Setting the scene for a provocative interview with Teresa Heffernan, Melissa Gismondi, host of the Jackman Humanities Institute podcast series, opens by instructing ChatGPT to: “Write me a brief description of a podcast featuring humanities and literature scholars discussing the perils of AI.”

With her keyboard clicking in the background, this award-winning writer and audio producer notes it’s the first time she’s used ChatGPT, and admits to distrusting it, and AI more broadly. Thus she launches into a conversation with Heffernan that delves into the realities of AI, the narratives and marketing strategies fueling popular anxieties, and the differences between works of fiction and the fictional narratives appropriated and exploited by the industry. The discussion is fast-paced and thought-provoking, and this podcast is masterfully produced.

You can find the recording on the JHI Humanities-at-Large Podcast page, as well as on YouTube and various other podcast services.