Prosthetic Gods

Episode 37 - Anthropic's Conflict with the Pentagon: A Conversation with Alan Rozenshtein This week on Prosthetic Gods, J and Nir are talking to Alan Rozenshtein, professor of Law at the University of Minnesota, senior editor of Lawfare, fellow at Brookings, and former attorney at the Justice Department specializing in national defense. We talked about the legal and political implications of the Trump administration’s conflict with Anthropic over the military and surveillance uses of Claude. Show Notes: Alan Rozenshtein’s website Scaling Laws podcast "Congress—Not the Pentagon or Anthropic—Should Set Military AI Rules" by Alan Rozenshtein "Lawfare Daily: The Pentagon Designates Anthropic as a Supply Chain Risk" podcast with Benjamin Wittes  "Scaling Laws: The Pentagon Goes to War With Anthropic" podcast with Kevin Frazier “The Most Disruptive Company in the World” by Harry Booth and Billy Perrigo   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 Eisikovits Music & Production by Jake Burley

Episode 36 - Buddhism and the Self This week on Prosthetic Gods, Nir is interrogating an essay by J. on Buddhism, enhancement, and the self. They discuss the appeal of Buddhism for teenage Hughes, and how Buddhism reconciles a radical deconstruction of the self with moral commitment and principles. Show Notes: Buddhism and Our Posthuman Future - J. Hughes Cyborg Buddha - A conversation with transhumanist James Hughes Personal Immortality in Transhumanism and Ancient Indian Philosophy - Adam Buben Hume on personal identity  The Machine Stops - E. M. Forster, 1909    As always, listeners can contact us at prostheticgods@gmail.com with questions, comments, and suggestions for future topics.

Episode 35 - Pluribus This week on Prosthetic Gods, Nir and J are discussing the hit Apple TV show Pluribus. Created by Vince Gilligan, the show runner of Breaking Bad, the show explores a world taken over by a very nice hive mind that wants to give you anything you want. Would you take advantage of the perks, appreciate that the hive reduced humanity’s suffering, or fight like hell to give us all back our miserable individuality? Show Notes: “In Apple TV’s ‘Pluribus,’ the biggest ethical dilemmas ‘are our fault,’ a philosopher says” Cody Mello-Klein  “The Benign Zombies of Pluribus” Jonathan Moreno “The Fable of the Bees” Bernard Mandeville/ (1714)  Dostoevsky - Notes from the Underground “The Revolutionary Spirit of Star Wars Andor” Jessie Gender  “The revolutionary politics of Andor” Jorge Cotte    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 Eisikovits Music & Production by Jake Burley

Episode 35 - Simulations This week on Prosthetic Gods, Nir and J. discuss the simulation hypothesis, the idea that we may actually be living in the Matrix. We discuss its religious and philosophical precedents, Bostrom’s classic argument, and the contemporary physics that some think supports the idea.  Show Notes: The Simulation Argument Are we living in a computer simulation? I don’t know. Probably.   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 Eisikovits Music & Production by Jake Burley

Episode 33 - Moral Enhancement This week on Prosthetic Gods, J and Nir discuss “moral enhancement,” the use of drugs and devices to promote moral sentiments, cognition, and behavior. Is it any different from drinking coffee instead of alcohol when you go to work? What might the unintended consequences be of making ourselves more compassionate? Is happiness a virtue? Show Notes: Bernie and Hinton ondemocratizing AI Europe is Bending the Knee to the US on Tech Policy WHO Sets GLP-1 Weight-Loss Drug Guidelines   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 Eisikovits Music & Production by Jake Burley

Episode 32- 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 Eisikovits Music & Production by Jake Burley

Episode 31 - 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. 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 Eisikovits Music & Production by Jake Burley

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 Eisikovits Music & Production by Jake Burley    

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 Eisikovits Music & Production by Jake Burley

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 Eisikovits Music & Production by Jake Burley

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 Eisikovits Music & Production by Jake Burley

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 Eisikovits Music & Production by Jake Burley

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 Eisikovits Music & Production by Jake Burley

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 Eisikovits Music & Production by Jake Burley

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 Eisikovits Produced by Jake Burley Music by Jake Burley

Episode 22 - AI and the Future of Higher Education This week on Prosthetic Gods, J and Nir discuss how AI will impact the demand for higher education, the structure of higher education institutions, and the way we teach and learn. Show Notes J. Hughes “The Deskilling of Teaching and the Case for Intelligent Tutoring Systems” (2021)  https://jeet.ieet.org/index.php/home/article/view/90 IEET White Paper - Emerging Technologies & Higher Education  Grok Rolls Out Pornographic Anime Companion, Lands Department of Defense Contract Grok as ‘MechaHitler’ could be making content considered violent extremism   AI study in Africa exploring LLMs’ potential in health diagnoses AI to crack ‘undruggable’ proteins, opening door to new treatments  Credits: Hosted by James Hughes and Nir Eisikovits Produced by Jake Burley Music by Jake Burley

Episode 21 - The Future of Work & The Value of Leisure This week on Prosthetic Gods, Nir and J discuss whether we are witnessing a decline in work, and if so, can that be a good thing?   Credits: Hosted by James Hughes and Nir Eisikovits Produced by Jake Burley Music by Jake Burley

Episode 20 - Is Writing Like Hip-Hop? Stephen Marche on Writing with AI This week on Prosthetic Gods, Nir and J. speak with Stephen Marche, author of most recently The Next Civil War and Death of an Author. He has begun to write about his collaborative process using AI tools, comparing it to the advent of hip-hop and sampling. Show Notes: https://www.stephenmarche.com/  Stephen Marche. “The Future of Writing Is a Lot Like Hip-Hop” The Atlantic May 9, 2023. Credits: Hosted by James Hughes and Nir Eisikovits Produced by Jake Burley Music by Jake Burley

Episode 19 - Will AI Kill Creativity? This week on Prosthetic Gods, Nir and J wrestle with creativity in the age of generative AI. Are there aesthetic or moral reasons to avoid AI art? Can copyright law protect artists from being displaced by AI slop?  Show Notes: The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction AlphaEvolve: A Gemini-powered coding agent for designing advanced algorithms ChatGPT’s viral Studio Ghibli-style images highlight AI copyright concerns Trump fires top US copyright official ChatGPT, DALL-E 2 and the collapse of the creative process   Credits: Hosted by James Hughes and Nir Eisikovits Produced by Jake Burley Music by Jake Burley

Episode 18 - De-extinction This week Nir and J discuss the hottest topic in fantasy ecoscience, the genetic resurrection of extinct species. In particular we are discussing the work of Colossal, a firm working on modern versions of the mammoth, dire wolf, thylacine and dodo. Show Notes: The Direwolf is Back Amazon in White House crosshairs over report of displaying tariff costs Credits: Hosted by James Hughes and Nir Eisikovits Produced by Jake Burley Music by Jake Burley