How to Think Like a Futurist- Steven Zeller on AI, Risk, and the Power of Iteration

Episode Summary

What if the hard season you’re in isn’t a detour—but the actual path?

Steven Zeller is a serial entrepreneur, technologist, and futurist who’s built and lost businesses, found clarity in discomfort, and never stopped chasing what’s next. In this episode of A Joyful Rebellion, Steven shares how being broke, unsupported, and underestimated became the foundation for his most innovative work.

We talk about building your first million (and losing it fast), navigating entrepreneurship without a safety net, and how failure became his best mentor. Steven opens up about growing up without support, learning business in real time, and why your inner circle matters more than your pitch deck. Then we shift into the future: AI, genetic engineering, wearable tech, deepfakes, and the fine line between human potential and transhumanism.

This episode is a rare peek into the mind of someone who sees the future clearly—and isn’t afraid to walk straight into it.

 

Show Notes & Chapters

• [00:00] Opening question: Is technology making us dumber—or just more reliant?

• [01:00] Meet Steven Zeller: serial entrepreneur, tech futurist, self-made risk-taker

• [03:00] From Midwest middle child to forging his own path—without college

• [06:00] Choosing neurosurgery… or entrepreneurship?

• [08:00] Breaking generational expectations without a support system

• [11:00] Early mistakes, bad influences, and learning business by doing

• [13:00] Making a million—and losing it fast

• [15:00] The “woe is me” moment, and what he did differently the second time

• [18:00] Why iteration matters more than perfection

• [21:00] Version 3.0 of your life—and why reinvention is your best strategy

• [24:00] AI, robotics, and why humans were built for more than monotony

• [28:00] The distinction between usable and distraction tech

• [33:00] How we think with tools—and why that isn’t always a bad thing

• [36:00] Deepfakes, disinformation, and the need for AI fact-checkers

• [39:00] What Steven’s most excited about: genetics, organ regeneration, and life extension

• [43:00] The ethics of editing embryos—and the danger of designer babies

• [45:00] Medical disruption vs. medical monetization

• [47:00] The idea of “downloading a cure” in the not-so-distant future

• [50:00] Transhumanism, identity, and what makes us human

• [52:00] Final thoughts: Better tech, better humans, and drawing the line

Resources

• Connect with Steven on LinkedIn 

• Topics mentioned: ChatGPT, Sora, Quantum Computing, Human Genome Project, IPS cells, Brain-computer interfaces