Category: Video+discussion

Can Deep Fakes Destroy America?

Sam Gregory speaks at TED Democracy: Imagining our common future. November 14 – 15, 2023, TED World Theater, New York. Photo: Ryan Lash / TED

11 a.m., September 7, 2025

Join us this Sunday, either in person or online, as we watch and discuss two videos on the dangers of AI-generated “deep fake” videos.

In the first video, When AI can fake reality, who can you trust?, Sam Gregory warns us that we’re fast approaching a world where widespread, hyper-realistic deepfakes lead us to dismiss reality. What happens to democracy when we can’t trust what we see? Sam presents three key steps to protecting our ability to distinguish human from synthetic and explains why fortifying our perception of truth is crucial to our AI-infused future.

A technologist and committed activist for human rights, Sam has served on the Technology Advisory Board of the International Criminal Court, co-chaired the Partnership on AI’s Expert Group on AI and the Media and led the Threats and Harms Taskforce of a leading coalition to develop standards for media provenance. He’s testified on AI and deepfakes before the US Congress and to the National AI Advisory Council, written for WIRED, The Hill and a range of academic journals and is frequently interviewed by major media. You can preview this 12-minute video, made in November 2023, at
https://www.ted.com/talks/sam_gregory_when_ai_can_fake_reality_who_can_you_trust

The second, US Civil War in 2025 (It’s Closer Than You Think) is an animated video from The Infographics Show that illustrates the fictional collapse of the United States due to an expert AI generated, perfectly timed fake video. The Union ends, not with a bang, but an upload. Watch now to find out what could cause the next US civil war and consider how it could be avoided.

The Infographics Show focuses on making animated motion infographic videos, made in a fun and entertaining way. You can preview this 22-minute talk at: https://youtu.be/rdGsP7oNFDo

Attend in Person:
Join fellow Humanists in Milpitas Library Group Study Room A, 160 N Main St, Milpitas, CA 95035.
Often after our meeting, we find a nearby inexpensive eatery for a luncheon.
If you can join us in person, please email vp@humanists.org to help us make sure we have room for you. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom.

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Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
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Join the meeting by phone: +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
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Yuval Harari on the Modern World

Yuval Noah Harari, in 2013.
Join us this Sunday, either in person or online. We’ll watch and discuss three videos of Historian Yuval Noah Harari as he discusses significant issues of the modern world.
 
The first video, from May 23, 2025, is Harari on coping with the Trump eraーNHK WORLD-JAPAN NEWS. Historian Harari speaks to NHK (a Japanese public broadcast service) about the rise of populism, exemplified by the reelection of Donald Trump as US president. You can pre-watch this 7-minute video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvAXqyWJxwg.
 
The second, Yuval Noah Harari on AI and Human Evolution | WSJ Leadership Institute is a June 12, 2025 WSJ (Wall Street Journal) Interview. Harari joins the WSJ Leadership Institute to examine, through his work on human evolution, ethics, and power, how AI is reshaping global institutions, executive decision-making, and our very concept of intelligence. You can pre-watch this 25-minute video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki5hosohNtQ.
 
The third video is Stupidity: A powerful force in human history from May 29, 2024 deals with the questions; are we in the midst of World War III? What’s the role of fiction in human evolution? Why do we tend to overconsume food? Big or small, every detail in our behavior can be explained by looking at the past, from dietary choices to how we’ve used stories to advance. But if progress is narrative-driven, what comes next? In Yuval’s take, he speaks on humanity’s superpower, the paradox of wisdom and the relationship between government and war. You can pre-watch this 12-minute video at https://youtu.be/zvjcJsy51oc 
 
Prof. Yuval Noah Harari is a historian, philosopher, and the bestselling author of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, the series Sapiens: A Graphic History and Unstoppable Us, and Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI. His books have sold 50 Million copies in 65 languages, and he is considered one of the world’s most influential public intellectuals today.

Attend in Person:
On the last Sunday of the month, like this Sunday, attend our forum in person with fellow humanists at the Neutra House Conference Center, 181 Hillview Ave, Los Altos, CA 94022. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation.

If you can join us in person, please email vp@humanists.org to help us make sure we have room for you. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom.

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Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

Join the meeting by phone: +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)

Find an international number to call: https://zoom.us/u/afYkAuvE6

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The Tipping Point Update

Malcolm Gladwell

11 a.m., August 24, 2025

Join us this Sunday, either in person or online. We’ll watch Malcolm Gladwell discuss his new book Revenge of the Tipping Point and his rethinking of his 1999 book The Tipping Point in two different videos from October 2024.

In the first video Malcolm covers a range of social epidemics and the possible of social engineering to control them.

In the second video he specifically focuses on crime in New York City, and the possible effect of policy on crime.

Malcolm Gladwell Revisits “The Tipping Point” in New Book | Amanpour and Company
Oct 4, 2024

Walter Isaacson interviews Malcolm Gladwell about his latest book, “Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering.” Some 25 years after the publication of Gladwell’s groundbreaking first book, “The Tipping Point,” the author returns to the subject of social epidemics — this time, with the aim of explaining the dark side of contagious phenomena.
You can watch this 18:30 minute video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dMS7c-XwS8.

The Tipping Point I Got Wrong | Malcolm Gladwell | TED
Oct 30, 2024

In his 2000 bestseller “The Tipping Point,” Malcolm Gladwell told the story of why crime fell in New York City in the 1990s. Now, 25 years later, he’s back with a confession and a mea culpa: “I was wrong,” he says. He shares how his analysis contributed to the rise of the infamous “stop and frisk” policing policy in New York City — and shows why journalists should avoid the trap of imagining a story is ever really over. (Followed by a Q&A with TED’s Monique Ruff-Bell. Recorded at TEDNext 2024 on October 22, 2024)
You can watch this 17-minute video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmXrwKydM9k.

Malcolm Gladwell is a Canadian journalist, author, and public speaker. He has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996. He has published eight books. He is also the host of the podcast Revisionist History and co-founder of the podcast company Pushkin Industries.

Attend in Person:
On the first and fourth Sunday of the month, like this Sunday, attend our forum in person with fellow humanists at the Neutra House Conference Center, 181 Hillview Ave, Los Altos, CA 94022. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation.

If you can join us in person, please email vp@humanists.org to help us make sure we have room for you. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom.

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Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

Join the meeting by phone: +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)

Find an international number to call: https://zoom.us/u/afYkAuvE6

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John McWorter and Richard Dawkins at the Scopes Trial Centennial

John McWorter

11 a.m., August 10, 2025

Join us this Sunday, either in person or online, as we watch and discuss a video from the 2025 Scopes Trial Centennial Conference.

In this special session, evolutionary biologist and author Richard Dawkins presents the 2025 Richard Dawkins Award to John McWhorter, Columbia University linguist and New York Times columnist. The award honors individuals who champion reason, science, and secularism.

Following the award presentation, Dawkins and McWhorter engage in a thought-provoking on-stage conversation exploring the origin and evolution of language, touching on linguistics, human cognition, and the nature of communication itself.

The Scopes Trial Centennial Conference, co-hosted by the Center for Inquiry (CFI) and the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), commemorates the 100th anniversary of the famous 1925 “Monkey Trial,” a pivotal moment in American history that tested whether science or religious dogma would shape public education.

You can preview this 55-minute video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov-S1w_fU1Y

Attend in Person:

This Sunday, you can attend our forum in person with fellow humanists in the Orchard Room at the Los Altos Library, 13 S. San Antonio Road, Los Altos, CA 94022. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation.

If you can join us in person, please email vp@humanists.org to help us make sure we have room for you. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom.

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Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

Join the meeting by phone: +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)

Find an international number to call: https://zoom.us/u/afYkAuvE6

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The Future of Truth

Prof. Hammond, Mr. Balasubramaniyan, Ms. Paillon, and Prof. Wolcot

11 a.m., August 3, 2025

Join us this Sunday, either in person or online, as we watch and discuss a video from the TWIN Global 2023 conference. Professor Robert Wolcot, Co-Founder and Chair of The World Innovation Network (TWIN), interviews an international panel on the meaning of and search for truth in a world where it is becoming increasingly hard to identify.

The panel consists of Marjorie Paillon, Journalist and Anchor with TV France; Vijay Balasubramaniyan, Co-Founder CEO and CTO of Pindrop Security; and Kristian Hammond, Professor of Computer Science at Northwestern University and Chief Scientist at Narrative Science.

TWIN is an invitation-only connective that brings together decision-makers from over 30 countries who impact business, government, arts, and philanthropy.

You can see this 32 minute video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDx9kyo7NKk

Attend in Person:
On the first and fourth Sunday of the month, like this Sunday, attend our forum in person with fellow humanists at the Neutra House Conference Center, 181 Hillview Ave, Los Altos, CA 94022. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation.

If you can join us in person, please email vp@humanists.org to help us make sure we have room for you. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom.

———-

Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

Join the meeting by phone: +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)

Find an international number to call: https://zoom.us/u/afYkAuvE6

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