In a world racing toward smarter machines, empathy speakers and authors Rob Volpe and Maria Ross get curious in this limited subseries about what only humans can feel, do, and be — and why that's our greatest competitive advantage. Enjoy this limited subseries here on The Empathy Edge.
Synthesis, Contradictions & What We Actually Want to Protect
Rob and Maria started this subseries with a single question: What does it mean to be human? Six episodes later, we don't have a tidy answer. And that might be the most human thing of all.
In this final episode, we pull the threads together across everything we explored: consciousness, mortality, emotion, aspiration, and morality, and wrestle with what we actually want to protect as AI becomes more woven into daily life.
We share an experiment we ran in real-time, asking AI directly whether it can imagine something that has never existed before. The response was surprisingly nuanced.
We close with a provocation from Madonna's new album Confessions II for what it says about creativity, individuality, and what only a human can bring to the world. And our call to action for listeners as they move forward in this brave new world.
To access the episode transcript, go to www.TheEmpathyEdge.com and search by episode title.
"AI knows most things that have existed, and therefore can draw on that and summarize and give you different ways to think about it. It's up to us to create something new to build beyond it." — Rob Volpe
Episode References:
The Empathy Edge Podcast:
About Maria Ross:
Maria Ross is a speaker, author, empathy strategist, and host of The Empathy Edge podcast, now in its sixth year. She believes cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™, and has spent decades helping leaders balance empathy with accountability to drive better results, stronger teams, and lasting impact. She is the author of four books, including the award-winning The Empathy Dilemma, a Forbes.com contributor on Workplace Empathy, and creator of two LinkedIn Learning empathy courses.
About Rob Volpe:
Rob Volpe is the Founder/CEO of Empathy Activist and the creator of The 5 Steps to Empathy, which he chronicles in his award-winning book Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation at a Time. He is a recognized thought leader, speaker, and consultant in the improvement of communication and collaboration in organizations of all sizes in all industries.
Connect with Rob:
Website: robvolpe.expert
Book: Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation
X: x.com/rmvolpe
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rmvolpe
Facebook: facebook.com/EmpathyActivist
Instagram: instagram.com/empathy_activist
Connect with Maria:
Get Maria's books: Red-Slice.com/books
Hire Maria to speak: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross
Take the LinkedIn Learning Courses! Leading with Empathy and Balancing Empathy, Accountability, and Results as a Leader
LinkedIn: Maria Ross
Instagram: @redslicemaria
Facebook: Red Slice
