An Academic and a VC Walk into an AI Salon …

The unexpected collaboration that became “AI and the Art of Being Human”

Perhaps the most humbling things about writing a book with someone else—at least when it goes well—is realizing that what results far transcends what you could have achieved on your own.

And possibly the second is the encouragement and feedback you get from people you would never otherwise have had the privilege of knowing.

The seeds for the collaboration that resulted in AI and the Art of Being Human started back in May 2024 when I was asked by my co-author Jeff Abbot to speak at the Phoenix chapter of AI Salon—a global network of AI startup and entrepreneur communities that Jeff founded.

Unknown to me at the time, what I talked about resonated deeply with Jeff. Unlike me (a consummate academic these days), Jeff is a hard nosed venture capitalist, and very much focused on identifying and funding AI startups. But as we continued to talk after that AI Salon meeting, it became clear that we had a lot in common when it came to thinking about what it actually means to thrive as a person in an age of AI.

And this extended far beyond founders and funders to students, parents, artists, academics, business leaders, policy makers, and pretty much anyone trying to make sense of a world where AI can replicate so much of what we do.

Through these conversations, it became increasingly clear that there was an urgent need for some form of guide on how to hold onto who we are and what matters as we increasingly fold AI into our lived. Not a another speculative book about the promise or evils of AI, or a “my journey with AI,” tome, but a practical, accessible, and meaningful guide that anyone from a high school student to a tech founder could pick up and use.

The result was a roller coaster of a ride as we worked together on developing and refining AI and the Art of Being Human …

Related:

More on artificial intelligence at ASU.