Neuro-spicy Minds and the Quest for Wiser AI

I’ve never had what you’d call a “typical” mind. I’m neurodivergent and dyslexic, and my children are proudly “neuro spicy” too — ADHD and dyslexic. Our world is full of sparks and unusual connections. My brain doesn’t just think outside the box; often it forgets the box even exists.

The struggle has always been getting those ideas out of my head and into the world. Inside, there’s a river of thought, but on the page only a trickle would come through. It was frustrating — as if my best ideas were trapped.

The first real breakthrough wasn’t technology, but Myke, our co-founder at Akumen. If I lean to the right brain, he leans to the left. Where I imagine, he builds. Sometimes I only share a glimmer of an idea and he’s away, turning it into code. That bond taught me something vital: expression doesn’t always need words — sometimes it’s trust, alignment, and someone who just gets you.

Later, large language models like ChatGPT gave me another bridge. For me, they’ve been a lifeline. Finally I had a tool that could listen, structure, and give shape to what I was trying to say.

I learned quickly that you can’t just accept the first answer these systems offer. They’re steeped in bias — shaped by white, middle-aged male perspectives — and they cling to those defaults when challenged. Ask them to speak from a female or indigenous perspective and you soon feel the resistance.

So I don’t simply “use” AI. I spar with it. I set up a round table of voices, asking the system to hold multiple perspectives, to argue with itself, to sharpen until something wiser emerges.

That’s why my mission is clear: to make AI wiser. Because if we don’t, these systems will only echo the narrow voices that already dominate. And the future of intelligence — human or artificial — will be poorer for it.

As futurist Cecily Sommers, named one of Forbes’ “Top 50 Female Futurists,” puts it:

“The future of humanity is wisdom.”

Her work focuses on “change literacy” — the ability to read disruption, navigate complexity, and lead with foresight. Her words remind me that wisdom isn’t optional for what lies ahead; it’s essential.

That’s why my upcoming book, The Phoenix That Wouldn’t Burn, is shaped by this practice. It weaves lived experience of trauma and resilience with my way of challenging AI to move beyond its defaults. I don’t see AI as a substitute for creativity, but as a crucible — a place where voices, human and machine, can meet and spark new ways of seeing.

Neurodivergence, dyslexia, ADHD — often painted as shortcomings — are to me cracks where the light gets in. With the right tools, those so-called weaknesses become strengths, and even sources of wisdom.

This is why I keep pushing. Not for novelty or technology’s sake, but because the future depends on it. AI must carry the full spectrum of human wisdom, not just the loudest voices.

If it doesn’t, we risk losing more than perspective. We risk losing possibility itself.

Paul is Founder of Akumen and an Innovator for change. If you are interested in exploring how Akumen can assist your organisation please email Eross@akumen.co.uk.