” for your liking, Steve argues that you might be over-indexing on just one way of experiencing the world. We see the world through four windows: thinking, sensing, feeling, and imagining—and according to him, the last two are often ignored. So if your rational mind has always run the show, Steve invites you to let your feelings and imagination take the lead.This is a must watch for anyone interested in using AI to understand themselves better—and grow.  If you found this episode interesting, please like, subscribe, comment, and share! Want even more?Sign up for Every to unlock our ultimate guide to prompting ChatGPT here: https://every.ck.page/ultimate-guide-to-prompting-chatgpt. It’s usually only for paying subscribers, but you can get it here for free.To hear more from Dan Shipper:Subscribe to Every: https://every.to/subscribe Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/danshipper Introduction: 00:01:07The power of treating your startup as an evolving entity: 00:03:00Building a business as a means of self-expression: 00:05:27Prompting ChatGPT to do Jungian dream work: 00:17:45Why you should listen to this episode, especially if it feels too “woo’” for you: 00:21:44Visualizing Steve’s dream with ChatGPT: 00:36:31Creating living records of meaning experiences with AI: 00:47:38If you tend to think faster than you can type, lean into voice interfaces: 00:49:37How Steve writes with AI: 00:52:13How AI will disrupt traditional coaching and therapy: 00:54:03

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• How AI Startups Can Win With Better Strategy - Ep. 50 with Mike Maples

  Our sponsor for this episode is Microsoft. Want seamless collaboration without the cost? Microsoft Teams offers a robust free plan for individuals that delivers unlimited chat, 60-minute video meetings, and file sharing—all within one intuitive workspace that keeps your projects moving forward. Head to https://aka.ms/every to use Teams for free, and experience effortless collaboration, today.Mike Maples knows how AI startups can beat incumbents with billions of dollars. Mike—who wrote early checks to Twitter, Twitch, Okta, and Lyft, and now invests through Floodgate, the fund he cofounded—told me it's not about the smartest model, or raising the most money. Startups can win in AI with better strategy.AI is changing the economics of startups—both how they’re started and how they’re funded. A new breed of companies is emerging, and I invited Mike on the show to talk about how they can best strategize. Last year, Mike co-authored a book called Pattern Breakers, which is essentially a guidebook to why there’s no guidebook to building companies. I really liked it, and my colleague Evan Armstrong reviewed it for Every, so I was glad to have him on. We talk about how shifts in technology create space for smaller players to compete—even with AI giants like OpenAI—and how to capitalize on them.If you found this episode interesting, please like, subscribe, comment, and share! Want even more?Sign up for Every to unlock our ultimate guide to prompting ChatGPT here: https://every.ck.page/ultimate-guide-to-prompting-chatgpt. It’s usually only for paying subscribers, but you can get it here for free.To hear more from Dan Shipper:Subscribe to Every: https://every.to/subscribe Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/danshipper Timestamps for Spotify:Introduction: 00:02:20Innovate the business model, not just the product: 00:06:02How startups can compete against the likes of OpenAI: 00:15:49Mike’s take on DeepSeek: 00:19:34Why the future has always belonged to the tinkerers: 00:21:44How small teams today can make big money: 00:24:03Find niches that incumbents can’t or don’t want to enter: 00:28:55The qualities of the truly AI-native: 00:47:08How AI changes the funding model for software companies: 00:53:46Knowledge work is moving toward systems-level thinking: 00:58:23Links to resources mentioned in the episode:Mike Maple: @m2jrThe fund Mike confounded, Floodgate: @floodgatefundEvan’s piece reviewing Pattern Breakers: "A New Book of the Startup Bible" Dan’s piece on the allocation economy: "The Knowledge Economy Is Over. Welcome to the Allocation Economy." 

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