Michael Toscano joins Age of AI to discuss Pope Leo XIV’s first AI encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas. The conversation explores human dignity, digital dependency, family life, AI personhood, and why the Vatican believes the future of artificial intelligence is ultimately a question about what it means to be human.

Links:

• https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.html
• https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum.html
• https://ifstudies.org/family-first-technology-initiative
• https://ifstudies.org/report-brief/high-tech-low-play-the-life-of-american-children
• https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2026-05/pope-leo-xiv-encyclical-magnifica-humanitas-ai.html
• https://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/idols-of-the-valley

AI is supposed to make marketing easier. So why are so many companies more confused about their messaging than ever? In this episode, Medlir talks with Josh Porter — author of The Last Human Marketer — about what he calls "drowning in automation": the paradox where scaling content and tools produces less clarity, not more. Josh makes the case that human judgment in positioning isn't a legacy constraint — it's a competitive edge. He also introduces the "Customer Connect Code," his framework for translating complex AI products into language that actually lands with buyers.

Link:

• The Last Human Marketer

To open Season 14 of Age of AI, and to mark the podcast’s 5-year anniversary, we are joined by Dr. Valerie Hudson for a wide-ranging conversation on AI, governance, and the future of political order. Drawing on her decades of work at the intersection of international relations and emerging technology, Dr. Hudson reflects on how we arrived at this moment, the risks of concentrated technological power, and what a more democratic future for AI might require.

Links:

• The Oxford Handbook of AI Governance
• Opinion: The reckoning that came for social media will come for AI and prediction markets, too
• Opinion: Our tech lords have plans for us, and they’re chilling
• Opinion: The irony of Anthropic’s stand
• Perspective: Both Democrats and Republicans oppose a ban on state AI regulation. Why is it still being considered?
• An Avoidable Apocalypse
• Artificial Intelligence And International Politics

Special Announcement: the AI Ethics and Governance Institute is organizing the AI Law & Governance Conference (ALGO 2026), an immersive executive program taking place September 8-10, 2026, in Istanbul, Turkey. Organized in collaboration with two leading AI law firms, Kirton/McConkie and Clarion AI Partners, the program is designed for lawyers, corporate governance officials, government officials, and graduate students. For more information, please visit the AI Ethics and Governance Institute website: aegixinstitute.org