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REPLAY: Natural Born Cyborgs: Why 2.7 Billion People Are Missing from the AI Conversation

REPLAY: Natural Born Cyborgs: Why 2.7 Billion People Are Missing from the AI Conversation

Season 6 Episode 4

We're already cyborgs—our phones are extensions of our minds. But 2.7 billion people remain in digital darkness. Dr Lollie Mancey, digital anthropologist and RTÉ Futureville co-presenter, challenges the notion that AI will free us to paint in meadows. Reality? Jobs will vanish, universal basic income may arrive, and we'll face a purpose crisis when work no longer defines us. She poses the era's defining question: when your AI assistant comes home, is it at your table or recharging in the garage? Your answer reveals how you see technology's role. She's betting 80% on AGI by 2030—not gradual progress, but desperate need for higher intelligence. From 1950s washing machines to ChatGPT, labour-saving tools never save time—they shift expectations. The future isn't written, and AI won't decide our fate—we will.






Show Notes

Guest: Dr Lollie Mancey

Title: Digital Anthropologist, Co-presenter of RTÉ's Futureville


Key Topics:

[01:46] Humans plus technology, not instead of - Why AI isn't pixie dust to sprinkle on everything. Anthropologists are finally having their moment as the human element becomes critical.

[03:05] 2.7 billion in digital darkness - Who's missing from the AI conversation? Ireland's bubble makes us forget vast populations have no internet access.

[04:23] Who benefits from time saved? - Will employers reward productivity over hours? The washing machine didn't free women from housework—it just changed expectations.

[06:17] Universal basic income and purposelessness - When manual labour vanishes, what happens to identity? Two-generation unemployment creates malaise, addiction, depression. The pension (€270/week) is our only test case.

[07:10] The 1970s leisure prediction - Someone walked into a Dublin classroom and wrote "leisure time vs work time" on the blackboard. Were they right? Will we choose to work, or will the choice be made for us?

[26:31] AGI by 2030: 80% odds - Lollie's bold prediction: artificial general intelligence within six years, triggered by an unsolvable crisis requiring higher brain power.

[27:21] The interruption problem - New voice AI that interrupts changes everything. If you're rude to ChatGPT, are you training yourself to be rude to humans?

[28:08] At the table or in the garage? - The defining question: where does your AI companion belong? Younger generations already see them as household members, not machinery.

[29:28] The invasive technology concern - Why Lollie and neuroscience professors agree: don't open the hard box protecting our soft brains unless absolutely necessary.


Key Takeaways:

  • We're passive cyborgs now; we need to become active by understanding algorithms
  • The future of work isn't about productivity gains—it's about identity reconstruction
  • AI adoption without considering the 2.7 billion offline is incomplete thinking
  • Your answer to "table or garage?" reveals your entire worldview on technology
  • Labour-saving tools historically shift work, they don't eliminate it


Resources:

  • Futureville - RTÉ programme imagining Ireland in 2050
  • Connect with Lollie: drlollie.ie | LinkedIn: Dr Lollie (L-O-L-L-I-E)
  • Podcast: Available at drlollie.ie


Chatting GPT is produced by AI Institute. For AI adoption in built environment firms, visit https://weareaiinstitute.com/

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