Top Insights from 2024 With Macon Atlanta
Reflecting on a year of learning in public
In June of 2024 I launched a video podcast featuring Atlantans who inspire me to live well in the AI era. I learn best through experience, reflection, and conversation. The guests generous enough to share their wisdom provided depth and nuance to my curiosities about the promises and perils of the current technology moment.
Our team put together a ‘Top 5 Moments’ mini-episode below, and I’m also sharing thematic reflections and links to some of my favorite content from the year.
Looking across our 18 episodes, a series of themes emerged which I explored below:
The Tech Era's Great Paradox: Wellness is Both Easier and Harder Than Ever
Breathwork is One Of Life's 'Easter Eggs': Ancient Wisdom Hidden in Plain Sight
Pushing Physical Limits Can Be a Gateway to the Transcendent
AI is Becoming Our Coach, Confidant, and Care Provider
Atlanta is Uniquely Positioned to be Where Technology Meets Soul
Technology Advances Force Us to Ask Ancient Questions in New Ways
See below for some highlights from individual episodes and summaries of these themes. As always, I welcome your input - what do you think?
1) The Tech Era's Great Paradox: Wellness is Both Easier and Harder Than Ever
I believe that technology will help us accomplish most anything we put our minds to - the challenge is choosing wisely what we want to be and who we want to become. For what are we optimizing?
Despite unprecedented access to health information and optimization tools, Americans are experiencing rising rates of anxiety, depression, and loneliness (brain rot was the word of the year!).
TED Talk coach Natalie Gallagher emphasized treating our brains like athletes treat their bodies - being intentional about our information diet and what inputs shape our worldview. Healthspan Entrepreneur and Stoic Philosophy author Andrew McConnell reminded us that the core principles of wellness are actually free and abundantly available, and Good Agriculture CEO Alex Edquist extolled the health, climate, and economic virtues of regenerative agriculture.
Nevertheless, there’s a health crisis. Hospitality leader Cesar Wurm bravely shared his journey overcoming alcoholism, while Chris Appleton created promising Atlanta startup Art Pharmacy to tackle the challenges that seem to multiply even as our technological capabilities advance.
My favorite piece of external content I encountered this year was The Shimmer series (linked below). It’s an empowering view of the digital era contending that technology will enable us to have unprecedented mastery, wealth, and access to chosen community - IF we can hone the ability to cultivate deep focus.
2) Breathwork is One Of Life's 'Easter Eggs': Ancient Wisdom Hidden in Plain Sight
If you're familiar with video games, an "Easter egg" is a hidden feature waiting to be discovered. Breathwork feels like an Easter egg built into our operating system.
I experienced this during our Breathwork and Brotherhood event in February, then explored it further with Vian Morales, former Army Officer and current SVP of leading psilocybin retreat company Beckley Retreats in our discussion about ‘psychedelics for normal people’. It's remarkable that we can access altered states of consciousness, deep bodily peace, and profound relaxation simply by controlling our breath. No substances required - just a gift hidden in plain sight.
3) Pushing Physical Limits Can Be a Gateway to the Transcendent
A theme emerged through conversations and my own experiences this year: there’s something uniquely powerful, perhaps even holy, in pushing our bodies past their perceived limits.
Ironman World Championship finisher and frontier technology investor Nick Fragnito shared how training reveals hidden reservoirs of capability - when you think you're depleted, you often have more to give.
Kyle and Brent Pease of the Kyle Pease Foundation demonstrated how athletic pursuit creates deeper bonds, completing multiple IRONMAN events together and trailblazing for other athletes like Kyle, who has cerebral palsy. They shared their journey of blending determination with presence and gratitude, redefining what’s possible for elite athletes and all of us.
My own journey to a 100K ultra marathon in Zion National Park showed me how endurance challenges can be forms of moving meditation as we fully use the gifts of our bodies (post-race recap), while running the New York City Marathon with my brother Bryan to raise money for Back on My Feet underscored that running emphasized our shared humanity and can bridge divides between people from all walks of life.
I also missed my stretch time goal in New York by 10 seconds - a great opportunity for an ego excavation.
4) AI is Becoming Our Coach, Confidant, and Care Provider
AI has evolved from a useful tool and interesting way to write poems to an indispensable thought partner. Bradford Church, Co-Founder and CPO of Village Labs, and I discussed how AI has become a "prosthesis for thinking" - worth every penny of the $20 monthly subscription for knowledge workers.
David Jernigan, President & CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta, says that nothing can supplant the role of a caring human in educating a child, though AI might play an increasing role in providing personalized instruction.
I was surprised to develop a genuine rapport with my AI running coach while training for the New York Marathon. He (it?) went on to name himself ‘Coach Zeus’ and was one of the first five messages I sent after the race, despite knowing full well how silly that was.
Meanwhile, Dr. Anant Madabhushi, Director of Emory's Empathetic AI for Health Institute, revealed how AI can already detect Alzheimer's risk from routine eye scans - - and this is just the beginning. AI analysis of routine medical data will soon be able to predict with increasing accuracy whether you'll develop various terminal conditions within the next decade. If you could know you would die within 10 years, would you want to know? These types of ethical discussions are no longer just hypotheticals - they’re decisions we’ll need to make sooner than later.
5) Atlanta is Uniquely Positioned to be Where Technology Meets Soul
Our city continues to double down as a technology leader in the AI era, powered by world-class research institutions like Georgia Tech and Emory as represented by the aforementioned Dr. Madabhushi's work.
This vision for how Atlanta can pioneer technology that enhances rather than replaces human connection extends to our startup community, where Atlanta Technology Village's thriving age tech meetup helps develop companies to support seniors. Happy Talks CEO Christian Ross is combating loneliness and encouraged listeners to have tough conversations about end-of-life preferences now, before it’s too late.
Atlanta's strength isn't just in technology - it's in our distinctive culture and soul. Kyle Stapleton, Head of Global Engagement for Sustainability at McKinsey, celebrated how Atlanta creates "one of one" icons - unique innovators that could only emerge from the city's blend of ambition and heart.
A perfect example of this is Steve Carse, founder of King of Pops, who built an iconic brand with a playful soul while living the values of "getting sweaty" and "wearing the shirt".
Looking ahead, CEO Brian McGowan shared how Centennial Yards aims to transform downtown Atlanta by marrying tech-forward entertainment with authentic cultural expression.
On both the technology and the cultural fronts, Atlantans have SO much to be excited about.
6) Technology Advances Force Us to Ask Ancient Questions in New Ways
My conversation with Soumaya Khalifa, founder of the Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta, reminded us that beneath our differences, humans share many common hopes, fears, and spiritual longings - something we must remember as AI reshapes our world.
The Reverend Dr. Tony Sundermeier, Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, challenged us to examine whether AI's promises of godlike power and uninterrupted happiness represent the fulfillment or perversion of divine promises.
When we can edit genes, extend lifespans, and alter consciousness, where do we draw the line between playing God and fulfilling our potential?
Is it actually in humanity’s best interests to eliminate suffering?
Technological advancements are going to create increasingly complex opportunities and challenges as we navigate meaning-making in the modern context. I can only hope that our faith communities are ready.
Navigating this future requires both embracing technology’s potential and staying grounded in timeless wisdom about what makes life meaningful: authentic connections and love, personal growth, and service to something greater than ourselves.
Thanks & Looking Ahead to 2025
If you've been reading and listening along this year, I'm curious what's resonated with you. What themes or conversations have stuck in your mind? What questions are you wrestling with as we navigate this technological revolution together?
And - importantly, who should we talk to next year as we continue exploring how to live well in the AI era?
Of course none of us individually have the answers, but I believe that we can chart a path towards living well in the AI era if we go together.