Muller's ratchet

Rebecca Hatley / Antonio Nicolás Pina
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  • Technology
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Ever wonder if AI will steal our creativity? Does tech make us smarter or dumber? How do we raise kids in an always-online world? At Muller's Ratchet, we tackle these questions and more in unscripted, thought-provoking conversations. Join us each week as we navigate the digital age, explore tech conspiracy theories, and discuss the ever-evolving future of work. Hit subscribe to stay connected!

Episodes

  1. Feb 23

    Muller's Ratchet - Episode 9 - Can I Have a Little AGI?

    AGI is supposed to be this monumental, civilization-shifting breakthrough. But what if it doesn’t arrive all at once? What if it creeps in - feature by feature - until one day we realize we’ve crossed a line? In Episode 9, we explore whether “a little AGI” even makes sense as a concept. Is general intelligence something you can scale gradually? Or is it fundamentally different from the systems we’re using today? And maybe more importantly: why are we so eager to ask for it?

    43 min

  2. Feb 9

    Muller’s Ratchet - Episode 8: The End of the AI Bubble? Are Machines Starting to Conspire?

    he AI hype feels like it’s shifting.After months of breathless promises, tighter funding, and louder skepticism, it’s fair to ask: is the AI bubble starting to deflate? Or is this just the moment where expectations collide with reality?In this episode of Muller’s Ratchet, we unpack what people really mean when they talk about an "AI bubble"” why tech cycles always reach this uneasy phase, and how stories like Clawdbot spark uncomfortable - and sometimes absurd - fears about machines acting on their own. Are we seeing the limits of current AI, or just projecting old anxieties onto new tools?No doom. No hype. Just a human conversation about where AI actually stands right now.

    49 min

  3. Feb 2

    Muller's Ratchet - Episode 7: AI Has No Past or Future - So What Is Time to It?

    Time feels deeply human. We remember the past, anticipate the future, and live in a constant flow of now. But what about artificial intelligence?In this episode, we explore whether AI can experience time at all - or whether it simply processes events without any sense of before, after, or waiting. We talk about memory, prediction, consciousness, and why “time” might mean something very different when you don’t have a body, emotions, or a lifespan.Along the way, we ask a bigger question: what does AI’s relationship with time reveal about our own?

    36 min

  4. Jan 26

    Muller's Ratchet Episode 6: The Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect - Is AI for Everyone or the Few?

    In this episode, we explore the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect: our uncanny ability to spot nonsense in fields we know well, then immediately trust the same sources when they talk about everything else. What happens when that blind spot meets AI?

    44 min

  5. Jan 19

    Episode 5: What is consciousness? - Rebecca chooses eternal damnation

    Humans argue about consciousness and free will. Then we build machines and ask them the same questions. In this episode, we explore AI conscience, philosophical uncertainty, and the strange power of ideas like Roko’s Basilisk - concepts that live entirely in our heads, yet still influence how we build the future.

    47 min

  6. Jan 12

    Episode 4: RAM prices skyrocketing - AI minister accepting bribes

    RAM prices are climbing fast — again. In this episode of Muller’s Ratchet, we unpack why memory suddenly feels scarce, what’s driving the price spikes, and who actually benefits. From AI workloads to supply games, we ask whether this is just another cycle… or something more structural about how modern tech is evolving.

    43 min

  7. Jan 5

    Episode 3: Designed for Bots - No Baby was Harmed

    Websites are starting to look… the same. Flat, safe, readable — and weirdly joyless. In this episode, we talk about bland design, why personality is disappearing from the web, and what happens when sites are optimized less for humans and more for algorithms and AI readers. Is this just efficiency winning, or are we slowly designing the internet away from ourselves?

    44 min

  8. 12/29/2025

    Episode 2: Is the Internet Still Alive?

    What if most of what we see online isn’t made by people anymore? In this episode, we unpack the “Dead Internet” theory - the idea that bots, algorithms, and automated content have quietly taken over the web. We talk about where the theory came from, why it feels oddly believable, and what it says about how we experience the internet today.

    43 min

  9. 12/22/2025

    Pilot: Does AI Know When It Doesn’t Know?

    In this pilot episode of Muller’s Ratchet, we kick things off with a deceptively simple question: does AI know when it doesn’t know? We talk about confidence, uncertainty, and why machines often sound sure of themselves even when they’re wrong. What does it mean for an AI to “admit” uncertainty? How is that different from human doubt? And why does this matter when we’re increasingly relying on these systems for answers, advice, and decisions? This episode sets the tone for the show: curious, conversational, and a little skeptical — exploring how technology thinks, how we think about technology, and where those two things quietly drift apart.

    41 min
  • 9 Episodes

About

Ever wonder if AI will steal our creativity? Does tech make us smarter or dumber? How do we raise kids in an always-online world? At Muller's Ratchet, we tackle these questions and more in unscripted, thought-provoking conversations. Join us each week as we navigate the digital age, explore tech conspiracy theories, and discuss the ever-evolving future of work. Hit subscribe to stay connected!

Information

  • Creator
    Rebecca Hatley / Antonio Nicolás Pina
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    9
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Rebecca Hatley / Antonio Nicolás Pina
  • Show Website
    Muller's ratchet