Eight years after warning us about social media, Tristan Harris is back at TED — and what he says about AI is… well, insane. But beneath the alarm bells is something even more personal: a challenge to how we live, work, and find meaning in an AI-dominated world.

In this bonus episode, Stephen reflects on Tristan’s 2025 TED Talk through the lens of transition — exploring what happens when your identity, your value, and your work are quietly shaken by the pace of technological change.

📌 Topics include:

• Why skipping the ending phase leads to disaster

• “Workquakes” and what it means when AI outworks you

• The myth of inevitability — and how we reclaim agency

If you’re feeling disoriented in the face of AI — this one’s for you.

🎧 Full TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kPHnl-RsVI&t=1s🌐 Subscribe for more: aitransition.show

We wrap up the Meaning Audit with three powerful prompts:

• Where do you thrive?
• Why do you work?
• How do you move forward?

From AI sycophancy to drug approvals, we unpack the risks of over-personalised machines—and what happens when your digital assistant flatters you instead of challenges you. In the workplace, we explore how AI is not just shifting how we work, but who we are.

💥 AI News Flash:

• GPT-4o update made ChatGPT overly agreeable—raising serious concerns for mental health, medicine, and trust.

• OpenAI and the FDA collaborate on cderGPT: AI may soon play a core role in drug approvals.

  
  

💡 Key Insights:

• Place matters: From remote work preferences to your digital environment (Teams vs. Slack), your "where" shapes your energy.

• Purpose isn’t fluff: Revisiting childhood dreams, life values, and identity can anchor you during transition.

• AI as your coach? Beware the chatbot that never disagrees—real growth comes from challenge, not cheerleading.

• Write your story: Transition is not about control, it’s about becoming. The future is co-authored, not forecasted.

  
  

🛠️ Tools & Tips:

• Use voice journaling with ChatGPT to reflect on change.

• Try the Meaning Audit to align your next move with your values.

• Remember: “The path lights up as you walk it.”

  
  

🎯 Final Thought:In an AI-shaped world, we don’t need more productivity hacks—we need more inner clarity. Don’t wait for the quake to hit. Start shaping your next chapter now.

In this episode of The AI Transition, Christiane and Stephen explore what happens when your career – and your identity – hit a workquake.

They kick off with two striking AI stories:
🐬 Dolphin Talk on Android – Google and Georgia Tech unveil a real-time AI system enabling interspecies communication. Is your cat about to unionise?
🧠 IQ 136 AI Models – OpenAI and Google launch their most powerful systems yet. But while the headlines are quiet, the implications for jobs, identity, and worth are massive.

Then it’s time to go deep. Drawing from Bruce Feiler’s The Search, they unpack the first three questions of a Meaning Audit:

• Who is your Who?

• What is your What?

• When is your When?

With personal stories, laugh-out-loud moments, and practical coaching insights, this episode invites you to reflect on your work identity, your role models, and your readiness for change.

💡 Whether you're feeling stuck, inspired, or somewhere in between, this episode will help you navigate your own transition with more clarity and courage.