Why Season 8 of The Tech Humanist Show Is All About Vision

When we talk about business strategy, we’re constantly drawing from the language of sight. We seek vision. We pursue clarity. And we value insight and foresight. Even the company’s name—KO Insights—is rooted in this metaphor.

But somewhere during the writing of my book A Future So Bright, I started noticing something. These metaphors are pervasive. That recognition sparked a question. If vision is so central to how we understand progress and possibility, shouldn’t we support the people working to restore and preserve actual human vision?

That’s why, for the past couple of years, KO Insights has quietly donated a portion of our proceeds to Helen Keller International. They’re an organization dedicated to preventing blindness, restoring sight, and supporting people with vision challenges around the world. This year, we decided to make that commitment public. We’ve dedicated Season 8 of our award-winning podcast The Tech Humanist Show to exploring vision technology, vision restoration, and the many ways we “see” our relationship with technology.

Vision Tech: Where Science Meets Human Experience

Season 8 brings together leading experts who are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in vision restoration:

Tom Chi, who worked on Google Glass, shared insights about how technology augments vision—and how metaphors of sight have shaped his understanding that everything is connected.

Dr. Jose-Alain Sahel is pioneering work in optogenetics, offering new hope for restoring limited vision to people who’ve lost their sight.

Dr. Lauren Ayton (next week! link coming soon) inspired by her brother’s struggles with vision loss, is doing groundbreaking work in bionic vision technology.

Professor Daniel Palanker (link coming soon) is advancing vision restoration techniques that are opening new possibilities for people with retinal diseases.

These conversations aren’t just about the technology itself—they’re about what becomes possible when we combine human ingenuity with deep empathy for the human experience.

Seeing Differently: Expanding the Metaphor

But Season 8 isn’t only about literal vision. We’ve also explored what it means to see differently in how we approach technology, work, and humanity:

Bas Warmerdam challenged us to think like children and see the world with fresh eyes.

Ben Pring helped us reimagine the human-AI relationship in new and more productive ways.

Dr. Bushra Khan reframed “soft skills” as essential human skills—seeing them for what they truly are.

Dan Pontefract invited us to see aging not as decline but as opportunity, opening our minds to meaningful careers that span our entire lives.

Each of these conversations asks us to reconsider our assumptions, challenge our default perspectives, and recognize that how we see technology shapes how we use it—and how it shapes us.

Why This Matters

Here at KO Insights and on The Tech Humanist Show, we believe technology should serve humanity, not the other way around. Vision technology is a perfect example of this principle in action. It’s not just about building impressive tools—it’s about restoring independence, creating opportunity, and honoring human dignity.

When we talk about human-centered technology, we’re talking about innovations that recognize what makes us human: our need for connection, autonomy, and meaning. Vision restoration technology does exactly that. And by exploring how we “see” in both literal and metaphorical terms, we can better understand how to build a future where technology enhances rather than diminishes our humanity.

Join Us

If this resonates with you, I invite you to listen to the Season 8 episodes of The Tech Humanist Show. Each conversation offers something unique—whether you’re interested in cutting-edge science, business strategy, or simply thinking more deeply about our relationship with technology.

And if you’re moved to support this important work, consider contributing to Helen Keller International. Their work in preventing blindness and restoring sight transforms lives in tangible, meaningful ways.

Because ultimately, the future we’re building together depends on how clearly we can see—both literally and metaphorically—what matters most.

Listen to Season 8 of The Tech Humanist Show at the show site or wherever you get your podcasts.