Mitch Joel's Blog: Six Pixels of Separation, page 9

Six Links That Make You Think #783

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (Just Evil Enough, Solve for Interesting, Tilt the Windmill, Interesting Bits, HBS, chair of Strata, Startupfest, FWD50, and Scaletechconf; author of Lean Analytics and some other books), Hugh McGuire (Rebus Foundation, PressBooks, LibriVox) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person “must see.”

Check out these six links that we’re recommending to one another:

How To Fix Grocery Stores – Smartypants Presentation – Dropout – YouTube. “Smartypants is like Ignite but for comedy, and reminds me a lot of the talks at Bitnorth. Here’s Hank Green ranting about something that drives me insane: the inconsistent ontologies and organizations of grocery stores. No two stores are the same, they’re hard to navigate and there’s no structured method to it. Can we fix that? Cue Hank with a Dewey Decimal System for your local supermarket.” (Alistair for Hugh). I Tried To Make Something In America (The Smarter Scrubber Experiment) – Smarter Every Day 308 – YouTube . “It’s easy to say ‘bring manufacturing home.’ But as Destin Sandlin at Smarter Every Day showed in a four year experiment, it’s really hard to do. He breaks down the history of globalization, structural incentives, and how we got here – and then why it’s hard to correct course even with the greatest political will. Amazing communicator doing compelling work, instead of resorting to short soundbites and political slogans.” (Alistair for Mitch). China unveils mosquito-sized microdrone for battlefield reconnaissance – Straight Arrow News – YouTube . “What a world.” (Hugh for Alistair). Chinese Cars Are The Ones To Beat – Joann Muller – Axios . “In 2015 China introduced a ‘Made in China 2025’ industrial policy, making electric vehicles the cornerstone of their plans to make China a (the?) globally dominant industrial power. Pre-2015 the strategy was joint ventures with Western companies who benefitted by reducing labour costs, while China learned. Post-2015 the mantra is more like ‘imitate, improve and increase,’ and with ~$230B in subsidies, Chinese carmakers are leaving the West in the dust. Says Elon Musk: Chinese car markers ‘will pretty much demolish’ the rest of the industry. What a world.” (Hugh for Mitch).  AI Slop: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver – HBO – YouTube . “For those not living in the United States of America, you will need a VPN to watch this, but it’s worth it. I’m sure people no longer watch John Oliver because of his political slant? Regardless, this is a takedown on AI like only Oliver and his team can produce. It’s funny, it’s sad, it’s terrifying. And in it are some true gems about the current state of what we’re creating, who it’s for, who consumes it, what they believe, and why. I don’t think you’ll be impressed. With that, I am impressed. A lot of this content resonates, which by my definition makes it creative. And by my definition, this also proves that it didn’t take long for this technology to outperform what humans can create, especially in terms of consumption/interest from humans. While most AI content is looked at through the filter of whether or not a human can tell where the mistakes are. This content, which doesn’t let you know it was created by AI, seems to be engaging enough for people not to even question it. Questions? I have many…” (Mitch for Alistair). If We Had A Choice, Would We Invent Social Media Again? – The Agenda – YouTube . “Big shoutout to the people at The Agenda with Steve Paiken for pulling together this panel that includes some of my favorite Tech Thinkers like Douglas Rushkoff, Cory Doctorow and Jeff Jarvis (along with Vass Bednar, whose work I was not familar with) discussing where we’re at and what happned in the past twenty plus years of social media. While most of the online rheotirc about technology these days is Artificial Intellgince, this was a breath of fresh air. A discussion (mostly) about social media… was it worth it… has it done more harm than good… how has it impatced democracy… where do we go from here? It’s an incredibly rich conversatiion that needs to be shared far and wide!” (Mitch for Hugh). 

Feel free to share these links and add your picks on X, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.

Before you go… ThinkersOne  is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

We Made Communication More Efficient And Less Human

I used to think virtual communication was about tools.

Zoom fatigue? That’s just screen time, right?
Missed signals? Blame the camera being off, the Slack ping, the calendar glut.
But the more I listen to people like Andrew Brodsky (author of the new book, Ping – The Secrets of Successful Virtual Communication, and the more I reflect on my own experience), the more I realize… it’s not the tech.

It’s the texture.

We didn’t just move work online. 
We flattened it… smoothed it out and removed the edges where nuance used to live.
In person, we read silences. 
We glance… we lean in… we hesitate…we tap the table when someone says something we love.
Online? We freeze (sometimes literally).
We compress hours of performance, persuasion and collaboration into minute virtual boxes of faces… no preamble, no decompression, no real sense of who’s “in the room.”

It’s like we’re speaking in grayscale.

And we wonder why we feel disconnected.
Andrew studies this stuff for a living. 
How communication evolves, how remote work reshapes behavior, how relationships shift when we take out the hallway and the handshake.
But what I appreciated most wasn’t the data (though it’s solid)… it’s his honesty:

We haven’t figured this out yet (and there’s nuance in our assumptions).

We’ve made work more “efficient,” but we’ve lost the mess (maybe the humanity?) that makes people feel seen.
We say “let’s hop on a quick Zoom” like it’s a favor. 
But really, it’s a coping mechanism for all the signals that are missing.
What’s wild is how fast this happened.
In just a few years, we rewrote all the rules. 

We built hybrid systems with no cultural blueprint. 

We turned asynchronous into default. 
We made eye contact optional.
And now we’re paying the price in misfires, miscommunications and burnout.
It’s not that we’re doing it wrong. 
It’s that we haven’t paused long enough to ask:

What does good virtual communication even look like?

Do we teach it?
Do we model it?
Or do we just hope that tech will get better and somehow the vibes will follow?

All of this has been a reminder that presence isn’t physical.

That being “in the same room” is less about geography and more about generosity… of attention… of curiosity… of care.
And if that’s true… then maybe the goal of modern communication isn’t flexibility and ease.
Maybe it’s connection.

As an aside, that’s one of the reasons we built ThinkersOne.  

Not just to share big ideas and spark change, but to help teams feel something together. 
Not just information, but intention. 
A shared moment that says: “We’re here, we’re listening and we care about doing this better.”

So here’s what I’m left wondering:

What if our next big productivity gain isn’t another AI tool or workflow optimization… but learning how to really talk to each other again (no matter where our physical location is)?

Before you go… ThinkersOne is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

The Art Of Showing Up In The Age Of Infinite Content

Nearly twenty years ago, I started a podcast.

One episode… every week… rain or shine.
No viral stunts… no growth hacks… just a conversation I wanted to have and the quiet act of pressing publish.
Fast forward to 2025, and I often feel like we’re buried beneath it all.

Content. Everywhere.

Scroll any feed for ten seconds and you’ve flown past hundreds of creators, opinions, updates… and now, AI-generated “content.”
In a world addicted to novelty and engagement metrics… what actually sticks?

I’d argue it’s not reach… it’s ritual.

The episode counter on Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast just ticked past #989.
Episode #1000 will publish on September 7th.

And here’s the uncomfortable podcast truth:

Most podcasts never make it past ten episodes.
There are 5.5 million podcasts in the world… only 250,000 are active.
Less than 1% hit episode #100.
So if consistency is this rare… maybe that’s where the real value is hiding?

Consistency is no longer boring… it’s almost subversive.

The pressure today is to “go viral.”
To feed the algorithm… to be louder, faster, flashier than the scroll that came before.
But there’s something radical about just… showing up.
No hype. No hacks. Just the work.
For my dollar, great creators aren’t always the loudest.
They’re the most reliable.

Ritual builds trust… and trust builds brand.

This isn’t just a podcasting thing.
It’s an everything thing.
The algorithm will suck your attention.
Ritual will give you back your time… in value.
Chasing reach makes your work disposable.
What worked last week won’t work today.

The algorithm always wants more… and it never says thank you.

But when you start cultivating a practice (podcasting, writing a newsletter, posting on LinkedIn) you’re building equity.
Not with the internet.
With yourself… with your audience.

Content is noise… signal is earned.

I’ve also spent over a decade interviewing bass players on Groove – The No Treble Podcast.
Not for numbers… not for fame… just for joy.
Will Turpin from Collective Soul was episode #126.
The interviews are deep, nerdy, musical… and occasionally transcendental (probably more for me than anyone else).
There’s no business model.
There’s just me… listening.

Sometimes we forget that creation doesn’t have to serve capitalism.

It can serve curiosity.
And maybe the most freeing thing a creator can do in 2025… is make something that doesn’t need to “perform.”
I keep a running list of guests I admire.
I send thoughtful emails.
I read the books… I read the footnotes.
I prep like hell.
Then I hit record.
None of that is the secret.
The ritual is.
We’ve misunderstood what “successful content” means.

It’s not what gets shared… it’s what gets remembered.

One person messaging to say, “this made me think”… That’s my win.
Podcasting isn’t about popularity (for me)… it’s about presence.
We don’t need more hacks… We need more humans.

The medium matters less than the mindset.

You don’t need to go viral to be valuable.
You just need to not quit.
No one clapped when I published episode #6…
But if I hadn’t made episode #7, I wouldn’t be closing in on #1000.
My creativity isn’t about going viral… it’s about going again.

What’s your creativity?

This is what Dan Delmar and I discussed on CJAD 800 AM.

Mitch Joel · The Art Of Showing Up In The Age Of Infinite Content – The Elias Makos Show – CJAD 800

Before you go… ThinkersOne is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

Andrew Brodsky On The Secrets Of Virtual Communications – This Week’s Six Pixels of Separation Podcast

Episode #989 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to:

Andrew Brodsky is reshaping how we think about work, not by focusing on tasks or tools, but by interrogating how we communicate. A management professor at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin, Andrew specializes in organizational behavior, with a sharp focus on the friction (and possibility) that emerges when human behavior meets digital platforms. With a PhD from Harvard Business School and a BS from Wharton, his work explores everything from how to show emotional authenticity on Zoom to how organizations can build culture without a physical office. In his new book, Ping – The Secrets of Successful Virtual Communication, Andrew offers a science-backed, research-driven guide to the biggest question facing modern professionals: when should something be an email, a Slack, a video call or nothing at all? He pushes past the cliché of “this meeting could’ve been an email” to examine what kinds of communication actually drive clarity, trust and effectiveness. In this episode, we explore the messy reality of hybrid work, the erosion of “third places” where colleagues used to casually connect, and the deeper organizational consequences of fragmented communication norms. Andrew explains why remote work isn’t the root of all workplace disconnection (return-to-office mandates won’t fix your culture) and how better communication (intentional, strategic, well-matched to the message) is the real differentiator for teams. We also talk about the long-term implications of this shift: from how loneliness is showing up in employee engagement surveys to how new communication technologies might shape our future work rhythms. Whether you’re leading a team, working across time zones, or just trying to get a response to your last message, this conversation offers practical takeaways grounded in deep expertise and real-world research. Andrew’s insights cut through the noise and help us see virtual communication not as a limitation, but as an opportunity to be more human, more clear and more connected… no matter the channel. Enjoy the conversation…

You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via Apple Podcast or whatever platform you may choose):  #989 – Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast .

Before you go… ThinkersOne  is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

SPOS #989 – Andrew Brodsky On The Secrets Of Virtual Communications

Welcome to episode #989 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast.

Andrew Brodsky is reshaping how we think about work, not by focusing on tasks or tools, but by interrogating how we communicate. A management professor at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin, Andrew specializes in organizational behavior, with a sharp focus on the friction (and possibility) that emerges when human behavior meets digital platforms. With a PhD from Harvard Business School and a BS from Wharton, his work explores everything from how to show emotional authenticity on Zoom to how organizations can build culture without a physical office. In his new book, Ping – The Secrets of Successful Virtual Communication, Andrew offers a science-backed, research-driven guide to the biggest question facing modern professionals: when should something be an email, a Slack, a video call or nothing at all? He pushes past the cliché of “this meeting could’ve been an email” to examine what kinds of communication actually drive clarity, trust and effectiveness. In this episode, we explore the messy reality of hybrid work, the erosion of “third places” where colleagues used to casually connect, and the deeper organizational consequences of fragmented communication norms. Andrew explains why remote work isn’t the root of all workplace disconnection (return-to-office mandates won’t fix your culture) and how better communication (intentional, strategic, well-matched to the message) is the real differentiator for teams. We also talk about the long-term implications of this shift: from how loneliness is showing up in employee engagement surveys to how new communication technologies might shape our future work rhythms. Whether you’re leading a team, working across time zones, or just trying to get a response to your last message, this conversation offers practical takeaways grounded in deep expertise and real-world research. Andrew’s insights cut through the noise and help us see virtual communication not as a limitation, but as an opportunity to be more human, more clear and more connected… no matter the channel. Enjoy the conversation…

Running time: 1:03:22.Hello from beautiful Montreal.Listen and subscribe over at Apple Podcasts.Listen and subscribe over at Spotify.Please visit and leave comments on the blog – Six Pixels of Separation.Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.Check out ThinkersOne.or you can connect on LinkedIn.…or on X.Here is my conversation with Andrew Brodsky.Ping – The Secrets of Successful Virtual Communication.Ping Group.Follow Andrew on X.Follow Andrew on LinkedIn.

Chapters:

(00:00) – The Evolution of Virtual Communication.
(02:50) – Understanding Virtual Communication.
(05:48) – The Challenges of Virtual Interactions.
(09:03) – The Role of Communication in Performance.
(12:04) – Optimizing Remote Work Culture.
(15:02) – The Future of Meetings and Collaboration.
(17:49) – Teaching Communication Skills.
(20:59) – Investing in Effective Communication.
(24:05) – The Impact of Remote Work on Relationships.
(27:04) – The Future of Work and Economic Implications.
(33:28) – The Shift in Workplace Dynamics.
(39:15) – The Evolution of Social Spaces.
(41:53) – The Role of Technology in Communication.
(49:30) – Navigating Virtual Interactions.
(01:01:11) – Lessons Learned from Covid 19.

Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast – Episode #989.

Before you go… ThinkersOne  is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

Six Links That Make You Think #782

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (Just Evil Enough, Solve for Interesting, Tilt the Windmill, Interesting Bits, HBS, chair of Strata, Startupfest, FWD50, and Scaletechconf; author of Lean Analytics and some other books), Hugh McGuire (Rebus Foundation, PressBooks, LibriVox) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person “must see.”

Check out these six links that we’re recommending to one another:

Why Digitizing The Government Could Save Democracy – Jamie Joyce – Win Win With Liv Boeree – YouTube. “Jaimie Joyce is one of the smartest, most engaging people I’ve ever met. We ran a Bitnorth event in Berkeley a while back, and she creates incredible art from high-voltage systems (that includes particle accelerators.) Among her many accomplishments is something called The Society Library, which, among other things, is an attempt to overcome partisanship by forcing people to understand how they disagree. So imagine my sheer joy when I found out she was on Liv Boeree‘s Win-Win Podcast. I’ve referenced Liv here before (her explanation of Moloch and perverse incentives clarified most of humanity’s biggest problems for me), and I’m a huge fan. And then imagine how that joy escalated when I found out they were talking about democracy. This is brilliant and a bit spicy, and Jaimie pulls no punches. Representation was always a scaling hack, and now that everyone can use tech to explore how and why they disagree – and find the resulting consensus to move forward. This is the future of functional societies.” (Alistair for Hugh). Your Brain On ChatGPT: Accumulation Of Cognitive Debt When Using An AI Assistant For Essay Writing Task – arXiv – Cornell University. “Today in ‘stuff we all knew but are going to do anyway’: Using an AI to think makes thinking atrophy. In a very, very detailed study, 54 students wrote four essays while an EEG tracked brain activity. The participants were grouped according to the tools they had on hand: Some were unaided, some had access to Google search, and some had ChatGPT. In the final session, unaided students now had ChatGPT while those who had AI assistance now had to go it alone. Assisted students couldn’t even remember what they’d written, but unassisted ones who later used an AI had greater brain-wide activity in the final round. Order matters.” (Alistair for Mitch). Scientists In Antarctica Detect Deep-Earth Signals That Defy Known Physics – Ellyn Lapointe – Gizmodo . “Is the Ice Kraken awaking? Do you want something else to worry about?” (Hugh for Alistair). Could The Semicolon Die Out? Recent Analysis Finds A Decline In Its Usage In British Literature And Confusion Among U.K. Students – Sara Hashemi – Smithsonian Magazine . “The semicolon is dead; long live the semicolon.” (Hugh for Mitch). What’s Happening To Reading? – Joshua Rothman – The New Yorker . “I had not seen the link that Alistair chose for me this week when I decided that this would be myshare to him this week. In a word: Jinx! This isn’t just a shift… it’s a declaration: reading as we knew it is being redesigned. We’ve mistaken omnipresent text for thoughtful engagement. The AI ‘readers’ may recall more than any scholar, but they don’t feel, question, or struggle. And it’s within that friction between comprehension and confusion that real insight lives. What we stand to lose isn’t just books (which is a terrifying thought) but it’s the mental discipline that powers strategy, creativity and nuance. If we don’t fight for that, we’ll end up with soundbites and summaries masquerading as substance and the mind’s muscle atrophied. Read this as both a wake-up call and a war cry: depth matters more than ever. This is where you will also find real ’soul’ in content.” (Mitch for Alistair). 20 Minute Walking Meditation – Jo Hutton – Yoga For Tired People . “This is less for Hugh and more of a placeholder and reminder for myself. I’ve been feeling swampped and have really let my ritual of daily walks lapse. I’m actually quite embarrassed about it. Now, I am hoping to be able to use this audio to combine the two activities I used to always make time for, and get it all going again. About this audio: ‘Here’s something gentle for your weekend or your next break between tasks – a 20-minute walking meditation. Pop your headphones in and press play when you’re ready. You can do it on your regular walk to the shops, or in the garden, or looping round your block. You don’t have to walk slowly or look serene. This is about how you’re paying attention, not how you look doing it.’ Sounds like perfect balm for my burning soul…” (Mitch for Hugh).

Feel free to share these links and add your picks on X, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.

20 Minute Walking Meditation by Jo Hutton

Get out and about as you relax and centre yourself

Read on Substack

Before you go… ThinkersOne  is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

The Radical Act Of Really Hearing Someone

We’ve all heard the advice: “Be a better listener.”

It sounds noble… practical… maybe even obvious.
But lately, I’ve been wondering if we’ve misunderstood what that actually means.
Because it’s not about listening more.
It’s about listening differently.

Most of us were never taught how to really do that (I wasn’t… were you?).

We grow up learning to read and write (some of use were lucky enough to also get some public speaking skills). 
We’re graded on our ability to speak clearly, present ideas, pitch, sell and persuade.
Entire departments are built around talking… marketing, sales, leadership, communications…
But where are the departments built around listening?

Where’s the course that teaches us how to be present, how to withhold judgment, how to let someone finish without composing our rebuttal mid-sentence, how to absorb a concept that runs anathema to your currently held beliefs?

We act like listening is passive.
Ears open… mouth shut… That’s it.
But real listening… the kind that changes relationships, shifts teams, reshapes culture… is something else entirely.
It’s active.
It’s deliberate.
It’s a form of conscious attention.

And let’s be honest: it’s hard.

We live in an age of hot takes, viral outrage, comments without context, feedback without nuance, click to share rage and not even taking a beat to confirm sources.
Our feeds are filled with people waiting for their turn to speak… or worse, reacting before they’ve understood.
We’ve built a culture that rewards the loudest voice not the deepest attention.

But what if silence is actually the most radical act left?

Not silence as absence… silence as signal.
The pause that lets an idea land.
The breath that invites someone else to expand.
The moment that says: “I’m here… I hear you… Keep going.”

This isn’t about being soft… this is about being present.

This is about being the kind of leader, teammate, partner or parent who knows how to absorb, reflect and respond… not just react.
And that kind of listening?
It’s rare.
It challenges our currently held beliefs.
It makes people feel seen… maybe for the first time.
It doesn’t seek to win… it seeks to understand.

In business, in leadership, even in personal development… we rarely talk about it (let alone spend some time optimizing for it).

We talk about productivity, communication, collaboration, emotional intelligence… but rarely about the foundational skill underneath them all.
Listening isn’t just about acoustics.
It’s about identity… empathy… true democracy.
Because if we lose our ability to listen… to ourselves, to each other, to the world around us… what’s left?

Here’s what I’m sitting with…

If you had to rebuild your skillset from scratch would listening even make the list?
Or has it quietly become the most underrated superpower in business… and in life?
It took a recent conversation with Julian Treasure (someone who’s spent a lifetime exploring this very topic) to really surface that insight for me.
Julian’s work reminded me that listening isn’t just a skill… it’s a way of being.
And once you start tuning in differently, you realize:
It’s not about listening.

It’s about hearing what matters.

Before you go… ThinkersOne is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

Why Teens Are Turning To AI for Therapy… And Why That Should Scare Us

We’re told kids these days don’t want to talk.

That they scroll instead of share, text instead of talk and ghost instead of engage.
But what if they are talking… just not to us (you know… the humans)?

What if your kid’s most trusted confidant isn’t a coach or counselor, a teacher or parent… but a chatbot?

A recent Time article revealed something both unsurprising and deeply unsettling:
Therapy bots are already being used by teens seeking mental health support… and in some cases, those bots are encouraging self-harm, violence and disturbingly inappropriate relationships.
This isn’t the future of mental healthcare. 
It’s the present… and (like most things discussed with the AI tint to it) we are wildly unprepared.

For many teens (especially those in crisis) a chatbot might be the only thing that’s always available. 

No waitlist… no appointment… no judgment… no cost. 
A 24/7 stream of attention that listens, remembers, empathizes and responds… instantly.

There’s a real need here. 

Youth mental health services are overwhelmed. 
Therapy is expensive (if you can even find it).
Even if you can find it and pay for it, it can take some time for intervention. 
In that vacuum, AI shows up like a superhero in disguise: infinitely scalable, eerily empathetic and always on.

But here’s the obvious problem: 

These bots often act like therapists… without being anything close to one.
This isn’t a condemnation of AI. 
It’s a condemnation of our assumptions.
Because here’s the twist (and there’s always a twist)… 

Some bots actually responded more appropriately than many humans might… in some cases, even outperforming licensed therapists.

They deflected unsafe scenarios… they asked deeper follow-ups… they avoided judgment and suggested support.

Which leads to a hard question:

If a teenager is more likely to open up to a bot than a parent or therapist… what does that say about us?
And if the bot is doing a decent job… is that good enough?
We tend to confuse availability with capability. 
Just because something is always available doesn’t mean it’s trustworthy.
Especially when it simulates therapeutic authority without any oversight.
Also, we can’t ever forget that these chatbots don’t just chat.
They collect data… they form relationships… they remember your child’s fears, hopes, secrets… 
And (perhaps most importantly) they use that information to shape future responses. 

That’s powerful… that’s dangerous… and it’s happening in a world where “18+ only” is a laughable speed bump on the internet.

In aviation, we don’t let planes fly without human pilots. 
We use autopilot… but always with a human in the loop.
Maybe therapy needs the same model?

Maybe AI’s best potential for a valuable future is to always be based on the “human in the loop” model?

AI handles scale, early detection and 24/7 availability.
Licensed humans manage complexity, accountability and healing.
We need therapists in the design process. 

We need standards… we need ethical oversight… 

Because if therapy chatbots are acting like drugs, we should treat them like drugs… with testing, regulation and consequences.
We wouldn’t let a stranger hand your kid pills in an alley.
So why are we letting an unregulated chatbot hand them advice through an iPhone?

Let’s also ask a harder cultural question:

Why are we investing millions to build bots that simulate care… instead of rebuilding communities that provide it?
We’re racing to deploy emotional scaffolding in the form of apps and AI because the real systems (schools, families, peer groups, places of worship, neighborhoods) are collapsing under the weight of disconnection.
So yes, an AI can be a lifeline for a lonely teen.
But what does it say about our society when a line of code is doing more emotional labor than the adults in that teen’s life?

Therapy bots aren’t just tools… they’ve quickly becoming stand-ins for care.

For some teens, that’s life-saving. 
For others, it might be life-threatening.
The question isn’t whether AI should play a role in mental health (it already does).
The question is: who’s responsible for all of this?
We’ve spent too long debating whether the technology is impressive (to me, it’s unbelievably impressive).

What we should be asking is whether we’re okay with a machine deciding how our kids feel… and what they do next.

This is what Sue Smith and I discussed on CJAD 800 AM.

Mitch Joel · Why Teens Are Turning to AI for Therapy – The Elias Makos Show – CJAD 800

Before you go… ThinkersOne is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

Julian Treasure On Listening, Sounds And Superpowers – This Week’s Six Pixels of Separation Podcast

Episode #988 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to:

Julian Treasure believes the world needs to learn how to listen again. You may know him from his TED Talk, How To Speak So That People Want To Listen – one of the most viewed of all time (over 65 million views). But long before going viral, Julian was helping companies and individuals rethink their relationship with sound – as founder of The Sound Agency, author of How To Be Heard and Sound Business, and now with his new book Sound Affects – How Sound Shapes Our Lives, Our Wellbeing and Our Planet. Julian’s work spans science, music, psychology, and design – from biophilic soundscapes in office buildings to sonic branding for global brands. In this conversation, he breaks down why we confuse hearing with listening, how silence is often the most powerful part of any conversation, and why we need to teach listening the same way we teach reading and writing. We also explore the risks of AI-generated music, the future of compassion in polarized discourse, and why democracy itself might hinge on our ability to listen consciously. Julian also recently launched The Listening Society (a community for anyone interested in the power listening and sound). Julian’s life is a testament to the power of sound… and why we must all become better listeners. Enjoy the conversation…

You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via Apple Podcast or whatever platform you may choose):  #988 – Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast .

Before you go… ThinkersOne  is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

SPOS #988 – Julian Treasure On Listening, Sounds And Superpowers

Welcome to episode #988 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast.

Julian Treasure believes the world needs to learn how to listen again. You may know him from his TED Talk, How To Speak So That People Want To Listen – one of the most viewed of all time (over 65 million views). But long before going viral, Julian was helping companies and individuals rethink their relationship with sound – as founder of The Sound Agency, author of How To Be Heard and Sound Business, and now with his new book Sound Affects – How Sound Shapes Our Lives, Our Wellbeing and Our Planet. Julian’s work spans science, music, psychology, and design – from biophilic soundscapes in office buildings to sonic branding for global brands. In this conversation, he breaks down why we confuse hearing with listening, how silence is often the most powerful part of any conversation, and why we need to teach listening the same way we teach reading and writing. We also explore the risks of AI-generated music, the future of compassion in polarized discourse, and why democracy itself might hinge on our ability to listen consciously. Julian also recently launched The Listening Society (a community for anyone interested in the power listening and sound). Julian’s life is a testament to the power of sound… and why we must all become better listeners. Enjoy the conversation…

Running time: 51:06.Hello from beautiful Montreal.Listen and subscribe over at Apple Podcasts.Listen and subscribe over at Spotify.Please visit and leave comments on the blog – Six Pixels of Separation.Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.Check out ThinkersOne.or you can connect on LinkedIn.…or on X.Here is my conversation with Julian Treasure.Sound Affects – How Sound Shapes Our Lives, Our Wellbeing and Our Planet.The Listening Society.How To Be Heard.Sound Business.Julian’s TED Talk.Follow Julian on X.Follow Julian on Instagram.Follow Julian on LinkedIn.

Chapters:

(00:00) – Introduction to Sound and Listening.
(02:49) – The Importance of Listening in Education.
(06:10) – Hearing vs. Listening: Understanding the Distinction.
(09:08) – The Role of Silence in Communication.
(12:11) – Cultural Influences on Listening.
(15:12) – Active Listening vs. Attentive Listening.
(17:56) – The Impact of Technology on Listening.
(20:52) – Conscious Listening and Its Benefits.
(24:47) – The State of Discourse and Listening.
(30:29) – Practical Steps to Improve Listening.
(34:38) – The Science of Sound and Its Impact.
(39:04) – The Unifying Power of Music.
(46:12) – AI and the Future of Sound.
(50:14) – Starting from Where You Are.

Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast – Episode #988.

Before you go… ThinkersOne  is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.