God, Human, Animal, Machine: Technology, Metaphor, and the Search for Meaning
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God, Human, Animal, Machine: Technology, Metaphor, and the Search for Meaning Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Meghan O'Gieblyn (Author), Rebecca Lowman (Narrator), Random House Audio (Publisher)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 533 ratings
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A strikingly original exploration of what it might mean to be authentically human in the age of artificial intelligence, from the author of the critically-acclaimed Interior States. "At times personal, at times philosophical, with a bracing mixture of openness and skepticism, it speaks thoughtfully and articulately to the most crucial issues awaiting our future."—Phillip Lopate

“[A] truly fantastic book.”—Ezra Klein

For most of human history the world was a magical and enchanted place ruled by forces beyond our understanding. The rise of science and Descartes's division of mind from world made materialism our ruling paradigm, in the process asking whether our own consciousness—i.e., souls—might be illusions. Now the inexorable rise of technology, with artificial intelligences that surpass our comprehension and control, and the spread of digital metaphors for self-understanding, the core questions of existence—identity, knowledge, the very nature and purpose of life itself—urgently require rethinking.

Meghan O'Gieblyn tackles this challenge with philosophical rigor, intellectual reach, essayistic verve, refreshing originality, and an ironic sense of contradiction. She draws deeply and sometimes humorously from her own personal experience as a formerly religious believer still haunted by questions of faith, and she serves as the best possible guide to navigating the territory we are all entering.

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  1. Listening Length
    9 hours and 19 minutes
  2. Author
    Meghan O'Gieblyn
  3. Narrator
    Rebecca Lowman
  4. Audible release date
    August 24, 2021
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Random House Audio
  7. ASIN
    B08R95T1V7
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 9 hours and 19 minutes
Author Meghan O'Gieblyn
Narrator Rebecca Lowman
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date August 24, 2021
Publisher Random House Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B08R95T1V7
Best Sellers Rank #32,353 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#8 in Religious Essays & Commentary
#15 in Philosophy of Society
#64 in Social Philosophy

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
533 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Michael H. Shenkman
5.0 out of 5 stars How we have to live
Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2024
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Thank you Meghan.
This is an exquisite meditation and one that merits emulation, if not down right analyzed and instructed teaching.
We have to ask ourselves who are we who are not machines, haw did we become this way, and how do we proceed to become who we are in ways that assure us that we are not products of machines.
As a schooled philosopher her grasp of this literature is excellent, but her expositions and contemplations of the are poignantly superb — she makes this thinking matter.
Her journey from Christian fundamentalism continues to inform her living. It enables her to think feelingly without blinders and so not be fooled by the renamed gods of the technically myopic automatons who are immersing our living in algorithmic darkness.
As have the great mystics and prophets she charts out pathways for restoring the urgency with which we have to guard our vitality as living beings and offer clear markers for learning to decipher where on that journey we are now situated and let us decide what fork in the road we will now take. She makes the one not taken a little less forbidding.
Thank you Meghan.
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Iver
4.0 out of 5 stars Good ideas but no unifying framework
Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2023
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Very ambitious. Covers a lot of
ground about the relationships between humanity, faith and technology. Grapples with the question of what makes us uniquely human in the era of AI, and how we use tech serve many of the historical purposes of religion.

A series of interesting essays which cover a lot of ground and stimulate thought, but also sometimes exaggerate and oversimplify how we use tech today. Lacks a central framework of ideas, although the reader can build one from the content of the essays.

Well worth reading.
16 people found this helpful
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Stephen B
5.0 out of 5 stars Well written
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2024
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A thought provoking read.
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Rachel Gollub
5.0 out of 5 stars Philosophical review of consciousness
Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2024
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With an easy writing style and a lot of stories about her background, O’Gieblyn presents the religious and philosophical underpinnings of the modern debates about consciousness, natural and artificial. It’s a compelling read, and highly informative
4 people found this helpful
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Joey P.
5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book!!
Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2024
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This is one of the most thought provoking books I've read in ages. Grappling with the biggest issues of what it is to be human today, technology, religion, consciousness, the author weaves together an intricate narrative, tying in her own personal journey. The tone is curious, not preachy, and I found myself highlighting dozens of insightful passages that really hit the nail on the head. Thank you, Meghan, I look forward to more top-notch stuff from you!!
3 people found this helpful
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James E. Hazelwood
4.0 out of 5 stars A good read that’s a challenge
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2023
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This book! On the one hand it’s ingenious with the observation by a non-believer that much of modern tech culture including AI is imbued with religious themes, yet I found it challenging to get through to that message. The author is a great writer but I could have benefited from clarity and concise paragraphs. But don’t let that dissuade you. This might be the most important book of 2023
13 people found this helpful
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N
5.0 out of 5 stars don't miss
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2023
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From the first chapter: "Today artificial intelligence and information technologies have absorbed many of the questions that were once taken up by theologians and philosophers: the mind’s relationship to the body, the question of free will, the possibility of immortality. These are old problems, and although they now appear in different guises and go by different names, they persist in conversations about digital technologies much like those dead metaphors that still lurk in the syntax of contemporary speech."

O'Gieblyn packs a lot into this book; it's hard to summarize, and neither the blurbs nor the jacket copy do it justice. I can't either. Loosely, she's interested in how we (variously) understand human consciousness in the age of AI, and she maps this subject across many connected territories, including but not limited to religion, physics, and philosophy. She thinks profoundly about everything and has no difficulty summarizing complex topics herself. She has the kind of searching intelligence that seems to think *with* you rather than *at* you, making the experience of reading about these topics feel deeper than usual.
23 people found this helpful
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Jeff
3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty dull
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2023
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I was excited to read this book, what a great title. I’m a big fan of Ezra Klein, and he recommended it. However, it’s written in a distant, cerebral, dull style. The author mentions other authors so often, it gets dizzying. Gives the sense that it jumps around a lot. I had to slog through it.
9 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Maria-Angela Meireles
4.0 out of 5 stars It's not easy, but it's worth it
Reviewed in Brazil on May 4, 2023
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The beginning é very easy; I asked my husband for an Aibo from Sony. Afterward, I got a little scared actually to have Aibo. But, for certain applications, I believe it to be a plus. Now, as the book gets more into specialized topics, I find it difficult, or more difficult, to read as an outsider from the field. Yet, it is worth the try.
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William Connors
5.0 out of 5 stars Full of information, but not easy reading
Reviewed in Germany on January 30, 2024
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I imagine that I am fairly knowledgeable, since I speak five languages, have traveled to and lived in approx. 80 countries, have a Master's Degree in the humanities, but this book taught me otherwise. A fascinating book even if I only understood half of it. I wonder if you have to go through certain rites of passage like the author (upbringing in a cult followed by drug and alcohol addiction) to achieve such mental acuity. Wish I could sit down in a café with the author and listen to her explanations about life. I probably would have to read the book several times to understand more, but I am not optimistic that I would succeed.
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William
3.0 out of 5 stars Printed by Amazon and very poor quality
Reviewed in Sweden on September 14, 2023
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Looks and feels like a counterfeit product. I like to keep my books but this one already feels and looks floppy, and I haven’t even started reading yet. Pay a little extra and get it from a reputable bookstore instead
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William
3.0 out of 5 stars Printed by Amazon and very poor quality
Reviewed in Sweden on September 14, 2023
Looks and feels like a counterfeit product. I like to keep my books but this one already feels and looks floppy, and I haven’t even started reading yet. Pay a little extra and get it from a reputable bookstore instead
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Gerard de Valence
5.0 out of 5 stars Minds, metaphors and memes
Reviewed in Australia on April 23, 2023
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A most unusual book - philosophy of mind meets the history of AI in a highly personal story by a beautiful writer.

It may not be everyone’s cup of tea but I thought it brilliant and insightful.
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