Atlas, Higher Education, and How We Really Feel About AI
Modem Futura
Scenario: a memory economy emerges
They play out a futures prompt where memories become currency and consider ethical, social, and dystopian implications.
In this episode Sean Leahy and Andrew Maynard dive deep into how people really feel about AI—drawing on the latest Pew Research Center global survey of 25 countries. From curiosity to concern, they unpack why so many remain unaware of AI’s everyday presence and what this says about our collective future. The hosts explore the widening gap between the technological elite and the majority who’ve “heard little or nothing” about artificial intelligence, asking what it means for democracy, governance, and participation in shaping our shared futures. The conversation then expands into questions of trust: why Americans express the highest levels of AI anxiety, how the EU’s regulatory approach differs from the U.S., and what this signals for the next decade of global tech policy.
The duo also turn the spotlight on higher education’s role—arguing that universities must become transparent, experimental “living laboratories” that test and share both the successes and failures of emerging technologies. And just when things get heavy, Futures Improv returns with a hilarious twist on memory economies, and digital extinction events. Equal parts foresight and fun, this episode captures Modem Futura’s trademark blend of curiosity, creativity, and play.
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Modem Futura is a production of the Future of Being Human initiative at Arizona State University. Be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. To learn more about the Future of Being Human initiative and all of our other projects visit - https://futureofbeinghuman.asu.edu
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Host Bios:
Sean M. Leahy, PhD - ASU Bio
Sean is an an internationally recognized technologist, futurist, and educator innovating humanistic approaches to emerging technology through a Futures Studies approach. He is a Foresight Catalyst for the Future of Being Human Initiative and Research Scientist for the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and Senior Global Futures Scholar with the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University.
Andrew Maynard, PhD - ASU Bio
Andrew is a scientist, author, thought leader, and Professor of Advanced Technology Transitions in the ASU School for the Future of Innovation in Society. He is the founder of the ASU Future of Being Human initiative, Director of the ASU Risk Innovation Nexus, and was previously Associate Dean in the ASU College of Global Futures.
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