The Chameleons Podcast

by Imac Zambrana

The world as we know is changing fast. We are experiencing a technological shift with an enormous potential for advances in knowledge and solutions for individuals and society. This requires extraordinary human agency and ability to adjust to the changes and navigate this unknown territory together. This is why this podcast is called The Chameleons – as a tribute to our incredibly malleable nature.

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Podcast episodes

  • Season 1

  • #10 Insights from a technologist: Purpose, Values & Decision-making – with Eric Bowman

    #10 Insights from a technologist: Purpose, Values & Decision-making – with Eric Bowman

    In this episode, we meet Eric Bowman, a technology leader with a rich background in software engineering and architecture. Eric is a seasoned technologist with a fascinating background spanning from his early days as a mountaineer in Montana to his groundbreaking work on The Sims game and now exploring the potential of generative AI. Join us as we dive into Eric’s journey, his insights on the importance of purpose and values, and how he utilizes AI to enhance his decision-making and productivity. In this conversation, we’ll also discuss the concept of the adjacent possible, the importance of listening and learning, and the potential of AI to revolutionize education and help us realize our full potential. Don’t miss this engaging conversation with this exceptional technology leader and creative thinker who thrives on challenging the status quo!Thank you to our sponsor: Nomono: https://nomono.co/Timestamps: 01:18:42[00:00:00] Intro of the episode[00:01:29] Sponsor: Nomono Podcasting Kit[00:02:30] Mountaineering, early academic and work experiences[00:11:04] Interview with Maxis, The Sims & Bay Area in the 90’s[00:15:04] Openness to opportunities & the adjacent possible[00:21:34] Intellectual relationships and the reinvention of education with AI[00:29:54] ChatGPT, free will and decision-making[00:39:21] Human potential, values, work ethics, credentials, listening and learning[00:47:47] Confirmation biases and strategies to deal with it using AI[00:57:15] Attention span and learning[00:58:39] Maximizing your return on luck, the power of actions for cause and effect[01:06:52] Purpose and maintaining a constancy of purpose over time[01:13:21] Changes in inspirations over time[01:17:02] Outro and summaryRecommended reading:1. Kauffman, S, (1996). At Home in the Universe.https://www.amazon.com/At-Home-Universe-Self-Organization-Complexity/dp/01951113032. Johnson, S. (2010). Where Good Ideas come from: The Natural History of Innovation.https://www.amazon.co.uk/Where-Good-Ideas-Come-Innovation/dp/1594487715/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1694872158&sr=1-13. Zuboff, S. (2019). The Age of Surveillance Capitalism.https://www.amazon.com/Age-Surveillance-Capitalism-Future-Frontier/dp/16103956974. Collins, J. (2001). Good to great.https://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Some-Companies-Others/dp/00666209965. Hickel, J. (1997). Less is More. How Degrowth will Save the World. https://www.amazon.com/Less-More-Degrowth-Will-World-ebook/dp/B085L9XSM16. Skinner, B.F. (1968). Walden Two.https://www.amazon.com/Walden-Two-B-F-Skinner/dp/B005NXKUZ4

  • #9, part 2: Charting a New Course: Aha Moments, Strategic Pivots, and the Entrepreneurial Mind – with Bobby Chang

    #9, part 2: Charting a New Course: Aha Moments, Strategic Pivots, and the Entrepreneurial Mind – with Bobby Chang

    In this two-parts episode, we meet Bobby Chang, entrepreneur, philanthropist, industrial designer, and co-founder of Incase. Bobby is a Bay era native, who’s had a frontal seat to the meteoric rise in the transformation of technology. In this conversation we decided to do things a bit differently. We go down a more chronological path to elaborate on some pivotal aha moments that Bobby has experienced on his journey, to see if there are some patterns that connects it all. I am incredibly humbled by Bobby’s generosity, and his willingness to share some personal moments of change and precious nuggets that can inspire others on their personal and career path. This is essentially a story about a personal quest for creating the best opportunities for learning, innovation, and growth for oneself and loved ones. I hope you will enjoy this conversation with a very special entrepreneurial mind and human being, as much as I did.Recommended links and sources:“The Century of the Self” documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ3RzGoQC4s

  • #9, part 1: Charting a New Course: Aha Moments, Strategic Pivots, and the Entrepreneurial Mind – with Bobby Chang

    #9, part 1: Charting a New Course: Aha Moments, Strategic Pivots, and the Entrepreneurial Mind – with Bobby Chang

    In this two-parts episode, we meet Bobby Chang, entrepreneur, philanthropist, industrial designer, and co-founder of Incase. Bobby is a Bay era native, who’s had a frontal seat to the meteoric rise in the transformation of technology. In this conversation we decided to do things a bit differently. We go down a more chronological path to elaborate on some pivotal aha moments that Bobby has experienced on his journey, to see if there are some patterns that connects it all. I am incredibly humbled by Bobby’s generosity, and his willingness to share some personal moments of change and precious nuggets that can inspire others on their personal and career path. This is essentially a story about a personal quest for creating the best opportunities for learning, innovation, and growth for oneself and loved ones. I hope you will enjoy this conversation with a very special entrepreneurial mind and human being, as much as I did.Recommended links and sources:“The Century of the Self” documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ3RzGoQC4s

  • #8 ReCulturing, Lifelong Learning and Tech Education – with Melissa Daimler

    #8 ReCulturing, Lifelong Learning and Tech Education – with Melissa Daimler

    In this episode, we meet Melissa Daimler, a culture and learning thought leader, author and speaker, and Chief Learning Officer at Udemy, a leading learning technology company. The conversation focuses on her background as a learning and organization development leader in the field of tech and learning, about her new book ReCulturing, company cultures, as well as some ideas about education for the future. We also discuss the importance of understanding how to continuously adapt and transform when leading a whole system on to new territories.Recommended reading and sources:1. Melissa Daimler’s website: https://www.melissadaimler.com2. The book ReCulturing: https://www.amazon.com/ReCulturing-Company-Culture-Connect-Strategy/dp/12642786083. Harvard Business review article: https://hbr.org/2018/05/why-great-employees-leave-great-cultures

  • #7 Truth, Lies and Deepfakes: Interactive Stories in the Age of AI – with Michael Morgenstern

    #7 Truth, Lies and Deepfakes: Interactive Stories in the Age of AI – with Michael Morgenstern

    In this episode, we meet Michael Morgenstern, Film Director and Founder/CEO of @ This is Definitely Real, a company that makes Alternate Reality Cinema that blurs the lines between reality and fiction. The conversation focuses on what's coming next with disinformation enhanced by AI, how tribalism forms, and how experiential storytelling can be used to modify our existing meta-narratives. How will we operate in a world where reality has broken down? We also discuss the film he is currently making, "Dared My Best Friend", his journey navigating the intersection between art and tech, and the future of human narratives.Recommended reading and sources:1. Dared My Best Friend to Ruin My Life: https://daredmybestfriend.com2. This is Definitely Real: https://definitelyreal.com3. About Frances Haugen: https://www.npr.org/2023/06/21/1183579433/frances-haugens-memoir-looks-back-on-why-she-blew-the-whistle-on-facebook4. About Tristan Harris: https://www.wired.com/story/tristan-harris-tech-is-downgrading-humans-time-to-fight-back/5. From Ted Hope on Transmedia storytelling: http://trulyfreefilm.hopeforfilm.com/2014/07/why-the-form-of-cinema-will-change.html6. AI Objectives Institute's Talk to the City project: https://aiobjectives.org/blog/introducing-talk-to-the-city-our-collective-deliberation-tool7. About Rick Smith: https://www.thetenderedge.com/ | https://youtu.be/mcNfoN7zqRU8. Unabomber Manifesto: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/unabomber/manifesto.text.htm