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★★★★★

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6 reviews

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Machines & Meaning examines artificial intelligence through the lens of different philosophers to understand how AI technology shapes human experience. Created for curious, thoughtful people who want to move beyond simplistic "AI is good" or "AI is bad" narratives, each episode takes a key concept from a philosopher and uses it to examine a specific aspect of AI technology and its impact on human life. While the show assumes listeners are familiar with current AI developments, it doesn't require technical knowledge. The series aims to help listeners develop a deeper understanding of how these technologies are changing how we think, behave, and relate to one another by bringing philosophical insights into conversation with modern AI developments.

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Check latest episodes from Machines & Meaning podcast

John Rawls and the Right to Meaningful Work

2026/06/29

Using John Rawls’s theory of justice as fairness, we examine whether a society that willfully eliminates the conditions for meaningful work can be considered just, regardless of how many new jobs it creates.

Ayn Rand and the Dark Side of AI Efficiency

2026/03/16

Using Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism, we examine how AI’s efficiency gains are made possible by ignoring the quiet awareness of claiming skills we don’t fully possess.

Ibn Khaldun’s Warning: When Tools Become Purposes

2025/12/22

Episode Description: Using Ibn Khaldun’s concept of asabiyyah (ah-sa-BEE-yah), a word derived from Arabic that roughly translates to tribal solidarity or social cohesion, we examine how AI is being rhetorically elevated to the status of collective purpose.

Credibility Deficits: Miranda Fricker and the Illusion of AI Literacy

2025/11/11

Using Miranda Fricker’s concept of testimonial injustice, we examine how AI creates new hierarchies of who gets taken seriously and how the credibility we assign (or don’t) affect people’s lives.

AI’s Aesthetic Trap: Søren Kierkegaard’s Three Spheres of Existence

2025/10/13

Exploring how Kierkegaard’s three spheres of existence reveal why AI might be creating the most sophisticated trap for authentic human development by appearing to create fulfillment while preventing genuine growth.

Hannah Arendt and AI’s Collective Thoughtlessness

2025/09/08

Exploring how Hannah Arendt’s concept of “thoughtlessness” reveals why AI systems create the perfect conditions for systematic harm that emerge from widespread non-engagement with consequences.

Aristotle’s Phronesis and the Wisdom to Judge Ourselves

2025/08/04

Exploring how Aristotle’s concept of practical wisdom reveals the meta-cognitive skills professionals will need to remain valuable in an age when AI can perform most technical tasks.

Permanent Intermediates: Martin Heidegger and AI’s Erosion of Mastery

2025/07/01

Exploring how artificial intelligence systematically undermines the conditions necessary for developing human expertise, creating what we might call “permanent intermediates,” people who achieve functional competence but never develop true mastery.

The Accountability Threshold: Thomas Aquinas’ Doctrine of Double Effect.

2025/06/01

Exploring how Thomas Aquinas’ Doctrine of Double Effect helps us understand our complex relationship with AI’s unintended consequences.

Universal Laws: Kant’s Categorical Imperative and AI’s Immutable Rules

2025/05/01

Exploring how Immanuel Kant’s concept of the categorical imperative parallels our current challenge of creating immutable ethical rules for artificial intelligence.

The Detriment of Constructs: Simone de Beauvoir and Our AI Categories

2025/04/01

Using Simone de Beauvoir’s philosophical framework on categorization, we examine how rigid binary thinking and over-compartmentalization limit our ability to understand and govern A.I.

The Calculation Default: What René Descartes Teaches Us About Reasoning Models

2025/03/02

Using Descartes’ framework for how we acquire knowledge, we examine what happens when AI reasoning models confront problems where mathematical certainty isn’t enough.

Who’s Adapting to Whom? Lewis Mumford’s Warning for Technics.

2025/02/03

We explore Lewis Mumford’s concept of ‘technics’ to answer an essential question in AI: are we creating technologies that adapt to serve human needs, or are we increasingly adapting ourselves to serve theirs?

The Narrative Machine: LLMs Through the Eyes of Alasdair MacIntyre

2024/12/31

We explore Alisdair MacIntyre’s concept of narrative fragmentation and whether large language models (LLMs) contribute to it through their underlying architecture.

Podcast reviews

Read Machines & Meaning podcast reviews

5 out of 5

6 reviews

★★★★★

C Mees 2025/06/03

Must listen podcast

Angel consistently brings novel, deeply relevant perspectives - often from unexpected angles - that challenge conventional thinking and open up entire...

★★★★★

Sclune 2025/02/07

Finally a fresh perspective (and the right questions)

What is this tool, how does it improve human life, and how do we use it? Angel skips the hype, the hopes and fears and speculation of the savvy, and e...

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