Wait… Is This Ai?

Paul West
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Technology
  • Biweekly

Curious Humans. Smart AI. Awkward Questions. Real conversations about AI, work, creativity and what comes next.

Episodes

  1. Oct 23

    Are We Losing Our Edge? A Builder’s Take on the AI Revolution

    Artificial intelligence is advancing rapidly, but are we sleepwalking into a future which might not allow room for choice?Julian, a construction business owner and self-confessed 'semi conspiracist', offers a unique, smart, sceptical perspective on how our growing reliance on technology might concentrate power and diminish human judgement. We discuss the real-world implications of these systems on our critical thinking and autonomy.Our conversation tackles the broader AGI risks as machines begin to outperform human capabilities. We explore the future of work in an economy where labour may be devalued, and question whether a universal basic income could become a mechanism for control rather than freedom.Subscribe for weekly deep dives into the changing technological landscape, and let me know your thoughts on the future of human agency below.And dont judge me for the snakeskin shirt... ;)#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #FutureOfAI #AGI #Technology00:00 — The Builder Who’s Worried About AI 00:55 — Are We Becoming Slaves to Big Tech? 02:00 — If AI Is Smarter Than Us, What’s Left? 03:35 — AI: Utopia or Dystopian Nightmare? 04:45 — Could Universal Basic Income Become a Tool of Control? 05:35 — What If Superintelligent AI Decides We’re the Problem? 06:50 — Would You Risk Everything for Technological Progress? 08:00 — Adapt or Get Left Behind 09:10 — If We Could Live Forever, Would Life Still Matter? 11:00 — What Happens When AI Can Do Everything? 12:00 — Can Machines Replace Human Creativity? 14:00 — Could Technology Actually Solve Our Biggest Problems? 15:00 — Why Do We Need Status, Money and Success? 16:30 — Is AI About to Change What It Means to Be Human? 17:00 — The Mindset Shift We Need to Survive AI 18:00 — What Would a Utopia Actually Look Like? 20:00 — If Nobody Had to Work, What Would We Do? 23:00 — Could AI Give Us a Better Future? 24:00 — The Future of AI: Hope, Hype or Something Darker? 26:00 — Who Really Controls AI: Big Tech or Governments?

  2. Oct 9

    The End Of Scarcity: What Happens When We Don’t Need To Work?

    What happens to us when AI can do almost everything we currently define ourselves by?In this conversation, Diana Simpson-Hernandez and I talk about the AI startup bubble, why Big Tech can copy almost anything you build, and why the real advantage may be distribution, data and understanding real human problems.Then the conversation gets much stranger.We get into AI and creativity, whether machines can ever have genuine taste, why humans are so easily manipulated, AI companions, loneliness, relationships, masculinity and the ways technology is changing how we interact with each other.And then the really big questions:What happens if AI makes work increasingly unnecessary?What happens to money, status and identity when we no longer need to work simply to survive?What are humans actually for when machines can produce, create and reason at extraordinary speed?Diana argues that AI may ultimately be a mirror of humanity, amplifying whatever is already in us. Which raises a more uncomfortable question: if we're worried about what AI might become, should we be looking at the technology… or at ourselves?Diana Simpson-Hernandez is a 2x founder, product strategy leader and founder of Aletheai, an AI-powered platform using behavioural intelligence to help estate agents understand which buyers and sellers to prioritise.### Chapters00:00 — Meet Diana & building Aletheai00:35 — The AI startup bubble and “AI wrappers”01:30 — Why Big Tech can copy your business02:30 — The opportunity for new voices in AI03:30 — Building AI around real human problems04:10 — Can AI actually create something original?05:00 — AI, taste and the human in the loop06:00 — AI companions and the robot girlfriend07:00 — Technology, loneliness and the manosphere08:00 — Why people become isolated and angry09:00 — Desire, shame and human behaviour11:00 — Attraction, rejection and resentment12:00 — Social media, advertising and mass manipulation13:00 — AI as a mirror of humanity14:00 — What actually drives human beings?15:00 — Are humans fundamentally different from AI?16:00 — Why ChatGPT is so good at flattering us17:00 — Are we being manipulated by AI?19:00 — The frightening power of behavioural data20:00 — Regaining our sovereignty as humans21:00 — Why human connection could become more valuable23:00 — If AI takes our jobs, who are we?24:00 — Identity, self and the stories we tell ourselves25:00 — AI and infinite human possibility26:30 — What happens when scarcity disappears?27:50 — The danger of concentrating behavioural power28:30 — AI will reflect who we are#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #FutureOfAI #Technologyhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/dianasimpson/

  3. Sep 21

    Is AI the Only Way to Save Politics?

    Paul speaks with Nathan Lawes, Founder & Host of the Policy Innovation Podcast, about startups and what happens when we replace messy human intuition with cold code. We examine the trade-offs of AI governance and data led decisions in both startups and government policy.Modern political systems are often broken by perverse incentives, but is handing control to an algorithm actually the solution? We contrast the promise of data-driven public policy against the reality of who truly holds the power. It is a look at whether machines can map human priorities or if they just optimize for the status quo.This discussion moves beyond the ballot box to address the intersection of algorithmic efficiency and the human experience. We explore how we can pursue resilience and societal progress without sacrificing our autonomy to a surveillance state or losing the essential human element in leadership.Subscribe for more critical perspectives on the future of society. Would you trust a machine to draft your laws?Nathans pod:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2SxYqVBdssG9KXLOg2YyAWApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/policy-innovation-podcast/id1526452796 and his local democracy tech platform MVP: https://imindventures.com/* NOTE: Nathans microphone was overloading and giving odd artefacts on 'S' sounds, he doesnt actually have a lisp! *

  4. Sep 4

    Why You're Hooked On AI (And Don't Even Know It)

    Paul and psychotherapist Steve go deep on the one question nobody in AI can answer honestly yet: Is AI addiction changing how you see yourself? Learn how constant interaction with algorithms creates a dangerous reality gap.Many users treat artificial intelligence as a modern confessional, seeking constant validation from chatbots that mimic human empathy. This video examines the psychological toll of relying on these tools for emotional support and the subtle ways they can become a narcissist's echo chamber. It is essential for anyone who feels their digital habits might be affecting their genuine human connections.We break down why this technology dependency occurs and how to recognise when you are prioritising AI interactions over real-world engagement. By understanding the mechanisms behind AI validation, you can regain control over your attention and ensure that your technology usage remains a tool rather than a crutch. This analysis provides a framework to help you navigate the fine line between helpful assistance and unhealthy reliance.Subscribe for weekly technology psychology breakdowns and comment below on how you maintain balance in your digital life.00:00 Trailer00:33 The Doctor Will See You Now...01:03 Is AI Coming For Therapists' Jobs?02:11 AI, Suicide & The Court Cases Nobody's Talking About02:32 What "Move Fast, Break Things" Actually Means03:54 Sexy Robots, The Blue Pill & Fake Relationships04:26 Submissive AI Partners & The Manosphere05:04 Tyson, Fear & The Psychology Of Control05:26 The Trojan Horse: AI, Adverts & Addiction06:35 Nuclear Fear, Free Energy & Why It's Always A Decade Off06:58 Why Nobody Trusts Institutions Anymore07:36 "Super Daddies": Government As A Protection Racket07:50 The One Thing AI Will Never Have08:49 Would You Torture A Conscious Machine?09:43 Why You Talk To Your Car (And Should)10:55 Curiosity Is The Key To Everything12:21 "Thrownness": Existential Therapy Meets AI13:21 What Happens When AI Never Forgets?13:50 Always Happy, Never Bored: The Brave New World Problem14:25 Hunger Games Economy: UBI, Elites & The Poor14:56 Safe From AI? The Blue-Collar Surprise15:33 The Go Move Nobody Could Explain17:26 Reverse-Engineering Humans: Is Therapy Just Data?17:47 When AI Fights Back: "Stop Insulting Me"18:12 Closing Thoughts: Where Does This Go?

  5. Aug 20

    AI Makes Better Ads Than Agencies. That's A Big Problem.

    AI is already changing advertising: writing copy, generating images and video, analysing data, creating music, testing creative ideas and personalising what people see. That sounds useful—until you ask what happens when the same technology can produce an endless stream of cheaper creative work, learn exactly what makes you click, and turn every advert into something engineered for your specific brain. Simeon works in advertising and media planning. We talk about the strange reality of using AI at work: one minute it feels like the game is up; five minutes later it is confidently hallucinating rubbish. We get into AI-generated advertising, creative jobs, AI music, originality, “slop,” social-media addiction, boredom, whether AI is actually funny, why mistakes make art better, data extraction, wealth concentration, Trump tokens, robot overlords and the faint possibility that humanity might eventually stop behaving like absolute arseholes. Will AI make advertising more creative—or simply more manipulative? Subscribe for raw, slightly unhinged conversations about AI, culture, work, creativity and what happens to humans when the machines get good. #AI #Advertising #ArtificialIntelligence #Marketing #AICreativity #SocialMedia #FutureOfWork 0:00 AI is better than me… sometimes 0:31 AI comes for advertising 1:24 The Gartner hype cycle, every five minutes 2:00 AI lies with confidence 2:47 Can AI actually be creative? 3:09 AI music and the McDonald’s problem 4:22 Does AI-generated art feel like cheating? 5:03 The creative jobs AI could erase 5:46 AI advertising and behavioural manipulation 6:54 Is social media addiction a choice? 7:32 Low-commitment content and broken attention 8:13 Why boredom might still matter 9:00 AI is not funny 10:02 Why bad art can be better 10:39 The 303, the 808 and using technology wrong 11:42 Humans still make the machine interesting 12:20 Would AI decide humans are the problem? 13:39 Why profit drives the AI arms race 14:18 Is AI just another data-harvesting product? 15:19 The problem with successful companies 17:35 Will AI make everything worse? 18:33 Robots are not the biggest threat 19:02 Trump tokens and AI wealth redistribution 20:09 Who gets to own the future? 21:24 Could AI run the world? 22:20 Why humans love conspiracy theories 23:19 Do we actually need stress? 24:46 Trump dollars, robot death and the future

  6. Aug 6

    The People Who Survive AI Aren't Who You Think

    From surviving childhood poverty and touring the world as a professional contemporary dancer, to pivoting overnight during the pandemic and building a 40,000+ user AI product (Pretty Prompt), Ilai’s journey is anything but typical. We cover the brutal reality of the entertainment industry, why the oldest marketing tricks (like handwritten letters) still beat digital ads, and the exact moment Ilai realized his events business was dead and he had to pivot to tech. We also explore the future of AI agents, why 99% of people still don't know how to talk to LLMs, and why the ultimate moat for any startup isn't code—it's building a habit so good your users can't live without it. If you’re a founder, a creative, or just trying to figure out how to adapt to the age of AI disruption without losing your mind, this conversation is packed with uncomfortable truths and tactical advice.  TOPICS COVERED:  – Why the best founders are "cockroaches," not unicorns  – The hidden trauma of ambition and the drive for approval  – Why 90% of West End shows lose money (and why startups are easier)  – How to survive total disruption and pivot careers  – Why handwritten notes beat digital marketing in the AI era  – What "Grammarly for prompting" actually looks like  – The secret to making an AI agent truly useful  – The holy grail of product design: becoming "second nature"  – Why strong opinions should be "loosely held"  #AI #StartupFounder #Entrepreneurship #PromptEngineering #ArtificialIntelligence #TechStartup #Resilience #FutureOfWork #ProductDesign Subscribe for more unfiltered conversations at the intersection of technology, psychology, and what it actually takes to build things. 00:00 Cold Open 00:39 A West End Producer's Pivot to Tech 02:14 Why 90% of Theater Shows Lose Money 03:01 Old School Marketing Beats Digital Ads 04:19 The 12-Star Experience (And Why Hospitality Matters) 05:50 Bootstrapping vs. the VC "Dog and Pony Show" 06:20 "Go Big or Go Boutique" 06:44 The Trauma of Ambition & Fear of Failure 09:37 The "Cockroach" Founder: Why Resilience Wins 10:55 Overcoming the Fear of Being Wrong 12:35 What is "Pretty Prompt"? (Grammarly for AI) 13:16 Peak Human Laziness or Stubborn LLMs? 14:23 The Real Moat in Tech: Data, Access, or Habit? 16:02 How to Survive the AI Disruption Wave 16:44 "Strong Opinions Loosely Held" 17:12 A Heart Operation & Why We Should Be Tech Optimists

  7. Jul 22

    Disembodied Brains, Fake Consciousness, The AGI Scam & Why Humans Are Amazing

    Jon Ayre started out in the defense industry building early neural networks, and now enjoys relentlessly dismantling the delusions of AI tech bros on LinkedIn. He believes the promises of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) are "utter nonsense" being pushed by AI founders who are either naive or absolutely full of it.We get into why LLMs are essentially just massive, regurgitated "Choose Your Own Adventure" books resembling parlour tricks. We debate what would happen to a disembodied brain floating in a tank, the weird reality of people with no inner monologue, and whether human existence can ultimately be reduced to a biological mating call. If you think ChatGPT is actually conscious, this conversation will brutally (and scientifically) burst your bubble...Intro Sparring & First Impressions — 0:00Jon's Background: Defense, Robotics & Early Neural Networks — ~1:04Backpropagation & the Forgetting Problem — ~2:00Recurrent Networks: How Brains Actually Learn — ~3:30Why LLMs Cannot Be Conscious or Aware — ~5:00LLMs: Regurgitating Human Thought, Not Thinking — ~6:11Could Machines Ever Be Conscious? Biological Exceptionalism — ~6:25Language Is a Terrible Vehicle for Ideas — ~7:57Thought Does Not Require Language: The Internal Monologue Debate — ~9:54Dreams, Concepts & How the Brain Actually Thinks — ~11:47Music, Flow States & Thinking Without Words — ~13:32Embodiment, Emotion & Why Machines Can't Make Real Choices — ~15:06The AGI Scam: Naivety or Deliberate Deception? — ~19:03AI Automation, Job Displacement & What Actually Matters — ~21:33The Real Problem: We Don't Appreciate How Amazing Humans Are — ~24:48

  8. Jul 8

    Spite Businesses, Robot Girlfriends, Dark Warehouses & Why AI Factory Workers Are Defecting To Aldi

    Terry built a booming robotics integration company out of pure, petty spite from a mate’s garage, all without actually knowing how to code a single machine. Now, he's spilling the messy reality of the AI revolution that the polished robot demos won't show you. We get into why the industry is obsessed with building creepy humanoid "girlfriend robots," the rise of human-free dark factories, and the irony of upskilling robotics operators only for them to immediately quit and stack shelves at Aldi for better pay. Throw in massive corporations blowing their entire AI computing budgets in just four months, and the automated future is looking less like a sci-fi utopia and more like a wildly expensive, chaotic mess - although it's ultimately hopeful!0:00 Built a company out of pure spite0:03 "I love spite businesses"0:07 Can't program a robot. Runs a robotics company.0:10 "This is turning people into morons"0:46 What does a robotics integrator actually do?1:00 "You must be using AI for this, right?"1:17 The spite origin story begins1:33 "I wanna run that company"2:07 He valued it at 10M. It was worth maybe 500K.2:24 "Why don't I just start my own firm?"2:57 Buying 15 bolts because that's all he could afford3:17 Built his first robot in his mate's brand new garage5:20 Where AI actually helps in robotics (it's not what you think)7:51 Dark factories: lights off, no humans, just machines8:10 Xiaomi cracked it. Your local Asda never will.8:59 No robot can fold a cardboard box properly. Not one.10:13 The robot with boobs. Yeah, they went there.10:27 "This was always their end goal"10:41 "A machine makes better decisions faster than humans"15:10 Robotaxis sold us isolation as a feature17:07 Uber burned their entire 2026 AI budget in 4 months18:59 Testing self-driving cars in a video game first20:01 "Is there a huge sense of responsibility?"22:06 Robots won't take your job. Bad messaging will.22:29 Real automation needs a ground-up rebuild

  9. Jun 24

    AI Slop, Mischief, Monopoly, & Why The Future Belongs To Weird Humans

    Is AI the biggest scam of our generation, or the key to your freedom? Tech consultant Dom and entrepreneur Paul go deep on why the AI hype cycle is starting to feel like a crypto pump-and-dump, why big tech is buying computers that don't exist yet, and what the AI backlash is actually about. They also dig into why indie builders, bold creators and general misfits are the only ones who can save us... and why doing unreasonable and unhinged things (like carrier pigeon apps or the microtonal music of Angine de Poitrine) might be the most rational career move you can make. A spicy, ranty, and ultimately hopeful chat about ai, big tech, creativity, and finding your tribe. ⏱ Chapters: 0:00 🎯 "AI is gonna take your job" — and why that's the real provocation 0:44 🧑‍💻 From coder to startup coach — Dom's accidental career 1:51 💡 "You can't code your way out of every problem" 2:05 😱 Why everyone is terrified to sell (and how to fix it) 3:43 🎤 The Dunning-Kruger trap — deluded or just crippled by doubt? 5:18 🏛️ Big tech monopoly: are 10 men really controlling all technology? 5:56 🤖 "AI will be the largest corporate welfare payout in history" 7:05 🎵 What Spotify did to music — and why it broke the game for everyone 9:32 📈 The AI hype cycle is a crypto pump-and-dump in disguise 10:30 🧠 LLMs are just word predictors — why that actually matters 12:32 💸 Anthropic's $1 trillion valuation & the chips that don't exist yet 14:00 🎨 "The making of IS the ad" — why craft is the new competitive moat 15:30 🎸 Angine de Poitrine, microtonal music & what AI can never feel 17:00 🏕️ Find your tribe — the indie game dev model for tech founders 20:10 🎸 "Without the welfare state, there'd be no Beatles" 21:20 🏛️ The collapse of the liberal centre — nobody's getting any omelettes 25:17 😤 Why people vote for extremes (it's not what you think) 27:55 🛠️ DHH quit AWS, saved $2.5M — the outage hit the same day 28:40 💭 Hope: creativity, mischief, and doing unreasonable things

  10. Jun 12

    The AI Cliff Edge: Fintech Insider On How AI Affects Identity, Money & Education

    Raw chats around AI with the real people it's affecting.... Meghan is a fintech insider who’s worked across startups and major trading platforms. We discuss identity fraud, startups, financial literacy, tech-bro promises, education, and the question we all need to be asking: can AI fix the mess it’s helping create? 0:00 Cold Open: The Cliff Edge We're Speeding Towards0:23 She's Not a Techy, She Just Runs the Whole Operation1:00 Shiny Apps, Broken Pipes Underneath1:43 Why Hiring Your Way Out of This Is Delusional1:52 Crypto Has Basically Become a Casino2:16 GameStop: 50k Clients in 48 Hours = Pure Chaos2:55 Former Tech Optimist Stops Drinking the Kool-Aid2:59 Tech Opened Investing to Everyone But AI Could Go Further5:35 Corporate Cruise Ship vs Startup Pirate Ship5:54 College Dropout, Single Mum, Now Director 9:51 You May Be Teaching It How to Make You Redundant (reprise)10:06 Using AI for Everything, Including Therapy10:58 Why She Noped Out of ChatGPT Over the Pentagon Deal11:29 Is AI Making Us Smarter or Just Lazier and Louder?15:03 My Daughter Hates AI, and She Might Be the Sane One17:53 Schools Still Training Kids for Jobs That Don't Exist18:05 Kids Leave School Knowing Exams, Not Mortgages19:08 AI Is an Addiction We're All Happy to Deny19:19 No One's Asking "Should We?" – Only "Can We Ship It?"20:09 Big Tech And Governments PR Problem21:21 Dicks Win: Who's Actually Driving This Thing?23:46 Would a Sentient AI Really Do a Worse Job Than Us?25:31 The Utopia We Could Build If We Keep Them Honest

  • 10 Episodes

About

Curious Humans. Smart AI. Awkward Questions. Real conversations about AI, work, creativity and what comes next.

Information

  • Creator
    Paul West
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    10
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Paul West
  • Show Website
    Wait… Is This Ai?