Episode #117: Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic on how to stay human in the age of AI

What does it mean to stay human in the age of AI? In this episode ,BetsyI welcomse back Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic - psychologist, author, and provocateur - to explore how technology is reshaping not just what we do, but who we are becoming as humans. From dating-app algorithms to digital narcissism, Tomas explains how AI mirrors our worst tendencies—bias, impatience, distraction—and why true curiosity always involves discomfort. Together they look at how efficiency can be inhumane, what "realistic optimism" about AI sounds like, and how we can reclaim what makes us unique: connection, creativity, and care.  In this episode we explore AI as a mirror: Why our algorithms don't invent new flaws so much as magnify our existing ones — bias, impatience, distraction, and the cult of efficiency. The erosion of curiosity: How the "microwave for ideas" that is generative AI can dull our hunger for the unknown — and why true curiosity always involves discomfort. Efficiency vs empathy: Why speed and optimisation are, by definition, inhumane — and how slowing down may be the ultimate rebellion. A realistic optimism: The hopeful case for AI as a co-pilot that de-biases decisions, automates drudgery, and frees us to re-invest in what makes us uniquely human: connection, creativity, and care. Our responsibility: The uncomfortable truth that we're still driving the car. AI isn't ethical or unethical — we are. Learning to steer is the task of our time. Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic is a Professor of Business Psychology at University College London and Visiting Professor at Columbia University. He's an international authority on psychological profiling and talent management, author of I, Human and Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders (and How to Fix It), and a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review. Connect Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic — tomaschamorro.com | @drtcp Betsy Reed — @thebetsyreed | thebetsyreed.com Please subscribe, share, and leave a 5-star review if this conversation stretched your comfort zone...