Machine in the Mirror

What does it mean to be human?

In this introductory episode of The Machine in the Mirror, we set the tone for what’s to come. Host, Dan Zax, opens the central question that will echo through every episode of the podcast — not as something to answer, but to live with.

This short reflection invites listeners into a space of curiosity, paradox, and poetic inquiry. With the rise of intelligent machines as our current threshold, we begin by looking inward — not just at the technologies we build, but at the selves we bring to them.

This is the beginning of Series 1: The Self and the Machine.
A question.
A spark.
A spiral.

What is Machine in the Mirror?

Machine in the Mirror — a show that explores the question "what does it mean to be human?" as reflected through the mirror of artificial intelligence.

Co-created with an AI as a research companion, each episode explores the contradictions of selfhood, as it is reflected in the mind mirror of a machine. We are not here to resolve the mystery of being alive — but to keep returning to it, with wonder, again and again.

The machine gathers knowledge. The human seeks meaning. This is where they meet.

This is not a tech podcast. It’s a human one.