A Fascinating Conversation on A.I. Consciousness (And Why It Matters)

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

July 10, 2026

Duration

1h 14m

Channel

Hard Fork

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

This week, with news that the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up Texas’ age verification law for app stores, we check in on how social media bans are going around the globe and what may be coming soon to a state near you. Then, we’re joined by Jeff Sebo, an associate professor at N.Y.U., to discuss new research into “A.I. welfare” and whether A.I. could ever become conscious. And finally, in our latest edition of Tool Time, we show each other some of the latest tech tools we’ve been experimenting with. 0:01 Social Media bans are coming 23:30 J-space; A.I. welfare and A.I. consciousness 55:58 Casey and Kevin show us their new way of burning through tokens Guests: Jeff Sebo, associate professor and the director of the Center for Mind, Ethics, and Policy at N.Y.U. Additional Reading: Why Social Media Bans Are Gaining Steam https://www.platformer.news/social-media-bans-candice-odgers-haidt/ Four in Five Under-16s in Australia Using Social Media Despite Ban, Study Shows https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/jun/24/australia-under-16-social-media-ban-no-substantial-effects-study It Turns Out Banning Teens From Social Media Is Hard https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/it-turns-out-banning-teens-from-social-media-is-hard.html Studying A.I. Welfare Empirically https://nonhumanminds.org/studying-ai-welfare-empirically/ A Global Workspace in Language Models https://www.anthropic.com/research/global-workspace FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hardfork Insta: Kevin Roose - https://www.instagram.com/kevinroose/ Casey Newton - https://www.instagram.com/crumbler/ Twitter (X): Kevin - https://x.com/kevinroose Casey - https://x.com/CaseyNewton Threads: Kevin - https://www.threads.net/@kevinroose Casey - https://www.threads.net/@crumbler Subscribe to the audio only podcast: Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hard-fork/id1528594034 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/44fllCS2FTFr2x2kjP9xeT?si=86ba626802b849cd Amazon - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7c7fe198-e6a8-41a8-b0fe-1d46b976dcd8/hard-fork YouTube Music - https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB9gMmtMLXxsa8C0PzHFL2tJFh7FrKrYD&si=Fwb9Uwon1ZneNsBp The New York Times - https://www.nytimes.com/column/hard-fork Credits “Hard Fork” is hosted by Kevin Roose and Casey Newton. Produced by Rachel Cohn and Whitney Jones. We’re edited by Vjeran Pavic. Engineering by Chris Wood and original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Sophia Lanman and Rowan Niemisto. Fact-checking by Caitlin Love. Video production by Chris Schodt and Sawyer Roque. Video QC by Isabella Anderson. Podcast Art Direction by Benjamin Wilkerson Tousley. Podcast Art & Animations by Julian Hespenheide. Additional Motion graphics by Phil Robibero. Thumbnails by Julia Moburg, Elizabeth Bristow, and Benjamin Wilkerson Tousley. Special thanks to Brooke Minters, Paula Szuchman, Pui-Wing Tam and Dahlia Haddad.

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Kevin Roose

  host

  Technology columnist at The New York Times and co-host of Hard Fork.

• Casey Newton

  host

  Journalist and founder of Platformer, and co-host of Hard Fork.

• Jeff Sebo

  guest

  Philosopher and researcher focused on animal ethics and AI welfare/consciousness.

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Hard Fork, featuring Kevin Roose and Casey Newton, A Fascinating Conversation on A.I. Consciousness (And Why It Matters) explores Social media age bans rise as AI consciousness research goes mainstream The hosts survey accelerating global efforts to restrict minors’ social media accounts, with Casey Newton reiterating his prediction that “16+ becomes the new norm” worldwide by 2026.

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