Ep 102 - Alex ‘Sandy’ Pentland on Humanizing Technology
Brave New World -- hosted by Vasant Dhar
Release Date: 01/08/2026
Brave New World -- hosted by Vasant Dhar
David Gardner, co-founder of The Motley Fool, joins Vasant Dhar to discuss his approach to investing - the case for holding great companies for decades, and candid takes on stocks as long-term bets. Useful Resources: 1. 2. 3. , CEO, The Motley Fool 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. - David Gardner 9. 10. - David Gardner, Tom Gardner 11. - 12. David Gardner’s Stock Picks: , , , , , , , , , 13. 14. 15. 16. - 17. 18. 19. Check out on Substack. The subscription is free! Order Vasant Dhar’s new book,
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Smell is the most mysterious of our senses and we've been getting it wrong. Biophysicist Luca Turin joins Vasant Dhar to reveal why and how our noses detect vibrations and what that could mean for disease diagnosis, security, and the future of AI. Useful Resources: 1. . 2. - Luca Turin, Tania Sanchez. 3. - Luca Turin. 4. - Luca Turin, Tania Sanchez. 5. - Luca Turin. 6. - Leslie B. Vosshall. 7. - Ross D. Hoehn, David E. Nichols, Hartmut Neven, Sabre Kais. 8. - Eric Block, Seogjoo Jang, Hiroki Matsunami, Hanyi Zuhang. 9. - Andreas Keller and Leslie B. Vosshall. 10. - Linda Buck,...
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Your networks shape you more than you know. Nicholas Christakis joins Vasant Dhar to reveal how machines inserted into human groups quietly rewire the way people cooperate, coordinate, and trust — and why a little artificial noise might be exactly what we need. Useful Resources: 1. 2. 3. - and 4. 5. - and 6. - and 7. 8. 9. - , and 10. 11. 12. - , and 13. - Paul G. Hiebert 14. 15. 16. - 17. - , , , , , , 18. - , 19. - , , , 20. 21. - 22. - and 23. 24. 25. Check out on Substack. The subscription is free! Order Vasant Dhar’s new book,
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Your nose knows more than you think. Professor Leslie M. Kay joins Vasant Dhar to reveal how smell is wired directly into the brain's emotional core — and how every breath you take is quietly synchronising your mind. Useful Resources: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. and 7. , 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. - Lucia F Jacobs 15. 16. , 17. - , , and 18. - Maxwell Mozell 19. - Leslie M. Kay 20. - UK Biobank 21. 22. - Asifa Majid Check out on Substack. The subscription is free! Order Vasant Dhar’s new book,
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What separates fluency from understanding? Léon Bottou joins Vasant Dhar in Episode 103, Brave New World, to explore the deep question at the heart of AI. Useful Resources: 1. 2. Léon Bottou - 3. 4. 5. , and - 6. - 7. - 8. 9. 10. - 11. 12. 13. Check out on Substack. The subscription is free! Order Vasant Dhar’s new book,
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AI is reshaping national power and governance. Drawing on India’s digital public infrastructure, Jayant Sinha and Vasant Dhar discuss innovation and sovereignty over compute, data consent and privacy by design in Episode 103 of Brave New World. Useful Resources: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. . 12. . 13. 14. 15. , , . 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. Check out on Substack. The subscription is free! Order Vasant Dhar’s new book,
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Professor Alex ‘Sandy’ Pentland, one of the most renowned computational scientists in the world, joins Vasant Dhar in Episode 102 of Brave New World to discuss the state and development of human-centric AI. Useful Resources: 1. . 2. . 3. . 4. , . 5. , . 6. . 7. . 8. . 9. . 10. . 11. . 12. . 13. . 14. . 15. , . 16. . 17. . 18. 19. . 20. . 21. . 22. . Check out on Substack. The subscription is free! Order Vasan Dhar’s new book, Check out on Substack. The subscription is free! Order Vasan Dhar’s new book,
info_outlineBrave New World -- hosted by Vasant Dhar
Useful Resources: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. . 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. Check out on Substack. The subscription is free! Order Vasant Dhar’s new book,
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Episode 100 of Brave New World features David Ko, CEO of Calm, a digital health company focused on mental wellness and mindfulness. From experiencing panic attacks as a teenager to being the driving force behind Calm, his journey is an inspiring exploration of resilience, purpose, and the intersection of vulnerability and innovation. Useful Resources: 1. , CEO of 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Order - Vasant Dhar Check out on Substack. The subscription is free!
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Joel Roberts, former host of a prime-time talk show on KABC Radio, Los Angeles, takes over hosting duties to talk Vasant Dhar about his upcoming book and Roberts' own scepticism regarding all things AI. Useful Resources: 1. . 2. 3. . 4. . 5. . 6. . 7. 8. 9. . 10. 11. . 12. . 13. 14. 15. . 16. . 17. . 18. . Check out on Substack. The subscription is free!
info_outlineProfessor Alex ‘Sandy’ Pentland, one of the most renowned computational scientists in the world, joins Vasant Dhar in Episode 102 of Brave New World to discuss the state and development of human-centric AI.
Useful Resources:
1. Alex ‘Sandy’ Pentland.
2. Stanford Research Institute.
3. MIT Media Lab.
4. Distributed Computing, Blockchain.
5. Nature Magazine, Nature Machine Intelligence.
6. The Hard Problem Of Consciousness.
7. Shared Wisdom: Cultural Evolution In The Age Of AI: Alex Pentland.
8. Brave New World Episode 101: Deepak Chopra On Consciousness and Reality.
9. Digital Dharma: How AI Can Elevate Spiritual Intelligence and Personal Well-Being - Deepak Chopra.
10. Awakening: The Path to Freedom and Enlightenment - Deepak Chopra.
11. Sharing The Wisdom Of Time: Pope Francis.
12. UN, Sustainable Development Goals.
13. Jonathan Haidt.
14. Brave New World Episode 08: Jonathan Haidt, How Social Media Threatens Society.
15. Daniel Kahneman, Behavioural Economics.
16. Brave New World Episode 21: Daniel Kahneman, How Noise Hampers Judgement.
17. Loyal Agents.
18. Loyal Agents Consumer Reports
19. EU - AI Act.
20. Duty Of Care.
21. Internet Engineering Task Force.
22. World Trade Organisation.
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Order Vasan Dhar’s new book, Thinking With Machines
Check out Vasant Dhar’s newsletter on Substack. The subscription is free!
Order Vasan Dhar’s new book, Thinking With Machines