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The Human Risk Podcast

The Human Risk Podcast

Auteur(s): Human Risk
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 People are often described as the largest asset in most organisations. They are also the biggest single cause of risk. This podcast explores the topic of 'human risk', or "the risk of people doing things they shouldn't or not doing things they should", and examines how behavioural science can help us mitigate it. It also looks at 'human reward', or "how to get the most out of people". When we manage human risk, we often stifle human reward. Equally, when we unleash human reward, we often inadvertently increase human risk.

To pitch guests please email guest@humanriskpodcast.comCopyright Human Risk Science Sciences sociales
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  • Dr Nicholas Wright on How the Brain Shapes War and War Shapes The Brain

    Dr Nicholas Wright on How the Brain Shapes War and War Shapes The Brain
    Nov 1 2025
    What can war teach us about how the human brain really works? And why is human decision-making a more significant factor than military strength in wars?Episode SummaryOn this episode, I'm exploring how the human brain truly manifests in conflict—and what that reveals about everyday decision-making. Dr Nicholas Wright, a neurologist-turned-neuroscientist who advises the Pentagon Joint Staff, joins me to discuss his new book Warhead: How the Brain Shapes War and War Shapes the Brain. In our conversation, Nick explains why fear is functional, how “will to fight” can outweigh superior force, and why democracies remain capable of catastrophic decisions. He also explains how perception operates as a controlled hallucination anchored to reality rather than a simple sensory feed, and why that distinction matters for strategy, leadership, and risk. Moving from fruit flies to front lines, Nick shows how simple neural chemicals regulate aggression, how the brain’s grid cells create literal maps to navigate danger and opportunity, and how both biological and organisational models can mislead when mistaken for reality. The discussion ranges from 1940 France to Kyiv, from Stalingrad to Gaza, and from deception as a vice to deception as a civic virtue.Nick makes a compelling case for metacognition — the ability to think about one’s own thinking— as the conductor of the brain’s internal orchestra and argues that wisdom—not merely cleverness — must be deliberately designed into leaders and into the next generation of artificial intelligence.We end with practical insights: cultivating “better ignorance,” inviting real dissent in the spirit of Churchill, and creating deliberate spaces for reflection like (I'm delighted to report) long train journeys.Guest Biography Dr Nicholas Wright, MRCP, PhD, is a neuroscientist researching the intersections of the brain, technology, and security at University College London, Georgetown University, and the Center for Strategic & International Studies in Washington, DC. He also serves as an adviser to the Pentagon Joint Staff. Beyond academia, Wright leads projects connecting neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and strategy, and has advised the Pentagon Joint Staff for more than a decade.He consults on AI for SAP and edited Artificial Intelligence, China, Russia, and the Global Order (Air University Press, 2019).His latest book, Warhead: How the Brain Shapes War and War Shapes the Brain, is published by St. Martin’s Press (US) and Pan Macmillan (UK).AI_Generated Time-stamped Summary[00:00:00] Introduction [00:01:00] Nick Wright’s journey from neurologist to defense advisor, applying neuroscience to strategy and AI.[00:04:29] How evolution shaped the human brain for survival and combat — we’re “built to win or survive a fight.”[00:05:59] Fear as a vital yet double-edged emotion; anxiety as a side effect of peace.[00:08:26] Origins of the book Warhead and cultural perceptions of its title.[00:09:39] Why war remains relevant; critique of overconfidence in peace and Pinker’s “Better Angels” thesis.[00:12:01] Lessons from France’s WWII defeat — cognition and morale outweigh material strength.[00:14:41] Ukraine’s resistance as an example of will to fight; psychology as a decisive factor.[00:15:42] Creativity and emotion as essential tools in decision-making; the brain as an orchestra balancing logic and instinct.[00:18:10] What fruit flies reveal about aggression and shared neural circuitry with humans.[00:21:13] Structure of Warhead — using neuroscience to reinterpret history and warfare.[00:26:37] Mental models and how the brain simulates reality to guide choices.[00:30:37] Perception vs. reality — the brain generates, not records, the world we see.[00:35:31] The “uncanny valley” and prediction errors — why imperfect mimicry unsettles us.[00:36:17] Moral symmetry in conflict — both sides perceive their cause as just.[00:38:00] Deception and fog of war — manipulating human perception as a timeless weapon.[00:41:00] WWII story of René Carmille — lying as moral resistance.[00:43:59] Social media, attention, and the loss of reflection — the modern “disease of abundance.”[00:45:41] Wisdom versus cleverness — Churchill’s reflective habits and valuing dissent.[00:48:11] “Better ignorance” and intellectual humility as foundations of wise leadership.[00:51:26] Cognitive diversity, AI, and the need to embed wisdom—not just intelligence—into machines.[00:58:28] From WWII to China today — the enduring need for wisdom in navigating global conflict.LinksNick's website - https://www.intelligentbiology.co.uk/WarHead Nick's book - https://www.intelligentbiology.co.uk/booksNick on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-d-wright-bba3a065/If you liked this episode, you might also like my discussion with Dr Mike Martin - https://www.humanriskpodcast.com/dr-mike-martin-on-war-politics/
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    1 h et 2 min
  • Dr Nikolay Kukushkin on Memory

    Dr Nikolay Kukushkin on Memory
    Oct 25 2025
    What if your body is learning things your mind doesn’t know? What if memory wasn't just something that our brain has?Episode Summary On this episode, I'm exploring a bold idea with neuroscientist Dr Nikolay Kukushkin: memory doesn’t just live in the brain. It might be a basic property of life itself. We unpack how scientists define memory (behavioural change over time) versus how the rest of us use the word, and why that distinction matters—from sea slugs to kidney cells. I ask the “muscle memory” question we all carry, and we separate the metaphor from the biology: your basal ganglia automate behaviours, but your muscle cells do literally adapt to patterned use.We go deep on “patterns.” Nikolay’s work shows that even non-neural cells can detect minute-scale timing differences—preferring spaced pulses over a single crammed dose. That has huge implications for learning, exercise, nutrition, and even medicine; it suggests timing might be as important as quantity. We also talk about sleep as essential “synaptic housekeeping,” why false memories are an adaptive feature (not a failure), and what it really means to “run out of memory” in our overstimulated world.Finally, we tilt at the big questions: how consciousness might have evolved, why Plato’s model of perception eerily echoes today’s top-down/bottom-up neuroscience, and what AI still lacks—learning patterns in time within an embodied world. If you’ve ever crammed for an exam, worried about forgetting your own name, or wondered what your cells are quietly learning from your daily routines, this one will rewire how you think about memory.Guest Biography — Dr Nikolay KukushkinDr Nikolay Kukushkin is a Clinical Associate Professor at NYU. His book One Hand Clapping: Unraveling the Mystery of the Human Mind traces how consciousness emerged from the natural world; the original Russian edition won the Enlightener (Prosvetitel) Award and the Alexander Belyaev Medal.His recent research (Nature Communications, Nov 2024) showed that non-neural human cells display the classic “spacing effect,” suggesting memory-like temporal patterning beyond the brain.AI-Generated Timestamped Summary [00:00:00] Cold open: reframing memory as cellular, not just neural. [00:01:00] Scientists’ definition of memory vs everyday usage. [00:03:00] From behaviour change to cellular change; beyond “plugging a muscle into a brain.” [00:05:00] All cells have experiences; “pattern matters.” [00:06:00] Muscle memory: basal ganglia automation vs literal muscle adaptation. [00:07:00] Shared molecular machinery: “use it or lose it” in brain and muscle. [00:08:00] Nikolay’s path: from molecules to minds; bottom-up neuroscience. [00:09:00] Protein quality control: molecular barcodes and cellular “conversations.” [00:11:00] Why sea slugs: short path from molecules to behaviour. [00:13:00] Hypothesis leap: if single neurons learn from pulses, could kidney cells? [00:14:00] The experiment: four 3-min pulses vs one 12-min pulse (spacing wins). [00:16:00] What’s uniquely neural: synapses and specific connectivity; where salience arises. [00:19:00] Memory without awareness; non-neural systems can store patterns. [00:20:00] Applications: exercise, diet, medicine; timing as a lever. [00:23:00] The dark mirror: life as obsessive optimisation if we over-pattern. [00:24:00] Personal practice: being mindful of inputs, attention as filter. [00:26:00] Debunking “10% of the brain” and the sleep–memory link. [00:28:00] Sleep weakens synapses; deprivation leads to saturation and hallucinations. [00:30:00] The social-media “soup” analogy for saturated memory. [00:32:00] Names, identity and rehearsal; de-naming as degradation. [00:33:00] Reconsolidation: why false memories are a feature we need. [00:34:00] 9/11/Challenger studies: how memories drift with time. [00:36:00] Ebbinghaus and the spacing effect across species and systems. [00:39:00] Cramming vs spacing: initial strength and decay rates. [00:41:00] The forgetting curve and why “more” can decay slower in memory. [00:42:00] “My whole life is one big experiment on my brain.” [00:43:00] Practical “tip”: fix attention first; follow interest, not force. [00:45:00] Attention economy and selective inputs as memory hygiene. [00:48:00] From smoking to scrolling: a future of information hygiene. [00:50:00] One Hand Clapping: why it feels special to be you. [00:54:00] Plato’s “two fires”: ancient echoes of top-down/bottom-up perception. [00:58:00] Intuition as hidden associations; LLMs as an analogy. [01:00:00] AI: excitement, unease, and the risk of outsourcing humanness. [01:03:00] What AI lacks: learning patterns in time without a body. [01:05:00] Close and thanks. [01:06:00] Outro and calls to action.LinksNikolay's website - https://www.nikolaykukushkin.com/His NYC profile - https://liberalstudies.nyu.edu/about/faculty-listing/nikolay-kukushkin.htmlHis book 'One Hand ...
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    1 h et 7 min
  • Richard Chataway on Designing AI for Humans

    Richard Chataway on Designing AI for Humans
    Oct 18 2025
    What if the biggest AI risk isn’t bias or data, but human behaviour itself? How might AI impact the people using it and what does that mean for how we design solutions and deploy the technology?Episode SummaryOn this episode, I’m joined by a returning guest. Richard Chataway is a behavioural science expert and strategist who joins me to explore how we can design AI systems that truly work for humans. Richard brings a unique lens to the conversation, combining insights from advertising, government policy, and behavioural science to unpack the human drivers that shape how we build and interact with AI. We discuss everything from cognitive biases and persuasive tech to the ethics of design and how these hidden forces influence our relationship with intelligent machines.During our conversation, Richard explains the importance of context and behavioural frameworks in making AI more ethical, effective, and human-centric. We explore real-world examples of effective and ineffective design, examining where intentions diverge from outcomes and what can be done to address these discrepancies. Richard shares fascinating insights from his book "The Behaviour Business" and his experience in both the public and private sectors, offering a practical yet thought-provoking look at what it really means to design for behaviour in the age of AI.Whether you’re an AI sceptic, enthusiast, or simply curious about how technology intersects with human behaviour, this episode offers a compelling exploration of the invisible levers shaping our digital lives. From nudging with intent to avoiding manipulation, Richard helps us understand how behavioural science can make the future of AI more aligned with our values and less prone to unintended consequences.Guest BiographyRichard is a Behavioural Scientist, Author and Podcaster who heads up the Behaviour Change Team at Concentrix, a Fortune 500 global technology and transformation company, working with around 2000 brands globally in over 70 different countries. He is also the founder of Communication Science Group and a former board member of the Association for Business Psychology. His book The Behaviour Business is a bestselling guide to deploying Behavioural Science within organisations to solve a wide range of problems. vAI-Generated Timestamped Summary00:00 – Intro: Designing AI for humans01:25 – Welcome back Richard Chataway03:15 – Behavioural science meets AI05:20 – Why we lie more to bots07:05 – Judgement, distance & dishonesty09:10 – When design invites bad behaviour11:30 – Fraud as a design problem13:40 – The “Computer says no” effect15:25 – When neutrality helps disclosure17:15 – The empathy paradox19:05 – Data bias & unequal outcomes21:30 – When to keep humans in the loop23:40 – Behavioural science as AI insurance26:00 – When efficiency erodes trust28:20 – Friction, fairness & feedback30:05 – AI and the frontline worker33:00 – Redefining jobs, not removing them36:10 – New skills for an AI world39:00 – Beyond efficiency: meaningful work41:45 – Leadership: ask “should we automate?”44:10 – Practical design principles47:30 – The myth of full automation50:20 – Augment, don’t replace53:00 – Case studies from Concentrix56:40 – Making AI ethics actionable59:20 – The next five years of human-centred AI1:02:00 – Closing reflections1:04:30 – Where to find Richard1:06:00 – Outro & related episodesLinksRichard on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-chataway/Richard's book The Behaviour Business - https://behaviourbusiness.com/Richard's previous appearance on the show - https://www.humanriskpodcast.com/richard-chataway-on-the-behaviour/Concentrix - https://www.concentrix.com/Richard at Concentrix - https://www.concentrix.com/contributor/richard-chataway/
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    1 h et 9 min
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