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A Short History of Saving The World
A Short History of Saving The World

The Long History of AI: From Descartes to Astro Boy & ChatGPT

03 July 2026 1:01:57 Fix The News

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About this episode

What if artificial intelligence isn't just about machines? What if it's part of a much longer story about how we understand ourselves?

 

In every age, humans have questioned what separates us from animals, machines, and each other. In this episode, Angus Hervey and Ada Palmer explore our changing ideas of consciousness and intelligence. From Descartes and religion to Astro Boy and the futures we once imagined, this conversation connects our history of consciousness with today's AI debate.

 

In this conversation:

• What Descartes would make of artificial intelligence?
 • Why Japan gave Astro Boy a birth certificate?
 • What Ada's science fiction epic, Terra Ignota, got right about AI
 • And is consciousness really a yes-or-no question?

 
Timestamps:

00:54 What Descartes would say if you gave him Claude?

04:51 How our theories of consciousness have changed history

09:22 How Astro Boy influenced Silicon Valley

11:16 The history of Manga

19:12 Do you need to be alive to be conscious?

21:50 What Aristotle got right in defining the differences between things

24:37 Appetites. Passions. Reason.

29:32 The religious debate - Body v The Soul

32:10 Dante’s Inferno unlocked

34:24 Our history of monsters

36:49 The Empathy Sphere

41:08 The Power of Science Fiction

42:37 What Ada’s novel 'Terra Ignota' reveals about consciousness, rights and intelligence

45:18 Our desire for First Contact

47:08 How the future failed us in the year 2000

53:09 What Montaigne learned from concussion

01:00:32 Final Thoughts

 
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Production credits:
Hosted by Angus Hervey and Ada Palmer
Produced by Amy Davoren-Rose, Fix The News
Audio production: Anthony Badolato, Hear That!


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