Is GenAI fundamentally unethical? Is AGI a kind of religious belief? And what’s love got to do with it?
Addressing these questions is my latest podcast guest, John C. Havens, who is Founding Executive Director of the IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems. John helped build the IEEE 7000 Standards Series, now one of the largest bodies of international standards on AI and society. Today, John serves as the Global Staff Director for the IEEE Planet Positive 2030 Program, guiding efforts that prioritize both ecological and human flourishing in technological design. But his perspective on AI doesn’t begin with policy or engineering; it starts with love, vulnerability, and the deep spiritual questions that have shaped his life.
In this first part of our conversation, we discuss:
How love reframes “weakness” in both human life and AI ethics
The impact of generative AI on creativity, intellectual property, and the erosion of human craftsmanship
The dangers of anthropomorphism in AI design
Ways AI systems undermine our capacity for conscious choice
How the surveillance economy and advertising systems shape our habits and decisions
Positive psychology matters for designing technology that supports well-being
Learn more about John’s work:
IEEE Planet Positive 2030 Program – https://sagroups.ieee.org/planetpositive
IEEE 7000 Standards Series – https://standards.ieee.org
Books and resources mentioned:
Heartificial Intelligence: Embracing Our Humanity to Maximize Machines (John Havens)
Hacking Happiness: Why Your Personal Data Counts and How Tracking it Can Change the World (John Havens)
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power (Shoshana Zuboff)
Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other(Sherry Turkle)
This season of the podcast is sponsored by Templeton Religion Trust.
