Machines & Meaning

About Machines & Meaning

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.

Publisher

Angel Evan

Category

society & culture · technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

31 Dec 2024

Latest episode

29 Jun 2026

Latest episodes

14 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   29 Jun 2026

   John Rawls and the Right to Meaningful Work

   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.

2. 

   16 Mar 2026

   Ayn Rand and the Dark Side of AI Efficiency

   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.

3. 

   22 Dec 2025

   Ibn Khaldun’s Warning: When Tools Become Purposes

   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.

4. 

   11 Nov 2025

   Credibility Deficits: Miranda Fricker and the Illusion of AI Literacy

   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.

5. 

   13 Oct 2025

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

   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.

6. 

   8 Sept 2025

   Hannah Arendt and AI’s Collective Thoughtlessness

   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.

7. 

   4 Aug 2025

   Aristotle’s Phronesis and the Wisdom to Judge Ourselves

   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.

8. 

   1 Jul 2025

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

   This episode analyzes how artificial intelligence inhibits the development of human expertise, potentially leading to a state of functional competence without true mastery.

9. 

   1 Jun 2025

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

   This episode explores Thomas Aquinas' Doctrine of Double Effect and how it informs our understanding of AI's unintended consequences.

10. 

    1 May 2025

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

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

11. 

    1 Apr 2025

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

    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.

12. 

    2 Mar 2025

    The Calculation Default: What René Descartes Teaches Us About Reasoning

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

13. 

    3 Feb 2025

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

    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?

14. 

    31 Dec 2024

    The Narrative Machine: LLMs Through the Eyes of Alasdair MacIntyre

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

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

5 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 26 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

40

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

32

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.