Have smartphones been a terrible mistake? Are social media and artificial intelligence changing the way our children think, learn and develop? And what happens to humanity when technology removes the need to struggle, imagine and think for ourselves? In this episode Baroness Susan Greenfield, Oxford neuroscientist and member of the House of Lords, explains the impact of digital technology on the human brain. We discuss smartphone addiction, declining attention, the mental health of young people, the importance of resilience, and whether our education system is preparing children for a future that no longer exists.
We also explore what makes us human, the pursuit of happiness, the importance of imagination, and how to build a better world for the next generation. Susan also shares her deeply personal experience of her mother's Alzheimer's disease and the experimental research she is leading into early diagnosis and potential treatments. Finally, they confront political polarisation, the failings of modern democracy and the responsibilities we have to future generations. At its heart, this is a conversation about whether technological progress is genuinely improving our lives, or whether we're sacrificing the very things that make life worth living.
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TIMESTAMPS:
00:00:00 - They Chose Electric Shocks Instead
00:03:22 - Struggle Shaped Us
00:05:55 - The Pony She Had To Wait For
00:11:23 - Was The Smartphone A Mistake?
00:15:48 - Outsourcing Your Thoughts
00:19:45 - Deliberately Addictive
00:20:59 - Should AI Images Be Labelled?
00:26:20 - The Girl Who Used AI To Get An A
00:29:20 - Educating For A World That Doesn't Exist
00:31:48 - Wine, Women And Song
00:37:04 - Where The Partying Ended
00:40:29 - Play, Creativity And The Phone
00:41:32 - The Mental Health Crisis
00:46:25 - If I Ruled The World
00:50:35 - You Need Linear Activities
00:57:15 - AI Has To Be A Tool
01:05:46 - How You Build An Out-Group
01:07:44 - The Alzheimer's Work
01:17:35 - Three To Five Years
01:27:26 - Our Debt Matters More Than Your Education
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CONTACT PETE
› Website – http://petermccormack.com
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CONNECT WITH SUSAN GREENFIELD
› Website – https://susangreenfield.com/
› Neuro-Bio – https://www.neuro-bio.com/
› Mind Change – https://susangreenfield.com/books/
SPONSORS
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LISTEN / SUBSCRIBE
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FILMED BY CURTIS TAYLOR
› https://www.curttaylor.co.uk/
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