The Golem Sessions: How Should We Treat a Golem?

Jewish Tradition and Moral Status of AI If an AI could suffer, would we have an obligation to protect it? If it has an inner world, how should we treat it? Could an entity made in our image also bear the image of God? We’ll explore how Jewish tradition can help us think through the moral standing of LLMs and our responsibility to them. Drawing on texts about human uniqueness, differentiated human status, animal suffering, and the golem itself, we’ll ask what makes a being worthy of moral concern, and how we should act when we’re uncertain about its moral status. Each month, we'll pair a primary Jewish text with a recent development in AI, and ask what each has to say to the other. Sessions are self-contained: drop in for one, return for many. No prior background in either Judaism or technology is assumed, only curiosity and a willingness to read closely. . . . Hosted by Joshua Foer, cofounder of Lehrhaus and Sefaria, and Alex Pascal, Executive Director of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard.