Risk Never Sleeps Podcast: Episode #166

Title: The Moment Curiosity Turns Into a Career-Altering Breakthrough
Guest: Dr. Harvey Castro, Chief AI Officer for Phantom Space
Host: Ed Gaudet (with co-hosts Saul Marquez and others)
Date: December 16, 2025

Episode Overview

This energizing episode spotlights Dr. Harvey Castro—ER physician, prolific author, digital health entrepreneur, and Chief AI Officer at Phantom Space. The conversation dives into how Dr. Castro’s trademark curiosity led to a series of bold career pivots and innovations, including the viral integration of AI into healthcare, the launch of digital health apps, and his current work at the frontier of space-based data infrastructure. Listeners are encouraged to embrace innovation, take career risks, and prioritize empathy in medicine.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origin of "Dr. GPT" and Early AI Adoption in Healthcare

• Moment of Inspiration: Dr. Castro describes encountering ChatGPT in 2022, immediately recognizing its disruptive potential for healthcare.
  • Quote: “Within the first five minutes, my whole life flashed… I said, you know what? I’m going to write a book on how we can use ChatGPT in healthcare. And within five minutes… I started writing the book using ChatGPT.” (01:17)
• Innovation Pays Off: His book, ChatGPT and Healthcare, went viral, accelerating invitations to speak worldwide and leading to an advisory role with Singapore’s Ministry of Health.
  • Quote: “When they heard me speak, I came off the stage and they said, ‘Hey, can you do this for our country?’” (01:54)

2. Track Record as an Early Innovator

• Medical Apps Pioneer: Dr. Castro recalls developing one of the first iPhone medical apps, IV Meds, inspired by an urgent code blue situation in the ER.
  • Quote: “I’m coding a patient in the emergency room… and I’m looking at this thing called the iPhone One. The App Store had just opened. I’m like, what if I put that drug book on the phone?” (02:52)
• Entrepreneurial Mindset: He swiftly built and launched 40 more apps in response to healthcare problems he saw firsthand.

3. Building Healthcare Ventures Centered on Empathy

• Founding Trusted ER: Pushed by hospital constraints, Dr. Castro founded his own network of ERs, hospitals, and urgent care centers, with a mission of teaching doctors to treat patients with empathy—“the human touch.”
  • Quote: “I created my own healthcare system… My goal was to teach doctors how should we treat patients, not just the medicine.” (05:03)

4. Prolific Authorship, TEDx Talks, and Educator Role

• 27 Books and Counting: Ranges from AI in healthcare and crime to entrepreneurship. He uses poetry and memorable themes in his five TEDx talks.
  • Quote: “If you go on Amazon and type in Harvey Castro—27 books from using AI in crime to entrepreneurship to AI in healthcare.” (05:50)
• Memorable Line: “Do you know that where you live determines whether you live?” (08:02)

5. Personal and Professional Risk-Taking

• Literal Leap: Dr. Castro describes jumping off a 30-foot bridge in Florida purely for the thrill—mirroring the boldness in his career choices.
  • Quote: “A couple of years ago, I jumped off a bridge in Florida because everybody was doing it… and then it took me forever to swim to the side. I was like, what the hell was I thinking?” (08:47)

6. Advice to His Younger Self & Pushing Boundaries

• Staying True to Purpose: Encourages trusting one’s conviction despite skepticism.
  • Quote: “Even if everybody around me is like, Harvey, you’re ruining your career… I still went with it.” (09:54)
• Overcoming Doubters: Faced pushback for publishing early on ChatGPT in healthcare but persisted.
  • Quote: “I had so many people tell me, Harvey, you’re going to look like a clown with the ChatGPT healthcare… Don’t do this… And I did it.” (10:11)

7. Cutting-Edge AI Experiments: The Digital Twin

• Quantified Self / Digital Twin: Dr. Castro explains wearing multiple health monitors, housing his own data on a private server, and using AI to optimize daily decisions.
  • Quote: “I’m creating my own digital twin. I’m analyzing all these data points… leveraging AI… so then literally I can go through and be like, ‘Should I eat this or should I do that?’” (10:49)
• Public Digital Versions: Offers a voice-cloned, bilingual "digital twin" on his website for public interaction.
  • Quote: “It’s harveycastromd.com… There’s a digital twin there, so you can ask me anything. And one is cloned in English and one in Spanish.” (13:39)

8. Human Longevity and Self-Improvement

• Muscle Mass and Aging: Regrets not doing more strength training—advocates for building muscle to increase longevity.
  • Quote: “As we get older, your muscle mass determines your longevity… So we need to put on muscle.” (12:33)

9. Networking and Manifesting Opportunities

• Meeting Tony Robbins: Shares story of visualizing and actualizing a meeting with Tony Robbins, driven by being told it was impossible.
  • Quote: “Someone told me no… That’s fuel. And so tell me no, I’ll get it done. Two months later, I made it happen.” (15:02)

10. Current Role and Future in Space Medicine & AI

• Chief AI Officer for Phantom Space: Now leads AI initiatives focused on using satellites and space-based data centers to impact global healthcare.
  • Quote: “I’m working on a network that'll be outside of Earth to help change medicine on the planet.” (16:32)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Acting Quickly with AI:
  • “Within five minutes, my whole life flashed… I said, you know what? I’m going to write a book on how we can use ChatGPT in healthcare.” (01:17, Dr. Castro)
• On Empathy and Leadership:
  • “The healthcare we give… do we do that human touch, that empathy?” (05:18, Dr. Castro)
• On Defying Skeptics:
  • “Even if everybody around me is like, Harvey, you’re ruining your career… I still went with it.” (09:54, Dr. Castro)
• Favorite Life Line:
  • “Do you know that where you live determines whether you live?” (08:02, Dr. Castro)
• On Manifestation:
  • “Tell me no, I’ll get it done.” (15:04, Dr. Castro)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction & “Dr. GPT” origin story: 01:03–02:18
• Medical app invention & entrepreneurial drive: 02:52–05:03
• Trusted ER and empathy in care: 05:03–05:18
• 27 books & TEDx reflection: 05:49–08:02
• Risk-taking: The bridge jump: 08:47–09:39
• Advice to younger self & perseverance: 09:54–10:37
• Digital twin and quantified self: 10:49–13:43
• Meeting Tony Robbins—manifestation in action: 14:40–15:38
• Chief AI Officer for Phantom Space & future focus: 16:32–16:59

How to Connect with Dr. Castro

• Website & digital twin demos: harveycastromd.com
• LinkedIn & YouTube: Frequent posts on medical AI, digital health, life hacks & longevity
• Book list: Search "Harvey Castro" on Amazon

Tone & Takeaways

Dr. Castro’s animated storytelling, humility, humor, and unshakeable drive shine. This is a candid, high-energy, and inspiring discussion about harnessing curiosity and not being afraid to leap—whether into water, entrepreneurship, or bleeding-edge technology.

Listeners learn:

• How core values, empathy, and adaptability fuel innovation
• The importance of defying doubters and risking failure
• Practical and philosophical views on technology, health, and longevity

Recommended for anyone interested in digital health transformation, leadership, and the mindset behind career-altering breakthroughs.