Yesterday I got to have an absolutely riveting conversation with one of the world’s leading scholars of and advocates for people with autism. I reached out to Simon Baron-Cohen because I wanted to get some actual clarity about all the debate about Elon Musk and Silicon Valley more broadly and the role that the spectrum might play in influencing these highly influential actors who shape all of our lives. The conversation was fascinating, because Baron-Cohen made clear the dual challenge: autism remains for most regular citizens a difficult fact to navigate in a world not yet hospitable to neurodifference. At the same time, a small number of highly capable and powerful actors on the spectrum are bringing their systematizing nature to bear on the world, and there may be, he argued, a need for more balance around them and more empathy in the development of tools like social media algorithms and AI.

This is a rich and nuanced conversation, and we’re delighted to share it with you.

This post was originally published on The.Ink.