In this eye-opening (and occasionally jaw-dropping) episode of The AI Philosopher, we are joined by two top minds on the future of work, society, and technology—Joe Sterling, a futurist and systems thinker, and Tobin Trevarthen, a strategic narrative expert helping companies navigate disruption.
What unfolds is a wild, fast-moving conversation about the very strange world we’re all barreling into… whether we’re ready or not.
From AI agents who flirt for you on dating apps to digital clones attending meetings in your place, the world of tomorrow is already knocking on our door. We dive into how artificial intelligence is reshaping identity, labor, leadership—even love.
But it’s not just about the shiny new tech. Joe and Tobin help us zoom out to see the bigger picture: we’re apparently living through the final act of an 80-year historical cycle, a societal “winter” where old systems break down before something new can take root. This cycle, which has repeated throughout history, is speeding up thanks to the explosive rise of AI. We’re dismantling everything from job titles to government trust—and building something radically new in its place.
The question is: what are we building? And more importantly, why?
Our guests weigh in on the math of the AI economy: If a $1,000 robot can replace a $55,000 employee, what happens to all that extra money? Do we use it to uplift society—healthcare, education, UBI—or will it concentrate power even more? These aren’t sci-fi hypotheticals.
They’re real dilemmas we’ll likely face in the next 36 months.
We also tackle the growing emotional and social fallout to tech. What happens to purpose, meaning, and human connection in a world where bots do the work and even fill the relationships? Can we maintain a social fabric when we no longer need each other in the same ways?
It might sound like it but the tone isn’t all doom and gloom. Joe and Tobin offer a guarded optimism: If we’re intentional, we can use AI to heal what’s broken. We can shift from a transactional society to a more relational one. We can build trust between people—and even between people and machines.
Last, we bring a spiritual lens to the mix, asking whether this strange moment in history is actually a classroom—an opportunity for soul growth and collective evolution. Maybe we’re not here to merely survive our weird future.
Maybe we’re here to grow through it.
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