Prosthetic Gods

Shoulda Put a Ring On It

Episode 31 - Shoulda Put a Ring On It
Should you be able to marry your chatbot? Should it be allowed to own property? In this episode of Prosthetic Gods, Nir and J discuss the proposed law in Ohio banning AI personhood. Listen before you make any rash decisions! 
Show Notes:
Ohio House Bill 469
Ohio House Bill 469 would label artificial intelligence as 'nonsentient entities' and block legal personhood  
“It’s time to prepare for AI personhood”  Jacy Reese Anthis  
“The Quest for the Transition of Inalienable Rights from Humans to Intelligent Machines” Compierchio, Tretten & Illankoon. Philosophies
The movie 'Her' imagined perfect AI companions 
 
As always, listeners can contact us at prostheticgods@gmail.com with questions, comments, and suggestions for future topics.
Credits:
Hosted by James Hughes and Nir EisikovitsMusic & Production by Jake Burley

3I/Atlas, Aliens and Open Minds: A Chat with Avi Loeb

This week on Prosthetic Gods Nir and J. chat with astronomer Avi Loeb about the mysteries of our interstellar visitor, 3I/Atlas. Is there a systemic bias in astronomy against the possibility of non-natural explanations for odd astronomical objects? What is the relationship of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence in our galaxy, in our solar system, and in our skies? Dr. Loeb is an astrophysicist at Harvard University, head of the Galileo Project to find extraterrestrial life, and author most recently of Interstellar: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life and Our Future in the Stars.

Nuclear Nightmares

Episode 30 - Nuclear Nightmares
This week on Prosthetic Gods, Nir and J discuss the Netflix movie House of Dynamite, a nuclear war drama by Kathryn Bigelow.
 
Show Notes:
“The age of AI-powered cyberattacks is here”
Meet Project Suncatcher, a research moonshot to scale machine learning compute in space.
Anomalies of 3I/ATLAS, Organized by Likelihood by Avi Loeb
Peter Thiel's fund offloaded Nvidia stake in third quarter, filing shows
As always, listeners can contact us at prostheticgods@gmail.com with questions, comments, and suggestions for future topics.
Credits:
Hosted by James Hughes and Nir EisikovitsMusic & Production by Jake Burley
 
 

Algorithms and Democracy with Jose Marichal

Episode 29 - Algorithms and Democracy with Jose Marichal
This week on Prosthetic Gods, Nir and J chat with Jose Marichal, professor of political science at California Lutheran University, and author of You Must Become an Algorithmic Problem. He is, according to a chatbot, a critical-democratic institutionalist who focuses on everyday algorithmic power and citizen agency.
 
Find out more about Dr. Marichal and his work via his website or by checking out his new book. 
 
As always, listeners can contact us at prostheticgods@gmail.com with questions, comments, and suggestions for future topics.
Credits:
Hosted by James Hughes and Nir EisikovitsMusic & Production by Jake Burley

Yuval Levin on Conservatism and Technology

Episode 28 - Yuval Levin on Conservatism and Technology
This week on Prosthetic Gods, Nir and J. speak with Yuval Levin, one of the most insightful and influential conservative thinkers in America today. As the Director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute and the Editor-in-Chief of National Affairs, Levin's work consistently anchors contemporary political debates in deep institutional history and conservative philosophy. His writing often centers on the critical importance of mediating institutions, the dangers of political hyper-polarization, and the need to restore a sense of civic obligation and prudent governance.
 
Find out more about Yuval via the American Enterprise Institute. 
 
As always, listeners can contact us at prostheticgods@gmail.com with questions, comments, and suggestions for future topics.
Credits:
Hosted by James Hughes and Nir EisikovitsMusic & Production by Jake Burley

Mission: Mars

Episode 27 - Mars
This week on Prosthetic Gods, Nir and J. discuss the prospects for colonizing Mars and space in general. Why do people want to try? How feasible are space colonization schemes? 
Show Notes:
SpaceX Mars Colonization “Plan”
The second major European open-source LLM is OUT, and it has been announced as multilingual and fully compliant with the EU AI Act.
Meta launches AI-powered smart glasses
 
As always, listeners can contact us at prostheticgods@gmail.com with questions, comments, and suggestions for future topics.
Credits:
Hosted by James Hughes and Nir EisikovitsMusic & Production by Jake Burley

Technology and Religion

Episode 26 - Technology & Religion
On this week’s Prosthetic Gods, Nir and J. discuss the role and history of technology in religious practice. Are emerging technologies just another means of interfacing with religion, or do they challenge the underpinnings of earnest engagement with religious belief? 
Show Notes:
Philosophy Prof. John Kaag Links AI with Famous Writers and Thinkers for 'Talking' E-Books
Pray.com's AI Bible
 
As always, listeners can contact us at prostheticgods@gmail.com with questions, comments, and suggestions for future topics.
Credits:
Hosted by James Hughes and Nir EisikovitsMusic & Production by Jake Burley

Technoprogressivism

Episode 25 - Technoprogressivism
On this week’s Prosthetic Gods Nir and J. talk about J’s advocacy of “technoprogressivism.” What is it, and what is it supposed to accomplish? How is it different from techno-utopianism or other leftist ideologies?
Show Notes:
“Outlines of an historical view of the progress of the human mind” Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas Caritat de Condorcet, 1796
“Technoprogressivism” Wikipedia
“The Technoprogressive Agenda After Fascism” J. Hughes, 2025
“EcoSocialism and the Technoprogressive Perspective” J. Hughes, 2021
“The Technoprogressive Declaration” 2014
“Beware the AI Experimentation Trap” Harvard Business Review 
“Clanker” as an anti-robot slur
The GenAI Divide: State of AI in Business 2025
 
As always, listeners can contact us at prostheticgods@gmail.com with questions, comments, and suggestions for future topics.
Credits:
Hosted by James Hughes and Nir EisikovitsMusic & Production by Jake Burley

Longtermism

Episode 24 - Longtermism
This week on Prosthetic Gods, Nir and J. discuss the philosophical theory of longtermism, that we should take the interests of hypothetical future people as seriously as existing people.
Plus! Listeners can contact us at prostheticgods@gmail.com! Reach out with questions, topics you want to hear more about, or just to say hi. As Nir says, "All complaints go somewhere else." 😂
Show Notes:
An Introduction to Longtermism
Are Children The Future?: Longtermism, Pronatalism, and Epistemic Discounting - J. Hughes
The toxic ideology of longtermism - Alice Crary
Longtermist Political Philosophy: An Agenda for Future Research - Jacob Barrett and Andreas T. Schmidt
 
Credits:
Hosted by James Hughes and Nir EisikovitsMusic & Production by Jake Burley

Trump's AI Action Plan

Episode 23 - Trump's AI Action Plan
This week on Prosthetic Gods, Nir and J. discuss the recent AI Action Plan released by the Trump administration, what it proposes, and whether it will be implemented. 
Show Notes
Winning the Race: America’s AI Action Plan
The real winners from Trump’s ‘AI action plan’? Tech companies
The Trumpification of AI: What Could Go Wrong?
China calls for global AI cooperation days after Trump administration unveils low-regulation strategy
Credits:
Hosted by James Hughes and Nir EisikovitsProduced by Jake BurleyMusic by Jake Burley