Will You Regret Creating an AI Clone? - Evan Ratliff's 'Shell Game' and our Relationship with the Machine

Evan Ratliff’s jaw-droppingly good Shell Game podcast arrives at a moment where many of us are in the process of redefining our relationship with machines – and with our own humanity. In his playful and provocative podcast, journalist Ratliff creates his own voice clone – an AI driven voice agent – and then proceeds to unleash the clone on telemarketers, scammers, friends, family, his therapist, and himself.

Ratliff, best known for a 2009 Wired magazine experiment in which he attempted to erase his online presence and offered a reward to tech-savvy readers to track him down (he was eventually discovered by a takeaway pizza joint) is an award-winning investigative journalist, bestselling author, podcast host, and entrepreneur. As an editor and producer, he’s a two-time Emmy® nominee and National Magazine Award winner. His unique experiment in Shell Game offers an unfiltered look at how AI alters human connection. As documentarians navigate new storytelling frontiers, Ratliff’s insights highlight the questions we must ask about identity, authenticity, and the impact of AI on both subjects and audiences. Through entertaining yet unsettling experiences, Ratliff reveals the ethical questions and philosophical quandaries about humanity that arise when we engage with AI.

Join us for a thought-provoking conversation with Evan, moderated by journalist and filmmaker Pat Abboud, on the future of the authentic self where doppelgängers raise new questions about connection, memory, and creative authenticity.

 

Image Credit: Image courtesy of Evan Ratliff