Prosthetic Gods

Designer Babies

Episode 17 - Designer Babies
This week on Prosthetic Gods, Nir and J discuss the ethics of parents being able to choose the genetic characteristics of their children. Is “germinal choice” good for parents, children, society? 
Show Notes:
He Jiankui and Gene-Edited Babies
Sandel Michael J. 2007. The Case Against Perfection: Ethics in the Age of Genetic Engineering. Cambrige: Harvard University Press
De-extinction of Direwolves 
 
Credits:
Hosted by James Hughes and Nir EisikovitsProduced by Jake BurleyMusic by Jake Burley

Cognitive Offloading

Episode 16 - Cognitive Offloading 
This week on Prosthetic Gods Nir and J discuss the problem, and opportunity, of “cognitive off-loading,” our tendency to forget knowledge and skills once we have reliable digital tools. Is it possible to educate ourselves and our students to use these tools in ways that enrich and extend their cognitive skills and productivity? Along the way, we discuss Ted Chiang’s short story “The Truth of Fact The Truth of Feeling,” which compares the transition to literacy to the adoption of 24/7 lifelogging.
Show Notes:
Michael Gerlich 2025. “AI Tools in Society: Impacts on Cognitive Offloading and the Future of Critical Thinking”
Gong & Yang 2024. “Google effects on memory: a meta-analytical review of the media effects of intensive Internet search behavior.”  
Nosta 2025. “Cognitive offloading with AI boosts performance but may hinder deeper learning” 
Ted Chiang “The Truth of Fact The Truth of Feeling”
“Emboldened by Trump, A.I. Companies Lobby for Fewer Rules” NYT  
 
Credits:
Hosted by James Hughes and Nir EisikovitsProduced by Jake BurleyMusic by Jake Burley

Machines of Loving Grace

Episode 15 - Machines of Loving Grace 
In this episode of Prosthetic Gods Nir and J. discuss Dario Amodei’s essay “Machines of Loving Grace,” which lays out the best case scenario for AI’s impact on health, economics and world peace.
Links:
Dario Amodei “Machines of Loving Grace: How AI Could Transform the World for the Better” October 2024
Richard Brautigan “All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace” 
Marc Andreesen “The Techno-Optimist Manifesto”
 
Credits:
Hosted by James Hughes and Nir EisikovitsProduced by Jake BurleyMusic by Jake Burley

Damien Walter on Science Fiction and Philosophy

Episode 14 - Damien Walter on Science Fiction and Philosophy
This week on Prosthetic Gods Nir and J. are joined by Damien G. Walter, a writer and a storyteller who has written for The Guardian, the BBC, Wired, The Independent, Aeon, and others. He teaches The Rhetoric of Story and Writing the 21st-Century Myth to over 35,000 students worldwide, and is the host of the Science Fiction Podcast.  We discuss the interaction between the “New Mythos” of science fiction and philosophy.
 
Find out more about Damien Walter through the links below:
Website
Youtube
Substack
 
Credits:
Hosted by James Hughes and Nir EisikovitsProduced by Jake BurleyMusic by Jake Burley

Griefbots

Episode 13 - Griefbots
Griefbots (also called deathbots, AI ghosts, AI clones, death avatars, and postmortem avatars) are large language models built on available information about the  deceased, such as social media, letters, photos, diaries, and videos. Nir and J debate whether they are just another way to commemorate our loved ones or a violation of human dignity.
 
Links:
Dario Amodei, CEO Anthropic. Machines of Loving Grace: How AI Could Transform the World for the Better (October 2024) 
 
Credits:
Hosted by James Hughes and Nir EisikovitsProduced by Jake BurleyMusic by Jake Burley

Life-Hacking, or The Examined Life?

Episode 12 - Life-Hacking, or The Examined Life?
This week on Prosthetic Gods, Nir and J discuss the pros and cons of life-tracking or “self-quantification,” with tools like health watches, and the “life-hacking” that these tools encourage, from dieting and exercise to sleep and meditation. How do we know when we are being distracted and made miserable by all this self-knowledge, and when it is helpful? Could AI life coaches, tracking every vital, help us live happier, longer lives? 
Links:
Self-Absorption in the Digital Era: A Review of "Self-Improvement Technologies of the Soul in the Age of Artificial Intelligence" by Mark Coeckelbergh 
“Know Thyself, Improve Thyself: Personalized LLMs for Self-Knowledge and Moral Enhancement,” Julian Savulescu
Trump administration directs federal health agencies to pause communications
Stargate AI Iniatitive, Spurned by Musk, Trumped by Chinese DeepSeek Breakthroughs
China’s cheap, open AI model DeepSeek thrills scientists
Why everyone in AI is freaking out about DeepSeek
OpenAI Unveils A.I. Agent That Can Use Websites on Its Own
Credits:
Hosted by James Hughes and Nir EisikovitsProduced by Jake BurleyMusic by Jake Burley

Do You Want to Live Forever?

Episode 11 - Death
On this week’s Prosthetic Gods Nir and J. discuss the ethics of life extension and anti-aging therapies. Is there a benefit to involuntary death? Would getting very old necessarily be boring or depressing? How can we ensure that everyone benefits? 
Links:
Zuckerberg removes fact-checking from Facebook
Bezos imposes ban on criticism of Trump/Musk at WashPo
Sam Altman moves up the timelines for AGI and ASI
Journal abstracts written by asking LLMs to summarize papers are perceived as more authentic, clear and compelling than those created solely by academics.
 
Credits:
Hosted by James Hughes and Nir EisikovitsProduced by Jake BurleyMusic by Jake Burley

Can We Do Anything that Computers Can’t?

Episode 10 - Can We Do Anything that Computers Can’t?
J and Nir talk to Tal Hassner, formerly of Amazon and Meta, about Deep Fakes, AGI, and whether there is such a thing as a tech-proof job.
Links:
Find out more about Tal here: https://talhassner.github.io/home/ 
Credits:
Hosted by James Hughes and Nir EisikovitsProduced by Jake BurleyMusic by Jake Burley
 
 
 

Facial Recognition

Episode 9 - Facial Recognition
Nir and J. talk about facial recognition. Topics covered include considerations of bias, the role of privacy, and whether facial recognition is substantially different from other identification technologies. 
Links:
“Halt the use of facial-recognition technology until it is regulated" by Kate Crawford
On Liberty by John Stuart Mills 
The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution by C.P. Snow
Credits:
Hosted by James Hughes and Nir EisikovitsProduced by Jake BurleyMusic by Jake Burley

Tech Policy Under Trump 2

Episode 8 - Tech Policy Under Trump 2
Nir and J. talk about the prospects for tech policy under Trump's second term. They discuss the new administration's attitudes toward content moderation, what the next four years mean for Artificial Intelligence, and Elon Musk's potential influence on tech policy moving forward. 
Credits:Hosted by James Hughes and Nir EisikovitsProduced by Jake BurleyMusic by Jake Burley