Artificiality: Minds Meeting Machines

Greg Epstein: Tech Agnostic


Listen Later

In this episode, we talk with Greg Epstein—humanist chaplain at Harvard and MIT, bestselling author, and a leading voice on the intersection of technology, ethics, and belief systems. Greg’s latest book, Tech Agnostic, offers a provocative argument: Silicon Valley isn’t just a powerful industry—it has become the dominant religion of our time. Note: Tech Agnostic won an Artificality Book Award in 2024—check out our review here. In this interview, we explore the deep parallels between big tech and organized religion, from sacred texts and prophets to digital congregations and AI-driven eschatology. The conversation explores digital Puritanism, the "unwitting worshipers" of tech's altars, and the theological implications of AI doomerism.

But this isn’t just a critique—it’s a call for a Reformation. Greg lays out a path toward a more humane and ethical future for technology, one that resists unchecked power and prioritizes human values over digital dogma.

Join us for a thought-provoking conversation on faith, fear, and the future of being human in an age where technology defines what we believe in.

Do you enjoy our conversations like this one? Then subscribe on your favorite platform, subscribe to our emails (free) at Artificiality.world, and check out the Artificiality Summit—our mind-expanding retreat in Bend, Oregon at Artificiality.world/summit.

Thanks again to Jonathan Coulton for our music.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Artificiality: Minds Meeting MachinesBy Helen and Dave Edwards

  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5

5

9 ratings


More shows like Artificiality: Minds Meeting Machines

View all
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

38,586 Listeners

Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

43,880 Listeners

No Such Thing As A Fish by No Such Thing As A Fish

No Such Thing As A Fish

4,833 Listeners

Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

Hidden Brain

43,385 Listeners

Pivot by New York Magazine

Pivot

8,924 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

111,110 Listeners

HBS Managing the Future of Work by Harvard Business School

HBS Managing the Future of Work

108 Listeners

Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas by Sean Carroll | Wondery

Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas

4,107 Listeners

Your Undivided Attention by Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin, The Center for Humane Technology

Your Undivided Attention

1,451 Listeners

MIT Technology Review Narrated by MIT Technology Review

MIT Technology Review Narrated

258 Listeners

Hard Fork by The New York Times

Hard Fork

5,358 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

15,037 Listeners

The Rest Is Politics by Goalhanger

The Rest Is Politics

3,248 Listeners

The News Agents by Global

The News Agents

991 Listeners