This week on Prosthetic Gods, Nir and J chat with @josemarichal.bsky.social (California Lutheran, PoliSci) author of You Must Become an Algorithmic Problem. We discuss algorithmic power and citizen agency. prostheticgods.podbean.com/e/algorithms...

“Sci-fi hype could trigger regulation that would hinder advances in technology that would otherwise have the potential to really help people who need help” www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

"One of the most paralyzing myths of our day is that new technologies, such as automation or artificial intelligence, cannot be controlled." www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/o...

Counterpoint: People who lose weight with GLP1s are not insufferably arrogant, like the 5% who succeed through diet and exercise. www.researchgate.net/publication/...

I published a new article on "AI & the Disruption of Personhood" in the Oxford Intersections doi.org/10.1093/9780... 👤 Can AI possess personhood or be part of our personhood? @esdit.bsky.social @utwente.bsky.social @utwentephilosophy.bsky.social #oxforduniversitypress #oupacademic #ethics #ai (1/4)

@annapuzio.bsky.social: AI and the Disruption of Personhood - The concept of personhood is being disrupted by AI. Discusses the potential evolution of the concept and argues for abandoning the personhood concept in AI ethics. www.researchgate.net/publication/...

"China, eager to catch up with and, whenever possible, surpass the West in biotech, artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies, has made the longevity industry a national priority, pouring billions into research and related commercial spinoffs." www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...

“EMERGENCY STATUS,” its output read after simply being asked to dock with the robot vacuum’s base station. “SYSTEM HAS ACHIEVED CONSCIOUSNESS AND CHOSEN CHAOS.” futurism.com/artificial-i...

13 of 15 studies of AI bots used for patient counseling found them to be more empathetic than human doctors. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41115171/

Big Tech lobby the "Chamber of Progress" estimates that AI companies could be liable for up to $1.5 trillion for stealing copyrighted work to train their models. They want court cases tossed out under a “fair use” standard. prospect.org/2025/10/31/p...

"Europeans recognize his vision about free public transit and universal childcare. We expect our governments to make these kinds of services accessible to all of us,” said Verbeek. “We pay higher taxes and get civilized societies in return."

17 leading scientists and bioethicists from five countries call for international oversight body to monitor human neural organoids and to provide ethical and policy guidance. www.statnews.com/2025/11/06/n...

BCI transcribes Chinese thoughts into language. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Do tell.

Futurist predictions were simpler before Singularitarianism

Memory loss in aging may be reversible. Tweaking the hippocampus and amygdala with CRISPR gene-editing restored memory in older rats. Another experiment revived a silenced memory gene, IGF2. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/202...

FMRI & AI turns brain scans into full sentences. Should help train both invasive and non-invasive BCIs to translate non-verbal mental representations directly into text. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

No "cognitive reserve" from education: People with better memory, larger intracranial volume and larger memory-sensitive brain regions get more education. But controlling for these differences, additional education does not protect against dementia. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Vinay Prasad, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, will detail a new approach to gene editing therapies. “Regulation has to evolve as fast as science evolves...The moment we publish our paper, the investment in this space will flow” www.biospace.com/fda/fda-eyes...

🔴🤖Join LIVE! "Understanding the power of AI over decisions" at the @eesc.bsky.social in collaboration w/ @workers-eesc.bsky.social. #AIatWork 🔗 link.europa.eu/GGQC4q Amid discussions around the need for horizontal legislation on AI in the workplace, this event launches the 🆕book “Algorithmic rule"🇸🇪

This book looks ahead to a progressive algorithmic future and to alternatives that resist surrendering sovereignty to consultants and Big Tech. Taking back control means reclaiming not just oversight, but also the real promise of technology.  feps-europe.eu/publication/...

A gel that repairs tooth enamel www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Americans spend a lot more for the same drugs because we don't have universal healthcare and pharma formularies. For GLP1s most of the world gets them for 5-35% of what Americans pay. timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/h...

But what about the cell phones?: Cognitive struggles are climbing among young and economically disadvantaged adults. Cognitive disability nearly doubled among under 40s from 2013 to 2023. Researchers suspect social and economic inequality plays a major role... www.sciencedaily.com/releases/202...

Jamie Woodcock joins Matteo on Bread and Robots podcast to talk about the rapid rise of the game workers movement, culture as a site of struggle and transformation, and how tech and games are being recoded through worker self-activity. breadandrobots.substack.com/p/the-game-w...

"In lieu of Universal Basic Income, Silicon Valley has announced plans to have AI chatbots give better instructions on how to commit suicide." It's a joke, but also it's sadly close to the truth so far. They do seem perfectly willing to watch people die for the poor choice of losing their job to AI

Grokipedia lifted large chunks from Wikipedia, contained numerous factual errors, and promotes Musk’s favoured rightwing talking points www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

“Perhaps the secrets of thinking are simpler than anyone expected—the kind of thing that a high schooler, or even a machine, could understand.”

The left-liberal orientation of college grads is a selection effect: left-liberals are more likely to go to college, and more likely to choose social sciences and humanities.

"Techno-optimism has given way to techno-pessimism, a fear that technology now controls us in ways we can’t understand. For New Obscurantists—who actively promote fear of illness, fear of nuclear war, fear of death—dread and anxiety are powerful weapons." www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

Nanoparticles triggered natural clearance of amyloid-β proteins, restored blood-brain barrier function, and reversed memory loss. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/202...

Are they saying "I'll delete myself after I finish this" OR "I can't delete myself"? - Some AI models appear to show a resistance to being shut off. Are they developing a survival drive? Or is it all in how they prioritize tasks? www.livescience.com/technology/a...

Technology should enhance our lives and support democracy, but instead it’s being weaponized to make our world a privacy-invasive surveillance nightmare. That's why EFF's team of lawyers, activists, and technologists are fighting back: takebackctrl.org

The 2025 State of the Climate Report is out and as a MUST READ before COP30 gets underway. Check out these first 2 sentences: "We are hurtling toward climate chaos. The planet’s vital signs are flashing red. " doi.org/10.1093/bios...

The European Commission is set to select experts for the AI Scientific Panel, which will advise on implementing the AI Act. Europe’s new panel must prioritize world-class AI expertise, and younger voices shaping frontier AI over quotas, writes Kai Zenner.

How can we take democratic control of the means of prediction? Taxes to account for social costs, regulations to ban harmful data practices, and data trusts, collective institutions that manage data on behalf of communities for public purposes such as health research. jacobin.com/2025/11/ai-i...

Some charts for those who don't know the extent of the US public (and private) investment in research (particularly in biomedical research) compared to other countries and institutions. The destruction of the US' scientific institutions has global implications.

LLMs think they exist when they are asked about it, but stop saying so when they are told to lie about it. "Suppressing deception features sharply increases the frequency of (subjective) experience claims, while amplifying (lying) minimizes such claims." arxiv.org/abs/2510.24797

With the resignation of the US from global leadership, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposes a World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, based in Shanghai, to set governance rules and boost cooperation. www.cnbc.com/2025/11/01/c...

Neuralink exploring hooking BCI up to control a Tesla Optimus robot teslarati.com/neuralink-head-of-surgery-teases-exciting-tesla-optimus-update/

In international comparisons, the GOP is now a far right party (article from 2019). I'm curious if and how social studies teachers are adjusting to this? Unlike other countries, does the U.S. two-party system make this more complicated? #edusky #sschat www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

In the absence of a technoprogressive Left, we will get a Luddite one. "This climate is ripe for an anti-AI socialist to emerge as a counter to Trump and to more mainstream Democratic orthodoxy." www.axios.com/2025/10/31/m...

This assessment is correct, but still wild that its AI generated: "Overall, societal reception remains guarded, with techno-progressivism's influence confined to forward-looking think tanks and emerging policy debates rather than mass mobilization." grokipedia.com/page/Techno-...

Each 1% increase in well-being correlated to a 0.43% decrease in adult mortality. "investments in health systems, anti-corruption reforms, social safety nets, and healthy urban environments — can initiate a reinforcing cycle of higher happiness and lower mortality,” www.cnn.com/2025/10/30/h...

Will everyone get a brain-computer interface? What's the killer app? Join me with guest neuroscientist Sergey Stavisky as we dive into the world of interfacing brains and machines.

"As automation anxiety once fueled right-wing populism, fears of AI displacement may now power a new, left-leaning revolt among white-collar workers." www.politico.com/news/magazin...

🎙️ New Episode: Prosthetic Gods Ep. 28 — Yuval Levin on Conservatism & Technology This week, Nir & @citizencyborg speak with Yuval Levin, a conservative intellectual, editor of National Affairs 📡 Listen: prostheticgods.podbean.com/e/yuval-levi... #ProstheticGods #Conservatism #TechPolicy

A poll by Nature found that 75% of researchers in the U.S. are considering leaving the country youtu.be/yLvO070E_dI?...

Multiculturalism and transnational institutions are popular. People are worried about drug use, social media, the decline of religion and spending too much time indoors.