What does it truly mean to be human in an age of artificial intelligence, cyberdelics, and immersive technologies?
In this electrifying conversation, we’re joined by Carl Hayden Smith—professor, researcher, and mythic technologist—whose work spans extended-state DMT research, journaling as consciousness architecture, and a framework he calls Hyperhumanism: a radical alternative to transhumanism that honors our inner technologies as the real source of transformation.

Carl takes us into the heart of Holotechnica, his practice of stacking embodied and symbolic modalities to create lasting shifts in perception and behavior. Along the way, we explore themes like AI psychosis, sigil magic, and umwelt hacking, and how each relates to the design of rituals and protocols that reshape our relationship to time, death, and meaning.

From DMT entities and memory palaces to journaling with a Hegelian twist, this episode is a deep dive into how context, awe, and symbolic design can remake our inner worlds—and perhaps our futures.

Topics We Explore

* Hyperhumanism vs. transhumanism
* AI and the mythopoetic field of resonance
* Extended-state DMT & the "DMT Island" project
* Context engineering and symbolic protocol design
* Endo-technologies, altered traits, and embodied practices
* Umwelt hacking, sigils, and the edges of perception
* Journaling as a map of time and transformation
* Death literacy, humility, and cathedral consciousness

About Carl Hayden Smith

Carl Hayden Smith is Associate Professor of Media at the University of the Arts London, director at Noonautics, founder of the Museum of Consciousness, and co-founder of the Cyberdelics Nexus. He has raised over £10M in research funding, delivered more than 300 talks in 40 countries, and published widely on consciousness, embodiment, and symbolic design.

Voices of Emergence is a podcast about inner transformation and systemic regeneration, hosted by Alex de Carvalho and Rudy de Waele.

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🎵 Intro & Outro Music Used with permission from AWARË Track: Journey Live 5
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