Podcast
Prosthetic Gods
Hosted by James Hughes and Nir Eisikovits · EN
Welcome to “Prosthetic Gods,” the podcast where bioethicist James Hughes and philosopher Nir Eisikovits engage in spirited debates on the ethics and politics of emerging technologies. Hughes, a pro-technology transhumanist, and Eisikovits, with his Luddite stance, explore topics from brain-computer interfaces to artificial intelligence. Tune in and explore the promise and perils of technological advancements with us!
11episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Who Really Needs Ozempic Anyway?
2w ago00:59:26Tap to summarizeEpisode 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 Ethical Considerations in the Use of Weight Loss Medications The Ethics of Ozempic and Wegovy 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 Obesity rate declining in US Hard Fork Podcast Rest is History Podcast 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
Transcribe →Disgust
May 600:52:27Tap to summarizeEpisode 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 by Martha Nussbaum “The Wisdom of Repugnance,” by Leon Kass The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt “Daedalus, or, Science and the Future,” JBS Haldane What We Are Seeking, Cameron Reed Wolfendon Report of the Committee on Homosexual Offenses and Prostitution Jeremy Bentham’s Auto-Icon 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
Transcribe →Nicholas Christakis - Technology and Contagion
Apr 2200:56:32Tap to summarizeEpisode 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 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. 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 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 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
Transcribe →Live from Portsmouth: Artificial Intelligence and Human Values
Apr 1702:13:21Tap to summarizeLive 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 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
Transcribe →Sven Nyholm on Ethics of AI
Apr 901:09:27Tap to summarizeEpisode 39 - Sven Nyholm on the Ethics of AI This week on Prosthetic Gods we are talking to Sven Nyholm about his new book The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence. If our thinking relies on external media, where do we stop and the AIs start? What is the moral status of LLMs? Are they sentient? Are AI relationships any good? And should we raise robots like children? Sven Nyholm is Professor of the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence at LMU Munich and a Principal Investigator for AI Ethics at the Munich Center for Machine Learning. His books include Humans and Robots: Ethics, Agency, and Anthropomorphism and This Is Technology Ethics: An Introduction, and his latest, The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, ranges from alignment and moral responsibility to artificial consciousness and the existential stakes of humanity's wager on AI. Show Notes: Sven Nyholm at Researchgate and PhilPapers “How AI Robs Us of Meaning” Sven Nyholm The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence by Sven Nyholm 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
Transcribe →Humanoid Robots
Mar 2501:02:00Tap to summarizeEpisode 38 - Humanoid Robots This week on Prosthetic Gods, Nir and J talk about the distinctive ethical issues raised by the humanoid robots coming to homes and workplaces. Their presence and human-like form elicit unique responses compared to those of non-embodied AI. The appearance of a robot can manipulate human empathy and consent; robotic caregiving could be used as a pretext to dismantle the social safety net, and robot lovers could deepen loneliness. Show Notes: Moravec’s paradox “Can AI Robots Help Older Adults Live in Their Homes Longer?” By Lee Pruitt “China Could Dominate the Physical AI Future” by Eric Schmidt and Selina Xu “Humanoid Robots to Reach Nearly US$30 Billion by 2036” by Shihao Fu Humans (2015-2018, 3 seasons) Battlestar Gallactica (2004-2009, 5 seasons) 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
Transcribe →Anthropic's Conflict with the Pentagon: A Conversation with Alan Rozenshtein
Mar 1300:50:50Tap to summarizeEpisode 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
Transcribe →Buddhism and the Self
Feb 1800:55:19Tap to summarizeEpisode 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.
Transcribe →Pluribus
Feb 401:05:10Tap to summarizeEpisode 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
Transcribe →Simulations
Jan 2200:51:48Tap to summarizeEpisode 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
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