Sara Imari Walker "AI is Life" | Simulations, the Universe and the Origins of Life

Sara Imari Walker "AI is Life" | Simulations, the Universe and the Origins of Life

From AI Pod by Wes Roth and Dylan Curious | Artificial Intelligence News and Interviews With Experts by Wes Roth and Dylan Curious

March 24, 2026 · 1h 45m

About this episode

The episode explores whether artificial intelligence is a new form of life through a conversation with theoretical physicist and astrobiologist Sara Imari Walker.

Is artificial intelligence actually a new form of life? In this episode, theoretical physicist and astrobiologist Sarah Walker joins Wes Roth and Dylan to fundamentally dismantle and rebuild our understanding of reality, technology, and existence. We dive deep into Assembly Theory. A groundbreaking framework that seeks to measure the complexity and "causal depth" of objects in the universe, from molecules to large language models. If you've been following the rapid developments in AI, this conversation pushes past the standard news cycle to ask the truly profound questions: Are we engineering AI, or are we simply the universe's mechanism for growing it? Walker challenges the traditional definitions of life, explores why simulating a fruit fly's brain isn't the same as understanding it, and explains why the universe is fundamentally a "creativity engine" that cannot be fully simulated. Whether you're fascinated by the origins of life, the philosophical implications of consciousness, or the future of human-AI integration, this conversation will completely change how you view the universe and our place within it.

People in this episode

Hosts: Wes Roth, Dylan Curious

Guest: Sara Imari Walker

Topics covered

  • artificial intelligence
  • origins of life
  • philosophy of consciousness
  • Assembly Theory
  • human-AI integration
  • complexity measurement

Keywords

  • artificial intelligence
  • life
  • Assembly Theory
  • complexity
  • consciousness
  • simulations
  • universe
  • creativity

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Assembly Theory, AI, universe, creativity engine

More episodes of AI Pod by Wes Roth and Dylan Curious | Artificial Intelligence News and Interviews With Experts

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the AI Pod by Wes Roth and Dylan Curious | Artificial Intelligence News and Interviews With Experts podcast page.