Are we using AI in a way that actually makes us smarter or are we unknowingly making ourselves less capable, less curious, and easier to automate?

On this episode of Digital Disruption, we are joined by artificial intelligence expert and neuroscientist, Dr. Vivienne Ming.

Over her career, Dr. Vivienne Ming has founded 6 startups, been chief scientist at 2 others, and founded The Human Trust, a philanthropic data trust and “mad science incubator” that explores seemingly intractable problems—from a lone child’s disability to global economic inclusion—for free. She co-founded Dionysus Health, combining AI and epigenetics to invent the first ever biological test for postpartum depression and change the lives of millions of families. She also develops AI tools for learning at home and in school, models of bias in hiring and promotion, and neurotechnologies to treat dementia and TBI. Vivienne was named one of “10 Women to Watch in Tech” by Inc. Magazine and one of the BBC’s 100 Women in 2017. She is featured frequently for her research and inventions in The Financial Times, The Atlantic, Quartz Magazine and the New York Times.

Dr. Vivienne Ming sits down with Geoff to unpack one of the most misunderstood truths about artificial intelligence: AI isn’t here to replace your thinking it’s here to challenge it. And whether you grow or get left behind depends entirely on how you choose to engage with it. Dr. Ming reveals why most organizations and most individuals are using AI in the worst possible way. Instead of creating leverage, they’re creating “work slop,” cognitive dependency, shallow automation, and declining human capability. She explains why the real competitive advantage in the AI age comes from productive friction, creative complementarity, and teams that know how to use AI to explore the ill-posed problems—the ambiguous, uncertain, high-value challenges machines can’t solve on their own. From how to robot-proof your company, to why AI tutors fail when they give answers, to the science of courage, reward systems, and organizational culture, this conversation is one of the most honest explorations of the future of human capability in an AI-saturated world.

In this video:

00:00 Intro

02:30 The real value of hybrid intelligence

05:00 Cognitive automation vs. true complementarity

08:20 Ill-posed problems: where humans still win

12:10 What elite performers really do differently

16:00 The paradox of AI: why more automation creates more work

18:30 How hybrid teams beat prediction markets

20:50 Inequality & imagination disease in AI

23:10 AI tutors & the golden rule: never give the answer

28:00 The nemesis prompt: how to robot-proof yourself

44:20 Courage, ethics & reward structures in organizations

54:00 Using AI without losing the human story

01:06:30 How to robot-proof your company

Connect with Vivienne:

Website: https://socos.org/about-vivienne

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivienneming/

Visit our website: https://www.infotech.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=podcastFollow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@InfoTechRG

If AI is becoming a “playground” for experimentation, are today’s organizations bold enough to explore it or are they still too afraid to try?

On this episode of Digital Disruption, we are joined by Kenneth Cukier, Deputy Executive Editor at The Economist and bestselling author.

Kenneth Cukier is the Deputy Executive Editor at The Economist. He is the author of several books on technology and society, notably “Framers” on the power of mental models and the limitations of AI, with Viktor Mayer-Schönberger and Francis de Vericourt, as well as “Big Data: A Revolution That Transforms How We Live, Work and Think” with Viktor. It was a NYT bestseller translated into over 20 languages, and sold over two million copies worldwide. It won the National Library of China’s Wenjin Book Award and was a finalist for the FT Business Book of the Year. Kenn also coauthored a follow-on book, “Learning with Big Data: The Future of Education”. He has been a frequent commentator on CBS, CNN, NPR, the BBC and was a member of the World Economic Forum’s global council on data-driven development.

Kenneth has spent decades at the intersection of AI, journalism, business strategy, and global policy. In this conversation, he sits down with Geoff to share candid insights on how AI is reshaping organizations, leadership, economics, and the future of work. He breaks down the real state of AI, what’s hype, what’s real, and what it means for workers, leaders, and companies. Kenneth explains how AI is shifting from automating tasks to expanding the frontier of knowledge, why today’s multi-trillion-dollar AI investment wave is both overhyped and underhyped, and how everything from healthcare to management is poised to transform. This episode explores why most companies should treat AI as a “playground” for experimentation, how The Economist is using generative AI behind the scenes, the human skills needed to stay competitive, and why great leadership now requires enabling curiosity, psychological safety, and responsible innovation. Kenneth also unpacks the growing “AI-lash,” the limits of GDP as a measure of progress, and why the organizations that learn fastest, not the ones that simply know the most, will win the future.

In this episode:

00:00 Intro

05:00 AI Today: Overhyped, underhyped, or both?

10:00 From Big Data to LLMs: How we got here

15:00 The $3 trillion AI wave: What it really signals

20:00 Automation vs. knowledge expansion

25:00 Inside The Economist: How they actually use Generative AI

30:00 Why “more content” isn’t a strategy

35:00 Leadership in the age of AI: Curiosity, judgment, culture

40:00 The skills humans must keep and why they matter more now

45:00 The rise of the “AI-lash” and public skepticism

50:00 GDP, progress, and what we’re measuring wrong

55:00 Why the fastest learners win the future

1:01:00 What can this technology really do?

Connect with Kenneth:

Connect with Kenneth:

Website: http://www.cukier.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenneth-cukier-9ab56335/

X: https://x.com/kncukier

Visit our website: https://www.infotech.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=podcast

Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@InfoTechRG

What does the future of work really look like when AI, identity, and culture collide?

On this episode of Digital Disruption, we’re joined by Dr. Anne-Marie Imafidon, Chair of the Institute for the Future of Work.

Anne-Marie is a leading voice in the tech world, known for her work as a trustee at the Institute for the Future of Work and as the temporary Arithmetician on Channel 4’s Countdown. A former child prodigy who passed A-level computing at 11 and earned a Master’s in Maths and Computer Science from Oxford by 20, she has since spoken globally for companies including Facebook, Amazon, Google and Mastercard. She hosts the acclaimed Women Tech Charge podcast and is a sought-after presenter who has interviewed figures such as Jack Dorsey and Sir Lewis Hamilton. Anne-Marie has received multiple Honorary Doctorates, serves on several national boards, and continues to champion diversity and innovation in tech. Her latest book, She’s In CTRL, was published in 2022.

Dr. Anne-Marie joins Geoff to break down how AI, big data, quantum, and the wider “Fourth Industrial Revolution” are transforming jobs, workplaces, identity, culture, and society. From redefining long-held beliefs about “jobs for life,” to the cultural fractures emerging between companies, workers, and society, Dr. Anne-Marie goes deep on what’s changing, what still isn’t understood, and what leaders must do right now to avoid being left behind. This conversation dives into why most AI use cases are still limited to fraud detection and customer service, and the hidden cultural blockers preventing real transformation. She emphasizes the danger of hype cycles, and how to stay focused on real value and how to build organizations that can experiment, learn, and make “high-quality mistakes.”

In this episode:

00:00 Intro

00:31 The Future of Work: What’s changing now

02:32 Generational identity, legacy jobs & why work is no longer “for life”

04:36 Work identity crisis & fragmentation of modern careers

07:45 Rethinking digital transformation & the fourth industrial revolution

11:36 Why the institute avoids the AI hype & looks beyond it

13:39 AI Hype vs. reality

17:50 High-quality mistakes

21:06 Tech design failures

23:18 Culture, customers & building organizations that reflect the real world

29:04 Destroying the “Einstein Myth” & rewriting who tech is for

39:37 First-principles thinking

50:34 Norms, unintended consequences & system-level change

55:32 When will the dust settle? ai timelines, disruption & what’s next

57:28 Closing thoughts

Connect with Dr. Ann-Marie:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aimafidon/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notyouraverageami/

Visit our website: https://www.infotech.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=podcast

Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@InfoTechRG