AI is impacting every part of our lives—and we need to start paying more attention.
Watch this timely conversation with Dr. Darin Johnson, Professor of Law at Howard University, former attorney at the Pentagon, U.S. State Department, and White House, and author of Digital Coup, whose work sits at the intersection of AI, democracy, national security, and constitutional law.
We discuss:
How social media has become one of the greatest threats to democracy
The "digital coup economy" and how AI is accelerating political manipulation
What citizens can do to fight back and become more discerning in the face of these threats
Why empathy is essential for protecting democracy, human rights, and the rule of law
If you care about democracy, free elections, misinformation, and the future of human rights—you don't want to miss this conversation.
00:00 Preview
00:49 Episode introduction
02:46 About Dr. Darin Johnson
05:42 Darin’s backstory11:31 Why Darin is still optimistic about America's ongoing democratic crisis13:35 Darin’s book, Digital Coup: The Conspiracy to Thwart Global Democracy17:31 Why Darin remains optimistic about the democratic crisis in the U.S.21:22 How free speech is being weaponized to undermine democracy26:28 How social media went from empowering citizens to undermining their agency31:45 The global election super cycle and AI-powered disinformation34:41 The rise of the "digital coup economy"37:34 Big Tech, AI, and the future of democratic governance43:18 Why empathy is essential to democracy and human rights47:03 Dr. Darin Johnson's Purposeful Empathy story
Episode #3 of Empathy in the Age of AI part II, a special 25-part series: https://tinyurl.com/exyw2nua
CONNECT WITH DARIN
✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/darin-johnson-5305ab/
✩ Website http://www.darin-johnson.com
CONNECT WITH ANITA
✩ Email purposefulempathy@gmail.com
✩ Website https://www.anitanowak.com
✩ Buy a copy of Purposeful Empathy http://tiny.cc/PurposefulEmpathyCA
✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/anitanowak/
✩ Instagram https://tinyurl.com/anitanowakinstagram
✩ Podcast Audio https://tinyurl.com/PurposefulEmpathyPodcast
✩ Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/anitanowak.bsky.social
SHOW NOTES
✩ Digital Coup: The Conspiracy to Thwart Global Democracy https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Coup-Conspiracy-Thwart-Democracy/dp/B0FCCD2W16
✩ The Empathic Civilization: The Race to Global Consciousness in a World in Crisis
https://www.amazon.com/Empathic-Civilization-Global-Consciousness-Crisis/dp/1585427659
Video edited by Jad Misri, Green Horizon Studio
