Outside of Our Minds

Outside of Our Minds

From Big Picture Science by Big Picture Science

June 1, 2026 · 54 min

About this episode

The episode explores the evolution of human communication and the impact of artificial intelligence on our thoughts and culture.

Since humans first chiseled marks into stone, we have externalized our thoughts and ideas. Our tools may have evolved—now we clack away at computer keyboards—but written communication remains a bedrock of modern society. Now that the pace of information creation is exponentially increasing with the advent of artificial intelligence, many are asking what the next frontier of human communication may look like. We look at how we got here, where the latest tools are headed—including brain-machine-interface—and how our brains and culture may be altered in the process. Guests: Alex Bentley – professor of anthropology, archeology, and computational social science at University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and co-author of “Collaborators Through Time: How Humans Partnered with Nature, Technology, and Each Other” Michael O’Brien – anthropologist at the Texas A&M University, San Antonio, and co-author of “Collaborators Through Time: How Humans Partnered with Nature, Technology, and Each Other” Tom Mullaney – professor of Chinese history at Stanford University, and author of “The Chinese Computer: A Global History of the Information Age” Betts Peters – Brain computer interface researcher…

People in this episode

Host: Big Picture Science

Guests: Alex Bentley, Michael O’Brien, Tom Mullaney, Betts Peters

Topics covered

  • human communication
  • artificial intelligence
  • brain-machine interface
  • cultural evolution
  • information technology

Keywords

  • communication
  • artificial intelligence
  • brain-machine interface
  • cultural change
  • technology evolution

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Tennessee, Texas A&M University, Stanford University, Oregon Health and Science University, Brain Computer Interface Society

Books & works: Collaborators Through Time: How Humans Partnered with Nature, Technology, and Each Other, The Chinese Computer: A Global History of the Information Age

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