Decoded: AI for Everyone

Joel Leslie

Where silicon meets soul, and algorithms make sense of the everyday. This isn’t just another tech podcast. Decoded demystifies artificial intelligence with wit, warmth, and a dash of the delightfully unexpected. From invisible assistants that shape your shopping habits, to machine minds behind medicine, marketing, and music... we explore how AI is quietly reshaping our lives, one line of code at a time. No jargon. No gatekeeping. Just real stories, smart people, and a gentle unravelling of the future we’re already living.

  1. HÁ 10 H

    When AI Substitutes Judgment

    Recommendation systems, co-thinking, and the quiet delegation of decisions How many of your decisions today were fully yours? From suggested replies and curated news feeds to navigation apps and “people also bought” recommendations, AI now shapes the frame before we choose. In this episode of Decoded: AI for Everyone, we explore what happens when AI doesn’t just assist judgment, but begins to substitute it. What’s the difference between using AI to inform a decision and letting it quietly make the decision for you?When do helpful recommendations become habitual delegation?And what happens to our judgment when we stop exercising it? We revisit the idea of “decision hygiene” from Season 1, not as a technical safeguard, but as a daily practice of staying intentional in a world of constant AI input. From everyday recommendation systems to high-stakes autonomous technologies, this episode asks a simple but important question: If AI becomes the default co-thinker… are we still the final decision-maker? Resources & Tools For practical AI guides, prompt strategies, and comparisons to help you use AI intentionally: https://PromptEngineeringCookbook.comExplore Joel’s writing on AI governance and decision-making: https://joelrleslie.substack.comhttps://Strategen-AI.comLearn more about the show and Joel Leslie: https://JoelLeslie.com.auDecoded: AI for Everyone is a non-technical podcast exploring how AI is reshaping work, judgement, creativity, and trust, and how to live with it deliberately.

    7min
  2. 19/12/2025

    Season 2 Wrap: What We’ve Learned, and What Comes Next

    Season 2 of Decoded: AI for Everyone took us on a wide and deep journey. From AI in government, bias, and trust… to climate, cities, and planetary systems… to mental health, creativity, education, healthcare, and even belief itself. But this season wasn’t really about artificial intelligence. It was about what happens when AI moves closer to power, people, and meaning. In this final episode of Season 2, we step back to reflect on the patterns that emerged, the questions you raised, and the ideas that connected it all. We revisit the big themes, share listener perspectives, and explore what it means to live thoughtfully alongside increasingly intelligent systems. Most importantly, we ask you: --> What do you want us to explore next? Your feedback shaped Season 2, and it will shape what comes after the break. In this episode: The core ideas that defined Season 2.What governance, climate, and human-centred AI have in common.Listener questions and reflections from across the season.Why AI literacy today is about agency, not coding.What comes next for Decoded, and how you can be part of it.We’ll be taking a short break over Christmas and the New Year, replaying some of the most listened-to moments from this season, before returning with fresh conversations in the new year. Until then: Stay aware. Stay curious. And stay human. Show Links Podcast Website: https://decoded-podcast.comAI Strategy & Research: https://strategen-ai.comPrompts & Tools: https://promptengineeringcookbook.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/decoded-ai-for-everyoneSeason 2 of Decoded: AI for Everyone is powered by Strategen AI. Where Research Meets Execution.

    8min
  3. 13/12/2025

    AI & Religion: When Machines Enter the Sacred

    Can a machine offer spiritual guidance, or only imitate the sacred? Across the world, AI is entering one of humanity’s oldest and most intimate spaces: faith. Robot monks chant scripture in Japan.AI priests deliver blessings in Europe.Chatbots interpret sacred texts, guide meditation, and even facilitate prayer.For many people, AI has quietly become a source of comfort, counsel, and meaning. But that raises a deeper question: When machines enter the sacred… what remains uniquely human? In this episode of Decoded: AI for Everyone, we explore the emerging frontier where belief, identity, ritual, psychology, and artificial intelligence intersect. We examine why people turn to AI for spiritual guidance, how AI can simulate wisdom without experiencing it, and the risks of synthetic authority in spaces built on trust, vulnerability, and tradition. In this episode: Robot monks, AI priests, and the rise of digital spiritualityWhy humans seek comfort from non-judgmental machinesHow AI interprets sacred texts (and where it gets it wrong)The risk of “manufactured prophecy” and algorithmic certaintyWhether AI can — or should — hold spiritual authorityWhat this shift means for your values, identity, and communityBecause belief is human. Meaning is human. And the sacred is something AI can describe, but never inhabit. Referenced Projects & Resources Robot Monks & AI Spiritual Leaders: Mindar Robot Monk (Kodaiji Temple, Japan)https://www.kodaiji.com/BlessU-2 Robot Priest (Germany)https://www.ekhn.de/aktuelles/detail/robot-priest-blessu-2.htmlXian’er Robot Monk (Longquan Temple, China)http://longquanzs.org/AI & Scriptural Interpretation / Spiritual Tools: OpenAI (AI interpretation & dialogue models)https://openai.comBuddhism AI Chat Toolshttps://buddhanet.net/Christian AI Sermon Experimentshttps://www.christianitytoday.com/Show Links: Podcast Website: https://decoded-podcast.comAI Strategy & Research: https://strategen-ai.comPrompts & Tools: https://promptengineeringcookbook.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/decoded-ai-for-everyoneSeason 2 of Decoded: AI for Everyone is powered by Strategen AI, Where Research Meets Execution.

    12min
  4. 06/12/2025

    AI in Healthcare & Longevity: Can AI Help Us Live Longer, or Just Measure Us Better?

    Artificial intelligence is entering the most intimate frontier of all, our bodies. It predicts illness before symptoms appear, discovers new drugs in a fraction of the time, tracks the rhythms of our biology through wearables, and even models the science of ageing. But as AI begins to diagnose, predict, and measure us with extraordinary precision, one question becomes unavoidable: Is AI helping us live longer… or simply tracking our decline more accurately? In this episode of Decoded: AI for Everyone, we explore how AI is reshaping modern medicine through early diagnosis, rapid drug discovery, personalised health data, and emerging longevity science. We also examine the ethical tension between empowerment and overdiagnosis, privacy and prediction, wellness and inequality. In this episode: How AI detects cancers and cardiac risks years before human doctorsHow drug discovery is shifting from 10 years… to 10 weeksHow wearables and health apps turn our bodies into datasetsThe rise of digital twins and personalised longevity plansThe risks of overdiagnosis, health anxiety, data inequality, and “longevity privilege”What AI-powered healthcare means for you, your family, and your futureBecause the future of medicine isn’t just technological.It’s profoundly human. Stream's Saturday at 12 pm AEST Resources: decoded-podcast.comstrategen-ai.compromptengineeringcookbook.comlinkedin.com/company/decoded-ai-for-everyoneReferenced Research & Tools Google Health, Breast Cancer AI: health.google/clinical-research/breast-cancer-screeningMayo Clinic, ECG AI: mayoclinic.org/medical-professionals/cardiovascular-diseases/newsDeepMind, Retinal Diagnosis: deepmind.google/discover/blog/ai-for-50-eye-diseasesAlphaFold, Protein Modelling: deepmind.google/discover/alphafoldInsilico Medicine, AI Drug Discovery: insilico.comApple Watch, Heart Health: apple.com/healthcare/apple-watchNIH, Biological Age Research: nia.nih.gov Season 2 of Decoded: AI for Everyone is powered by Strategen AI: Where Research Meets Execution.

    11min
  5. 28/11/2025

    AI in Education: Adaptive Learning, Equity & the Future of Human Potential

    What happens when learning stops being standardised, and becomes personal? In this episode of Decoded: AI for Everyone, we explore how AI is transforming education at every level. From primary school to universities to lifelong learning in the workplace, adaptive systems are beginning to tailor lessons to each learner’s pace, strengths, and needs. We unpack both sides of the story: the extraordinary promise of personalised learning, and the risks of bias, surveillance, and unequal access. In this episode: How Google Learn Your Way, Khanmigo, and Faculty-AI personalise learning in real timeHow AI supports dyslexia, ADHD, autism, and different learning stylesThe digital divide, who benefits, and who gets left behindEmotional data, academic integrity, and the ethics of AI-guided learningWhat AI-driven education means for students, parents, teachers, and the future workforceBecause AI can teach anyone, but will it teach everyone? Premieres Saturday at 12 pm AEST Resources: decoded-podcast.comstrategen-ai.compromptengineeringcookbook.comlinkedin.com/company/decoded-ai-for-everyoneLearning Tools & Platforms Google’s education tools: https://blog.google/technology/ai/google-learnlm/https://edu.google.com/intl/ALL_au/Khan Academy, Khanmigo: https://www.khanacademy.org/khan-labshttps://www.khanacademy.org/khan-labs/khanmigoFaculty AI: https://www.faculty-ai.com/Supporting AI in Education References  Khan Academy LearnStorm: https://www.khanacademy.org/learnstormUNESCO AI in Education Framework: https://www.unesco.org/en/artificial-intelligence/educationOECD AI in Learning & Skills: https://www.oecd.org/digital/ai/Season 2 of Decoded: AI for Everyone is powered by Strategen AI: Where Research Meets Execution.

    20min

Sobre

Where silicon meets soul, and algorithms make sense of the everyday. This isn’t just another tech podcast. Decoded demystifies artificial intelligence with wit, warmth, and a dash of the delightfully unexpected. From invisible assistants that shape your shopping habits, to machine minds behind medicine, marketing, and music... we explore how AI is quietly reshaping our lives, one line of code at a time. No jargon. No gatekeeping. Just real stories, smart people, and a gentle unravelling of the future we’re already living.