Recorded live at Online Educa Berlin, this episode of Great Minds on Learning explores AI and the Global South through history, hard lessons, and contemporary debate. John Helmer and Donald Clark examine early techno-utopian experiments, the ethics wars around AI, and newer perspectives rooted in language, power, and lived experience. From Negroponte and Mitra to Gebru, Arora, Manyika, and Mugane, the conversation asks who AI is really for—and who gets to decide.

00:57 – Intro

01:58 – Introduction to AI & the Global South

14:11 – Nicholas Negroponte

17:38 – Sugata Mitra

24:11 – Global South takes on AI

28:11 – Timnit Gebru

32:27 – Payal Arora

37:39 – James Manyika

43:12 – John Mugane

54:49 – Summing up

58:41 – Q&A

Great Minds on Learning explores 2,500 years of learning theory—from the Greeks to the geeks. Hosted by John Helmer and Donald Clark, the podcast connects historical ideas to today's debates in education, technology, and society.

• LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer

• X: @johnhelmer

• Bluesky: @johnhelmer.bsky.social

• Website: https://learninghackpodcast.com

In this final episode before the summer break, Donald Clark and John Helmer explore the rise of happiness and wellbeing as central themes in psychology, education, and policy. From Seligman's Positive Psychology to Nussbaum's Capabilities Approach, they examine the thinkers who defined the science—and pseudo-science—of flourishing. Is wellbeing a universal human right, or a set of scantly-evidenced models that has somehow become an industry? And what happens when AI becomes your therapist?

⏱️ Timestamps

• 00:00:00 - Start
• 00:01:24 - Intro
• 00:02:25 - Introducing Wellbeing
• 00:09:07 - Martin Seligman (1942–) & Richard Layard (1934–)
• 00:21:47 - Ed Diener (1946–2021)
• 00:29:57 - Carol Ryff
• 00:41:22 - Corey Keyes
• 00:51:01 - Amartya Sen (1933–) & Martha Nussbaum (1947–)
• 00:58:37 - Lucy Foulkes
• 01:09:03 - Summing up

🔗 Contact

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer
• X: @johnhelmer
• Bluesky: @johnhelmer.bsky.social
• Website: learninghackpodcast.com

Learning at Scale, from Theory to Action.

This episode explores the thinkers who shaped organizational learning—how institutions learn, adapt, and evolve. From Herbert Simon's decision theory to Argyris and Schön's double-loop learning, Peter Senge's "learning organization," Japanese knowledge creation, and Finnish activity theory, we trace how learning moved beyond individuals to become a strategic force for change. A must-listen for anyone in leadership, workplace learning, or change management.

Timestamps:

• 00:00:00 - Start
• 00:01:24 - Intro
• 00:02:23 - Introducing Organizational Learning
• 00:06:29 - Herbert A. Simon (1916–2001)
• 00:18:38 - Chris Argyris (1923–2013) & Donald Schön (1930–1997)
• 00:30:14 - Peter Senge (1947–)
• 00:43:17 - Ikujiro Nonaka (1935–2025) & Hirotaka Takeuchi (1946–)
• 00:57:01 - Yrjö Engeström (1948–)
• 01:07:20 - Summing up

Connect:

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer
• X: @johnhelmer
• Bluesky: @johnhelmer.bsky.social
• Website: learninghackpodcast.com