The Future of Being Human

The Future of Being Human

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Is AI a Cognitive Trojan Horse?
Could on-demand, seductively responsive and highly fluent AI models bypass our "epistemic vigilance" mechanisms, and present a novel cognitive risk?
 • Andrew Maynard
Five voices worth reading in 2026
As I did last year, I thought I'd highlight five writers I enjoy reading, along with a recent post from each that grabbed my attention.
 • Andrew Maynard
Are we living in a foveated reality?
Video games trick players by only rendering in high detail what's being observed. So do spatial computing headsets. Even our eyes and brain do it. Maybe…
 • Andrew Maynard
Revisiting custom GPTs — the good, the bad, and the ... interesting!
It's been a minute but I thought it time to take a fresh look at OpenAI's custom GPT feature. I found myself both frustrated and surprised!
 • Andrew Maynard
Do universities have a future in Trump's plans to accelerate scientific discovery through the use of AI?
The recently announced Genesis Mission sets out to transform how science is done in the US. Yet it's a mission that places national labs—and not…
 • Andrew Maynard

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What does responsible innovation mean in an age of accelerating AI?
The new AI 2027 scenario suggests artificial intelligence may outpace our ability to develop it responsibly. How seriously should we take this?
 • Andrew Maynard
The "hard" concept of care in technology innovation
Does a lack of care in how we develop and use new technologies risk turning us and our creations into "monsters?"
 • Andrew Maynard
The Artisanal Intellectual in the Age of AI
How is advanced artificial intelligence forcing a rethink of the value of human intellectual labor?
 • Andrew Maynard
AI at a Crossroads: The Unfinished Work of Aligning Technology with Humanity
Where the Vatican and AI Scientists Converge, Collide, and Challenge Us to Think Differently
Navigating the Ethical Dilemmas of Human-Enhancing Brain-Computer Interfaces
An important new essay by Emma Gordon and Anil Seth explores the ethical, legal and scientific implications of BCIs' designed to enhance performance
 • Andrew Maynard
We have a technology problem – and it probably isn't what you think
Technology innovation is often seen as a problem or a solution when it comes to building better futures. But the relationship between tech and the…
 • Andrew Maynard
In Bill Joy's "Why The Future Doesn't Need us" AI is nowhere, and everywhere
23 years ago, the Sun Microsystems co-founder raised serious concerns about out-of-control technology innovation. As we grapple with the latest wave of…
 • Andrew Maynard
We need to rethink our relationship with the future
We’ve never had more ability to build a better future, or a greater capacity to blow it!
 • Andrew Maynard

Recent posts

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Postscript: Letters from the Department of Intellectual Craft
Plausible AI trajectories and their potential implications to academia: a closing reflection on Letters from the Department of Intellectual Craft
 • Andrew Maynard
Part 3 of Letters from the Department of Intellectual Craft
Part 3 of a three-part serialization of the short story “Letters from the Department of Intellectual Craft”
 • Andrew Maynard
Part 2 of Letters from the Department of Intellectual Craft
Part 2 of a three-part serialization of the short story "Letters from the Department of Intellectual Craft"
 • Andrew Maynard
Part 1 of Letters from the Department of Intellectual Craft
Part 1 of a three-part serialization of the short story “Letters from the Department of Intellectual Craft”
 • Andrew Maynard
Preamble: Letters from the Department of Intellectual Craft
What does it mean to be an academic in an age of AI when who you are depends so much on how you use your mind? Over the next few days I'll be…
 • Andrew Maynard
Parasocial Relationships: Problematic Practice or Public Promise?
This year's Cambridge Dictionary Word of the Year is "parasocial"—spurred on by growing concerns over our love affair with AI chatbots
 • Andrew Maynard
Can AI help redesign the technosphere—and so save the planet?
If AI is going to help save the planet, we’re going to have to point it away from the Earth and toward our techno-human selves.
 • Clark Miller
Is planetary health without AI moribund?
A new report from the Stockholm Resilience Center doesn't go quite that far, but it does underline the importance—as well as the pitfalls—of using AI to…
 • Andrew Maynard
Should universities be doing more to address the mental health risks of using AI?
Emerging concerns suggests they should
 • Andrew Maynard
The Future of Being Human
The Future of Being Human
Reflections on tech, society & the future from advanced technology transitions expert and self-confessed "undisciplinarian" Professor Andrew Maynard.
Recommendations
View all 13
AI Supremacy
AI Supremacy
Michael Spencer
Multidisciplined
Multidisciplined
Austin Wiggins
Sustain What
Sustain What
Andy Revkin
The Honest Broker
The Honest Broker
Roger Pielke Jr.
Oscillator
Oscillator
Christina Agapakis
Useful Links
Andrew Maynard web page
ASU Future of Being Human initiative
Risk Innovation nexus
2020 Science Blog (Archive)
Book: Films from the Future
Book: Future Rising

Artificial Intelligence

View all
Is AI a Cognitive Trojan Horse?
Could on-demand, seductively responsive and highly fluent AI models bypass our "epistemic vigilance" mechanisms, and present a novel cognitive risk?
 • Andrew Maynard
Revisiting custom GPTs — the good, the bad, and the ... interesting!
It's been a minute but I thought it time to take a fresh look at OpenAI's custom GPT feature. I found myself both frustrated and surprised!
 • Andrew Maynard
Do universities have a future in Trump's plans to accelerate scientific discovery through the use of AI?
The recently announced Genesis Mission sets out to transform how science is done in the US. Yet it's a mission that places national labs—and not…
 • Andrew Maynard
Postscript: Letters from the Department of Intellectual Craft
Plausible AI trajectories and their potential implications to academia: a closing reflection on Letters from the Department of Intellectual Craft
 • Andrew Maynard
Part 3 of Letters from the Department of Intellectual Craft
Part 3 of a three-part serialization of the short story “Letters from the Department of Intellectual Craft”
 • Andrew Maynard
Part 2 of Letters from the Department of Intellectual Craft
Part 2 of a three-part serialization of the short story "Letters from the Department of Intellectual Craft"
 • Andrew Maynard
Part 1 of Letters from the Department of Intellectual Craft
Part 1 of a three-part serialization of the short story “Letters from the Department of Intellectual Craft”
 • Andrew Maynard
Preamble: Letters from the Department of Intellectual Craft
What does it mean to be an academic in an age of AI when who you are depends so much on how you use your mind? Over the next few days I'll be…
 • Andrew Maynard
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