Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, more informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties, content production companies, and live events. After starting his career in banking, Kofinas discovered that he could combine his love for education with his growing interest in markets and the economy, creating multiple financial media ventures including an NYC radio program and a daily, live news show, which reached hundreds of thousands of viewers worldwide. In his nearly two-decades-long career, he has built a video game company, designed interactive television applications for the cable industry, and launched multiple off-Broadway productions, conferences, and live events, while also writing as a contributor for Quartz. Kofinas currently hosts the Hidden Forces podcast, where he gives his listeners an edge by using a financial and cultural lens to help them draw meaningful connections, challenge consensus narratives, and formulate solutions to complex problems—empowering them to make smarter decisions.
no
198033
00:00
start listening
Episode 268
Demetri Kofinas
Machine Intelligence, Humanity, & the Will to Power | Demetri Kofinas
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, more informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties, content production companies, and live events. After starting his career in banking, Kofinas discovered that he could combine his love for education with his growing interest in markets and the economy, creating multiple financial media ventures including an NYC radio program and a daily, live news show, which reached hundreds of thousands of viewers worldwide. In his nearly two-decades-long career, he has built a video game company, designed interactive television applications for the cable industry, and launched multiple off-Broadway productions, conferences, and live events, while also writing as a contributor for Quartz. Kofinas currently hosts the Hidden Forces podcast, where he gives his listeners an edge by using a financial and cultural lens to help them draw meaningful connections, challenge consensus narratives, and formulate solutions to complex problems—empowering them to make smarter decisions.
In Episode 268 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas replays a monologue that he wrote and first published nearly five years ago about the future of humanity, machine intelligence, and the power process.
When he began Hidden Forces, Demetri was primarily concerned with exploring some of the recent advancements in technology and humanity’s scientific understanding of both the external world, as well the internal one that gives rise to the human experience. He believed (and still does) that many of the socio-cultural and political changes that we were experiencing in the world were being strongly influenced and shaped by these advancements, which is why so many of our early episodes were philosophical in nature, dealing with questions of epistemology, identity, and meaning.
In preparing for his recent conversation with director Alex Lee Moyer, Demetri was inspired to go back and listen to a monologue that we published nearly five years ago and which dealt directly with some of these more philosophical questions. The monologue was rooted in a set of observations about the role of digital technology and machine intelligence in shaping our experience of the world, our sense of agency, and our very notions of what it means to be a human being. The monlologue is even more relevant today than it was in 2017 when he first wrote it.
We are living through an extortionary moment in human history. Nothing short of our humanity is at stake, whether from the growing possibility of total war, the creeping security state and surveillance capitalism, or even just the abject apathy and nihilism that seems to be infecting more and more of society. If you are a listener of this show, then these issues concern you directly, and while you may not be the CEO of Google or the head of the Federal Communications Commission, your input, activism, and engagement on these issues will be a decisive factor in determining not only the quality of our future but the quality of the world that we leave for our children and grandchildren.
You can access the full episode, transcript, and intelligence report to this week’s conversation through this episode page by clicking on “premium extras.” All subscribers gain access to our premium feed, which can be easily added to your favorite podcast application.
If you enjoyed listening to today’s episode of Hidden Forces you can help support the show by doing the following:
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, more informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties, content production companies, and live events.
After starting his career in banking, Kofinas discovered that he could combine his love for education with his growing interest in markets and the economy, creating multiple financial media ventures including an NYC radio program and a daily, live news show, which reached hundreds of thousands of viewers worldwide. In his nearly two-decades-long career, he has built a video game company, designed interactive television applications for the cable industry, and launched multiple off-Broadway productions, conferences, and live events, while also writing as a contributor for Quartz.
Kofinas currently hosts the Hidden Forces podcast, where he gives his listeners an edge by using a financial and cultural lens to help them draw meaningful connections, challenge consensus narratives, and formulate solutions to complex problems—empowering them to make smarter decisions.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
