Scaling El Capitan in Yosemite National Park without a rope could have ended very badly but we know it’s okay even before pressing play. Could it encourage dangerous copycat climbs? Sure. But not likely just because one might get a documentary made about the effort.

From National Geographic to Netflix

It would be hard to argue that the spectacle on Netflix this past Saturday was the “same” as the documentary. Because it wasn’t. Alex climbed Taipei 101 for a live audience (and was paid to do it; although according to the climber not nearly enough).

The 101-story skyscraper was the world’s tallest building from its opening in 2004 until the opening of the UAE’s Burj Khalifa in 2009. The building is an architectural marvel, full of diverse exterior features and the kind of nooks and crannies that make a televised free climb exhilarating TV.

It was also deeply unsettling. I couldn’t help but feel that we were watching the Hunger Games. The setup of Alex’s climb felt eerily familiar with the same fanfare, chipper commentary, and the “someone might die today” subtext.

Of course, in the Hunger Games the game is about the majority of players not surviving. But considering the fact that Alex could have fallen during the live telecast, wasn’t that also part of the appeal?

Is This What We Want?

Although there isn’t yet a compelling AI-generated movie or TV show capturing our attention, it’s coming. And it may shift how we feel about entertainment forever.

For instance, we’ll see the business of background actors falling away. Having spent a couple of years accompanying my daughter on set as an extra, it makes perfect sense. It’s a lot of work to usher groups of people around who are merely glimpsed in the background. There is a ton of paperwork, transportation, catering, and herding from set to craft services. Why bother if a filmmaker can just generate them using AI?

And while entertainment will still require human artistry and talent, it may remove familiar faces from our screens, leaving us with a void that we can’t explain.

When “Connecting” With Our Humanity Means a Thirst for the Ultimate Risk

So what comes next? Do we start to invite life or death feats into our homes as entertainment? Are we so bored by art that is helmed by an unknown AI-generated face that we look for the thrill that comes of seeing “real” humans in dire circumstances?

I worked for Netflix two decades ago and they were always a company that could see many years into the future. And it’s in that context that I feel even more unsettled. They may actually see what’s ahead.

While the imaginative Hunger Games or even the very real Roman Gladiator events in history seem extreme in comparison, the thirst feels the same. The commentators chatting chirpily with Alex and his loved ones through the two-hour show made it even more unsettling. Every time they talked about “Alex making it,” they meant either stopping (best case) or, more realistically, falling and dying.

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So What Comes Next?

In addition to being forward-thinking, Netflix is also a shrewd company and they would have made sure that the odds of Alex falling were slim. While that may give us some assurances, it doesn’t make the situation any better. At the end of the day, all they could do is be flexible about shifting the time (it was delayed by a day because of the weather) and institute a 10-second delay (in case he falls so it’s not televised).

Very few media outlets have ventured into the moral discussion in covering the story. They likened it to other “live events” on Netflix, or talked about Alex’s past feats and his ability to determine the feasibility of any climb. But make no mistake: he could have died on live TV. And he was paid to take that risk, and we were lured to watch on that basis.

A few writers have been bold enough to say this quite part out loud:

“Live” isn’t about authenticity; it’s about monetizing the possibility of the worst outcome, packaged around the one person the world trusts to get away with it. It’s rubbernecking with a subscription login. —Seiji Ishii, Gear Junkie, Jan 22, 2026

I watched the climb, and discussed my concerns with my family. What I’m worried about is not that it happened; I’m worried that viewers wanted to see it. I’m worried that we will start to justify this type of content (e.g., “it’s his decision”) and like Seiji Ishii writes, we’ll allow for it to become commoditized.

As I’ve started to write about human “outliers” who represent those qualities we need to hold tight to, and whose stories we can’t lose sight of, Alex’s case shows how we can exploit their specialness too. We should embrace the stories of outliers, not use them to feed our desire to keep connected to the worst ways we are human.

Share AI for Families

But as I soon found out, the happy demeanor is just the start of a long list of accomplishments and gifts that this runner possesses. For starters, she is a medical student at NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine—somehow also finding time to train as a long-distance runner. She’s a former NCAA champion swimmer and graduated from Harvard in just three years. In her last season at the school, Felicia was recognized by the NCAA for holding a 4.0 average during the 2022 record-setting swimming season.

Felicia then headed to Ohio State University, where she used her continued eligibility to swim for the Big Ten school while studying for a master’s degree in bioethics. Felicia’s accomplishments as a swimmer are too many to list here and alone would warrant a full profile of the scholar-athlete. But it was her breakthrough as a sub-elite NYC runner that caught my attention and earned Felicia an entire new cohort of fans.

After placing first in a number of local races this year, she was invited to compete in the elite women’s category at the New York City Marathon. And incredibly, she didn’t just run with the world’s best, Felicia came in first among New York women, 8th among American women, 14th overall among women, and also qualified for the 2028 Olympic Marathon Trials with a time of 2:35:17.

It’s an incredible accomplishment from someone who embodies the qualities we hope to see in the next generation—discipline, empathy, grit, wisdom, and joy. And these are the stories of the amazing “outliers” that need to be told.

Introducing the “Outliers”

As I’ve written about previously, while AI can help us achieve great things, we also need to consider the potential unintended consequences of the technology. For instance, AI systems tend to favor “safe” and “bland” responses. From a data science perspective, delivering the “most likely” or “average” answer, especially to questions that aren’t definitive and binary in nature, makes sense. But this can come at the expense of learning about “impossible” achievements and extraordinary people. In data terms, these extraordinary people are the “outlier” data points that can easily be filtered out—if they’re captured at all.

So, what does that mean in practical terms? Well, it could mean that safe answers woven throughout everything we access and the content our kids learn from can start to erode our imagination, creativity, and dreams. It’s the stories of other human beings that connect us to our own sense of what we can achieve—and we could lose this to AI systems. If these stories are “edited out” of content or never make it into what we read or experience, we risk becoming duller and less inspired in our thinking.

Through profiles of extraordinary people, I’m hoping to explore this topic in more detail. And I could not be more excited to share Felicia Pasadyn’s story as the inaugural profile for this section. Because unless you’re a runner here in NYC or have encountered Felicia in another context, you’ve likely never heard of her—but you likely will. Not only for her achievements but for Felicia’s fresh and unique perspective that highlights the power of those uniquely “human” skills that will be critical for kids to succeed in tomorrow’s world.

Meet Felicia Pasadyn

(Our chat edited for length and clarity…)

AI4F: You are, of course, an objectively amazing person, Felicia, but I also sense something different about your experiences and approach. So let’s start from high school. What has your journey been like? What has motivated you to succeed?

FELICIA: I was a three-sport athlete in high school. I also took a lot of advanced placement courses and was a very busy student athlete all during this time. I also grew up in a family that was extremely supportive of every dream that I had. And I dreamed big when I was younger.

I remember all the great moments, like being invited to the Olympic training center for being one of the top swimmers in the country. I also traveled a lot for swim competitions and for running competitions. I have three older sisters who also liked to run and swim and be very active. This was how I originally got into sports.

But for me, I also fell in love with the idea of sports. I loved the grit and self-determination that I felt every day at practice. It was about getting competitive with myself and then seeing the results. It’s like you get this little taste of success and all you want to do then is get back into the pool or back on the track and work even harder the next day.

“I always say hard work breeds success, and then success breeds hard work.”

—Felicia Pasadyn

Having people in my life, like really good friends and family, who I care about has also been a huge motivator. I know that my parents would wake up at 5 a.m., not because they wanted to, but because that’s when my swim practice was and they wanted to drive me there. So sometimes at swim meets or at hard practices, I would just think about them to keep going.

AI4F: My daughter is fixated on your Instagram feeds (personal and fitness), as they show your commitment, discipline, and, seemingly, grueling schedule. How do you do it?

FELICIA: I have this rule called the “hitting my four non-negotiables.” It’s a rule that I’ve had for myself since college, when, at the time, I would be walking over Charles River while at Harvard at 5 a.m. to get to swim practice. That practice would then be followed by a full day of classes that were very challenging intellectually. And then there would be another swim practice followed by study in the evening. So, I developed this concept to help me look back at my week and feel balanced and fulfilled ensuring that what I’m doing is sustainable.

First of the four is that I must get 8.5 to, ideally, 9.5 hours of sleep per night, or my brain and body do not recover very well. I also focus on fueling my body in a very functional and nutritious way. Second, I am the only one in my family who doesn’t live in Northeast Ohio at the moment, so I call at least one of them every single day just to make sure I have that touch point.

Third, I’m very close with my friends, and whether it’s scheduling a weekly potluck or a card game session, or even just a small walk to the local park, that fills my cup and helps me keep things in perspective. And fourth, is just booming back out and remembering my ultimate career goal. Because eventually I want to be a breast radiologist working with women and helping detect breast cancer—work that’s very important to me.

“By doing these [four “non-negotiables”] each day, I feel happy and fulfilled and very balanced.” —Felicia Pasadyn

AI4F: I write about AI and focus on the risks and opportunities that technology will continue to introduce into our lives. What I find interesting is how much you are an illustration of the power of having very “human” qualities. For instance, you seem incredibly focused on your experiences, and the people important to you, rather than necessarily just the reward at the end. What do you think of AI?

FELICIA: That’s all true. It’s also funny because I get asked questions about AI because of my focus on radiology. I often hear, “You know, AI is just going to take over that specialty.” But I’ll tell you what, until you can prove to me that a robot can comfort that woman with the tear rolling down her cheek as she gets a diagnosis… Until that day happens, I do not believe AI will take over radiology.

AI4F: What do you think about qualifying for the Olympic trials? Have you given much thought to what that means to you in your life?

FELICIA: It’s highly selective and honestly extremely unrealistic for me to think that I would leave as an Olympic team member. But still to go and compete against the best women in the country is the part I’m most excited about. I’m just in awe of the women that I get to compete against, and actually, the faster I get the more inspired I am by the athletes I’m exposed to at these races.

AI4F: I hope you also realize how you’re becoming quite an inspiration as well. My daughter has started to pay attention to how you train and was so excited to watch you during the live stream of the New York Marathon. What would you say to kids who now look up to you now?

FELICIA: First, I would say, the bigger you dream, the more exciting, your life becomes. Whether it’s something that you’re journaling, or thinking, or telling to a parent or a friend—if it scares you even a little, then it’s a big enough dream. Because having something to think about every single day and work toward—this is what gives you the most fulfillment in life.

I also see a tendency to pigeonhole students into one field or one sport. You don’t have to differentiate yourself so early. You should remain curious and open-minded for as long as you possibly can. I think it’s important to just keep wondering: What is out there for me in the world? Keep that question in the front of your mind for as many years of your life as you can. 💕

Have a story of someone you think is a remarkable example of holding fast to our humanity? A person that exhibits the “outlier” tendencies that are worth telling others about? Please let me know!

Once we know WHO we are it’s much easier to decide HOW machines can enhance our lives and WHERE the lines should be drawn concerning our use of AI systems.

What’s at Risk?

One of the unintended (and, I believe, least discussed) risks of AI is how it’s incentivized to deliver a response that is “safe.” It goes for the “most likely” or “most provable” answer. Of course, that makes sense. But are we fully considering the implications of safe and “homogenous” as we pepper AI into absolutely everything? Probably not.

Just look at what’s happening with AI-enabled Internet search results. You might be looking for a variety of perspectives and opinions when you search on Google, but now quite often the AI results are curt and binary in their “answer.”

For instance, I wanted to see what “people were saying” about the ending of a TV series I loved (The Lazarus Project). I wondered who also may have theorized about the relationship between two of the characters. And, welp, Google’s Gemini cut me right off. “No” it said. End of story.

It’s inexplicable why Google has decided to insert Gemini in this way, but that’s a post for another day. The bigger issue is how many might end their journey of discovery when an AI system offers such an abrupt response.

(P.S. hate AI intrusion into your Google search experience? When you add a phrase or question in the search bar add “-AI” and you won’t see an AI-generated answer)

Who Are The “Outliers”?

In my book I talk about the fact that boring, safe, and homogenized AI responses can (if we let them) start to shape the boundaries of what we think is possible—especially for kids.

When an AI chatbot responds with such authority that something is impossible, never done, or just simple provides a “yes” or “no” answer, it can be a serious deterrent to imagination, critical thinking, and any understanding of nuance.

Or, even worse, the answers can be inaccurate and limiting (especially as these responses are simply based on what has been written about previously).

And this is where “outliers” come into the picture. If humans and our digital data underpin these “definitive” AI responses, then it is far tidier algorithmically to just remove any errant data points from the mix (i.e., that “one person” who might have credibly argued the same theory I had about the Lazarus Project).

If there are no “examples” or content related to questions, ideas, or queries, what then? Imagine how many people have done extraordinary things that defy convention or belief but then “disappear” because the story never made it into the Internet content that drives these AI responses. That should worry us more than the “machines will destroy us” narrative we hear most frequently right now. We are at a far greater risk of handing our humanity over to technology and becoming a self-fulfilling prophesy as a result.

How Stories of “Extraordinary” People Begin to Disappear

If our news is AI generated, and our education materials led by AI, how do we resist the urge to think “within the box” rather than outside of it? Do we wake up someday and realize we are all boring, prone to group think, and risk adverse because “AI taught us” to be this way? Do we think the world can simply be organized into “yes” and “no,” “true” or “false”?

As readers you know I think that AI innovation can help us achieve great things. But if we don’t understand what is currently underpinning the technology we will fall prey to its darker implications.

That said, it’s not the technology that is to blame but the humans involved in its development and the “ingredients” that underpin AI’s output. For example:

• Local news is disappearing. According to my graduate school alma mater, over 40% of local news outlets have dissolved in the past 10 years. When you consider that AI responses come from Internet content and that local news is where we tend to find the most “human” stories, the implications are signifiant. All of those “local heroes” and individual human-interest stories that aren’t feasible to cover in the same way nationally, start to disappear.

• We Participate in fewer community events. According to the 2024 American Social Capital Survey, just 44 percent of Americans report attending a social event in one’s community even just a few times a year. It’s those interactions that expose us to a wider variety of people doing unique, interesting and even great things. It’s the very basis of our understanding of other people and what’s possible.

• Social media algorithms favor commercial (and other) interests. On the flip side, we spend so much time online that we experience the world according to algorithmic equations that prioritize commercial interests over truth. We are already prone to say “everyone thinks” these days without recognizing that “everyone” might not actually be…everyone.

Introducing “The Outliers” Special Section

And here is how we find ourselves at my new AI for Families section. As a trained journalist I always return to the mandate of “showing” not “telling” readers. And I can think of no better way to show readers what’s at risk these days than in profiling some very extraordinary human beings.

So to supplement the ideas, research, tips and overall thinking about AI that I cover on this website, I am now going start profiling the types of people who defy expectation as a celebration of what we can achieve and a warning as to what may lose if we don’t pay attention.

Know of someone that deserves a shoutout? Let me know!