#E38 Recapping 2023: The Year That Completely Changed My World View

Read the HYPERSCALE transcript.

[02:25] Briar: What a year it has been and today I'm bringing a very special episode on Hyperscale. I have my behind-the-scenes wonder woman who coordinates my schedule for HYPERSCALE and finds me all of the epic guests that I have on the show. So today Georgia Smithwick is here with me and she is going to be asking me a whole bunch of questions. I'm in the hot seat. And we're going to be talking about what an epic year 2023 has been and all the stuff that has gone down since we started our documentary which was 48 hours in the Metaverse. We premiered at this time last year actually, didn't we? 

[03:05] Georgia: Yeah, I was just thinking that. I was thinking it would've been around this time last year that we were organizing the premier. I think the premier was on the 15th, so that's bang on today. It might even be today.

[03:19] Briar: Do you know how your iPhone brings up old photos and it was like, this happened this time last year and I was looking at the setup that we had. For those of you who are joining the show today and you're not quite familiar with what we're talking about. Well, in Georgia's very first week of working with me, she was tasked with making avatars and helping coordinate my adventure where I spent 48 hours in the Metaverse nonstop meeting 21 different avatars. We visited 33 virtual worlds. I got very cyber sick and then we were sitting on a bunch of amazing footage, which we then edited into a documentary and we premiered it at the Roxy Cinemas in Dubai which was quite epic to see ourselves, quite epic and quite strange at the same time to see ourselves on the big screen, wasn't it? 

[04:09] Georgia: Yes it was. It was definitely a crazy experience because as you say, we never anticipated for it to be a documentary, let alone be sending it to festivals in the US and actually winning awards and things. That was just an incredible experience. I think that really set our year to be honest. I think we were kind of in the mindset of We've done this, what's next? What can we conquer next?

[04:37] Briar: Absolutely. It really did get us quite hungry, didn't it? I think it really enticed my curiosity about the future. And I think that's ultimately why I'm doing all of this and why you're doing it with me as well is that we believe or I believe that we've got two choices really, that we can either go out there, be curious and embrace the future and all the change that will come with it, or we can kind of sit back on the sidelines. And it was so interesting to hear the feedback from 48 hours in the Metaverse. We had so many ladies especially that came up to us and said, "thank you so much for doing this." Thank you for being a “guinea pig” and going out there and traveling to these virtual worlds and showing us what is actually out there because I've always wondered what the metaverse in its present state entailed. I never brought an Oculus, I hadn't experienced it but thank you for doing this for us and I really do feel that this is part of our big mission. It's to be brave and to go out there and experiment. I almost see myself as a little bit of a guinea pig when it comes to this kind of technology and just bring people along for the ride with me.

[05:56] Georgia: Yeah, and I think what's interesting as well with the Metaverse, certainly a lot of people as you say didn't know what it was or would kind of think it was just something for gamers. And the fact that we brought it out to the public in a way that was kind of digestible and easy to understand, that was I think when we were looking back at the feedback, the thing that really humbled us the most. And then I think that is sort of what got us started on, okay, what else out there do people not know so much about?

[06:38] Briar: And then that took us to microchips. I said to Georgia, I was like, you know what? I think I want to get microchips in my hands. Coincidentally, it was a few weeks later we actually met somebody who had microchips in his hands. So essentially my microchips will allow me to unlock my houses, my cars and go to the gym, maybe put a hotel key fob on it and you can add me on LinkedIn and get my contact details should you want to at events. So we were very excited about microchips. And then Georgia was doing a lot of research and it kind of just got a lot bigger from there, didn't it? 

[07:15] Georgia: Yeah, I remember that very first presentation that I did where I was doing research I think for about a month. And then we pulled the video team in this room actually. I remember just going through everything that I'd found when it comes to human cyborgs and people who were getting brain chips and then transhumanism and people who thought that we could live forever. I think when I showed you guys all of that research, then it was kind of like, there is more to this, there is a lot of different avenues that we can go down with this. I think that was when we first started looking at transhumanism. It's interesting because when I look back to the beginning of the year when we were in the early research stages, we were looking at people like Natasha Vita More and David Pierce and David Wood and being like, wow, wouldn't it be incredible to interview them? Now you are friends with them.

[08:19] Briar: I know, I know. Honestly, when Georgia came to me with her research and she's talking to me about transhumanism, I remember saying to you, well what is transhumanism? And then the more that I explored it, I was like, you know what, I am a transhumanist. And I said this to David Wood.

[09:39] Briar: And I think the reason why I resonated with Transhumanism so much is not even from a future perspective, which certainly does resonate with me, but even from a day to day values perspective as well. 

[10:02] Briar: I grew up in a very small town farm in New Zealand called Darfield. It's a town of 3000 people. You've most likely never heard of it, and that's fine. I didn't really feel like I belonged there. I would go to school Mufti Days, so the days that you can wear whatever you want, and I would be wearing all pink and a sparkly pink cowgirl hat and sparkly pink cowboy boots and everyone else would be walking around in their gum boots and their little stubby short shorts like what the All Blacks rugby players wear. It just didn't really feel like me but I had two choices, I either could have passively let life pass me by and stayed in Darfield or I could go out there and make things change for myself so I could play a proactive role in how my life is being guided.

[10:54] Briar: And that's certainly what I did. Yes, it was scary. Yes, there was a whole bunch of risks. I remember working three jobs as a waitress and then moving to New York in eight weeks and having no job lined up and $1,000 in my back pocket and was like, gosh, what will happen? What will I be doing? I know nobody in this massive city. But it just goes to show sometimes that when you take risks these amazing things happen. You push yourself, you increase your limits and what you're capable of, you take a step outside your comfort zone and suddenly you'll realize something that wasn't possible before, like a whole other world opens up for you. And that's the way I feel about transhumanism. Again, we've got two choices. Humanity has two choices. We can either sit back and just let life or technology create itself, or we can understand how it's evolving and perhaps play a bit more of an active role in guiding it and guiding our future towards a positive future. 

[11:57] Georgia: Yeah, absolutely. I think the more you, as you say, looked into it and realized that your personal values kind of aligned with it, the more you started to put practical use into your daily life. So I remember at the beginning of the year you made yourself a few promises. What were those promises and more importantly, have you kept to them?

[12:24] Briar: So I think for me, 2023 was all about thinking big. And it was about addressing any kind of thing that I feared head-on. I didn't want to play it small anymore. I'd reached a certain point in my career where I had the agency set up and we've got offices in Dubai and New York and I just wanted to do something so big that Briar back in Darfield would've been proud of. Not only that, from a personal perspective, I also really want to be a bit more visible and a role model perhaps for other people who are on their farm, whether that's literally or figuratively and wanting to do a bit more with their life. So have I achieved my goal? I remember you looked at me, it must've been about February time, and you said to me, how far are you willing to go in regards to this journey that I'm on?

[13:32] Briar: I think that really resonated with me. And there's been so many times throughout the year where I've had some self-reflection and I've thought to myself, am I doing enough? Am I doing enough of the right things? I think as an entrepreneur we have this tendency to be busy or to feel like we have to be working 24/7. I know that I certainly did. I remember when I first started the business, I lost all my friends. I locked myself in my apartment and I literally built the business day in and day out. Whereas I think when you get more experience as an entrepreneur, you become a lot smarter with how you're managing your time and you really do value the importance of healthy eating, getting to bed on time, resting, having some time to just sit and do nothing so that you can think these creative thoughts in your head.

[14:29] Briar: And the more kind of space I give myself, the better the business is and the better my creativity is. So it's not always about filling up every single moment of time, it's actually just really giving yourself some space, I think would be the most important thing. So this year I've really revisited all of my routines. So I hate sleeping, I'll be honest. I hate going to bed. I always think there are 2 million other more exciting things I would rather be doing with my time. And of course, it's always a struggle to wake up because I used to be on my phone scrolling Reddit or doom scrolling on Instagram or staying up late watching reality TV. God, I love that stuff. And when I looked at these habits, I thought, you know what? This is not aiding me and helping me to get on time and wake up feeling refreshed. When you're not refreshed, you make bad decisions. You might eat that muffin over the eggs in the morning, or perhaps your mood might not be as vibrant or as happy as what it could be and you don't give you the day your best effort. 

[15:48] Briar: So for me, I quit a lot of these habits. I'm a very all or none person. And I often think that when we're talking about habits, we also have to look at our environment and our routine. So if you are tired the next day or if you are struggling to get up in the morning, okay, what can you do the night before in order to fix your environment so that you are setting yourself up for success? I've been writing my recipe book for what feels like an eternity right now. Everyone keeps asking me, when's your recipe book coming out? I'm like, listen, it's so close, so close. You've got no idea. But basically my recipe book is recipes for people who hate the kitchen and feel like they don't have time for cooking, but also my recipes are for life, for longevity and abundance and things like this. So not only have I been tinkering around in the kitchen with my healthy recipes, but I've also been tinkering around with my healthy day-to-day recipes of life as well. And that's been a very interesting journey.

[16:57] Georgia: So from all the work that you are doing and all the work that you've done this year, all the people you've interviewed and God, you've been to so many different places, London, Dublin, New York, interviewing experts from all around the world. But from all the work that you're doing and all the work you've done this year, what is the thing that you want people to take away from it?

[17:35] Briar: I think it's to be curious and to not fear the unknown because the future always changes. Change is just the only thing that's constant as they say. And I just want people to be curious about what they can be a little bit as well. I feel there are a lot of things wrong with society these days. Just speaking for my own habits and things, it's so easy to get stuck scrolling on our phone or digesting Instagram content or just wasting our time away really watching twerking on TikTok if that's what you're into. I think as well it's interesting that when you go out and you order something healthy like a salad and everyone around you orders burgers and fries and they kind of look at you like, what are you doing?

[18:35] Georgia: Like you're on a diet but you're actually just eating healthy food.

[18:38] Briar: Exactly right. It's like how is eating healthy food considered a form of dieting? To me that seems so strange and I just worry with all of the distractions and things these days that we're not thinking about the things that we should be thinking about, which is the future and artificial intelligence. I just had a podcast interview earlier today where I spoke to Dr. Steve Fuller and he told me that he thinks that humanity and society is going to be very different in 20 years. And he thinks that there might be people who are quite suicidal and many middle class workers completely out of jobs because he believes that those are the jobs that AI will take, such as the lawyers, the doctors, these are people who are going to university for long times and getting a really good profession. But these are the people who are also at risk of AI taking away their jobs.

[19:35] Briar: So he believes that we need to start thinking quite creatively as humans about what we need to be doing to make sure that our jobs in particular are not taken away. So that's where I believe that we need to become a society of creative thinkers. We should not be a society of sheep controlled by the algorithms just passively waiting for life to pass us by. We need to go out there and actively create our lives. And the very first thing is being curious. I love the saying, a child learns to walk not by their fear of falling down but by their curiosity of standing up. I think we all need to have this mindset in our lives.

[20:27] Georgia: Yeah. And I think that's completely right. We're in a society that is actually quite ignorant to these types of things even when we look at transhumanism and even death to some extent. When we're looking into transhumanism, a big part of it is looking into death and the meaning of death. And it's crazy because it's almost like a taboo subject in society. We know that this thing is going to happen to us, to every one of us, but we don't talk about it. We use euphemisms like passed away or things like this. No one wants to, I think, face the fact that one day we are all going to die. And it's crazy because we don't like to acknowledge mortality. I think that because as humans we don't do that a lot of the time, we are just on sort of a hamster wheel of just getting by day by day, day by day. You don't think that your time actually is going to run out one day. And I think that's where the ignorance comes into it.

[21:44] Briar: It's really interesting you bring this up. What I've started doing some mornings, perhaps some mornings where I'm not feeling as present or as appreciative of my life, I like to think of myself as already dead. And then I like to take that feeling that it gives me and then live my day with so much more passion and excitement. 

[22:10] Georgia: I wasn't sure where that was going there, but, you pulled it back. That's actually like when you think about it, it's actually quite a nice way to live your day.

[22:21] Briar: Yeah and then I pull down my Versace glasses and I hop in my RA and I'm like [Brum car sound], sort of thing. I live my day with main character energy. 

[22:32] Georgia: I love that. And I always think, imagine if you thought you were going to die tomorrow, you would literally live your day to the fullest. You would not think twice about things. You won't worry about money; you won't worry about the way you look. You would just be like, oh, well I'm dying tomorrow anyway. So it's crazy that I think we just live life knowing that there's a ticking time bomb. No one knows when it's going to be, but yet people just tend to accept society for what it is and just get on with it, I suppose.

[23:07] Briar: And you and I have obviously been exploring this topic in depth. And next year we're going to do even more conversations on this. We've been reading the likes of Dr. Bruce Grayson, do you want to share who's coming on the podcast next week, which we're quite excited about?

[23:24] Georgia: Robert Ginsberg. So I am super excited about this guest because this topic is just right up my street. I love anything to do with kind of conspiracies. He's done 20 years of research on near-death experiences, which I just find so interesting because I believe in all that. And I think that's why when I'm looking at transhumanism and I'm looking at digitally living forever, cryonics, things like that, that's why I find it a little bit uneasy with what I believe because I believe that there is an afterlife. So, I'm sort of like, well if the body is frozen, where's the soul going? But that's a whole other conversation that I don't even think we've scratched the surface of just yet. But it's amazing how we started this off with just the idea of a microchip, you are getting a microchip in your hand. Now we're talking about all these amazing things that are quite controversial and it's just crazy how, how you can fall down the web really when it comes to research.

[24:35] Briar: Absolutely. Do you remember when I posted on LinkedIn and I told everybody that come 80 years old, if there was no solution for me to become immortal or at least prolong my life, then I would freeze my body with cryonics? And do you remember all the hate that I got?

[24:52] Georgia: Yeah. People called you selfish. It was pretty harsh for LinkedIn as well.

[24:58] Briar: I know.

[24:58] Georgia: LinkedIn is usually pretty PG with the hate.

[25:01] Briar: Yeah. So, I think with conversations like this, we're essentially asking people to revisit their worldview. Of course, when we find out that we're going to die, it's this horrifying thought and it's not black and white. You are completely right and I think that's what I've loved about exploring this topic with you so far, is that we have quite different views on the matter, but at the same time, I don't know the correct answer. Nobody knows the correct answer. So that's why I believe it's so important to always go out there and listen and learn and even listen to views that don't necessarily align with your own. There have been so many moments in my life where I've completely changed my worldview. I used to be so against being microchipped. I remember during COVID times I was moaning about the thought of microchips and this new world order and all of these conspiracies that I was hearing about.

[26:01] Briar: So when I told my boyfriend this year that I was going to get a microchip, he called me a hypocrite and said that I hate this kind of stuff. So why was I suddenly going to go out and get a microchip? But my thinking had just evolved. There was actually a point of time where I looked at myself and I said to myself, why are you so attached to this? Like why are you so afraid of change? We can go about our day-to-day lives without a microchip. But what happens in the future if that's just the way society as evolved? Maybe we use microchips to pay when we go supermarket shopping or perhaps we have augmented reality glasses so that we can view a phone like vision in front of us so we're not having to be on our phones all the time.

[26:57] Briar: I guarantee we're going to look back in time and think, oh my God, how funny was it? We used to carry those little phones around and have our neck bent and stuff like this. So I was laughing today to someone about the fact that we used to use dial up internet and used to get that ding ding. It used to be like, mom, I'm still on Bebo. Stop calling, down the hallway. But that's very much how it was. And of course, we all remember, or maybe you don't remember because you're a few years younger than me, but I remember a time when we didn't even have phones and what a different society that was.

[27:28] Georgia: And I think as well, that's what's quite interesting with society and how it adapts to change because eventually everyone adapts. When new technology like phones and things come out, I remember my grandad being like, oh, I would never get one of them things. But then they realized that their lives would be so much easier if they had one. They'd be able to do things that they wasn't able to do before. And I think that's how society adapts to things. You have the division at the beginning of people who are all for it and people who are against it. But eventually, everyone adapts. And even when you look at COVID, everyone, when that first came out, not a lot of people wanted to get the vaccine, but then if you tell someone that they can't go on holiday, they'll be quick to get it.

[28:19] Georgia: So as soon as you stop doing something or you're given less opportunity in society, you do naturally adapt. And so if everyone's going to have these microchips and it means that you need a microchip to travel or you need a microchip to go and see the doctor easier or these things that just make your life easier, everyone will get one. But it's not until that moment that you will have the division of people who will say, I'll never get one of them. Just like people would say, oh, I'd never get a phone. But look at society now, who doesn't have a phone? It's weird not to have a phone.

[29:01] Briar: Absolutely. And it's been so fun producing the documentary so far with you because the way that we've been doing it, I don't know if you and those who are listening are aware, but Georgia and I are producing our documentary in a reality style format. So we are going out and interviewing these amazing guests. Like Natasha Vita More , as Georgia mentioned before, she's one of the top transhumanists. She was the creator of the Transhumanism Manifesto back in the 1980s and the likes of Max Moore and Dr. Aubrey De Gray, like these were people that Georgia was researching for such a long time at the start of the year. And I think a real highlight for me in 2023 was certainly when we went to Dublin together. And we were dancing the Macarena and Abba with all of our amazing futurists and longevity experts that we had just been digesting their content, reading their books and kind of fangirling a little bit over them for the past six months. And then to be like doing the Macarena with Max Moore, we kind of looked at each other and we smiled and it was very much a, a pinch me moment. I knew what you were thinking and we had this moment of togetherness, which was quite cool. Yeah.

[30:32] Georgia: As you say, it's crazy when you've researched someone's work for so long and then you see them in person. At the beginning of the year we set out, these were our goals to interview these people and now we're in Dublin, as you say, dancing the Macarena with them. So yeah, that was certainly an experience.

[30:56] Briar: Absolutely. And next year we've got some really exciting plans. We're going to go stay with Max Moore and Natasha Vita More in Arizona and really get to understand their life. Like what's it like to live as a transhumanist. I had a very interesting discussion with Natasha Vita More recently about, yes we should think about the future and augmenting our body and perhaps becoming space fairing creatures and uploading digital versions of ourselves to the Metaverse as avatars or mind uploading ourselves to the cloud. Like, yes, we should think about these things but I also appreciated that she liked our sort of day-to-day values of transhumanism as well. It's like, okay, what can we be doing in the now, in today with what we've got with technology to kind of live this transhumanist lifestyle? And I know that Natasha is very much about going to the gym and she does Pilates and things like this. So I'm excited to go and stay with her and see her life because she's very glamorous as well. 

[32:05] Georgia: She looked great. She is very glam. 

[32:45] Georgia: And on that note, when we were in Dublin, I think a big thing that I noticed was that a lot of people were looking at us as if to say, these are the wrong conference.

[32:59] Briar: I remember a gentleman came up to us and he was looking at our dresses and our heels and he said, at first I thought you girls were at the wrong conference because this is boring-ville around here.

[33:13] Georgia: Yeah and I think that's so important though because a lot of the women who were there attending the conference were sort of coming up to us and being like, oh my gosh, I love what you're wearing. I wish I could wear something like that to the conference. And I'm just thinking, well, why not? Why wouldn't you? If you're into fashion and you want to wear heels to a conference or if you want to wear a pink sparkly dress to do your keynote, why can't you?

[33:46] Briar: I think it's an interesting point that you bring up and it's definitely one that I'm very passionate about as well. I was speaking to someone recently and they were saying, kudos to you for being able to show up wearing sequins or in your big seven-inch heels to all of these quite male-dominated conferences. And she said that she feels a tendency to dress down. She might wear gray or flats because she feels that that's what she needs to do to fit in. And I think this is one of my big missions and what I'm trying to achieve is, I want to reframe what the idea of a CEO looks like to people. When we think CEO, I don't know, do we think men, of a certain age, of a certain kind of formality or like I'm a CEO, why do I have to change myself in order to fit in? My team will laugh at this because it's quite often we will find sequins or sparkles around the office because I do have a tendency to wear sparkles. But why not, life is short. We're not in the 18th century here. Does it really matter? I think for especially this longevity conference, you and I had some fun with it. I had a kind of robotic kind of vibe for filming our documentary. You went for a kind of men in black, got to hunt down the stories kind of thing. 

[35:17] Briar: And it was fun and it was so nice to have such wonderful feedback and to be so warm and everyone was so warm and welcoming to us. I think that's one of the things that I love about doing these documentaries with you so much is that we tap into these communities who really do open their arms for us when we did 48 hours in the Metaverse, all of the VR creators and world builders, were so excited and keen to show us and we even had someone build us a movie premier In the Metaverse and make us little branded popcorn. People spent their time to really help us. I do feel the same about the longevity and transhumanism and future communities as well. So if you are listening to this, I just want to say a massive thank you for just being so warm and welcoming to me and Georgia. You share so much value with us. You're so open with your thoughts and perspectives and we come with no judgment, we're here to learn. And I think people realize that as well.

[36:23] Georgia: Everyone was so happy to talk to us and just let us know about the different projects that they're doing. I think a lot of it is because they don't get a lot of publicity. They don't get a lot of funding. A lot of people don't even know that these amazing things are going on. 

[36:49] Georgia: I'm going to throw a bit of a curveball question at you. 

[36:51] Briar: Hopefully I can handle it.

[37:05] Georgia: I think it's safe to say that wherever you go you dress for the occasion and you certainly did in Dublin. Do you ever think that people don't take you as seriously because of this?

[37:18] Briar: I don't really care about their thoughts in all honesty and in saying that I do dress for the occasion, but still myself. So for instance, if I was going to a government event or something, I wouldn't wear a short dress or something that I feel is inappropriate, but maybe I might wear a cool suit with some sparkles or some kind of little element of me. I think that the cool part about the industry that I'm in as well is, say I go to a Metaverse conference. The Metaverse is cool. In the Metaverse you can show up and be whoever you want to be. You can be as fantastical as you want with a dress made of fire. We don't have to stick with the rules of physics. Anyway in real life I do, but I have no qualms with sort of wearing a sparkly dress and things. Besides if people want to look at me and not take me seriously, like that just makes me even more motivated to go out there and prove everyone wrong. 

[38:18] Briar: In fact, I would say there have been so many times in my life where I haven't been taken seriously. I haven't always lived the life that I now live. As I said, I grew up on a very small town farm, and who cares craft your path, go out there and prove everybody wrong. I love thinking about all of the people who thought that I would never succeed. I remember when I first started my business, our PR and executive branding agency Prestige Group, everybody told me I would fail. They were like, you are 24, you've just moved to Dubai six months ago. CEOs don't want to be online. You are never going to get the corporate budgets. You are only going to get small budgets because only individuals will pay for things like this. Companies only pay for PR and social media, not executive branding. 

[39:19] Briar: And there was a part of me that felt like I should listen because a lot of this kind of advice was coming from people who came from big agencies and people who perhaps did have more industry experience than I did. But I think being an outsider is actually what made me quite innovative. I didn't feel like I had to stick with the rules. I could see how the industry was changing. I could see that the fashion and beauty bloggers were building their brands and communities and building a following on Instagram. And with that was bringing media opportunities and all sorts of wonderful, amazing things in their life. And I said, well, surely CEOs are going to see the value of this one day. I'm happy I stood with my guns and I'm happy I stood by my thoughts and yes, it was harder in the early days. Yes, I did have to do some more traditional PR work and corporate communication strategies and things like this for the organization. But I said, mark my words, there will come a day where I can just do personal branding full-time as an organization. 

[40:23] Briar: And that shift really was during Covid. A lot of publications laid off their staff. It was a lot harder to get more traditional media opportunities. Podcasting became really huge. Part of our job that we do is we pitch our clients out for podcasts. Obviously video production is really big. So we have our clients speaking on stage, we film it, we put it back on LinkedIn and we're very much crafting and managing their LinkedIn, their Twitter or X as it is now called and building their following as well because that's where people are spending their time. So why not reach the masses with where they are? And that's exactly why we're doing our documentary in this way. I'm saying let's bring a format to the people that the people want. I loved reality TV. I say loved because I loved it so much. I had to quit because I was just so obsessed with it. I just couldn't stop watching it. It was like an addiction to me. So I had to stop. I just had to quit, go cold Turkey. 

[41:27] Briar: My friend Biljana, she's an amazing entrepreneur, a very successful woman from the UN and has been working for the government and all sorts of things. She loves reality TV as well. Natasha Vitamore, I spoke to her recently. She loves the Kardashians. You are obsessed with reality TV. You always watch it.

So what I'm trying to say, I guess is that so many amazing successful people love reality TV as well as I'm sure people who perhaps waste their time away and could be doing a bit more with their lives and that's why I'm bringing our format of very complex discussions where we don't necessarily agree. And we're going out there and being guinea pigs and talking to amazing brainy people with all sorts of wonderful perspectives but bringing it to people in a reality TV style format. So it's quick. There are lots of cuts. We're doing the talking head aspects as well so you get those cool video interviews where you get to learn a little bit more about the kind of feelings that are involved and the complexities of the issues and things as well. And yeah, we try and be funny every now and again. We've had our moments. You broke a glass the last time we were filming. 

[42:41] Georgia: I actually did. 

[42:42] Briar: Georgia sat on one of my very nice glasses and broke it, which was funny. 

[42:46] Georgia: I actually did squish the glass.

[42:48] Briar: Maybe that'll make it in the documentary. 

[42:50] Georgia: It is a pretty funny blooper.

[42:52] Briar: It was a good blooper. Georgia sent it to all of her friends and they had a good laugh about it.

[42:56] Georgia: Yeah, it was funny.

[46:28] Georgia: And I think that is the beauty of the way that we're filming it, because the viewers along with us finding out this information and we have some sad moments, some eureka moments where we realize something that we'd never thought of before or a different perspective and it just sort of clicks in your head. And it's crazy, I think a real moment for us which was a bit of a light bulb with transhumanism and longevity, I think was when we looked back at what people used to die of back in like the 1600s.

[47:14] Briar: Yes. Tooth cavities was one. Was it like the third most common cause of death?

[47:21] Georgia: Yeah. I actually found this, it's kind of like a scroll paper online of how they used to record the deaths in London and tooth cavities was on there and mouth ulcers. 

[47:37] Briar: Oh God I've got one of those at the moment.

[47:38] Georgia: On there and I was thinking I had one of them last week. I could have been on death's door.

[47:44] Briar: Not something to laugh about, is it?

[47:45] Georgia: Oh no, it's not, it's not, it's not. God help everyone who died of mouth ulcers and cavities back in the 1600s, but seriously. It is so interesting to see how the cause of death has changed from then to now. And it was kind of a comparison because now one of the most common causes of death is suicide, which is so sad. And it's the likes of suicide, cancer, Alzheimer's, and a lot of age-related diseases actually that went around back in the 1900s. You are looking back and the main causes of death back in that time was influenza, consumption, people used to die of common colds and things like this. Now we've got all of this amazing medicine where a cold is just nothing to us now. We don't think twice about it. You just, go and get a few Panadol cold and flu and it's gone in a few days. 

[49:00] Georgia: But now there are more diseases and it just seems that as society goes on and as medicine develops, we're curing some things and more diseases are coming and you just think, well these diseases went around hundreds of years ago, why are they here now? Is it because of our lifestyle or is it because there are actually cures out there for things but we're just maybe not putting the funding into it? I think when we speak to people who are doing a lot of research for age-related diseases and the possibility of curing things like Alzheimer's and they're just not getting funding for it, which is crazy to me.

[49:51] Briar: It's all a bit backwards, isn't it? 

[49:52] Georgia: Yeah. 

[49:53] Briar: And I think it's quite disappointing in so many ways, the fact that we work our asses off all our lives to what, we're 65, 70 and then maybe we get 10 years if we're lucky to be retired and enjoy our life. But the problem is, as you said, there are so many age-related diseases, like cancer is an age-related disease most of the time, Alzheimer's is, dementia and you are right, the people that we're talking to are saying that these could be cured and that with them being cured, then hopefully we won't have lives of suffering. I think that's a real big thing about what transhumanism is trying to drive. It's not necessarily about being immortal. Yes that could be a possibility in the future. I would love it. 

[50:55] Briar: I would love it if we had longevity escape velocity. So that's essentially as we're getting older, we're also getting younger and with the likes of AI and lots of other different research. So technologies such as nanotech obviously trying to cure aging at the molecular level, hopefully, we can start living longer lives. But I do hear a thing that we need to fix is the brain. Apparently the brain can't live past 120, 130 years old. But I had a fantastic time with Dr. Jean Herbert in New York, and he's trying to basically grow healthy brain tissue so that you can keep replacing your brain tissue as it starts to deteriorate over time. So there are certainly other things that are being looked at. But yeah, you're right there's a big F word that everyone talks about and that's funding. A lot of these things don't get funding, which to me seems so backwards because if we funded and fixed society so that we were living in a healthcare society rather than a sick care society, we would actually save more money.

[52:44] Georgia: I think when people think of transhumanism, I think there is quite a common misconception that it is about living forever or becoming a cyborg or having these advances. And to some extent it is, but the bigger picture is that it's just about living healthier longer lives. And why wouldn't anyone want that? No one wants their brain to deteriorate. No one wants themselves or their loved ones around them to get these horrendous diseases like Alzheimer's and MS and things like this where you actually lose yourself before you die anyway. And that for me is such a scary thought. You know how I feel about the whole living for everything. I think that everyone should come to an endpoint in their life. But I certainly agree with the fact that that endpoint, you should be living your healthiest life up until that endpoint. It shouldn't be you retire and you just have, as you say, 10, 20 if you're lucky, years of relaxing, but you've got a dodgy hip or you've got to go in a wheelchair or you're not able to do all these things that you've been saving your whole life to do.

[54:07] Briar: It's so true. And some would even argue the fact that we are already transhumanists as well. That's why when I talk about transhumanism to people and they say, oh, that's the world's most dangerous idea or they're very quick to kind of dismiss it. But I say, well, one might argue that you are already transhuman, you wear glasses to wear. Like my nan has an artificial hip replacement. We wear clothes and shoes to walk. Like we've basically augmented technology so that we can live happier lives and it's just going to become even more so from here because technology is evolving at an exponential rate. And again, we've got two choices. We can either sit back and suffer or we can kind of go out there and experiment. 

[55:19] Briar: And yes, it's not always going to be dandelions and rainbows and love hearts. Like there's going to be things that come up that aren't pleasant. Technology is neutral at the end of the day, and it's going to be a reflection of us. There's going to be the good and the ugly and that's just a price that we're going to have to pay. 

[55:52] Georgia: So we've literally gone through, I think our whole 2023 there. I actually feel a little bit reminiscent, to be honest.

[55:59] Briar: Likewise. 

[56:01] Georgia: It's been a great year. 

[56:01] Briar: It has been a wonderful year.

[56:03] Georgia: So let's talk 2024, because I feel like 2023 we've really done the research, we've done the foundation. We've built so many amazing contacts in the industry. And of course, we've been filming it all the way along. But now I feel like 2024 is the year of the action.

[56:26] Briar: I feel like Georgia and I have been doing a lot behind the scenes this year. We've been doing a lot of foundational work, we've been really thinking about it, really researching and stuff like this. And I think that 2024 is going to be a year of fruition. I think that a lot of the things that we've been working on are hopefully going to come into place. And at the end of the day, I just look forward to bringing all of our amazing guests and conversations and these very complex topics. I look forward to discussing them with everybody who's listening to this. 

[57:03] Georgia: And I think what's such a good combination is obviously PR and branding and all of that is your bread and butter and a lot of these people that we speak to don't get the press or the attention or don't necessarily know how to put their message out there. And I think that's what I'm most excited to help people do. I think people are so happy to be on the documentary and it's just so nice to get to know more people in the community and everyone always puts you onto one person. 

[57:37] Briar: Absolutely, these people deserve to have a platform and I am so happy to be that sort of vehicle to help share their voices. Well, it's been so fun to chat today. I really enjoyed it. And again, Georgia is the person behind the scenes who just makes everything unfold and happen. So I'm really glad you got to hear from her and hear all of her wonderful and very interesting perspectives. And of course, you'll be seeing a lot more from her on our documentary as well. 

[58:40] Georgia: Thanks for having me on the show.

[58:42] Briar: It was fun.