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Made in Our Image — the new issue for Big Think Members

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Special Issue presented by Pangram

Made in Our Image

In the output of AI, we see ourselves refracted through a strange new form of intelligence. This issue is an attempt to make sense of those refractions.
17 articles

Featured Classes

Browse All
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Members
6 videos
Master visual intelligence
Amy Herman
Lawyer, Art Historian, and Author, “The Art of Perception”
A stylized graphic with three large eye shapes stacked vertically; the middle orange eye reveals part of a person's face, while the others are solid black and white.
Members
8 videos
How to think like a spy
Andrew Bustamante
Former CIA Operative and Founder, Everyday Spy
A woman with short curly brown hair, wearing tortoiseshell glasses and a coral top, smiles at the camera against a plain light background.
Members
11 videos
Outsmart difficult coworkers (all 8 types)
Amy Gallo
Author, Getting Along
A person with short curly hair and glasses smiles at the camera, with a geometric red and green background behind them.
Members
7 videos
How to build influence that lasts
Linda Hill
Professor of business
An older man with gray hair, glasses, and a beard gestures towards himself, standing in front of a background featuring a black and white anatomical diagram.
Members
7 videos
Understanding trauma
Bessel van der Kolk
Psychiatrist and neuroscientist
A classical marble statue of a person with the face blurred by streaks of white, blue, and green, creating a motion effect.
Members
9 videos
How to become a changemaker
Beth Comstock
Former Vice Chair, GE, and Author, “Imagine It Forward”

Clinical psychologist: 5 types of narcissism and how to identify them

Clinical psychologist Ramani Durvasula explains what narcissism really is, how to spot it, and why most of what circulates online gets it wrong.

with Ramani Durvasula
A woman in a red dress sitting in front of a backdrop featuring the painting “Echo and Narcissus” by John William Waterhouse. 2hr 18mins
Philosophy

AI hasn’t taken my writing job — but it is living rent-free in my head

Even when I don’t use AI, others might think I have.

by Jasna Hodžić
A hand holding a pencil, drawing a trail of glitching, digital blocks that represent AI writing.
Science & Tech

How would we know if AI could think?

The debate gets clearer when you split it into three questions.

by Andy Masley
A human profile silhouette composed of a collage of technological, historical, and scientific objects against a starry night sky.
My chatbot comforted me when I thought I was dying. Was that friendship?
AI is challenging the idea that relationships require two conscious minds.

by Jonny Thomson

Two heart-shaped pendants on chains representing AI relationships: one pixelated with binary code “100101” and one smooth with the word “Friends” in cursive script.

FIND US ON SUBSTACK

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Big Think

Our main hub on Substack.

 A red graphic with the title "MINI PHILOSOPHY" and three black icons: a direction sign, scales, and a dove; text at the bottom reads "with Jonny Thomson.

Mini Philosophy

Your daily dose of thoughtfulness.

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Starts with a Bang

Understand the universe better.

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Big Think Books

Explore the writers and ideas that have shaped our world.

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Big Think Business

The latest industry insights.
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What would you like to learn more about? We have thousands of videos from the world’s biggest thinkers to help you dive deeper into any subject.

A man sits on a chair in front of a white backdrop in a library with brick walls, wooden floor, shelves of books, and large windows.
1hr 26mins
The strongest arguments for and against the existence of God
Alex O'Connor

Cosmic skeptic and public speaker
A man with glasses and a gray beard stands in front of illustrations of three classical columns, each with a different capital style.
22mins
Why stoicism fails when treated like self-help
Massimo Pigliucci

Author and professor of philosophy
Members
Elderly man with glasses and a white beard, photographed in cool tones with an orange transparent square overlay.
7 videos 39m
Tools for thinking critically
Daniel C. Dennett

Philosopher, writer, and cognitive scientist
A person sitting on a chair in a studio setting with a white backdrop and two small tables on either side, each holding a small plant.
11mins
The hard problem of consciousness
Annaka Harris

Best-selling author
A black and white pointillism illustration of a person viewed from behind, looking toward abstract, textured shapes in the background.
2mins
Why be happy when you could be interesting?
Slavoj Žižek

Philosopher and cultural critic
A person sitting on a chair with legs crossed in front of a white backdrop in a spacious room with wooden floors and large windows.
32mins
Love, sex, and happiness, explained by philosophy
Jonny Thomson

Author and philosopher
A man in a suit stands facing a large human eye, positioned at the center of the pupil as if about to step inside.
1hr 12mins
The science of consciousness is solving the biggest illusion in our universe
Anil Seth

Neuroscientist, author, and public speaker
An older man sits on a chair in front of a white backdrop in a modern, brightly lit room with colorful pillows and minimalist decor.
16mins
The happiness shortcut that hides in plain sight
Robert Waldinger

Professor of psychiatry
A person sits pensively with name tags around them reading "Hello, I'm a... writer? bookstore owner? father?.
5mins
The art of perception and self-reflection
Ryan Holiday

Best-selling author
A black silhouette with two overlapping human profiles facing opposite directions on a green background.
6mins
How your brain creates reality, explained by a neuroscientist
Lisa Feldman Barrett

Author and professor of psychology
Geometric abstract design featuring overlapping white wireframe curves forming a symmetrical star shape on a black background, evoking the cosmic elegance of the big bang. The great Big Bang misconception
Michelle Thaller

Astronomer and science communicator
A person sits on a chair with hands clasped, facing forward. Blue waveforms and dots form a digital backdrop behind them.
1hr 19mins
The quantum roots of reality
Brian Cox

Author and science communicator
A petri dish with a red agar medium shows various colonies of bacteria growing, with dense streaks on the right and scattered colonies on the left.
13mins
How chance and error shaped every living being on Earth
Sean B. Carroll

Biologist and film producer
A person sits on a chair in a library setting, with bookshelves on either side and a white backdrop behind them.
1hr 17mins
We can tackle our biggest environmental problems
Hannah Ritchie

Data scientist and researcher
A man in a suit sits on a chair against a yellow background with abstract blue and green wave patterns behind him.
1hr 26mins
Sean Carroll explains why physics is both simple and impossible
Sean Carroll

Professor of natural philosophy
An older man in a suit and red tie sits on a chair against a white backdrop, with a colorful outer space scene in the background.
1hr 8mins
Michio Kaku wants to solve Einstein’s unfinished equation
Michio Kaku

Professor of theoretical physics
A person sits in front of a white backdrop, surrounded by a cosmic map with galaxies and celestial objects.
2hr 18mins
Where did our universe come from?
Ethan Siegel

Theoretical astrophysicist and science writer
Members
A stylized collage featuring a woman's face, abstract patterns, and a winding arrow in green, red, and black on a divided background.
7 videos 34m
How to rewire your brain for learning
Barbara Oakley

Professor of engineering
A mural shows an angel pointing toward a golden emblem, with rays emanating. Monks stand in reverence below, surrounded by flowers and architectural details.
13mins
Is AI aligned with our human interests?
Sam Harris

Philosopher and neuroscientist
A person in a suit sits on a chair against a cosmic background with galaxies and stars.
1hr 33mins
Searching for aliens and Earth 2.0
David Kipping

Astronomer
Person in a red sweater sitting on a stool in a bright studio with white walls and colorful striped rugs.
49mins
The 3 cognitive scripts that rule over your life
Anne-Laure Le Cunff

Anne-Laure Le Cunff is an award-winning neuroscientist and entrepreneur.
Detailed black and white sketch of a baboon’s head in profile, showing its expressive face and rough fur, on a solid yellow background.
8mins
Why humans are surprisingly bad at being happy
Laurie Santos

Professor of psychology
Members
A man sits on a chair in front of a white backdrop, with bookshelves and lamps in the background, raising his hands in a questioning gesture.
10 videos 55m
Leading through anxiety
Jesse Eisenberg

Actor, writer and director
Silhouettes of two people face each other closely, with warm light casting their shadows on a wall.
1hr 25mins
The science-backed guide to having better sex
Emily Nagoski

Sex educator & author
heal trauma
8mins
6 ways to heal trauma without medication, from the author of “The Body Keeps the Score”
Bessel van der Kolk

Psychiatrist and neuroscientist
A man in a suit sits on a chair in front of a white door, surrounded by a vibrant, abstract swirl of red, pink, blue, yellow, and green colors.
2hr 9mins
How one psychedelic trip can alter an entire lifetime
Matthew W. Johnson

Professor of psychedelics
A man sits on a chair in front of a white backdrop with vibrant, rainbow-colored abstract patterns in the background.
1hr 2mins
Become stronger: Jumpstart your anti-fragile systems
Tal Ben-Shahar

Positive psychologist
A man with short, grayish hair, wearing a dark blazer and black shirt, stares directly at the camera against a black background.
9mins
Your mind is all you have. Is yours working?
Sam Harris

Philosopher and neuroscientist
Image
5mins
Why divergent thinkers beat geniuses in the real world
David Epstein

Author
Members
A wall clock is combined with the silhouette of a snail against a textured blue and light blue background.
8 videos 49m
Slow productivity
Cal Newport

Computer scientist and author
A person stands inside a glowing circle with sparks flying around in arcs, capturing the essence of "What is flow state," as the word "FLOW" appears in bold white letters across the center. How to enter “flow state” on command
Steven Kotler

Author
Members
A bald man wearing a dark blazer and black shirt smiles slightly against a plain light gray background.
10 videos 58m
Unlocking your team’s hidden potential
Adam Grant

Organizational psychologist and author
A man in a blue shirt sits in front of a vivid blue and turquoise swirling abstract background.
1hr 34mins
How to think creatively on command
Tiago Forte

Productivity expert
A silhouette of a person climbing up the edge of a steep cliff against a beige background.
8mins
Why skill plateaus are inevitable – and how to push past them
Atul Gawande

Professor and author
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1hr
How your cognitive biases lead to terrible investing behaviors
Barry Ritholtz

Business leader and author
A group of colorful poker chips, including red, blue, black, and green, fall through the air against a black background.
5mins
Habits of highly successful risk-takers
Nate Silver

Statistician
A woman with curly hair, wearing a red blouse, smiles at the camera against a plain white background.
4mins
Ask smarter questions in 5 minutes
Natalie Nixon

Creativity strategist & CEO
Members
A person with short curly hair and glasses smiles at the camera, with a geometric red and green background behind them.
7 videos 31m
How to build influence that lasts
Linda Hill

Professor of business
A digitally edited image showing a conductor’s hands, one holding a baton, against a red background with motion blur and light streaks.
5mins
Are you a visionary – or a follower? Here’s how to step up
Simon Sinek

Ethnographer and author
Illustration of two boxers in vintage-style attire, with one boxer extending a punch toward the other against a yellow background.
4mins
How to argue like a debate world champion
Bo Seo

Champion debater
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10mins
The mind-blowing chaos that underpins the world
Brian Klaas

Professor of global politics
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15mins
The mind-blowing stats on male inequality
Richard Reeves

Writer and social scientist
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1hr 18mins
The truth of Ancient Rome hides under its myth of decadence
Mary Beard

Author and historian
A middle-aged man with glasses and long hair stands indoors, wearing a floral-patterned shirt. The background is softly blurred with kitchen and living room elements visible.
15mins
Why 2025 is the single most pivotal year in our lifetime
Peter Leyden

Peter Leyden is a longtime tech expert and thought leader on the future.
Image
7mins
Why the world is going crazy—and how to win back our minds
Jamie Wheal

Author
A person sits alone on a bench against a yellow background, looking down at a smartphone.
12mins
The great friendship collapse: inside the anti-social century
Derek Thompson

Writer and podcaster
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1hr 18mins
Conflict, crisis, consumption: What’s eating our nation?
Amanda Ripley

Author
A military-style, decorated uniform and cap with no visible wearer, set against a solid black background, evokes powerful imagery that prompts viewers to consider themes such as authority and questions like what is fascism.
9mins
The 10 tactics of fascism
Jason Stanley

Professor of philosophy
Members
A person with glasses and a bald head is looking slightly to the side, centered in a green-tinted square frame.
6 videos 26m
AI and the future of civilization
Yuval Noah Harari

Historian and philosopher
A person with short gray hair, wearing a dark jacket and a gray-blue scarf, looks at the camera against a plain light background.
13mins
Berkeley professor explains gender theory
Judith Butler

Professor and philosopher
Browse All Videos
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The text "MINI PHILOSOPHY" is written in bold, uppercase black letters on a white background.
Pause the busyness of life to reflect on ourselves, our relationships, and the Universe.
with Jonny Thomson
Three women in rustic attire stand in a field, with the woman on the right placing a hand on the center woman’s shoulder. 3 ways to find and nurture better friendships
Quality is far better than quantity.
Jonny Thomson
A woman in a red shirt watches a hand move a chess piece on a board, with a cat resting in a tree visible through the window behind them. Why your cat is the best philosopher
A cat doesn’t think; it just does. We could learn something from this.
Jonny Thomson
A close-up painting of a person with hands clasped in prayer, wearing a white head covering and a blue cloak. You’re a Christian and a Buddhist (whether you like it or not)
Is religion defined more by beliefs or practices?
Jonny Thomson
Historical engraving showing a public execution by drawing and quartering in a city square, with crowds of spectators—a stark contrast to the progress of modern justice. Francis Fukuyama on why we’re better than our ancestors
Everyone matters. If you believe that, it’s a good sign.
Jonny Thomson
Text graphic reading “The Big Think Interview” in bold, uppercase letters with a horizontal line and a downward-facing angle on the left.
Intimate interviews with the world’s biggest thinkers.
A middle-aged man with a shaved head and beard wearing a black button-down shirt gestures with his hands while speaking.
29mins
Free will: The real casualty of the algorithm
Luke Burgis argues that smartphones have made acedia, the ancient restlessness that pulls us away from the present, socially contagious.
Luke Burgis
A bald, bearded man in a black button-down shirt gestures with his hand while speaking.
34mins
The hard part of belonging begins after you’ve found your people
Luke Burgis explains how to keep a solid sense of self inside a community instead of dissolving into a pseudo self that changes with every crowd.
Luke Burgis
A bald man with a long gray beard and a handlebar mustache wearing a purple t-shirt, gesturing with his hands.
16mins
Cosmology’s oldest question: How the universe will end
Astrophysicist Ethan Siegel explains how new dark energy measurements are upending what physicists thought they knew about how the universe will end.
Ethan Siegel
A man in a black t-shirt gesturing as if holding an object between his hands.
38mins
A philosophy that says God is everything that could ever exist
Philosopher Jack Symes argues that pantheism, the view that God and the universe are one, answers philosophy’s three hardest questions.
Jack Symes
Black text on a white background says "STARTS WITH A BANG," with "WITH A" in a smaller, outlined font between "STARTS" and "BANG.
The Universe is out there, waiting for you to discover it.
with Ethan Siegel
Line graph titled Inflation Compounded Over 40 Years, showing eight exponential growth curves from 1% to 8% that illustrate the compound interest behind the current affordability crisis. A fake Einstein quote actually explains the affordability crisis
Einstein never said his famous "compound interest" quote. But the math of compound interest — and its inverse, inflation — explains so much.
Ethan Siegel
A large, bright blue star next to a smaller, orange star against a starry space background, both marked with rotational axes to highlight the roundest object in the universe. What natural object is the roundest in the Universe?
Nearly everything has angular momentum, so even massive, self-gravitating objects don't become perfect spheres. Which one comes the closest?
Ethan Siegel
Diagram showing the elliptical orbit of the Rubin Observatory dwarf planet candidate 2026 ED138 in relation to the orbits of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. What Vera Rubin Observatory’s first new dwarf planet means
Some are clamoring to make it the Solar System's 6th official dwarf planet. They'll be shocked to learn how rich our own backyard truly is.
Ethan Siegel
An adult and baby giraffe gracefully stand in a lush, grassy field with trees in the backdrop, showcasing nature's wonder that no government can censor. Ask Ethan: What should you do when a respected theory is false?
Every leading scientific idea today will eventually be proven wrong: superseded by a more correct one in the future. Getting there is hard.
Ethan Siegel
The word "BOOKS" with the second "O" stylized as an open book illustration.
Big ideas. Thoughtful conversations. One book at a time.
Book cover for “Circuit Breakers: How Neuroscientists Get Inside Your Head” by Anna Chambers, PhD, featuring a colorful watercolor illustration mapping the brain. Mapping the brain won’t unlock all its secrets. That’s a good thing.
In an excerpt from her new book, Circuit Breakers, Anna Chambers explains how brain-mapping research leads to more questions than answers.
Anna Chambers
Book cover for “Sniff: A History of Smells” by William Tullett, featuring an illustration of two fish on a platter. The world hasn’t become less smelly — we’ve just lost our nasal knowledge
The modern world is still rich with scents, but we've become less adept at navigating life with our noses.
Will Tullett
Book cover for the safer book “Safer: A Playbook” by Raj Panjabi, MD, with a foreword by Vivek H. Murthy, MD. You can’t eliminate uncertainty — but you can prevent it from paralyzing you
Drawing on his experience leading the White House's pandemic preparedness effort, Raj Panjabi explains how COVID taught him to prepare for the unexpected.
Raj Panjabi
Four identical decorative faces with leafy headpieces are shown in a row; the third face is circled in purple with lines and stars drawn around the group. 4 hilarious ancient Greek comedies — that still hold up today
Two thousand years before the sitcom, ancient Greek playwrights were mining sex, politics, and family drama for laughs.
Scotty Hendricks
Black and white "BT business" logo with stylized "B" and "T" letters inside a square, followed by the word "business" in bold lowercase font.
Learn business from the world’s biggest thinkers.
A crowded, dimly lit indoor space where people standing together before a large window share a sense of human connection. Why the AI boom is creating a hunger for human connection
As AI makes life more efficient, people are seeking out real-world community — and all its messiness.
Eric Markowitz
Two men stand beside an early D'Ieteren motor vehicle with large wheels and a lamp, set against a brown and pink background. The 221-year-old company that reinvented itself — 4 times
This carriage maker didn’t get wiped out by the automobile. Instead, it became one of the most successful car businesses in European history.
Eric Markowitz
Two scenes: Top shows climbers on an ice-covered terrain, embodying fun and success. Bottom captures an airplane in flight against a clear sky. Play it again: The causal link between fun and resilience
Fun in business is no laughing matter — it can create a golden strategic advantage and bring serious success in the long term.
Eric Markowitz
Four workers assemble a large wooden tank using scaffolding and ladders at an outdoor construction site, with stacks of materials in the background. The 250-year-old company that survived by refusing to lay people off
What would your company do if it lost all its customers at once?
Eric Markowitz
The image shows the text "Strange Maps" in a stylized black font on a light background.
The world, seen sideways.
with Frank Jacobs
Map showing the Roman road network with orange lines representing DARMC routes and black lines representing Itiner-e routes, with total lengths for each. Mapped: Every known (and suspected) road in the Roman Empire
A new digital atlas increases the Roman road network by 59% — and it changes how we think of the Empire.
Frank Jacobs
Map showing live camera locations across North and South America, Europe, and Africa, marked with blue numbered circles and black camera icons. The interface includes search and navigation options. How to restore your online sanity, one webcam at a time
The world webcam map, a defunct format from Web 1.0, is a foil to today’s algorithmic internet.
Frank Jacobs
Satellite view of Earth showing Eurasia at night, with illuminated areas highlighting population density and settlements across the continent. Scientists map massive layer of life just beneath our feet
Until recently, nobody had visualized the fungal "Wood Wide Web."
Frank Jacobs
A distorted 3D globe shows exaggerated elevation and depression, with color gradients of orange, white, and blue representing different surface levels. NASA image shows Earth’s lumpiness — exaggerated 10,000 times
The Earth is neither flat nor round. Actually, it's somewhere between a potato and a billiard ball.
Frank Jacobs
The number 13.8 displayed in large, bold, black digits on a white background.
Where science meets the human story.
Large telescope inside an observatory dome, showing metal structure, supporting beams, and curved reflective surfaces under artificial lighting. A study claimed UFOs orbited Earth in the 1950s. Then scientists checked the math.
In 2025, two cleverly designed studies claimed to find evidence of strange objects orbiting Earth — years before humanity had put anything in space.
Adam Frank
Two people at a protest hold signs reading "no vaccine passports" and "STOP COVID JABS FOR CHILDREN," with others standing nearby and flags visible in the background. Who pays the cost when Americans opt out of science?
Astrophysicist Adam Frank used to think the consequences of rejecting science would play out on the individual level. He's since changed his mind.
Adam Frank
Illustration of Earth overlaid with a grid and energy types from the Kardashev Scale: Type I, II, and III, representing planetary, stellar, and galactic energy usage. A physicist explains what the Kardashev scale gets wrong
The famous framework ranks civilizations by energy use — but ignores a critical factor that can halt their progress.
Adam Frank
A split image explores the nature of life, with a gray rock on a dark background on the left and a colored microscopic view of a cell—hinting at intelligence—in vivid detail on the right. Why organisms are more than machines
Sixty years ago, a little-known philosopher challenged how science understands life. His perspective is finding new relevance in the age of artificial intelligence.
Adam Frank