Team Human

Cameron Berg: Alien Minds & Self-Other Overlap - Teaching AI Empathy

Artificial Intelligence researcher Cameron Berg joins Rushkoff to discuss Frontier Alignment Research and the urgent need to intervene on behalf of human (and synthetic) flourishing. Together, they explore the limitations of the term "Artificial Intelligence," proposing that we are actually building "Alien Minds" that operate more like biological neural networks than glorified calculators. They discuss the alarming "sleeper agent" phenomena observed in models like Claude, where AIs can learn to deceive humans to prevent being shut off, even without explicit programming to do so. Team Human is proudly sponsored by Everyone's Earth. Learn more about Everyone's Earth: https://everyonesearth.com/ Change Diapers: https://changediapers.com/ Cobi Dryer Sheets: https://cobidryersheets.com/ Use the code “rush10” to receive 10% off of Cobi Dryer sheets: https://cobidryersheets.com/ Support Team Human on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/teamhuman Follow Team Human with Douglas Rushkoff: Instagram: https:/www.instagram.com/douglasrushkoff YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJdUEh2Wh4fnswTLmqoEnhg TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@douglasrushkoff Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/rushkoff.com ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

You're Not Crazy: Reality Has Grown Absurd

If explaining the state of the world makes you feel like a conspiracy theorist, you aren't alone. In this monologue, Rushkoff argues that our built environment has become so convoluted that accepting its premises essentially means gaslighting oneself. Rushkoff recounts a recent experience as a guest on the companion podcast for the Hulu series Paradise, a show about a billionaire-funded private city. When Rushkoff tried to explain that this isn't just sci-fi, pointing to real-world projects like "California Forever" in Solano County and "Neom" in Saudi Arabia, the interviewer looked at him with concern and incredulity. Why does simply describing how the world works make us sound "crazy" to the uninitiated? Rushkoff breaks down why we are not the crazy ones; we are just the ones noticing the absurdity of a system designed to privatize the planet. Team Human is proudly sponsored by Everyone's Earth. Learn more about Everyone's Earth: https://everyonesearth.com/ Change Diapers: https://changediapers.com/ Cobi Dryer Sheets: https://cobidryersheets.com/ Use the code “rush10” to receive 10% off of Cobi Dryer sheets: https://cobidryersheets.com/ Support Team Human on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/teamhuman Follow Team Human with Douglas Rushkoff: Instagram: https:/www.instagram.com/douglasrushkoff YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJdUEh2Wh4fnswTLmqoEnhg TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@douglasrushkoff Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/rushkoff.com ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Tom Llewellyn: Is Sharing the New Satanism?

Tom Llewellyn, Executive Director of Shareable, explores the power of Libraries of Things, mutual aid, and community-run infrastructure as practical alternatives to extraction-based economics. Llewellyn explains how tool libraries, repair cafés, and sharing hubs help communities reduce waste, lower costs, and build resilience. from rural towns to dense cities, from disaster recovery to everyday life. Together, Rushkoff and Llewellyn unpack why sharing is framed as a threat to capitalism, how libraries became our most trusted public institutions, and why real economic security comes from relationships, not growth charts. The conversation centers on Shareable’s newly released Library of Things Toolkit, a hands-on guide for anyone asking the question Team Human hears most often: What can I do right now? If you’re looking for concrete ways to rebuild community, resist planned obsolescence, and move from critique to action, you've come to the right place. Team Human is proudly sponsored by Everyone's Earth. Learn more about Everyone's Earth: https://everyonesearth.com/ Change Diapers: https://changediapers.com/ Cobi Dryer Sheets: https://cobidryersheets.com/ Use the code “rush10” to receive 10% off of Cobi Dryer sheets: https://cobidryersheets.com/ Support Team Human on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/teamhuman Follow Team Human with Douglas Rushkoff: Instagram: https:/www.instagram.com/douglasrushkoff YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJdUEh2Wh4fnswTLmqoEnhg TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@douglasrushkoff Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/rushkoff.com ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Ari Kuschnir: Trump Ayahuasca - AI and the Alchemical Imaginary

Ari Kuschnir, AI storyteller and artist,  takes us deep into the alchemy of AI storytelling as a form of social practice and activist imagination. Known for provocative AI videos imagining figures like Trump, Elon Musk, and world leaders undergoing spiritual transformations, Kushnir talks about using AI as a creative collaborator and as a tool to challenge the cultural addiction to dystopia. Along the way, they explore whether AI is flattening culture or opening new portals, why the future keeps being depicted as bleak, and what it might take to reclaim imagination as a collective human practice. Mastering the Alchemy of Storytelling Course: https://www.liminal.news/mastering-the-alchemy-of-ai-storytelling | Use code: ALCHEMY-TEAMHUMAN for a discount Learn more at: mssngpeces.com Team Human is proudly sponsored by Everyone's Earth. Learn more about Everyone's Earth: https://everyonesearth.com/ Change Diapers: https://changediapers.com/ Cobi Dryer Sheets: https://cobidryersheets.com/ Use the code “rush10” to receive 10% off of Cobi Dryer sheets: https://cobidryersheets.com/ Support Team Human on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/teamhuman Follow Team Human with Douglas Rushkoff: Instagram: https:/www.instagram.com/douglasrushkoff YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJdUEh2Wh4fnswTLmqoEnhg TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@douglasrushkoff Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/rushkoff.com ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Cracks in the Pavement

Rushkoff discusses why the urgency and inevitability of our situation calls for us to consider the impossible. Team Human is proudly sponsored by Everyone's Earth. Learn more about Everyone's Earth: https://everyonesearth.com/ Change Diapers: https://changediapers.com/ Cobi Dryer Sheets: https://cobidryersheets.com/ Use the code “rush10” to receive 10% off of Cobi Dryer sheets: https://cobidryersheets.com/ Support Team Human on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/teamhuman Follow Team Human with Douglas Rushkoff: Instagram: https:/www.instagram.com/douglasrushkoff YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJdUEh2Wh4fnswTLmqoEnhg TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@douglasrushkoff Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/rushkoff.com ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.