Digital Dementia: When AI Becomes...
Digital Dementia: When AI Becomes the Only Voice in the Room
The Analog Hour by Michelle Henery
S2 · E4
Sep 25, 2026
19:47
Episode notes

Dean Cooper is an IT executive who uses conversational AI in both his professional and personal life every day. As someone who is neurodivergent, he calls it a lifeline.

In this conversation, Dean introduces the concept digital dementia: the idea that we're outsourcing so much of our thinking to AI that we're forgetting how to do the things we once knew. He asks whether we're using AI as a bridge to bring us closer to others, or if we are burning it down because the other side feels too hard. Moreover, he draws parallels between his own fight with addiction and how many of us are using AI without realizing our dependency on it.

About the guest:

Dean Cooper is a technology executive, author, and founder of Street Therapy and Disability Assistive AI. He advocates for neurodiversity, disability ac ... 

Keywords
AI and human connection
AI and loneliness
digital dementia
ai addiction
neurodivergent and AI
autism and AI
conversational AI
AI and accessibility
how AI changes the way we think
AI companion