Sigal Samuel

One of the hottest therapy styles is scientifically shaky — so why does it seem to work? Why everyone is obsessed with Internal Family Systems, even though its claims are dubious.

Lots of my smart friends are into IFS. They swear by this style of therapy. I'm skeptical of it, and I wrote about why for @vox.com

Gift link:
www.vox.com/future-perfe...

Thank you, Liz, I appreciate that!

Claude has an 80-page “soul document.” Is that enough to make it good? Anthropic philosopher Amanda Askell reveals what went into the chatbot’s moral education.

Chatbots don’t have mothers, but if they did, Claude’s would be Amanda Askell. She’s an in-house philosopher at the AI company Anthropic, and she wrote most of the document that tells Claude what sort of personality to have — the “constitution” or, as it became known internally, the “soul doc.”

Your friends are still acting like everything is normal in America. What do you do? All Americans live in a “dual state.” Here’s what that means — and how to help others see it.

A thoughtful piece from @sigalsamuel.bsky.social: "For you, the tricky question is: How do you get someone to realize that they’re in a dual state, when its darker half has not yet touched their life personally?" www.vox.com/future-perfe...

‘ “the prerogative state,” only becomes visible to you when you do something that the powers that be don’t like. Then suddenly you’re in a realm where the rule of law does not exist”’
Really helpful piece from @sigalsamuel.bsky.social

Your friends are still acting like everything is normal in America. What do you do? All Americans live in a “dual state.” Here’s what that means — and how to help others see it.

You are living in a "dual state." Acting morally begins with understanding that.

My latest for @vox.com:

www.vox.com/future-perfe...

You want a baby. Is it ethical to choose surrogacy? The line between medically necessary and elective surrogacy isn’t as tidy as people assume.

You want a baby. You just don't want to be pregnant. Is it ethical to choose surrogacy?

Gift link to the newest installment of my unconventional @vox.com advice column, Your Mileage May Vary:

www.vox.com/the-highligh...

The 2,000-year-old debate that reveals AI’s biggest problem Silicon Valley is racing to build a god — without understanding what makes a good one.

So it's 2026 and my basic sense is that Silicon Valley is racing to build a god — without understanding what makes a good one.

A bearable god leaves space for human agency!

Gift link for my piece about harnessing the wisdom in religion to make better tech: www.vox.com/future-perfe...

How do you know if you’re wasting your life? You were told you’d change the world. But there’s a better way to think about your potential.

You were told you’d change the world. Now you feel like you’re wasting your potential.

But do you actually need an extraordinary career, or is a “smallish” life enough?

My thoughts in @vox.com:

www.vox.com/future-perfe...

The 2,000-year-old debate that reveals AI’s biggest problem Silicon Valley is racing to build a god — without understanding what makes a good one.

Silicon Valley wants to build God — but forgot to read the manual

My latest for @vox.com:

www.vox.com/future-perfe...

For @vox.com, @sigalsamuel.bsky.social gathered advice for those who hate how generative AI is being rolled out. @smw.bsky.social speaks to working collectively to fight against AI being used on us, not by us.
www.vox.com/future-perfe...

Geopolitical competition leaves AI bridge powers in a difficult situation where they’ll soon likely face insurmountable barriers to independent frontier AI development. To stay relevant and thrive economically, they need to work together and strategically choose their AI development approaches.

You can keep a child from starving for less than $100 Fighting hunger can feel impossible. But thanks to new innovations, it’s actually never been cheaper.

You can save a kid from starving. Right now. Seriously. It's cheaper than you might think! Do you have $94? Then you can do it today, nothing's stopping you

This is what I found out when reporting this story and it kind of blew my mind

www.vox.com/future-perfe...

Your site is mentioned in the article!

Sigal's asking (and answering) such good questions here about how to build a movement around making sure that AI works for us and not the other way around...feels like we only scratched the surface of a deep and important convo.

Is AI being shoved down your throat at work? Here’s how to fight back. Resistance to exploitative AI starts with building a movement.

For those who hate how generative AI is being rolled out (blindly, uncritically), here's my advice:

www.vox.com/future-perfe...

Can an entire society be mentally ill? A perspective from 1960 | Psyche Videos Does psychology truly improve wellbeing? Or merely help us adjust to an ‘insane’ system? Erich Fromm on mental health in 1960

Does psychology truly improve wellbeing? Or merely help us adjust to an ‘insane’ system? In this 1960s video, the social psychologist, psychoanalyst and philosopher Erich Fromm explores the nature of mental health

Always read @drmichaellevin.bsky.social

The last talk on the second day of the #NaturalPhilosophy Symposium was Anil Seth @anilseth.bsky.social on Can AI Be Conscious? Commentary by E.J. Green.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bzvs...

This is an absolute gem. It feels connected to Gibran's "On Crime"--and is a "dilemma" with which I strongly resonate. But I love how this framing makes it more a navigation of an integrated whole than a dilemma.

How Big Tech uses NDAs to hide AI data center details from Americans Big Tech companies use secrecy agreements with local governments to keep communities from knowing who is building in their backyards.

How NDAs keep AI data center details hidden from Americans:

Big Tech companies use secrecy agreements with local governments to keep communities from knowing who is building in their backyards.

www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne...

You don’t need better boundaries. You need a better framework. “Setting boundaries” is broken — but there’s a different way to think about caring for yourself and others.

> We’re taught that "a boundary…defines you as separate from others" Yet if you believe that we’re all profoundly interconnected and interdependent then that idea of boundaries may feel like it muddies more than it clarifies

Always read @sigalsamuel.bsky.social

www.vox.com/the-highligh...

The spiritual life calls out to me. But is it self-indulgent? When the world is on fire, meditation feels selfish. But it can help you do good better.

Chaser:

www.vox.com/future-perfe...

Shot:

You don’t need better boundaries. You need a better framework. “Setting boundaries” is broken — but there’s a different way to think about caring for yourself and others.

If setting boundaries never feels totally right to you, maybe you're not the problem. Maybe it's "boundaries."

For @vox.com, I wrote about how our societal language of "boundaries" is broken, and I offer an alternative from Buddhist psychology:

www.vox.com/the-highligh...

You don’t need better boundaries. You need a better framework. “Setting boundaries” is broken — but there’s a different way to think about caring for yourself and others.

"If you believe, as I do, that we’re all actually profoundly interconnected and interdependent, that we’re constantly influencing and shaping reality for one another, then that idea of boundaries may feel like it muddies more than it clarifies."

Read @sigalsamuel.bsky.social's advice column:

Seeking the Spiritual Life Podcast Episode · How God Works: The Science Behind Spirituality · 10/19/2025 · 28m

Does being spiritual mean withdrawing from the world to a life of contemplation, or being in the world actively trying to heal it? I talk with @sigalsamuel.bsky.social and Father Greg Boyle about this age old question and how to find balance.

Exclusive: Big Philanthropy teams up to take on Big AI A new coalition of 10 major givers, including the Omidyar Network and Ford Foundation, are investing $500 million in an effort to ensure Americans have a say in how artificial intelligence impacts the...

Proud to serve on the @macfound.org Board + of this initiative

“What we are seeking to do is to invest public interest dollars to ensure that the development of the technology serves humans and places humanity at the center of this development,” @palfrey.org

www.fastcompany.com/91420384/exc...

Jane Goodall reveals what studying chimpanzees teaches us about human nature The renowned primatologist wants us to remember that humans aren’t so exceptional — we’re animals, too.

Thinking of the time I spoke to Jane Goodall and she

(a) hooted "This is me!" as a chimp would (listen ⤵️)

&

(b) told me it was actually helpful for her to go into the field without scientific training or an academic degree, because that let her see without blinders

www.vox.com/future-perfe...

Consciousness Across Three Worldviews | NOEMA Central concepts in three different domains — Hindu tradition, computer science and quantum physics — find analogies and reflect one another.

What do computer science, quantum physics & Hindu tradition have in common?

It’s more than you might think, Swami Sarvapriyananda, @blaiseaguera.bsky.social & Carlo Rovelli write.

#consciousness #ai #hinduism #quantumphysics