The Rip Current

When I first came on his show, Andrew Keen took a dim view of my ideas about how we might fight back against the psychological effects of AI in my 2022 book The Loop, and to be honest: he was right. The “how to fight back” section of the book was thin, largely because I was hanging (and still hang) so much of my hopes on the idea that the courts will save us. So I asked him if he’d like to revisit our conversation on his show, and he graciously agreed. Here’s how it went!The Rip Current by Jacob Ward is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theripcurrent.com/subscribe

AI ethics consultant Olivia Gambelin has been fighting to make her clients in Silicon Valley understand that good ethics are good business, and to make regulators in Europe see that good business can also have good ethics. It’s a tough gig. Gambelin, who advises both AI companies in Silicon Valley and regulators in Brussels, talks techno-solutionism, the challenges of implementing ethical AI practices when there’s always that one evangelist in the room trying to go too far too fast, and her worries about what she considers the top truly unacceptable category of AI product out there today.The Rip Current by Jacob Ward is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.00:00 Introduction to Techno Solutionism00:44 Meet Olivia Gambelin: AI Ethics Consultant01:56 Olivia’s Journey: From Bay Area to Brussels08:19 The Role of Ethical Intelligence14:38 Challenges in AI Implementation21:50 The Future of AI in the Workplace32:51 Introduction to AI Regulation in Brussels34:05 Cultural Differences in AI Regulation36:29 Challenges in European AI Literacy38:32 Behavioral Science and AI Manipulation44:22 Ethics in AI: Business vs. Regulation51:17 The Need for AI Regulation in the US56:00 Ethical Boundaries in AI Applications01:00:53 Positive Applications of AI01:05:18 Conclusion and Final Thoughts This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theripcurrent.com/subscribe

TikTok is no different than any other social media company (it wants to serve you irresistible content by predicting your tastes algorithmically), and its processes aren't either (it threw spaghetti and money against the wall until it stuck). But its status as a Chinese company, the first globally successful Chinese media export, and a deeply powerful g… This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theripcurrent.com/subscribe

AI is making people crazy. And I don’t mean in the sense that it’s driving tech observers like me crazy, with its reckless adoption path and dishonest marketing and screwy incentives. I mean it’s literally making otherwise reasonable people believe that their AI chatbots are lovers, or prisoners, or prophets of hidden wisdom. In this hourlong conversati… This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theripcurrent.com/subscribe

Are you ready to get in a tube built by billionaires and stay there for nine months? Ready to live in caves on the other side? And who is in charge of this dreary outpost anyway? In this episode of The Rip Current, David Ariosto, author of Open Space: From Earth to Eternity, the Global Race to Explore and Conquer the Cosmos and host of the Space Minds podcast, joins Jake to explore the motivations behind private and state-funded space travel, the potential for settlements on the Moon and Mars, and the ethical implications of billionaire-led space enterprises. We talk about the fragility of the human body in space, the viability of actually governing space settlements, and the technological advancements driving the space industry. Who really holds the power in the final frontier?00:00 Introduction to Space Exploration00:30 The Rip Current: Big Invisible Forces00:32 The Leap of Faith in Space01:20 Guest Introduction: David Sto03:22 The Commercialization of Space05:57 Technological Advances and Market Potential13:41 Geopolitical Implications of Space Exploration21:50 Human vs. Robotic Space Missions34:24 Facing Death: The Mindset of Test Pilots35:52 Astronaut's Dream: Franklin Chang Diaz's Story37:56 Psychological Impact of Space Travel39:55 Billionaires in Space: Elon Musk and Beyond41:48 NASA's Changing Role in Space Exploration51:17 The Future of Space Colonization59:44 The Vastness of Space and Human Survival01:05:40 Conclusion: The Drive to Explore the Cosmos This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theripcurrent.com/subscribe

OpenAI described its newest model as a pocket full of PhDs, a cancer doula, and a eulogy writer. But behind the headlines are the enormous pressures building on this industry. Here’s a breakdown of what we learned today. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theripcurrent.com/subscribe

As you’ll hear in this episode, I’m considering renaming this whole enterprise — the newsletter and the show — so I’m not hiding what I do behind a needlessly esoteric brand name. The new name I’m considering is the name of a book I’m working on, Great Ideas We Should Not Pursue. So fair warning you may see me roll out a whole new thing in the coming we… This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theripcurrent.com/subscribe

Programming note: My apologies to listeners for the weeklong break that I took last week, and the weeklong break I’ll be taking next week. We’ll be back in the saddle the week of July 28th. See you then! Back in 2006, a young interface designer came up with the idea that rather than making people click to another page to continue reading, they should ju… This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theripcurrent.com/subscribe

We’ve all experienced loneliness, but could you really describe what it is, and what it does to you, beyond the physical experience of isolation? Before this conversation, I couldn’t. But David Jay has taken the invisible, unnameable effects of loneliness and turned them into an actionable recipe for evaluating and improving friendship and community in … This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theripcurrent.com/subscribe

Adam Rogers is a science journalist and the author of two amazing books about how we experience the world. His second, Full Spectrum, is about color. But we're here to discuss his first, Proof: The Science of Booze. Not just booze, though — what it symbolizes about magic and alchemy and history and chaos, and why our relationship to it is so fraught and fun and terrible. Basically what I learned is that it would improve the world enormously if everyone had to learn to handle themselves at a bar, but that we somehow need to do it without actually drinking. Also he's a great friend of mine, and it's my show, and I can have my friends on sometimes, okay? If you like this show, do me a favor and share it with someone else! It helps enormously in bringing me to a new audience. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theripcurrent.com/subscribe