S12 E14: Our Virtual Reflection with Sam Rad

Ours is a fast-paced digital world where technology has become such a personalized part of our daily lives, it’s hard to imagine who we are without it.

Social media, augmented reality, and AI-driven personalization each contribute to the formation of a digital identity which impacts the way we connect with others and how we present ourselves online.

We’ve grown accustomed to how our smartphones and smartwatches intertwine physical and digital experiences. We’ve become accustomed to the ways technology influences the way we perceive ourselves and others but what happens when these technologies progress toward a seeming agency of their own? Or what about when our likeness is replicable in a virtual rendering or when the creative works we make are easily emulated by AI?

For many artists, these capabilities bring up real concerns about intellectual property and the ethics of what constitutes our identity.

Joining us for this discussion today is someone whose creative work intersects the worlds of art, technology and the future in ways that offer a positive look into the influence of emerging technologies on the artist’s life.

Sam Rad is a lifelong student of humanity, storyteller, performer, and musician. She was trained in anthropology, theatre, and movement/embodiment at New York University, British American Drama Academy at Oxford University, and Lee Strasberg Institute in NYC. She started her career as a theater director -- before founding 4 technology companies.

Today, Sam Rad is considered a futurist, one who looks into emerging technologies and helps us understand the coming impacts these tools will have on our lives. She is a published author and highly sought after motivational speaker who merges spirit and science through consciousness, connection, and creativity.