National Stakes and the AI Arms Race

In this episode of Modem Futura, Sean and Andrew dive deep into the rising cultural tension between generative AI’s promise of instant production and the human need for meaningful creative friction. Prompted by frustrations with “AI slop” — low-effort, machine-generated content flooding professional and social spaces — the hosts examine why the “easy button” mentality poses risks to wisdom, craft, and our collective future. Drawing on examples from coding, design, and their own creative workflows, they unpack how frictionless creation can erode understanding, undermine expertise, and lead to a homogenized aesthetic where everything feels the same. They discuss the psychological pull toward efficiency, the biological impulse to conserve energy, and the seductive speed of synthetic content that risks replacing deep thinking with “satisficing” — settling for what is merely “good enough.”

Sean introduces Michael Crichton’s concept of “inherited power” from Jurassic Park to illustrate how AI enables people to wield capabilities they never earned, while Andrew reflects on care, meaning, and the dangers of losing human agency. Together, they argue for intentionally preserving friction — the struggle that builds mastery, creativity, and authentic connection. The episode ends with a playful futures-improv scenario imagining a world split between “button-press operators” and “friction elites,” raising questions of justice, autonomy, and what it will truly mean to be human in an AI-saturated world.

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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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