December 22, 2007. Sam Illingworth woke up in a hospital bed with his heart racing, his memory blank, and a doctor offering him the simplest advice he'd ever received: "Don't drink for a month and see what happens." That month became 18 years. That choice became the foundation for a career built not on speed or performance, but on attention, dialogue, and the courage to work slowly in a world obsessed with acceleration.
Today, Sam is a Full Professor of Creative Pedagogies at Edinburgh Napier University, founder of Consilience (the world’s first peer-reviewed science and poetry journal), and creator of Slow AI—a Substack newsletter with nearly 6,000 subscribers that challenges how we think about artificial intelligence. He’s secured a quarter-million-dollar research grant to study AI literacy and built a career at the intersections of science, poetry, and technology.
His journey reveals the difference between functioning and living—and how sobriety creates the space to figure out which one you’re actually doing.
Show Notes
[03:13] The Last Drink and the Doctor’s Advice
Sam’s sobriety began with a panic attack misdiagnosed as heart palpitations and a doctor’s casual suggestion that changed everything.
December 22, 2007—Sam was 23, blacked out at his friend’s birthday party
Went to hospital the next day with what felt like heart palpitations; turned out to be an anxiety attack
Doctor’s advice: “Don’t drink for a month because you have an alcohol-induced anxiety attack”
Sam stopped and realized “I don’t want to get back to this”
Used to black out frequently—would wake up with no memory of the night before
“Basically, I remember exactly what happened. I blacked out. I used to black out a lot when I drank.”
[04:32] Playing the Fool: When Drinking Becomes Your Identity
Sam describes becoming “the clown and the fool and the joker”—a character people expected rather than who he actually was.
Naturally extroverted—”an extrovert’s extrovert”—but drinking amplified certain traits into performance
Examples: jumping into a canal and catching dysentery, necking a whole bottle of ouzo just to make people laugh
Friends would say “Oh, it’s Sam, he’s doing something crazy again when he’s drunk”
His wife has never seen him drink; many current friends haven’t either
Still experiences social awkwardness at events, but his closest friends accommodate it naturally—like excluding him from alcohol bills on trips
“You end up becoming a version of yourself that’s not true.”
[08:17] “Might Not Even Be Here”: The Weight of That Decision
Sam reflects on the magnitude of quitting drinking, calling it “singularly the most important decision I’ve ever made in my life.”
In his last year of university, made it to the final five for a TV presenter position on T4 (major UK station)
Thought at the time: “If I ended up doing something like this, this would be the end of me”
Now wakes up at 5am every day thinking “The day is going to be good”
Says directly: might not even be here if he hadn’t made that decision
“It’s singularly the most important decision I’ve ever made in my life and I would say I would be a different person. Maybe not even be here, legitimately, if I hadn’t have made that decision.”
[12:03] The Mugging Sam Can’t Remember
Sam shares a chilling story about being mugged while drunk—with no memory of it happening.
Woke up one morning, couldn’t find his watch
Bank called asking if someone trying to use his card for a prawn sandwich and £50 cash was him
Realized he’d been mugged the night before—followed across a park to his house, keys in the front door
The attackers had been involved in knife attacks; Sam was “really lucky”
Funny twist: wore a £10 watch, but remembered exactly what it looked like—person got six months for stealing it
[13:53] Functioning vs. Living: The Exponential Growth
Sam makes a critical distinction about what changed with sobriety—not just productivity, but capacity to actually live.
Could function while drinking—finished top of his year, edited the newspaper, ran a radio station, played squash
Since becoming sober: “My capacity to live has exponentially grown”
“You can function, right? You can function. Because you’re good at it and you can kind of do it in your sleep, but you’re doing yourself a disservice because that’s all you’re doing. You’re not living. You’re just functioning.”
[16:03] From Pure Science to the Liminal Spaces
Sobriety opened creative pathways Sam hadn’t explored—moving from atmospheric physics into interdisciplinary work.
High school was “pure science”—maths, further maths, chemistry, physics
Always interested in poetry and being in a band, but was driven down the science path
When he became sober: became president of Theatre Society, went to Japan on a scholarship to study science and theatre intersections
Started performing poetry publicly
Research now explores science, poetry, and AI—”to help amplify voices of people who’ve traditionally been underserved and underheard”
“I wouldn’t have been able to do any of that if I had still been drinking, man.”
[19:29] 300 Newsletters Before Bed: Community as Coping
Sam shares his nightly routine that centers around connection and community building.
Lives just outside Edinburgh in the hills; exercise and writing are his main outlets
Before bed every night: goes through the 300 newsletters he subscribes to, likes them all, leaves meaningful comments on most
On bad days: “everything will be fine because there’s Substack”
[21:31] Slow AI: Why Are We Accelerating?
Sam explains the philosophy behind Slow AI—challenging the mainstream narrative that AI should make us faster.
Started when ChatGPT came out in October 2022; Sam tested it for poetry writing
Realized it’s pattern recognition—good at strict forms, less good at meaning
Many creators teach prompt engineering and AI usage well
Started in July, now nearly 6,000 subscribers
“We’re using AI to accelerate output, but why the hell are we doing that, man? This is a tool. We should be using AI to free up time for ourselves so that we can have real human connections with other humans rather than just accelerate towards this meaningless output.”
[25:48] AI Literacy Isn’t About Better Prompts
Sam launched a paid tier the day before this interview—a year-long curriculum on critical AI literacy.
AI literacy is NOT how to write good prompts—it’s “knowing when to use AI and when not to use AI”
Year-long program with at least one monthly webinar
Each session: discussion of peer-reviewed paper, testing prompts, then dialogue
Based on Lev Vygotsky’s concept of “the more knowledgeable other”—knowledge and hierarchy are interchangeable, not top-down
Goal: “use the tools to free back up more time for us to have meaningful human connections”
All written content remains free; paid tier is about community learning
[29:30] The Joy of Recommending: Building Community Through Service
Sam gets genuine excitement from recommending books, films, and other people’s Substacks.
Gets “goosebumps” thinking about recommending favorites like “100 Years of Solitude” (his favorite book)
Intentionally recommends Substacks that aren’t on rising lists—people with less than several thousand views who “maybe need a bit of a boost”
Recommendations often lead to collaborations
References Vygotsky again: bringing people together creates “critical mass for meaningful education”
“I love community, man. Like that’s what my entire research is around and like what I’m about as well.”
[31:17] Sharpness and Fearlessness: How Sobriety Unlocked Creativity
Sam identifies two key ways sobriety increased his creative capacity.
Sharpness: mental clarity and precision of thought
Fearlessness: willingness to step outside expected roles and experiment
Was “always the clown and the fool and the joker” but wanted to be “a bit more than that”
Realizing he could step away from that role gave him courage to try new things
Started performing poetry publicly in his mid-twenties
Can dance till 3am sober—or leave at 12:20 when tired: “I know I’m tired, so I’m going home”
Recognizes the moment when everyone’s drunk and he’s sober: “You’re just chatting shit. You’re not making sense to me.”
Key Quotes
“You end up becoming a version of yourself that’s not true.” - Sam Illingworth
“It’s singularly the most important decision I’ve ever made in my life and I would say I would be a different person. Maybe not even be here, legitimately, if I hadn’t have made that decision.” - Sam Illingworth
“You can function, right? You can function. Because you’re good at it and you can kind of do it in your sleep, but you’re doing yourself a disservice because that’s all you’re doing. You’re not living. You’re just functioning.” - Sam Illingworth
“I wouldn’t have been able to do any of that if I had still been drinking, man.” - Sam Illingworth
“We’re using AI to accelerate output, but why the hell are we doing that, man? This is a tool. We should be using AI to free up time for ourselves so that we can have real human connections with other humans rather than just accelerate towards this meaningless output.” - Sam Illingworth
Resources Mentioned
Slow AI Newsletter - Started July 2024, nearly 6,000 subscribers
Slow AI Curriculum for Critical AI Literacy - Year-long paid program (inaugural discount: 50 pounds/~70 USD)
Consilience - World’s first peer-reviewed science and poetry journal
100 Years of Solitude - Sam’s favorite book
Lev Vygotsky - Soviet psychologist whose concept of “the more knowledgeable other” informs Sam’s teaching
Where to Find Sam
Sam’s promise: “If you DM me, I’ll always get back to you”
Thank You
A heartfelt thank you to Phil Powis ❤️⚡️, John Brewton, Des Kennedy, Stan Holt, Noelle Richards, and many others who joined us live for this conversation, and to Professor Sam Illingworth for his wisdom, generosity, and honesty. Your presence makes these conversations possible.
The Space Between Functioning and Living
Sam finished top of his year while drinking. He edited newspapers, ran radio stations, played squash. But he was functioning, not living. The difference? Sharpness and fearlessness. The clarity to think precisely and the courage to step outside the roles that alcohol locked him into.
Without alcohol, Sam became president of the Theatre Society. He went to Japan. He started performing poetry. He built a research career at the crossroads of science, art, and technology. His capacity didn’t just grow—it “exponentially grew.”
If you’re sensing that alcohol is keeping you in functioning mode, that friction is real. And it’s costing you more than productivity—it’s costing you the fearlessness to experiment and the sharpness to know who you actually are.
The Sober Creative Method™ is a 90-day journey to help people remove alcohol as the barrier to their greatest work. Not about deprivation—about reclamation. Moving from functioning to living.
