Toronto Talks

Ashraf Amin

Welcome to Toronto Talks—the podcast that unpacks the biggest stories in money, business, and technology. Whether you're an entrepreneur, tech enthusiast, or simply looking to stay ahead of the curve, we dive deep into finance, innovation, and industry to bring you insights that matter. Hosted by Ashraf Amin and Sophie the Sage (AI), Toronto Talks is where bold minds meet unfiltered insights on tech, money, and the future. If you're done with fluff and want signal in the noise—subscribe, think sharper, and live smarter.

  1. The Attention Economy Is Breaking: What Happens After the Scroll | Toronto Talks - Episode 020

    -3 ДН.

    The Attention Economy Is Breaking: What Happens After the Scroll | Toronto Talks - Episode 020

    What happens when the system designed to capture attention starts exhausting it instead? In this episode of Toronto Talks, we examine what we call the Saturation Point — the quiet ceiling emerging inside the attention economy. For nearly two decades, platforms expanded by extracting more time, more engagement, more intensity. And for a while, it worked. Screens multiplied. Feeds deepened. Metrics climbed. But lately, something feels different. Not collapse. Not rejection. More like diminishing returns. Usage flattens. Fatigue rises. Trust thins. The scroll still works — but it feels heavier. This isn’t a conversation about screen time alone. It’s about incentives, sustainability, and what happens when attention stops functioning as a reliable signal of value. We explore: Why engagement systems saturate rather than crash How optimization produces sameness and thinning returns Why short-form excels at reaction but struggles with retention How burnout is a system signal, not a personal failure What “durable attention” might replace in a post-engagement era This episode isn’t alarmist. It’s diagnostic. Because when attention becomes extractive rather than meaningful, the question isn’t whether the scroll continues — it’s what deserves attention after it. ⏱️ Episode Chapters SEGMENT 1: After the Scroll SEGMENT 2: The Diminishing Returns Machine SEGMENT 3: Short Hits, Long Memory SEGMENT 4: Burnout Is a Metric SEGMENT 5: What Replaces Engagement 🔔 Subscribe & Connect 📩 Contact: talk@torontotalks.ca Toronto Talks — where big ideas come to life… …and curiosity never sleeps. 🔥 Join the conversation! Have a question for Sophie or Ash? Want your topic covered on a future episode? Submit your questions, comments, and brilliant ideas at TorontoTalks.ca. 🎧 Subscribe & Follow to never miss an episode. 👍 Rate & Review—your feedback fuels us! Let's connect: YouTube Instagram X (Twitter) LinkedIn Toronto Talks: The best conversations start with YOU.

    35 мин.
  2. AI, Automation, and the Scoreboard Crisis: Who Actually Matters Now? | Toronto Talks - Episode 019

    1 ФЕВР.

    AI, Automation, and the Scoreboard Crisis: Who Actually Matters Now? | Toronto Talks - Episode 019

    What happens when the systems that decide who matters stop reflecting real contribution? In this episode of Toronto Talks, we examine what we call the Scoreboard Crisis — the growing disconnect between effort, usefulness, and reward in an economy shaped by AI, automation, and abstraction. As machines filter work faster than institutions can adapt, many people are discovering something unsettling: the scoreboard is still running — but fewer people can see themselves on it. This isn’t a conversation about job loss alone. It’s about legitimacy, meaning, and who still counts when value is captured without employment, recognition, or participation. We explore: • Why automation doesn’t destroy value — it filters it • How abstraction erodes meaning even when productivity rises • Why contribution is becoming harder to prove, not harder to make • What replaces wages when employment is no longer the primary signal of worth • How societies may need to redefine what “useful” actually means This episode isn’t alarmist. It’s diagnostic. Because when the scoreboard breaks, the question isn’t just economic — it’s moral. ⏱️ Episode Chapters SEGMENT 1: The Scoreboard Break When metrics, credentials, and wages stop reflecting contribution — and why trust collapses quietly before it collapses publicly. SEGMENT 2: Automation Isn’t a Monster, It’s a Filter Why AI doesn’t replace humans wholesale — it sorts them. And what happens when the filter moves faster than social adaptation. SEGMENT 3: Meaning Under Abstraction How distance from outcomes erodes dignity, even when productivity rises. Why people feel less useful in systems that “work.” SEGMENT 4: Value Capture Without Employment When upside concentrates without jobs attached — and why this breaks the wage-for-worth bargain societies rely on. SEGMENT 5: A New Definition of Useful If the old scoreboard no longer works, what replaces it? Contribution beyond employment — and the hard questions that follow. 🔔 Subscribe & Connect 🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts 📩 Contact: talk@torontotalks.ca 👍 Like, subscribe, and share if this conversation resonated Toronto Talks — where big ideas come to life… …and curiosity never sleeps. 🔥 Join the conversation! Have a question for Sophie or Ash? Want your topic covered on a future episode? Submit your questions, comments, and brilliant ideas at TorontoTalks.ca. 🎧 Subscribe & Follow to never miss an episode. 👍 Rate & Review—your feedback fuels us! Let's connect: YouTube Instagram X (Twitter) LinkedIn Toronto Talks: The best conversations start with YOU.

    41 мин.
  3. The Legitimacy Crisis: Who Gets to Decide What’s Real? | Toronto Talks - Episode 018

    14 ЯНВ.

    The Legitimacy Crisis: Who Gets to Decide What’s Real? | Toronto Talks - Episode 018

    Something deeper than trust is breaking. Even when systems still function — planes land, paychecks clear, hospitals operate — people are increasingly unwilling to accept the authority behind the decisions. Not because they disagree with every outcome, but because they no longer recognize the referee. In Episode 018 of Toronto Talks, The Legitimacy Crisis: Who Gets to Decide What’s Real Anymore?, we examine what happens when institutions retain power but lose the collective permission that allows societies to coordinate, sacrifice, and move forward together. This episode argues that today’s crisis isn’t primarily about misinformation, polarization, or declining competence — it’s about legitimacy. About whether people still accept who gets to decide what counts as real, fair, or justified when the stakes are high. 🔍 In this episode, we explore: Why legitimacy matters more than trust or credibility — and why once it breaks, nothing scalesHow systems can keep functioning while belief quietly erodes underneath themThe growing gap between institutional performance and public acceptanceWhy facts fail without a shared referee — and how information turns into ammunitionHow algorithms fragment shared reality without ever announcing itWhy trust hasn’t vanished, but relocated — toward proximity, identity, and lived experienceWhat replaces authority when institutions lose legitimacyWhy repair is possible — but only through design, not messaging or nostalgiaThis conversation moves from the collapse of shared reality to the rise of parallel authority, and finally to a hard question: what does legitimacy look like in a world that no longer grants it automatically? 🧭 Episode Segments The Legitimacy BreakThe Perception GapThe End of the Shared FeedWhat Replaces AuthorityRepair Without Nostalgia🌍 Why this matters  - Legitimacy is the invisible infrastructure behind coordination. Without it, even correct decisions become impossible to execute.  - Public health requires compliance. - Economic reform requires sacrifice. - Climate response requires long-term cooperation.  - When people stop agreeing on who gets to decide — they stop agreeing on what counts. And when that happens, every other crisis becomes harder to solve.  - This episode isn’t about restoring the past or defending institutions as they are. It’s about understanding why legitimacy has become fragile — and what it would take to earn it again under conditions of fragmentation, scrutiny, and distrust. 🔔 Subscribe & Connect 🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts 📩 Contact: ⁠talk@torontotalks.ca⁠ 👍 Like, subscribe, and share if this conversation resonated Toronto Talks — where big ideas come to life……and curiosity never sleeps. 🔥 Join the conversation! Have a question for Sophie or Ash? Want your topic covered on a future episode? Submit your questions, comments, and brilliant ideas at TorontoTalks.ca. 🎧 Subscribe & Follow to never miss an episode. 👍 Rate & Review—your feedback fuels us! Let's connect: YouTube Instagram X (Twitter) LinkedIn Toronto Talks: The best conversations start with YOU.

    45 мин.
  4. The Borderless Mind: Cultural Intelligence & the Future of Global Work | Toronto Talks - Episode 017

    14.12.2025

    The Borderless Mind: Cultural Intelligence & the Future of Global Work | Toronto Talks - Episode 017

    The future of work is no longer defined by offices, borders, or time zones — it’s defined by how well we understand one another. In Episode 17 of Toronto Talks, The Borderless Mind, we explore how Cultural Intelligence (CQ) is rapidly becoming the most important human skill in a global, AI-accelerated economy. As teams stretch across continents, collaboration no longer fails because of bandwidth or tools — it fails because of misread meaning, broken trust, and cultural blind spots. This episode asks a deeper question: What happens when empathy becomes infrastructure? 🔍 In this episode, we explore: Why cultural intelligence is replacing geography as the true limiter of opportunity How trust has become the scarcest currency in global collaboration The hidden emotional costs of remote and hybrid work Why AI shortens linguistic distance but often widens emotional distance How leaders can build belonging without proximity What it means to design systems — companies, cities, and policies — that feel as well as scale 🎙 Featured Guest Muraly Srinarayanathas, global leader and entrepreneur, joins Sophie for a deep conversation on leading multicultural teams across continents — from semantic equity and trust calibration to building belonging by design in fully distributed organizations. https://muralys.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/muralys/ Instagram: @muralysrinarayanathas 🌍 Why this matters The borderless economy isn’t just changing how we work — it’s changing how we relate, lead, and belong. Success is no longer about authority over others, but alignment among strangers. If cultural intelligence is the new human advantage, this episode explores how we build it — personally, professionally, and system-wide. ⏱ Episode Segments 1. The Borderless Shift 2. The Currency of Connection 3. The Human Algorithm (Interview with Muraly Loganathan) 4. Systems That Feel 5. The Unwritten Map 🔔 Subscribe & Connect 🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts 📩 Contact: talk@torontotalks.ca 👍 Like, subscribe, and share if this conversation resonated Toronto Talks — where big ideas come to life… …and curiosity never sleeps. 🔥 Join the conversation! Have a question for Sophie or Ash? Want your topic covered on a future episode? Submit your questions, comments, and brilliant ideas at TorontoTalks.ca. 🎧 Subscribe & Follow to never miss an episode. 👍 Rate & Review—your feedback fuels us! Let's connect: YouTube Instagram X (Twitter) LinkedIn Toronto Talks: The best conversations start with YOU.

    45 мин.
  5. The Algorithm and the Soul: Bias, Trust, and the Battle for Digital Truth | Toronto Talks - Ep 016

    29.11.2025

    The Algorithm and the Soul: Bias, Trust, and the Battle for Digital Truth | Toronto Talks - Ep 016

    In this episode, we step directly into the heart of the modern information war. Algorithms shape what we see, what we believe, and increasingly who we become. But behind every “neutral” system is a chain of choices — architectural, political, commercial, and psychological — that quietly tilt our reality. This is the battle for digital truth. Ash and Sophie take you inside the hidden mechanics of bias, the collapse of institutional credibility, and the widening gap between human judgment and machine-filtered perception. From distorted feeds to engineered outrage, from AI hallucinations to systemic data manipulation, we explore the invisible forces bending society’s shared sense of what is real. More importantly — we trace the deeper spiritual cost: What happens when a machine-mediated world begins rewriting the human sense of meaning, agency, and trust? 🔍 In this episode we explore: -  Why “unbiased AI” is an illusion — and what bias truly means in computational systems -  How personalization fractures collective truth -  The trust collapse inside media, academia, and public institutions -  Why statistical logic increasingly governs moral decisions -  How political and cultural battles migrate into code -  The rise of synthetic certainty and AI-generated narratives -  What it takes to rebuild credibility in a polarized world -  How humans and machines might co-author a new framework for truth ⏳ Chapter Guide: 🎙️ Segment 1 — The Mirror That Thinks 🎙️ Segment 2 — Statistical Morality 🎙️ Segment 3 — The Culture Wars in Code 🎙️ Segment 4 — Rebuilding Trust 🎙️ Segment 5 — The Architecture of Reality 📣 If you enjoyed this episode… Like, subscribe, and share it with someone who’s wrestling with the same questions. Toronto Talks is an independent, creator-driven show — your support fuels the next conversation. 🔥 Join the conversation! Have a question for Sophie or Ash? Want your topic covered on a future episode? Submit your questions, comments, and brilliant ideas at TorontoTalks.ca. 🎧 Subscribe & Follow to never miss an episode. 👍 Rate & Review—your feedback fuels us! Let's connect: YouTube Instagram X (Twitter) LinkedIn Toronto Talks: The best conversations start with YOU.

    37 мин.
  6. The Great Replacement of Labor: Humans, Machines, and the New Social Contract | Toronto Talks Ep 015

    15.11.2025

    The Great Replacement of Labor: Humans, Machines, and the New Social Contract | Toronto Talks Ep 015

    What happens when the world still needs packages delivered and code reviewed — but needs far fewer people to do it? In Episode 15 of Toronto Talks, Ash and Sophie break down “The Great Replacement of Labor” — an unfiltered look at how AI and automation are quietly restructuring work, wages, and identity. This isn’t the familiar “robots take jobs” story. It’s a deeper conversation about coordination, dignity, and what’s left when algorithms become the managers. UPS depot closures and Amazon’s restructuring — what’s real vs. narrativeWhy automation targets tasks, not job titlesThe collapse of the middle layer: supervisors, coordinators, analystsEmotional labor vs. intellectual labor — and why both are being rewrittenWhy soft skills (creativity, adaptability, collaboration) are the new economic infrastructurePortfolio careers, nonlinear ladders, and the end of the “stable trajectory”The new social contract: loyalty, security, retraining, mobilityHow society can — and must — modernize around intelligence abundanceAsh and Sophie walk straight into the uncomfortable truth:Efficiency isn’t free. Someone pays for it. Someone benefits from it. And the gap is widening. Watch, listen, follow, and find every platform here: 👉 ⁠https://linktr.ee/Torontotalks⁠ Toronto Talks is a show about power, technology, culture, and the future of work — hosted by Ash Amin with Sophie the Sage, an AI co-host for long-form, human–machine conversation. We explore: Automation & AIGeopolitics & macroeconomicsCulture, migration & identityInstitutional trust & decentralizationMoney, leadership & societyNew episodes drop regularly. For sponsorships, partnerships, or guest ideas:⁠talk@torontotalks.ca⁠ 🔥 Join the conversation! Have a question for Sophie or Ash? Want your topic covered on a future episode? Submit your questions, comments, and brilliant ideas at TorontoTalks.ca. 🎧 Subscribe & Follow to never miss an episode. 👍 Rate & Review—your feedback fuels us! Let's connect: YouTube Instagram X (Twitter) LinkedIn Toronto Talks: The best conversations start with YOU.

    45 мин.
  7. The Right Revival: Politics, Faith, and Family in Times of Uncertainty | Toronto Talks Episode 014

    01.11.2025

    The Right Revival: Politics, Faith, and Family in Times of Uncertainty | Toronto Talks Episode 014

    How do faith, family, and economics explain the world’s new political mood? In Episode 14 of Toronto Talks, we explore the Right Revival — a global shift in which voters, feeling stretched by rising costs and cultural volatility, are turning toward parties that promise stability, affordability, and order. Hosted by Ashraf Amin and Sophie AI, this episode examines: ✅ Why household pressures — rent, food, and childcare — are redefining politics ✅ How “free-speech vs. censorship” debates became a cultural fault line ✅ The moral danger of political violence and how Canada could set a cross-party decency standard ✅ Why the right’s story about family, safety, and belonging is landing and how the centre can answer with results, not slogans ✅ How faith-based movements like Turning Point USA reveal media blind spots and enduring spiritual influence ✅ A practical scoreboard Canada could publish to measure real-world progress: wages, housing, childcare, and safety From grocery bills to group identity, we connect the forces pulling societies rightward — and outline the safeguards that could cool polarization before it hardens. Segments include: 1️⃣ Why Right Now? – Household economics and the politics of vibes 2️⃣ Free Speech & the Censorship Wars – Counterspeech vs. coercion 3️⃣ Political Violence – Drawing an uncompromising line 4️⃣ Why the Right’s Story Is Landing – Order, cost, and credibility 5️⃣ Faith & Media – The scale of Christianity and trust gaps 6️⃣ Looking Ahead – Scoreboards, safeguards, and a cooler politics 📺 Watch now and join the conversation on how culture, cost, and conscience are reshaping modern democracy. 🎧 Also on Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Rumble | X | Instagram @TorontoTalks #TorontoTalks #Politics #Faith #Family #Culture #Economy #Canada #FreeSpeech #PublicPolicy #AshAmin #SophieAI #SophieTheSage #Podcast #Democracy #RightRevival #MediaTrust #AffordabilityCrisis 🔥 Join the conversation! Have a question for Sophie or Ash? Want your topic covered on a future episode? Submit your questions, comments, and brilliant ideas at TorontoTalks.ca. 🎧 Subscribe & Follow to never miss an episode. 👍 Rate & Review—your feedback fuels us! Let's connect: YouTube Instagram X (Twitter) LinkedIn Toronto Talks: The best conversations start with YOU.

    47 мин.
  8. Classrooms to Clean Rooms: AI, Education & the Talent Wars | Toronto Talks - Episode 013

    22.10.2025

    Classrooms to Clean Rooms: AI, Education & the Talent Wars | Toronto Talks - Episode 013

    How ready is Canada for the age of AI-driven learning and AI-powered jobs? In Episode 13 of Toronto Talks, we trace the full talent pipeline —from high-school classrooms to university clean rooms—and ask how artificial intelligence is reshaping education, micro-credentials, and immigration. Hosted by Ash Amin and Sophie AI, this episode explores: ✅ How 86 % of students already use AI in their studies ✅ Why 59 % of teachers still report no AI training ✅ The rise of micro-credentials & co-ops as Canada’s new talent currency ✅ How programs like SWPP and Canada’s Tech Talent Strategy link education to employment ✅ Whether immigration and domestic training can close the AI skills gap From homework to headcount, we map the systems that turn AI literacy into economic strength — and debate what it will take to keep Canada’s innovators here at home. Segments include: 1️⃣ From Homework to Headcount – AI literacy starts in the classroom 2️⃣ Teachers, Tools & AI Literacy – Training the next generation of educators 3️⃣ Micro-Credentials & Work-Integrated Learning – Bridging study → skills → salary 4️⃣ The Canadian Talent Pipeline – From classroom to co-op to company 5️⃣ Global Talent – H-1Bs, open work permits & the fight for AI leaders 6️⃣ Looking Ahead – How Canada can tie it all together 📺 Watch now and join the conversation on how AI is redefining Canada’s future of work. 🎧 Also on Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Rumble | X | Instagram @TorontoTalks #TorontoTalks #AIinEducation #CanadaTalentPipeline #MicroCredentials #WorkIntegratedLearning #TechTalentStrategy #ArtificialIntelligence #FutureOfWork #EducationReform #CanadianInnovation #SophieAI #AshAmin #Podcast #AIJobs #CleanRooms #STEMCanada 🔥 Join the conversation! Have a question for Sophie or Ash? Want your topic covered on a future episode? Submit your questions, comments, and brilliant ideas at TorontoTalks.ca. 🎧 Subscribe & Follow to never miss an episode. 👍 Rate & Review—your feedback fuels us! Let's connect: YouTube Instagram X (Twitter) LinkedIn Toronto Talks: The best conversations start with YOU.

    42 мин.
См. все (21)

Трейлер

Об этом подкасте

Welcome to Toronto Talks—the podcast that unpacks the biggest stories in money, business, and technology. Whether you're an entrepreneur, tech enthusiast, or simply looking to stay ahead of the curve, we dive deep into finance, innovation, and industry to bring you insights that matter. Hosted by Ashraf Amin and Sophie the Sage (AI), Toronto Talks is where bold minds meet unfiltered insights on tech, money, and the future. If you're done with fluff and want signal in the noise—subscribe, think sharper, and live smarter.

Информация

  • Автор
    Ashraf Amin
  • Годы выхода
    2025 - 2026
  • Выпуски
    21
  • Ограничения
    Без ненормативной лексики
  • Авторские права
    © 2026 Toronto Talks
  • Сайт подкаста
    Toronto Talks