Part two of my conversation with Mike Conklin turns to education, art, and community. The common thread is the value of process.

Episode in a 🌰:

We discuss grades, art, social media, and Saturday Night Live, asking whether shortcuts are erasing the process that makes us most human. From Ship of Theseus to mortality keeping us grounded, we linger on creativity, collaboration, and the joy of being together.

In season 2, I highlight one-to-one chats with teachers, professors, and mentors. The primary question for this entire season will remain the same: What makes a human, human? (The exceptions are episodes with special guests, where we might deviate from this topic.)

TIMESTAMPS

[00:00:51] School as means vs. ends

[00:02:07] AI art and the irreplaceable value of process

[00:04:56] Survival vs. meaning: can you treasure the means if the world values ends?

[00:07:23] AI in creative industries and the threat to livelihoods

[00:08:27] Collaboration, comedy writing, and our humanity in process

[00:10:12] Ship of Theseus

[00:13:00] Biology, mortality, and the essence of humanness

[00:16:57] Can AI make mistakes or have moods?

[00:20:16] Nostalgia, cell phones, and rediscovering community

[00:23:30] The joy of thinking aloud with someone else

🥜 Hypothetical Nut of the Day:

If an AI could perfectly imitate human conversation, would it be the same as talking to a person?

Hope you enjoyed the ep!