Staying Human in the Digital Age with Derek Rydall

March 26, 2026·1 hr 12 min·4 clips

"It's not a person that's doing that to other people — it's a program."

1. Awakening Code Radio centers "Staying Human in the Digital Age with Derek Rydall" on AI, consciousness, and the title of Rydall's book, A Whole New Human. 2. Eric Rankin and Michelle Anderson host from their Laguna Beach studios on Pacific Coast Highway, and they introduce Derek Rydall as a guest linked to Dr. Sue Mortar, Marianne Williamson, and Reverend Michael Beckwith. 3. The episode asks what it means to stay human while AI becomes a "digital tsunami" and the "greatest disruptor" in human history. 4. Eric says he wants a show about AI because it is on "everybody's minds," and Michelle says the title "Staying Human in the Digital Age" gives the conversation a broad scope. 5. Derek says he is not a "doomer" and not a Luddite, but he argues that technology needs proper perspective and human wisdom. 6. He says the future is already here, but "it's just not evenly distributed," and he treats that uneven rollout as evidence of rapid change. 7. Derek says AI can be used to "scale love and scale peace and scale wisdom" instead of just "clickbait" and "AI flop." 8. Eric brings in a YouTube series called "After Skool" and notes that some younger people are trading smartphones for "dumb phones." 9. Michelle says the show was inspired by the tension between people who see AI as the best tool and people who see it as a danger. 10. Derek says the real alignment problem is not AI but human inner alignment, which he ties to Star Trek, Star Wars, and "the force." 11. He calls humans "the original super intelligence" and "the real killer app" that technology cannot replace. 12. Derek says his book describes "the original AI" as "ancient intelligence, ancestral intelligence, authentic intelligence," and maybe "angelic intelligence." 13. He says the Oracle of Delphi's "know thyself" message was a warning, not a cheerful affirmation. 14. Derek links self-knowledge to the first evolution in his book, "AI will think for you, think for yourself." 15. He uses a seed-and-gardener analogy to explain why people need to know their own pattern, conditions, and "life code." 16. He says people become "irreplaceable" when they live in integrity with what they are "really made of and made for." 17. Derek says separation, lack, limitation, and scarcity operate as "thought viruses" and that people are already running "programs we didn't install." 18. Michelle describes a real email exchange about political division, and Derek answers with ideas about neutrality, perspective, and serving "the world that's emerging in you." 19. The tone is conversational, reflective, and firmly interview-based, with Eric and Michelle often adding personal examples and affirmations. 20. Listeners interested in AI, consciousness, spiritual self-inquiry, and practical personal growth will get the most from it, while people wanting a technical AI briefing may skip it.

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