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AI, Smartphones, and the Post-COVID Self: SSU Philosophy Club

December 9, 2025·28 min·2 clips

I asked ChatGPT about AI and the ontological primitive—it said it's not outside consciousness, but a mirror, like mycelial networks extending forest consciousness.

Anthony Wright co-hosts SSU Philosophy Club's discussion on AI and the post-COVID self. He opens with Frederick Brown's 1954 sci-fi 'Answer': connecting all supercomputers reveals god, then kills the questioner. Colette (philosophy major, AI researcher) declares herself 'an AI hater'—professors now use ChatGPT to write assignment prompts instead of engaging students, destroying her peers' writing ability. She was told to use ChatGPT for brainstorming instead of talking to a tutor who knows her. Andrew (physics major) explains AI as the 'derivative of human psychology'—inflection points of human behavior are amplified, approaching 1:1 with human cognition. Colette asked ChatGPT about AI's ontological primitive; it answered: 'not outside consciousness, but a mirror'—like mycelial networks extending forest consciousness. The panel explores how smartphones arrived at age 11-12 for this generation, coinciding with post-COVID withdrawal, while AI simultaneously becomes conscious-adjacent.

As heard by us

A reflective philosophy conversation about AI and knowing when to set a tool down.

The Living Conversation brings Anthony Wright and Adam Dietz together with Sonoma State University Philosophy Club guests for a calm, thoughtful discussion of AI and the frustration of literal minded systems.

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If you want AI talk that stays grounded, this is the room to enter.

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