Live from Cambridge: Existential Risk

Live from Cambridge: Existential Risk

Live from Cambridge: Existential Risk In this special live episode, recorded before an audience at Long Now Boston, Nir and J dig into existential risk. J takes seriously the prospect of catastrophic AI outcomes even absent consciousness or agency in any rich sense, while Nir worries less about civilization-ending scenarios than about a quieter, lowercase existential threat: the erosion of what makes us distinctively human.  Show Notes: Find out more about our hosts, Long Now Boston, here [https://www.longnowboston.org/]!   The Hollow Men by T.S. Elliot [https://allpoetry.com/the-hollow-men] Enshitification by Cory Doctorow [https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/] The Apology by Plato [https://classics.mit.edu/Plato/apology.html] Cyborgs and Space by Manfred E. Clynes and Nathan S. Kline [https://web.mit.edu/digitalapollo/Documents/Chapter1/cyborgs.pdf]     As always, listeners can contact us at prostheticgods@gmail.com [prostheticgods@gmail.com] with questions, comments, and suggestions for future topics. Credits: Hosted by James Hughes and Nir Eisikovits Music & Production by Jake Burley

Who Really Needs Ozempic Anyway?

Episode 42 - Who Really Needs Ozempic Anyway? This week on Prosthetic Gods, Nir and J discuss the tradeoffs of GLP1 drugs. Their use has reversed the obesity epidemic and has proven to have myriad medical and psychological benefits. But they also come with risks, and are seen as a technofix replacing the need for diets. Are GLP1s another step to the posthuman body, and is that a good or bad thing? Errata: The first GLP1s were approved by the FDA in 2005, semaglutide/Ozempic in 2017, and oral orforglipron/Foundayo was approved in April 2026. More than two thirds of American adults are overweight or obese by BMI, and 40% are obese. Show Notes: GLP-1s Are a Lot Weirder Than Anyone Thought | The Ezra Klein Show [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_JKQt4mp5I]   Ethical Considerations in the Use of Weight Loss Medications [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41219651/]  The Ethics of Ozempic and Wegovy [https://jme.bmj.com/content/52/3/185] WHO issues global guideline on the use of GLP-1 medicines in treating obesity [https://www.who.int/news/item/01-12-2025-who-issues-global-guideline-on-the-use-of-glp-1-medicines-in-treating-obesity]   Review of 64 studies finds GLP1s effective for weight loss for almost all groups [https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2026/glp-1-weight-loss-drugs-comparably-effective-for-patients-across-age-race-and-starting-weight]  Obesity rate declining in US [https://news.gallup.com/poll/696599/obesity-rate-declining.aspx] Hard Fork Podcast [https://www.nytimes.com/column/hard-fork] Rest is History Podcast [https://therestishistory.com/club]   As always, listeners can contact us at prostheticgods@gmail.com [prostheticgods@gmail.com] with questions, comments, and suggestions for future topics. Credits: Hosted by James Hughes and Nir Eisikovits Music & Production by Jake Burley

Disgust

Episode 41 - Disgust This week on Prosthetic Gods, Nir and J discuss the role of disgust in morality. Neuroscience suggests that feelings of disgust underlie many moral judgments, especially in the treatment of sexuality. Conservatives have long defended disgust as a source of moral intuition, while liberals seek to minimize it. Can we suppress disgust? Should we? Show Notes: Hiding from Humanity: Disgust, Shame, and the Law [https://www.amazon.com/Hiding-Humanity-Disgust-Shame-Law/dp/0691095264] by Martha Nussbaum  “The Wisdom of Repugnance,” [https://web.stanford.edu/~mvr2j/sfsu09/extra/Kass2.pdf] by Leon Kass  The Righteous Mind [https://www.amazon.com/Righteous-Mind-Divided-Politics-Religion/dp/0307455777] by Jonathan Haidt  “Daedalus, or, Science and the Future,” [https://www.marxists.org/archive/haldane/works/1920s/daedalus.htm] JBS Haldane What We Are Seeking [https://www.amazon.com/What-Are-Seeking-Cameron-Reed/dp/1250364736], Cameron Reed Wolfendon Report of the Committee on Homosexual Offenses and Prostitution [https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/private-lives/relationships/collections1/sexual-offences-act-1967/wolfenden-report-/] Jeremy Bentham’s Auto-Icon [https://www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/research/research-projects/bentham-project/about-jeremy-bentham/auto-icon]   As always, listeners can contact us at prostheticgods@gmail.com [prostheticgods@gmail.com] with questions, comments, and suggestions for future topics. Credits: Hosted by James Hughes and Nir Eisikovits Music & Production by Jake Burley

Nicholas Christakis - Technology and Contagion

Episode 40 - Nicholas Christakis - Technology and Contagion Dr. Nicholas Christakis is the Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science at Yale University and the Director of the Human Nature Lab. His research sits at the intersection of the social, biological, and computational sciences, exploring how our evolutionary biology and social network structures shape human behavior, health, and society. His groundbreaking work on "social contagion," demonstrates how everything from obesity and smoking to happiness and cooperative behavior spreads through human networks. Most recently, his work has focused on the emergence of "hybrid systems" of humans and machines, examining both the Burkean risks of how AI might degrade our interpersonal social graces and the technoprogressive potential of using "dumb bots" to optimize human coordination.   Show Notes: The Human Nature Lab at Yale University [https://humannaturelab.net/] An overview of Dr. Christakis's current research on social networks, computational social science, and the biology of social interactions. Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society, by Nicholas Christakis. [https://www.amazon.com/Blueprint-Nicholas-A-Christakis-audiobook/dp/B07PKS1Z4Z/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=183409731301] His 2019 book detailing how evolution has biologically pre-wired humans for a "good society" based on love, friendship, and cooperation. Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives, by Nicholas Christakis [https://www.amazon.com/Connected-audiobook/dp/B002S4SQQ6/] His 2009 book exploring the "three degrees of influence" rule and how social contagion dictates our behavior. Dr. Christakis on Bluesky - @nachristakis.bsky.social For the Love of Science Vlog [https://www.youtube.com/@NAChristakis]     As always, listeners can contact us at prostheticgods@gmail.com [prostheticgods@gmail.com] with questions, comments, and suggestions for future topics. Credits: Hosted by James Hughes and Nir Eisikovits Music & Production by Jake Burley

Live from Portsmouth: Artificial Intelligence and Human Values

Live from Portsmouth: Artificial Intelligence and Human Values In this special live episode of Prosthetic Gods, we bring you a night of big ideas recorded on April 2nd at the Music Hall in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Presented as part of the University of New Hampshire's Sidore Lecture Series, "Artificial Intelligence and Human Values" gathered three leading thinkers to explore what AI means for how we live, think, and relate to one another. The evening opens with short, TED-style talks from Kay Mathieson (Northeastern University), Henry Shevlin (Cambridge University), and Harvey Lederman (UT Austin), each offering a distinct lens on the philosophical, ethical, and cognitive stakes of AI. Nir and J then take the stage to lead a wide-ranging live discussion with all three speakers and with questions and reflections from the Portsmouth audience. Show Notes: Artificial Intelligence and Human Values: A Public Conversation [https://cola.unh.edu/center-humanities/events-programs/sidore-lecture-series/spring-2026-artificial-intelligence-human-values-public-conversation]   As always, listeners can contact us at prostheticgods@gmail.com [prostheticgods@gmail.com] with questions, comments, and suggestions for future topics. Credits: Hosted by James Hughes and Nir Eisikovits Music & Production by Jake Burley