🤖🛡️ AI: Promise, Peril & Your Power — with David Eliot 🎙️
The Not Old Better Show, Technology Power Hour Interview
Welcome to The Not Old Better Show, “Books and More” Interview Series on radio and podcast. Today’s show is brought to you by Aura Frames. Aura Frames: the gift that brings your favorite holiday traditions and memories to life every day.
We’re talking about a technology that just jumped from the lab into your living room. Artificial intelligence isn’t science fiction; it’s the new electricity—quiet, everywhere, and suddenly powering the tools we touch every day.
Picture this: you hand a dusty shoebox of family letters to an app. In minutes, it can transcribe them, search them, even help you stitch a chapter of your family story. Magic. Now flip the coin: your phone rings and it sounds exactly like your grandson asking for help—except it isn’t. Same technology. Magic and mischief, in one breath.
1) A story that feels both urgent and familiar.
We’ve all seen how AI seems to appear out of nowhere—on our screens, in news, in ads, even in family group chats. The real drama isn’t whether the tech will exist. It’s whether we understand it well enough to shape it. That’s the promise and the warning at the heart of David Eliot’s new book, Artificially Intelligent: The Very Human Story of AI. Tonight’s conversation crystallized that for me: the issue is human choice, not just code.
2) Why this matters right now.
When a tool can transcribe decades of family letters in minutes, that’s beautiful. When it can clone a voice to trick a loved one, that’s frightening. The line between magic and mischief is thin, and it’s drawn by how cautious, curious, and informed we are. Eliot’s work reminds us there is no neutral position—only paths we actively choose.
3) Practical, not just philosophical.
The best part of tonight’s talk was the focus on small, concrete actions: one rule to spot scams, one conversation to have with family, one tiny habit to use AI safely. These are not lofty ideals. They’re steps any of us can take this week to turn uncertainty into agency.
4) What the book offers.
It isn’t a tech manual, nor a doom prophecy. It’s a human story that connects history, society, and individual lives—showing how AI’s past, present, and future are intertwined with our choices. That perspective matters because it positions you as part of the story, not just a passive observer. David Eliot
5) A call to read, learn, act.
If you want more than headlines—if you want a guide to understand what AI actually is, how it came to be, and what you can do next—this is the book to open. It’s priced accessibly, and it’s aimed at readers who want clarity, not confusion.
That’s a wrap on today’s deep dive, but not the end of the story. Remember, today’s show is brought to you by Aura Frames. Aura Frames: the gift that brings your favorite holiday traditions and memories to life every day.
We’ve peeled back the curtain on a technology that’s already whispering into our phones, our homes, and our family conversations—and will only grow louder. The real power isn’t in the machine; it’s in what we decide to do with it.
So take tonight’s talk as a challenge, not a warning. Ask: What small step will I take tomorrow to use AI wisely, safely, and creatively? Because the future isn’t something that happens to us—it’s something we shape, one smart choice at a time.
If you want to keep going, there’s a guide worth opening. Check out more from David Eliot!