John C. Havens has spent years at the heart of the global conversation on AI ethics. As the Founding Executive Director of the IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems, he led the creation of Ethically Aligned Design, a document that went on to influence the United Nations, OECD, IBM, and dozens of organizations shaping the future of AI. He also helped build the IEEE 7000 Standards Series, now one of the largest bodies of international standards on AI and society.

Today, John serves as the Global Staff Director for the IEEE Planet Positive 2030 Program, guiding efforts that prioritize both ecological and human flourishing in technological design. But his perspective on AI doesn’t begin with policy or engineering; it starts with love, vulnerability, and the deep spiritual questions that have shaped his life.

Previously, John was an EVP of Social Media at Porter Novelli and was a professional actor for over 15 years. John has written for Mashable and The Guardian and is author of the books, Heartificial Intelligence: Embracing Our Humanity To Maximize Machines, Hacking Happiness: Why Your Personal Data Counts and How Tracking it Can Change the World, and Tactical Transparency: How Leaders Can Leverage Social Media to Maximize Value and Build their Brand. John is also an expert with AI and Faith.

In this first part of our conversation, we discuss:

1. How love reframes “weakness” in both human life and AI ethics
2. The impact of generative AI on creativity, intellectual property, and the erosion of human craftsmanship
3. The dangers of anthropomorphism in AI design
4. Ways AI systems undermine our capacity for conscious choice
5. How the surveillance economy and advertising systems shape our habits and decisions
6. Positive psychology matters for designing technology that supports well-being
7. What dreams, virtual reality, the spatial web, data, and spiritual life have in common

To learn more about John’s work:

• IEEE Planet Positive 2030 Program – https://sagroups.ieee.org/planetpositive
• IEEE 7000 Standards Series – https://standards.ieee.org

Books and resources mentioned:

• Heartificial Intelligence: Embracing Our Humanity to Maximize Machines (John Havens)
• Hacking Happiness: Why Your Personal Data Counts and How Tracking it Can Change the World (John Havens)
• The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power (Shoshana Zuboff)
• Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other (Sherry Turkle)

This season of the podcast is sponsored by Templeton Religion Trust.

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