Creative Discourse
Creative Discourse Podcast
The moral (and political) panic over technology
0:00
-30:55

The moral (and political) panic over technology

People are terrified by uncertainty… and, unfortunately, our technological future is full of it.

Moral and cultural panics about what the future is going to bring is… well, it’s just part of the human condition. Just like every generation thinks the one that came before it is out of touch, and the one that comes after it is bringing about the destruction of the world, people are prone to panic over whatever comes next.

Nowhere is this more obvious than the rapidly progressing world of technology. With Artificial Intelligence making massive advancements and social media being blamed for almost everything that ails society, there is no shortage of people wringing their hands about the possible harm of such tech.

Shoshana Weissman from R Street Institute joined me to talk about this cultural panic — which is quickly turning into a regulatory rush among lawmakers. More importantly, we engage one of the most overlooked aspects of all these worrisome, frightening and potentially-job-killing technologies:

Why are they so awesome?

[Click the player above to listen to this episode or add to your favorite podcast provider.]

Share


The value of human creativity is something AI can't replicate

·
March 22, 2023
The value of human creativity is something AI can't replicate

Artificial Intelligence is a bit of a touchy subject in the creative world right now — and for somewhat understandable reasons. The rise of “generative AI” engines — computer models that can create stunning images and content from mere prompts given to it by someone behind a keyboard — has also given rise to a

Culture and division in 'the information age'

·
April 5, 2023
Culture and division in 'the information age'

The prospect of an AI apocalypse notwithstanding, our technological progress over the last century is something to behold… yet many blame this “information age” for much of our current political and cultural rot. And it’s easy to see why. A quick perusal on social media makes it pretty obvious our collective hivemind of interconnected digital networks suffers from severe

If we replaced Hollywood writers with AI… would anyone notice?

·
May 3, 2023
If we replaced Hollywood writers with AI… would anyone notice?

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has, apparently, gone on strike — representing the first Hollywood strike in 15 years. To put things into perspective, the last time there was a writer’s strike, Conan O’Brien spent portions of his show trying to spin his wedding ring

Discussion about this episode