From Magic To Machines… The Wonder (And Worry) Of Code With Sam Arbesman – This Week’s Thinking With Mitch Joel Conversation

Episode #1002 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast) is now live and ready for you to listen to:

What if code isn’t just software, but the culture script of our age shaping what we notice, how we decide and who holds power? That’s the provocation at the heart of Sam Arbesman’s new book, The Magic Of Code – How Digital Language Created And Connects Our World – And Shapes Our Future, which he uses to reveal how programming moves from the screen into the fabric of everyday life. Sam is Scientist in Residence at Lux Capital and a visiting scholar at Harvard. He connects emerging technologies with human systems and helps founders, leaders and the rest of us make sense of complexity. He is also the author of two other influential books (The Half-Life of Facts and Overcomplicated). In this episode, we get a plain-English tour of why coding now functions as cultural literacy, why “vibe coding” and natural-language tools lower barriers without removing responsibility, and how to think clearly about the trade-offs when AI accelerates creation but also amplifies hidden assumptions. Sam breaks down how to treat algorithms less like oracles and more like instruments, demystifying engagement mechanics on social platforms, highlighting the shrinking shelf life of facts and offering ways to keep agency when tools get smarter and more opaque. These are practical frames for navigating complex systems (and their failure modes), along with a humane case for humility in product and policy and a reminder that the goal isn’t more tech for its own sake, but better versions of ourselves using it. If you care about where code, culture and creativity meet… and how to keep your bearings as the ground shifts… this one delivers both the big picture and next steps for smarter, more intentional use of the tools we’re all inheriting. Enjoy the conversation…

You can grab the latest episode of Thinking With Mitch Joel here (or feel free to subscribe via Apple Podcast or whatever platform you may choose): #1002 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast).

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