Psychedelics, AI, and the Right to Think

Episode 374

Ramez Naam

In this episode of The Psychedelic Podcast, Paul F. Austin speaks with Ramez Naam about cognitive liberty across psychedelics, neurotechnology, and AI. Ramez traces how psychedelic experiences helped inspire his *Nexus* trilogy and later climate work, while examining psilocybin, 5-MeO-DMT, and emerging brain-computer interfaces as tools that can reshape cognition. They explore medicalization versus decriminalization, the accelerating clean-energy transition, and AI’s role in science and climate. Ramez argues that risk demands transparency and practical safeguards, but not the surrender of human freedom over thought.

Ramez Naam is a computer scientist, mission-focused investor, climate activist, and the award-winning author of both science fiction (the near future Nexus Trilogy that explores the potential of mind-to-mind communication technology) and of science fact about human augmentation, neuroscience, climate, and clean energy. He serves as the co-Chair for Energy and Environment at Singularity University. He invests through his firm Planetary VC in startups seeking to change the world in positive ways, including clean energy, climate tech, and world-positive capabilities and uses of AI.