The Michael Knowles Show | "Is A.I. The Antichrist?" YES or NO | Matt Fradd

Date: January 31, 2026
Host: Michael Knowles (The Daily Wire)
Guest: Matt Fradd

Episode Overview

This episode of The Michael Knowles Show puts a comedic yet philosophical twist on debates about politics, religion, and culture—centered on the provocative question: “Is A.I. the Antichrist?” Using the “Yes or No?” card game format, Michael Knowles and Matt Fradd bounce through theological hypotheticals, internet-age moral quandaries, and the fears and hopes surrounding artificial intelligence, all while showcasing their signature irreverent banter and dry wit. The game show structure forces candid binary answers on complex questions, yielding several moments of genuine insight, sharp disagreement, and classic one-liners.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Game Format & Stakes ([00:23-01:56])

• The episode uses the "Yes or No" game show, where Knowles and Fradd must predict one another’s binary answers to philosophical and current event questions.

• Stakes include posting a sycophantic social media rant about the winner.

  “If you beat me, I have to post some sycophantic rant on my social media about how great you are, and you can even write it for me.” — Matt Fradd ([01:19])

Theological Hypotheticals & Catholic In-Jokes

1. Will the East–West Schism Be Resolved Before the Conservative Schism? ([02:16-03:20])

   • Both agree ecclesial unity is more likely than conservative unity.
   • Knowles: “There will be no such force in the American right. That is only ever chaos and division. There is no catacomb of American right-wing politics. It is just Apocalypse now all the time.” ([03:08])

2. Conversion of Ben Shapiro ([04:02-05:54])

   • Knowles jokes about his Catholicism as a “stumbling block” to Ben Shapiro’s hypothetical conversion.
   • Fradd argues Shapiro “sticks to what he believes, whether or not the world will hate him or love him for it.”

3. Public Conversion Stories & Repentance ([06:06-09:15])

   • Discusses whether there should be a vetting period before interviewing recent converts from scandalous pasts.
   • Both agree: Yes, for their own good and the audience’s, patience is needed.
   • “You need a little time … especially if you go out and you have like a crazy year … [but] a thousand in a day. That is—God have mercy on her.” — Michael Knowles ([07:44])
   • Fradd raises skepticism: “Is somebody who would engage in that kind of depravity probably only doing it for attention?” ([08:09])
   • Knowles: “It might be baby steps, you know—might be.” ([09:15])

4. Can Cain Be Immortal? ([10:07-11:33])

   • Fradd introduces the biblical myth of Cain wandering eternally.
   • “He’s dead.” — Knowles ([11:39])
   • Both dismiss mythological interpretations as “possible, but not probable.”

Social and Sexual Morality in the Age of Tech

Transgenderism & Delusion ([11:51-13:22])

• Fradd: Opposing transgenderism is likened to not indulging a schizophrenic’s delusions.

  “I can no more affirm transgenderism than I can affirm the voices of a schizophrenic.” — Knowles ([11:58])

• They reflect on the changing Overton Window—what is considered “crazy” changes quickly.

  “You live long enough and you go, ‘okay, where’s new atheism? Where’s BLM? Where’s transgenderism? Where’s Andrew Tate?’” — Fradd ([13:22])

The Sex Robot Thought Experiment ([14:14-19:56])

Prompt: Is it “gay” if you have sex with a robot that appears female but is controlled by a man?

• Both initially split:
  • Fradd: “No, it’s depraved.” ([14:42])
  • Knowles: “Yeah, I think it’s gay.” ([16:05])
• Knowles’s theological argument: Acts that are “sterile” or “fruitless” are, by extension, “gay,” including contraception.
• Fradd pushes back, making a distinction between acts that are objectively vs. subjectively disordered but hesitates to use “gay” outside of homosexual activity.
• Knowles: “The chief feature of gayness, I think, is sterility, that it’s a fruitless, unfeconed union, and that is contraception.” ([17:17])
• Fradd: “If he’s engaging in a sexual act with a machine … it would be an action of self-abuse, wouldn’t it?” ([18:07])
• Both agree it’s a depraved, non-relational act, with Knowles stretching the term “gay” for rhetorical effect.

Pornography & Moral Intent ([21:25-23:19])

• Is selling feet pics online pornography?
  • Fradd: “I think it’s pornography subjectively, but not objectively so.”
  • Both discuss the difference between “looking” at and “consuming” porn.
  • Fradd: “I think you can look at pornography and not sin, clearly. That’s why I like to make the distinction between looking and consuming.” ([22:53])

Rapid Fire (Mini “Yes or No”s) ([21:07-24:57])

• Alcohol Consumption as Sin:
  • Both agree intoxication is a sin, but the number of drinks varies by constitution.
  • “I could have 30 drinks in a day and not sin. Maybe. But, like, I think it’s hard to have three drinks in an hour and not be drunk.” — Knowles ([23:34])
• Debate Preferences:
  • Knowles prefers debating Eastern Orthodox Christians over Protestants due to more common ground.
• Compatibility of Sharia vs Liberalism with Christianity:
  • Liberalism seen as a “perversion” of Christianity, Sharia as fully alien.

On AI, Eschatology, and the Final Prompt ([29:33-32:10])

• Will A.I. be part of the End Times?
  • Both reluctantly select “Yes,” conceding it’ll be involved in some way—if only because of its growing significance.
  • Knowles refers to Peter Thiel’s contrary view: The Antichrist may arise by restricting AI, not enabling it.

    “If the AI told me, like, ‘hey, if you try to regulate me, that’ll bring about the Antichrist,’ I’d be like … that sounds a lot like something the Antichrist would say.” — Knowles ([30:24])

  • Both see AI as “particularly scary,” predicting a future where people trust in-person events more due to AI-generated media being indistinguishable from reality.

    Fradd: “Very shortly you’ll be able to watch an entire podcast from your favorite host. And it won’t be him … I think because of that, in-person events … the demand for them will skyrocket.” ([31:38])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “There will be no such force in the American right … it is just Apocalypse Now all the time.” — Knowles ([03:08])
• “It’s like a Schrodinger’s gay.” — Knowles, on the sex robot dilemma ([15:24])
• “It’s pretty gay.” — Knowles, defending “gay” as a rhetorical device ([16:26])
• “You can look at pornography and not sin, clearly.” — Fradd ([22:53])
• “If the AI told me, like, ‘hey, if you try to regulate me, that’ll bring about the Antichrist,’ I’d be like … that sounds a lot like something the Antichrist would say.” — Knowles ([30:24])
• “Very shortly you’ll be able to watch an entire podcast from your favorite host. And it won’t be him.” — Fradd ([31:38])

Major Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | | ----------- | -------------------------------------------------------- | | 00:23 | Game rules and introduction | | 02:16–03:20 | East–West Schism and American conservatism discussion | | 04:02–05:54 | Catholic influence at Daily Wire / Ben Shapiro | | 06:06–09:15 | Should recent converts with scandalous pasts speak out? | | 10:07–11:33 | The immortality of Cain (Genesis) | | 11:51–13:22 | Transgenderism, delusion, and censorship | | 14:14–19:56 | Sex robots and the “Schrodinger’s gay” discussion | | 21:07–24:57 | Rapid fire: accent, yarmulke, feet pics & sin | | 29:33–32:10 | Will AI play a role in the end times? |

Tone & Style

The episode is marked by sharp Catholic humor, irreverence toward both religious and cultural orthodoxy, and spirited philosophical engagement—all within the constraints of a lighthearted, competitive game show. Both Knowles and Fradd maintain a relaxed but intellectually inquisitive tone, freely riffing off one another’s theological and cultural references while lambasting modern absurdities.

Summary

This episode blends comic hypotheticals, serious theological speculation, and culture war observation. The core theme circles anxieties about the future (especially technological), as filtered through a Catholic worldview and the ribald fun of binary, forced-choice debate. Despite the episode’s humor, Knowles and Fradd offer thoughtful meditations on repentance, public witness, the danger of delusion (in both sexual and technological matters), the importance of ordered sexuality, and the unique place—and peril—of AI in the modern imagination.

Takeaway:
Is AI the Antichrist? Maybe not literally, but Knowles and Fradd agree the rise of artificial intelligence is “particularly scary,” and that its capacity to upend reality, trust, and meaning could make it central in whatever end times await.