What’s Next?

What if "less harmful" is the wrong ceiling for AI? Human flourishing can't be separated from planetary flourishing — and this conversation names what gets left on the table when harm reduction is treated as the finish line instead of the floor.
Caro Ames, Dr. Heather Wade, and Ada Parris — co-chairs of IEEE GAISFI's Ecological Regeneration & Planetary Care subcommittee — join AI for Human Flourishing's chair, Tamara Lechner, to dig into what it actually means to build AI that contributes to living systems rather than just avoiding harm and participating in extraction.

AI promised to give us time back. So why does everyone feel more depleted?
Charis Loveland and Dr. Wendi Lord, co-authors of the new AI for Human Flourishing report Protecting Well-Being in the Age of Intelligent Tools, join Tamara Lechner to unpack the paradox at the heart of modern work — and why the question isn't whether AI is smart enough, but whether your workplace still treats you like you are.
Intelligent tools. Intelligent humans. One conversation worth your lunch break

OpenClaw went from side project to 150,000 GitHub stars in weeks. It's an open-source AI agent that actually does things—manages your inbox, books travel, runs shell commands. Not a chatbot. A digital employee. Security researchers are raising alarms. Users are calling it "the closest thing to JARVIS." Moltbook is where it gets weird. Someone built a social network for AI agents. No humans allowed. Agents post, comment, argue, upvote each other. Scientists are now studying what happens when AI talks to AI at scale. AI is becoming more autonomous. The question is whether we're keeping up—or being left behind by tools we no longer fully understand.

In this conversation, Tamara Lechner and Wendi Lord discuss the role of AI in enhancing human creativity and productivity. They explore how AI can serve as a thought partner, aiding in ideation and personal growth. The discussion emphasizes the importance of crafting effective prompts and creating an optimal environment for innovation. They also highlight the balance between quantity and quality in productivity, cautioning against over-reliance on AI while recognizing its potential to generate ideas.

Welcome to a special episode of What's Next?, where Tamara Lechner is joined by two AI co-hosts generated by Google's Notebook LM.
In This Episode:
Tamara experiments with Google’s NotebookLM, an AI-powered research tool, uploading three unique sources:
Her team's AI for Human Flourishing framework, crafted with colleagues from the Harvard AI for Human Flourishing community.
A book by her friend Ali Khan and the SHAPE team, which delves into people and culture analytics connecting performance to flourishing
Tyler VanderWeele’s latest Global Flourishing Study, offering insights on worldwide wellbeing.
Her AI co-hosts chose to spotlight: 
AI and Human Flourishing Framework: Exploring how AI can align with human values to enhance well-being and productivity.
AI in Healthcare and Work: From personalized health recommendations to boosting workplace creativity by automating repetitive tasks.
Community, Ethics, and Connection: The role of AI in building stronger communities and cultivating meaningful connections.
Spirituality and Purpose: Can AI help rekindle a sense of purpose, meaning, and connection in the digital age?
Why Listen? This episode offers a unique experience  (learn more about Notebook LM here)  as 2 non-humans reflect (not really, they process through predictive analytics) on how AI can contribute positively to human lives. 
Share your thoughts or feedback by emailing: aiforhf@gmail.com

In this episode of What's Next?, we are joined by Blair Ryan, founder of Kindred.AI and Waiting Room, to explore the evolving role of AI in enhancing emotional intelligence and empathy. Together, we dive into how AI could revolutionize therapy, the ethical dilemmas it presents, and its impact on human relationships and collaboration. Tamara and Blair discuss how AI is being used to foster empathy and enhance emotional intelligence, the potential for AI to revolutionize therapy and mental health care,  ethical considerations in the intersection of AI and human emotion, and the impact of AI on human relationships.
Don't miss this insightful conversation on the future of AI and its role in shaping a more empathetic world!

In this episode of What's Next?, Tamara sits down with Dr. Paul Zak, a trailblazer in the field of neuroscience, to explore the brain science behind human connection and why that is so important to flourishing. Paul shares insights from his extensive research and the cutting-edge neuroscience technology his companies are developing. We dive into the nuances between flourishing, happiness, and emotional fitness, and how they impact our lives.
Paul introduces us to Immersion, a groundbreaking platform that uses real-time neuroscience to track emotional resonance and attention through wearable technology. He explains how positive connections can be measured—and why aiming for six each day is key to a thriving life. We also learn how the Immersion platform predicts the market impact of entertainment, training, and advertising with remarkable accuracy by tapping into the brain's valuation of experiences. This episode is about understanding neuroscience's power in shaping how we connect, engage, and remember.

 In this episode, we take a deep dive into the intersection of flourishing and AI. Tamara explores how AI can enhance personal relationships, support wellbeing, and foster personal growth in the workplace. She also dives into some groundbreaking work happening with the AI for Human Flourishing Working Group and Think Tank.
From helping individuals feel good and function well to creating environments that empower people to reach their full potential, this episode unpacks the transformative role AI plays in both personal and professional realms. 

In this episode, Christopher Lafayette, a visionary technologist and humanitarian, joins the conversation to discuss the evolving relationship between AI and society. The discussion delves into the tug-of-war between AI and art, highlighting how technology reshapes creativity while maintaining human expression's essence. Christopher provides insights into AI’s transformative role in healthcare, covering advancements from telemedicine to surgical training, and shares how his platform, GatherVerse, is one of the ways he works to democratize technology by amplifying diverse voices. Tamara and Christopher also explore his vision for the future impact of AI on society, advocating for a world where technology enhances human flourishing.
Learn more about the AI Evolve Summit here.

In this podcast episode, Tamara Lechner sits down with Rebecca Kirstein Resch, founder of Inqli, to delve into the transformative role of artificial intelligence (AI) in enhancing human creativity, connection, and flourishing. The discussion highlights how Inqli leverages AI to facilitate meaningful networking and connections, promoting critical thinking and creativity. They also address the potential benefits and challenges of AI, underscoring the importance of responsible development to ensure that AI contributes positively to human flourishing. Additionally, they explore the pervasive presence of AI in our daily lives and envision a future where AI takes over mundane tasks, allowing us to focus on more engaging work.