Why AI Will Never Be Conscious, According to a Consciousness Expert

What Broke Trust in Journalism & How to Fix It, According to Ken Auletta

The media industry is under assault. This week, we turn to one of the world’s most experienced and trusted media observers for a solution: Ken Auletta, who has covered the industry for almost 50 years for the New Yorker. Auletta has studied the rise of cable TV, the Internet, and today’s tech giants, and profiled figures such as Rupert Murdoch, Ted Turner, and Barry Diller. We discuss how trust in the media broke and what might fix it.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Are Psychedelics on the Verge of Going Mainstream?

President Trump surprised many people a few weeks ago when he signed an executive order accelerating research into psychedelics. Compounds like psilocybin, LSD, MDMA, ketamine, and others have developed large and enthusiastic followings in the past decade, and some seem quite promising in the treatment of depression, PTSD, addiction and other conditions. Unusually, they are also one of the very few issues that have support across the political spectrum. This week, we discuss why this is a turning point for psychedelics and what might come next with Anne Philippi, a former journalist at Vogue, Vanity Fair, and GQ who now runs The New Health Club, a media organization dedicated to psychedelics.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Why AI Will Never Be Conscious, According to a Consciousness Expert

Anil Seth is concerned about the “mythology of conscious AI” – the growing argument that LLMs and other AI systems might one day achieve consciousness. Seth is a Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex and a leading expert on consciousness [https://www.ted.com/talks/anil_seth_why_ai_is_unlikely_to_become_conscious]. He’s skeptical that AI will ever achieve true consciousness, and argues there’s danger in perceiving these technical systems as feeling beings.  Today, we discuss that danger, and what science even defines as "consciousness." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

An Extraordinary Gene Editing Treatment Could Mark a Turning Point in Medicine

In the summer of 2024, a baby named KJ was born with a rare disease with a 50% mortality rate. Six months later, he became the first patient to receive personalized gene editing therapy. He is now healthy and thriving. Dr. Jeff Coller, who directs the RNA Innovation Center at Johns Hopkins University, says KJ’s treatment could be the most important medical story of the decade. Today, Dr. Coller explains the ground-breaking science behind KJ’s treatment, and what it will take to bring it mainstream. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Wildfires Are Only Getting Worse. What Can We Do?

Dr. Kira Hoffman once fought fires as a firefighter. Now she works on starting them - for the sake of wildfire prevention. Dr. Hoffman is a fire ecologist at the University of British Columbia and an expert in why wildfires are getting worse and the solutions that can mitigate their damage. We discuss why she forecasts a “dire” wildfire season this year, how fire policy has transformed over the past century, and what Americans can do across the country to protect their homes now.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]