“The Line: AI and the Future of Personhood” with Professor James Boyle

About this episode

The episode explores the implications of AI on the concept of personhood with Professor James Boyle.

Humans are no longer the only entities capable of generating language and ideas with fluency. But this advancement raises a profound question: are artificial intelligence systems truly conscious, or are they simply performing an elaborate imitation of human thought? And if, in the future, claims of AI consciousness become more credible, how will that shift our understanding of these technologies? Will we continue to see them as tools, or begin to recognize them as something closer to persons? In his book “The Line: AI and the Future of Personhood”, Professor James Boyle confronts these complex issues. He explores how questions that once belonged to the realm of science fiction have now become urgent and real. He examines how this technological shift might redefine our understanding of personhood and challenge the boundary—"the line"—that separates humans from everything else, as well as persons with legal rights from inanimate objects. In this episode of Bridging the Gaps, I speak with Professor James Boyle to explore these timely, thought provoking and transformative questions. James Boyle is a professor of Law at Duke Law School, founder of the Center for the Study of the…

People in this episode

Host: Dr Waseem Akhtar

Guest: Professor James Boyle

Topics covered

• AI consciousness
• personhood
• technology and ethics
• legal rights
• human vs AI
• science fiction

Keywords

• AI
• consciousness
• personhood
• technology
• legal rights
• science fiction
• ethics

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Duke Law School, Center for the Study of the Public Domain, Creative Commons, Electronic Frontier Foundation

Books & works: The Line: AI and the Future of Personhood

More episodes of Bridging the Gaps: A Portal for Curious Minds

• “Somebody Should Do Something: How Anyone Can Help Create Social Change” with Professor Alex Madva · May 27, 2026 · 53 min
• “Becoming Martian: How Living in Space Will Change Our Bodies and Minds” with Prof. Scott Solomon · April 3, 2026 · 1h 6m
• “Everything Evolves” and the Generalised Evolutionary Theory with Professor Mark Vellend · March 15, 2026 · 59 min
• Building a Thriving Future: Navigating the Metaverse and Multiverse with Dr Paola Cecchi-Dimeglio · February 17, 2026 · 41 min
• “Seven Decades: How We Evolved to Live Longer” with Professor Michael Gurven · November 23, 2025 · 1h 38m
• “AI Fairness: Designing Equal Opportunity Algorithms” with Professor Derek Leben · November 1, 2025 · 49 min