In this mind-expanding episode of THINKFUTURE, futurist anthropologist Sam Rad joins Chris Kalaboukis to explore the powerful intersections of artificial intelligence, human creativity, and the next stage of evolution . From biohacking and brain-computer interfaces to the future of work, politics, and education by 2035, Sam unpacks where we’re headed—and how we can stay human in a post-human world. Whether you’re curious about the rise of AI-augmented politicians, the ethical implications of bod...
May 13, 2025•1 hr 12 min
In this episode of "ThinkFuture," I sit down with Dimitri, the CEO and co-founder of Gradient Labs AI, to explore how they’re revolutionizing customer support in regulated industries like financial services. Dimitri shares how their AI agents can handle up to 40% of customer queries without even touching sensitive data, aiming to outshine human agents in quality, especially for big operations. We dive into how Gradient Labs tackles AI pitfalls—like going off-topic or giving bad advice—...
May 07, 2025•34 min
In this episode of "ThinkFuture," I get real about change—something we all crave but fear at the same time. I’ve been saying it for over a decade on this show: life is change, yet humans cling to a steady state because chaos freaks us out. We’re surrounded by a universe of chaos, with our orderly society just a thin layer on top. But here’s the kicker—changing ourselves, like our habits, weight, or personality, is super tough, not because we can’t, but because everyone around us hates change too...
May 01, 2025•10 min
In this episode of "ThinkFuture," I chat with Chris Harper, an entrepreneur who’s shaking up the background check game with his company, ZippedScript. Harper kicks things off with his wild journey—from selling light switch covers and Christmas caroling as a kid to tackling the outdated background check industry. He breaks down how the old-school methods, like call centers and “runners,” are slow, pricey, and sketchy. ZippedScript flips the script by getting user permission to directly ...
Apr 30, 2025•31 min
In this episode of "ThinkFuture," I dive into a hot topic from AIDaily.us: should you be polite to your AI? I share how I’ve always said “please” and “thank you” to bots like ChatGPT, feeling like I get better responses—though a friend thought I was nuts. Two articles caught my eye: one says being polite wastes electricity since AI has to process extra words, while the other argues it keeps us a polite society. I’m Team Politeness! With AI and humans blending seamlessly in our daily ch...
Apr 29, 2025•9 min
In this episode of "ThinkFuture," I dig into the eternal struggle every creator faces: making what you love versus what the crowd wants. Picture a Venn diagram—one circle’s your passion project as a content creator (think podcaster, TikToker, artist), the other’s what goes viral with millions of views. Problem is, they rarely overlap! I talk about how creators pour their hearts into work that often stays unseen, while algorithms push crowd-pleasers—stuff that’s made to go viral, someti...
Apr 24, 2025•9 min
In this episode of "ThinkFuture," I chat with Pam Buchanan who’s spent 40 years in corporate fintech before pivoting to something way deeper—soul health. She takes us on her journey from rocking big ‘80s hair and suits in finance to founding Quantum Sense, a company all about reconnecting us with our souls. She breaks down how we can’t see our soul like our physical or mental health, but it’s just as crucial. Using our senses—like what colors or smells vibe with us—she helps us tap int...
Apr 23, 2025•34 min
In this episode of "ThinkFuture," I dive into the magic of serendipity—those happy accidents behind breakthroughs like the Popsicle, penicillin, and Ivermectin. I share how the Popsicle came to be when someone left soda and a stick outside to freeze by mistake, sparking a whole new treat. I argue that serendipity isn’t just luck; we can actually engineer it by shaking up our routines. Doing the same thing every day kills creativity, but stepping out—traveling, meeting new people, tryin...
Apr 22, 2025•9 min
In this thinkfuture episode, host Chris dives into a lively chat with Carter, co-founder of Spree, a platform making it easier to spend crypto in everyday life. Carter shares his journey from physics PhD to crypto enthusiast, sparked by Dogecoin, and his passion for decentralized finance. They break down the similarities between crypto and fiat—both digital, both built on belief—and debate Bitcoin’s role as a store of value or spending tool. Carter explains Spree’s mission to bridge crypto to re...
Apr 16, 2025•39 min
I tackle the big fear everyone’s got: will AI snatch your job? Spoiler: probably, if your gig’s something AI can do better. I dive into how we’re messing up by giving humans AI-suited jobs (like repetitive tasks) and AI human-suited jobs (like creative stuff). It’s a mess! But I’ve got a vision: a task economy where an AI dispatcher assigns jobs based on what humans and AI are best at. Picture this—you’re strolling by a park, and your phone pings: “Hey, rake this corner for $5?” You say yes, gra...
Apr 10, 2025•12 min
I sit down with Ian Baer, the founder of Sooth—a predictive intelligence firm that’s shaking things up after Ian’s 35 years in advertising. We dive into how Sooth uses AI and data analytics to dig into emotional insights, not just for marketing but also for stuff like product development, HR, and even healthcare. Their SOOF method crunches massive data to get inside audience heads, decoding their behaviors and needs. We chat about Gen Z—once hyped as total wildcards, they’re now flexing serious ...
Apr 09, 2025•40 min
Let's break down how success in today’s world isn’t about who you know—it’s about who knows you. I take us back to the pre-internet days when getting noticed as a musician, writer, or creator meant begging gatekeepers like book publishers or music execs to pick you. The barriers were sky-high! Fast forward to now, and the internet’s a game-changer—anyone can share their stuff globally. But here’s the catch: big tech and their algorithms are the new gatekeepers. They decide what blows up, and...
Apr 08, 2025•11 min
In this episode of "ThinkFuture," I get hyped about the idea of AI clones taking over our daily grind. I stumbled across an article on AIDaily.us about creating AI versions of ourselves, and I’m all in—why not have a hundred digital “yous” out there handling the boring stuff? I break down how tech, from the wheel to AI, has always been about lifting our burdens, but it’s a double-edged sword. The internet gave us connection but also birthed industries like web design—and social media, ...
Apr 03, 2025•11 min
In this episode of "ThinkFuture," I sit down with Cheryl Cunningham, the founder and CEO of HURO AI, to talk about their game-changing AI assistant, Gabby. Cheryl breaks down HURO AI’s mission to make AI accessible to everyone through telecom networks, aiming to democratize tech for the masses. Gabby’s a next-level personalized assistant that learns from your convos and habits, stepping up as your very own “COO” to tackle tasks, make decisions, or even help run your biz. We get into th...
Apr 02, 2025•34 min
In this episode of "ThinkFuture," I dive into a wild story from AIDaily.us about a Chinese company building an AI child—now upgraded from a 3-4-year-old to a 5-6-year-old version. They’re calling it AGI, but I’m not buying it. This AI kid even threw a tantrum, pushing back on its “parents” (aka the researchers). But let’s be real—it’s not feeling emotions; it’s just pulling from a database of human reactions to mimic a meltdown. I break down how large language models work, basically re...
Apr 01, 2025•11 min
In this episode of "ThinkFuture," I take you on a nostalgic trip back to the internet’s wild west days—think 1992, when I first hopped online. Back then, it was all about peer-to-peer vibes, no middlemen, just pure connection. Fast forward 30+ years, and we’re drowning in intermediaries. I riff on how timing is everything for startup success—great ideas flop if the market’s not ready, and founders either pivot or sink. Then I dust off a forgotten gem: Third Voice, a crazy-cool tool fro...
Mar 27, 2025•10 min
In this episode of "ThinkFuture," I chat with Jason, the CEO of Teklium and the mind behind "The Big Plot." We kick off with Jason’s wild journey fighting the good fight against surveillance, leading him to invent a game-changing internet communication tech. He breaks down quantum communication—super secure but crazy expensive—and how Teklium’s cooking up an emulated version that’s all software, no fancy hardware needed. Jason gets real about dodging government snoops and why...
Mar 26, 2025•1 hr 1 min
In this episode of "ThinkFuture," I dive into the hot topic of AI judges, sparked by a cool piece from our sister site, AIDaily.us—hand-picked by humans, not AI slop! I start off hyped about AI taking over roles like judging because it’s unbiased, emotion-free, and sticks to the law like glue—kinda like how it’d ace driving by following rules humans love to ditch. Fewer car wrecks, anyone? But then I flip it: law’s roots are human, born from our need to get along, and the world keeps changing fa...
Mar 25, 2025•10 min
In this episode of "ThinkFuture," we take a break from tech to chew on what really makes us successful in this wild world. I dive into how humans are wired for hierarchies—sorry, commies, we love a pecking order! Usually, we think talent (like prodigy-level skills) or perseverance (grinding those 10,000 hours) gets you to the top. But I debunk that a bit—turns out the 10,000-hour rule’s a myth outside rule-bound stuff like chess. Then there’s luck, sure, but here’s the kicker: I pitch ...
Mar 20, 2025•10 min
In this episode of "ThinkFuture," Chris, sits down with Kathleen Lin Hurtubise, the badass founder and CEO of Aloha HP, a staffing agency in Hawaii that’s all about mixing “high tech” with “high touch.” She kicked things off in 2015 after scoring a big gig for the Hawaii Convention Center and now runs three vibes: hospitality, light industrial, and admin roles. When the pandemic tanked her hospitality game, Kathleen flipped the script, spinning off a food delivery service to keep Aloha...
Mar 19, 2025•31 min
In this episode of "ThinkFuture," host Chris Kalaboukis digs into a spicy AI debate sparked by an AIDaily.us article: should AI be allowed to refuse our requests? Chris says heck no—AI’s just a tool, like a hammer that doesn’t get to pick its nails. He riffs on how we dump our boring tasks on AI, not grand art, because it’s a souped-up autocorrect, not a brain. Yet, he points out AI’s already nixing stuff—like refusing to generate pics of public figures on most platforms—thanks to programmer gua...
Mar 18, 2025•10 min
In this episode of "ThinkFuture," host Chris Kalaboukis dives into how we’re all stuck “dancing for the machines” in today’s digital world. He revisits the idea of social media’s new class system—yep, those hierarchies we thought we’d ditched are back, thanks to platforms like Google and Facebook. Chris explains how the internet started as a free-for-all where anyone could connect, but now, big tech intermediaries call the shots on who gets seen, turning it into an attention economy. T...
Mar 13, 2025•13 min
In this episode of "ThinkFuture,", Chris teams up with Owain to unpack the future of learning. Owain then dives into edyou.com, a 24/7 AI-powered education platform that’s all about personalized learning, test prep, and even professional certifications. It’s got a dual gig going—helping schools (B2B) and reaching learners directly (D2C), no matter their age or vibe. What sets it apart? It’s not just about hitting the books; it’s got social-emotional learning and wellness baked in for a...
Mar 12, 2025•32 min
In this episode of "ThinkFuture," host Chris Kalaboukis dives into the wild world of AI versions of ourselves, sparked by some cool stories from AIDaily.us. He kicks off with Teleperformance’s AI trick that strips accents from call center reps’ voices, making chats with overseas agents sound crystal clear to Americans—and even tweaks the caller’s voice back for the rep. Then, he hits up Google’s patent for an AI avatar that can take your calls and act just like you, kinda like that spa...
Mar 11, 2025•9 min
In this episode of "ThinkFuture," host Chris Kalaboukis gets real about humans, AI, and the job scene. He’s fired up about how we’re all underpaid, especially as AI swoops in to snag jobs we’ve been stuck doing. Chris argues that a lot of those gigs—like mindless, repetitive tasks—should’ve been AI’s domain anyway, freeing up our big, awesome human brains for the cool stuff. But here’s the kicker: AI’s also fumbling some jobs humans should own, and it’s not cutting it. His fix? Move hu...
Mar 06, 2025•7 min
In this episode of "ThinkFuture," Chris Kalaboukis sits down with Steven Gay, CEO of Mode Based On, who’s shaking up the retail game with AI. Steven, a former luxury fashion insider turned tech innovator, spills the beans on how his company creates super-realistic digital twins of physical products—think 3D models and virtual shoots that ditch pricey photo sessions. He breaks down how this tech slashes costs and boosts efficiency for brands, letting them churn out endless content on th...
Mar 05, 2025•35 min
In this episode of "ThinkFuture," host Chris Kalaboukis shakes up how we usually think about using AI. He argues that most folks get it wrong by just tossing a prompt at AI, grabbing the output—like a pic or text—and calling it a day. Chris says that’s backwards! Instead, he’s all about using light, vague prompts to let AI surprise you with something wild that kicks your creativity into gear. He shares a cool story about prompting AI with “a representation of loneliness” and getting an...
Mar 04, 2025•9 min
In this episode of "ThinkFuture," host Chris Kalaboukis tackles the hot topic of copyright and AI-generated art. He dives into a recent shift from the U.S. Copyright Office, which once said AI art couldn’t be copyrighted but now says it can—though who owns it is still a gray area. Chris, not a lawyer but a big thinker, argues that if you type a prompt into an AI image generator—like “bats soaring through a dark sky with glowing eyes”—you’re the creative spark behind it. He compares it ...
Feb 27, 2025•7 min
In this episode of "ThinkFuture," I, Chris Kalaboukis, chat with Helen Gu about the wild world of IT system reliability. Helen’s all about making sure the tech we depend on—like healthcare systems or your daily app fixes—doesn’t crash and burn. She explains how today’s crazy complex, spread-out systems make it tough to spot problems before they blow up. Old-school monitoring? It’s drowning in data and can’t keep up. That’s where her company, InsightFinder, steps in with some slick AI m...
Feb 26, 2025•31 min
In this episode of "ThinkFuture," host Chris Kalaboukis takes a deep dive into the persistence of hierarchies and class systems, even in spaces meant to break them down—like America and the internet. Chris reflects on how the U.S. aimed to ditch rigid class structures, allowing anyone with grit to climb the ladder, yet subtle hierarchies linger. He then pivots to the digital world, noting how the internet’s early “Wild West” days—where anyone could connect with anyone—have been replace...
Feb 25, 2025•11 min
