165. Playing For The Future: Freedom, Agency & Technological Determinism / Dr Elaine Kasket

In this conversation, I have the pleasure of speaking with Dr Elaine Kasket - a UK-based Cyberpsychologist and Chartered Counselling Psychologist whose work explores how technology reshapes our wellbeing, relationships, work and identity.

Bringing a rich and deeply humanistic lens to the psychological, philosophical and social dilemmas we face in an age of AI, Elaine’s work explores not only the idea of digital permanence (what happens to our data beyond our death), but also how we can retain agency and humanity at a time in which so much of our lives are becoming quantified and digitised.

Through her books, talks, keynotes and clinical practice, Elaine challenges prevailing narratives of helplessness in the face of technology and helps individuals and organisations build more meaningful lives with and through tech.

She has authored two books. The first, All the Ghosts in the Machine: The Digital Afterlife of Your Personal Data (Robinson, 2019), is an exploration of how the online dead affect the privacy, finances and experiences of the living in surprising and evolving ways. The second book, Reset: Rethinking Your Digital World for a Happier Life (Elliott & Thompson, 2024), examines how we use — and sometimes misuse — technology across our personal and professional lives, and offers practical and values-driven ways to make smarter, more self-aware digital choices.

A regular contributor across international media and podcasts, Elaine is a renowned keynote speaker and storyteller, and she has collaborated with audiences and organisations worldwide, from Netflix, TEDx and the House of Beautiful Business, to the NHS, the Edinburgh Fringe and Latitude.

Having served five years as an Honorary Professor of Psychology at the University of Wolverhampton in recognition of her work on life in the digital age, Elaine is currently Visiting Professor at the Centre for Death and Society (CDAS) at the University of Bath. She was formerly a full-time academic and Head of Department for the Doctorate in Counselling Psychology at Regent’s University, and she is an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

I was introduced to Elaine through a mutual friend and was absolutely captivated by her capacity to the complexity of many of the challenges and opportunities we face in this current moment. This was a compelling, thoughtful, heart-breaking, mind-expanding conversation, and I hope that you find it as enriching as I did.

BOOKS

• Reset: Rethinking Your Digital World for a Happier Life – Elaine Kasket (https://www.elainekasket.com/reboot)
• All the Ghosts in the Machine: The Digital Afterlife of Your Personal Data – Elaine Kasket (https://www.elainekasket.com/all-the-ghosts)
• The Atlas of AI – Kate Crawford (https://katecrawford.net/home)

WEBSITES

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/elaine-kasket/
• https://www.drelainekasket.com/
• https://www.elainekasket.com/

CHAPTERS

03:11 Free Will vs. Determinism in the Digital Age

05:58 The Impact of Technology on Relationships

08:59 AI Companions and the Loss of Reciprocity

11:54 The Nature of Therapy in the Age of AI

14:59 Experiential Avoidance and Psychological Flexibility

18:01 The Role of Technology in Human Connection

21:10 Seeking Meaning in a Technological World

24:00 The Dangers of a Flattened Existence

27:10 The Machine Stops: A Cautionary Tale

30:02 Rewilding and the Human Condition

35:02 The Philosophical Roots of Dominion Over Nature

39:07 AI's Impact on Climate Change Awareness

43:07 The Struggle for Emotional Control and Human Connection

47:03 The Role of AI in Shaping Work Culture

51:11 Navigating the Challenges of Capitalism and AI

55:08 The Developmental Arc of Technology and Human Connection