PLEASE NOTE: This interview originally aired on Sounds True One, where you can enjoy early, ad-free access to episodes of Insights at the Edge. Sounds True One is our premium membership platform built around live classes, online events, award-winning specials, intimate learning experiences and Q&A sessions with the world's leading wisdom teachers. Get your first month FREE at https://bit.ly/4liBdVV Get your first month FREE at https://bit.ly/4ctecMn In the early twentieth century, Jesuit priest and paleontologist Teilhard de Chardin predicted that humanity was evolving toward a "thinking layer" around the Earth—the noosphere—that would give rise to a new kind of human he called the "ultra-human." A hundred years later, that vision is having an unexpected revival in Silicon Valley. In this episode, Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Diana Pasulka, who writes under the name D.W. Pasulka, a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and author of American Cosmic, Encounters, and the new book The Others: UFOs, AI, and the Secret Forces Guiding Human Destiny. For years, Pasulka has studied the uncanny overlap between centuries of religious testimony—angel encounters, apparitions, mystical visions—and modern reports of UFO contact, and what that overlap might mean for how we understand both AI and our own evolution. Together, they explore: ·Teilhard de Chardin's century-old vision of the noosphere and the "ultra-human"—and why tech entrepreneurs are reviving it today ·The pattern match between medieval angel-contact accounts and modern UFO experiencer reports ·Why religious revelation has historically been far less "positive" than we assume—and what that says about today's abduction literature ·The difference between relating to AI as a tool versus as a companion—and the "chemical relationship" Pasulka sees forming between young people and AI ·Why one NASA historian believes truly advanced extraterrestrial intelligence might be permanently incommensurable with our own ·Pasulka's own time horizon for mainstream public acceptance of extraterrestrial life ·Why she argues that the possibility of UFOs being real may be the best thing to happen to religion in two hundred years Whether you come to this conversation as a skeptic, a believer, or simply someone trying to make sense of how AI is reshaping our inner lives, Pasulka offers a provocative lens on what we might be evolving into—and what we stand to lose along the way. Subscribe to Sounds True's YouTube Channel ► https://bit.ly/SubscribeSTYT Sounds True is a mission-driven learning and media company, and a recognized leader in wellbeing, personal growth, and spiritual transformation. Partnering with the world’s foremost wisdom teachers and best-selling authors, the company reaches millions worldwide with its unique programs, digital learning experiences, and worldwide events. The company also features a variety of original series, weekly shows, and live online experiences on Sounds True One, its global platform and community with members across more than 125 countries. Sounds True is a Public Benefit Corporation and also the home of the Sounds True Foundation. Connect with us: ▪️Facebook: http://bit.ly/2XFIIeE ▪️Instagram: http://bit.ly/2UlEoiH ▪️Website: http://bit.ly/2tOl02d #DWPasulka #UFOs #ArtificialIntelligence #Noosphere #UltraHuman #InsightsAtTheEdge #SoundsTrue #TeilharddeChardin