Episode 302: Monsters In The Mirror

Episode 302: Monsters In The Mirror

From Permanently Moved by Jay Springett

March 2, 2026 · 1h 3m · Season 16 · Episode 1

About this episode

This episode explores the nature of large language models and their implications for society and technology.

What are large language models, really? A genuinely different frame for what AI is, where it came from, and what it means to live alongside it. This episode of Permanently Moved is an hour-long audio essay on artificial intelligence, agency, and the history of computing that made LLMs possible. The essay moves from the invention of the mirror to double-entry bookkeeping, the printing press, the Manhattan Project, the transistor, and the particular civilisational strangeness of ChatGPT and its successors. It argues that the question everyone is asking about AI "is it intelligent?" is a trap, and it tries to ask a better one. START SELECT RESET Issue 15 of SSRZ, the print companion to this episode, is available to pre-order now until Monday 16th March. 36 pages, A5, containing the full transcript plus an introduction and afterword not in the audio. Membership (£5/month) shipping included: https://thejaymo.net/support/ Pre-order the zine (£18 + shipping): https://thejaymo.etsy.com/uk/listing/4465040020/monsters-in-the-mirror-start-select CHAPTERS (00:00:02) Introduction (00:00:34) Monsters In The Mirror (00:01:00) Part 1. The Mirror of Modernity (00:05:33) Part 2. The State's Gaze…

People in this episode

Host: Jay Springett

Topics covered

  • artificial intelligence
  • large language models
  • history of computing
  • agency
  • civilizational impact
  • modernity

Keywords

  • AI
  • large language models
  • ChatGPT
  • history of computing
  • agency
  • modernity
  • transistor
  • printing press
  • Manhattan Project

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: SSRZ, ChatGPT, thejaymo.net, thejaymo.etsy.com

Books & works: Monsters In The Mirror

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