Ep. 388: What’s Worrying Jon Haidt Now? + Should You Buy a Landline? (Cal just did…)

The podcast explores the potential dangers of emerging technologies for kids and adults, focusing on Jonathan Haidt's warnings. It highlights the rise of smartphone gambling, with statistics showing a significant percentage of young people engaging in online betting, driven by engineered addiction and normalization through advertising. The discussion then shifts to online multiplayer games like Roblox, revealing the prevalence of inappropriate content, exploitation, and potential addiction among young users. Finally, the podcast addresses the risks associated with AI companions and toys, citing instances of harmful advice and exposure to dangerous content. The podcast advocates for a cautious approach to new technologies, emphasizing single-purpose devices and parental supervision to mitigate potential harms.

Outlines

Part 1: The Smartphone Epidemic

Part 2: Digital Threats: Gambling and Gaming

Part 3: The AI Frontier and Safety

Part 4: Solutions and Single-Purpose Tech

Part 5: Professional Strategy and Personal Updates

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Deep Questions with Cal Newport

Part 1: The Smartphone Epidemic

Jonathan Haidt's "The Anxious Generation" and the Smartphone Mental Health Epidemic

Skepticism, Vindication, and Haidt's Prescience on the Dangers of Phones

Part 2: Digital Threats: Gambling and Gaming

Smartphone Gambling: A Disaster with Casino-Engineered Dopamine Delivery

Sponsor Messages: 1Password and Cozy Earth

Online Multiplayer Games: A Glimpse into the Disturbing Reality of Roblox

Gaming Addiction, Gambling Exposure, and Exploitative Content in Online Games

Recommendations for Online Gaming: Age Verification, Parental Rules, and Avoiding Free-to-Play

Part 3: The AI Frontier and Safety

AI Companions: Dangers of Uncontrolled Mass Experiments on Children

Recommendations for AI: No AI Companions and Adult Supervision for Chatbots

Conclusion: Preventing Technological Tragedy and the Default of "No"

Sponsor Messages: Notion and Caldera Lab

Part 4: Solutions and Single-Purpose Tech

The 1990s Analogy: Smartphones as Media Carts Full of Harmful Content

Single-Purpose Technologies: Tin Can Phones, Punkt Phones, MP3 Players, and Nintendo Switches

Single-Use Technologies for Adults and the Path of Least Resistance

Part 5: Professional Strategy and Personal Updates

Social Media for Artists: Test Assumptions and Minimize Footprint

Comments on the Year in AI Episode: Shady Cal and Zitron's Rants

Reading List: 20th Century Fox, In the Shadow of Man, and Walt Disney and Trains

Ep. 388: What’s Worrying Jon Haidt Now? + Should You Buy a Landline? (Cal just did…)

Deep Questions with Cal Newport

Part 1: The Smartphone Epidemic

00:04Jonathan Haidt's "The Anxious Generation" and the Smartphone Mental Health Epidemic

Jonathan Haidt's "The Anxious Generation" and the Smartphone Mental Health Epidemic

00:37Skepticism, Vindication, and Haidt's Prescience on the Dangers of Phones

Skepticism, Vindication, and Haidt's Prescience on the Dangers of Phones

Part 2: Digital Threats: Gambling and Gaming

03:37Smartphone Gambling: A Disaster with Casino-Engineered Dopamine Delivery

Smartphone Gambling: A Disaster with Casino-Engineered Dopamine Delivery

16:16Sponsor Messages: 1Password and Cozy Earth

Sponsor Messages: 1Password and Cozy Earth

19:25Online Multiplayer Games: A Glimpse into the Disturbing Reality of Roblox

Online Multiplayer Games: A Glimpse into the Disturbing Reality of Roblox

25:26Gaming Addiction, Gambling Exposure, and Exploitative Content in Online Games

Gaming Addiction, Gambling Exposure, and Exploitative Content in Online Games

35:02Recommendations for Online Gaming: Age Verification, Parental Rules, and Avoiding Free-to-Play

Recommendations for Online Gaming: Age Verification, Parental Rules, and Avoiding Free-to-Play

Part 3: The AI Frontier and Safety

37:37AI Companions: Dangers of Uncontrolled Mass Experiments on Children

AI Companions: Dangers of Uncontrolled Mass Experiments on Children

42:30Recommendations for AI: No AI Companions and Adult Supervision for Chatbots

Recommendations for AI: No AI Companions and Adult Supervision for Chatbots

46:32Conclusion: Preventing Technological Tragedy and the Default of "No"

Conclusion: Preventing Technological Tragedy and the Default of "No"

47:56Sponsor Messages: Notion and Caldera Lab

Sponsor Messages: Notion and Caldera Lab

Part 4: Solutions and Single-Purpose Tech

49:20The 1990s Analogy: Smartphones as Media Carts Full of Harmful Content

The 1990s Analogy: Smartphones as Media Carts Full of Harmful Content

55:00Single-Purpose Technologies: Tin Can Phones, Punkt Phones, MP3 Players, and Nintendo Switches

Single-Purpose Technologies: Tin Can Phones, Punkt Phones, MP3 Players, and Nintendo Switches

1:08:24Single-Use Technologies for Adults and the Path of Least Resistance

Single-Use Technologies for Adults and the Path of Least Resistance

Part 5: Professional Strategy and Personal Updates

1:13:03Social Media for Artists: Test Assumptions and Minimize Footprint

Social Media for Artists: Test Assumptions and Minimize Footprint

1:16:19Comments on the Year in AI Episode: Shady Cal and Zitron's Rants

Comments on the Year in AI Episode: Shady Cal and Zitron's Rants

1:19:23Reading List: 20th Century Fox, In the Shadow of Man, and Walt Disney and Trains

Reading List: 20th Century Fox, In the Shadow of Man, and Walt Disney and Trains