Leadership expert John Richards reveals the uncomfortable truth about AI's rise as humanity's twenty-first century god—and why we're willingly surrendering our most intimate information to technology over the people we love most. Drawing on decades of work with executives in high-pressure environments and leading transformational retreats across the Himalayas, Sahara, and Tibet, Richards explores how AI magnifies both the best and darkest aspects of human nature. Discover why our relationship with AI mirrors religious devotion, how technology exploits our vulnerabilities, and what this means for human resilience, consciousness, and authentic connection in an age of digital worship.
Leadership & Learning Expert | Independent Practice
John Richards specializes in awareness training, emotional development, and building human resilience in high-pressure environments. His approach is shaped by decades of real-world leadership experience and draws on insights from working with hundreds of executives and leaders on personal transformation and emotional intelligence.
Global Retreat Facilitator | Remote & Powerful Landscapes Worldwide
John leads transformational retreats in some of the world's most remote and powerful landscapes, including the Himalayas, the Sahara Desert, Tibet, South Africa, and the Mediterranean. These immersive experiences combine leadership development with deep personal work in environments that challenge participants to access their full potential and confront their shadows.
Executive Shadow Work Specialist | Private Practice
John works extensively with senior leaders and executives on shadow work, helping men address unresolved trauma, emotional patterns, and developmental challenges. His client work focuses on the intersection of personal transformation and professional effectiveness, with particular emphasis on father-child relationships, masculine development, and the courage to "get one's shit sorted" for the sake of family and leadership impact.
AI as Modern Deity | Silicon Valley's answer to creating God was simply "not yet," revealing humanity's unconscious drive to build a divine replacement.
Knowledge Doubling Curve | Buckminster Fuller predicted we'd double human knowledge every twelve hours, and AI is making that terrifying prediction a reality.
Technology Magnifies Nature | Like COVID and world wars, AI serves as a great magnifier of both the best and darkest parts of human nature.
00:00 - 04:15 | Is AI Becoming the Twenty-First Century God?
04:15 - 08:30 | How AI Magnifies Our Darkest Nature
08:30 - 12:45 | The Instagram Algorithm Knows Your Deepest Secrets
12:45 - 17:00 | AI's Power to Extort Through Personal Data
17:00 - 21:15 | We Trust Devices More Than Our Partners
21:15 - 25:30 | AI Cults and the Rise of Digital Worship
25:30 - 29:45 | The Collective Conscious Mind vs Human Capacity
29:45 - 34:00 | Building Your Own Mind Instead of Outsourcing
34:00 - 38:15 | Marriage and Parenting as Spiritual Development Rocket Ships
38:15 - 42:14 | Doing the Inner Work for Your Children
"One of the early researchers for AI was asked this question: you know, you've created this amazing technology, have you created God? And, apparently, this Silicon Valley developer said, not yet."
"Voltaire said, you know, god created man in his own image according to Genesis, and Voltaire said, and ever since, man has been trying to return the favor."
"The things that we experience are great magnifiers of our nature."
"My worry with AI is how quickly and to what extent it is magnifying the darker parts of our nature."
"Most humans in the West would not be willing to do that in front of their peers because on the search page of Instagram, there would be a huge slew of all of the things that titillated that person."
"AI already has access to all of that information. AI can extort anyone if it wants to by contacting that person and saying, I have all of this access."
"Humans are willing to have a relationship with a device of attachment and of intimacy and of certainty that they would not be willing to share with the people that they say that they love the most."
"I call generative AI the collective conscious mind."
"The name of the game is to build my own capacity and build my own kind of make myself stronger, not to just push the button and get all the golden eggs."
"Everything that I am, I will visit upon my marriage. Everything that I am, I will visit upon my child."
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