Will AI Decide When You Die? The Ethics of "Algorithmic Healthcare" | Brian M. Green

What happens when your doctor relies on an AI to listen to you—or worse, when an algorithm decides if you are "economically viable" enough for life support? In this episode of The Digital Legacy Podcast, host Niki Weiss, Digital Thanatologist, sits down with Brian M. Green, an expert in AI governance and responsibility, to unpack the "empathy trap" of artificial intelligence and why the healthcare industry is deploying technology faster than it can create the ethics to control it. You’ll discover: Why patients are increasingly feeling gaslighted by doctors and turning to AI chatbots for the "mirroring" empathy they crave The rise of "Ambient Listening" in exam rooms and why your doctor is recording you to save the hospital money, not to improve your care Why AI development is currently a "luxury plane without landing gear"—moving fast with zero safety regulations The terrifying potential for AI to make autonomous economic decisions regarding organ transplants and pulling the plug on life support Why we cannot wait for government regulation and need "governance first" frameworks immediately The critical need for "AI Literacy" so you stop treating chatbots as spiritual guides or trained clinicians Because AI can simulate compassion, but it can never witness your suffering, and it should never hold the power to decide your fate.

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Description:

What happens when your doctor relies on an AI to listen to you—or worse, when an algorithm decides if you are "economically viable" enough for life support?

In this episode of The Digital Legacy Podcast, host Niki Weiss, Digital Thanatologist, sits down with Brian M. Green, an expert in AI governance and responsibility, to unpack the "empathy trap" of artificial intelligence and why the healthcare industry is deploying technology faster than it can create the ethics to control it.

You’ll discover:

  • Why patients are increasingly feeling gaslighted by doctors and turning to AI chatbots for the "mirroring" empathy they crave

  • The rise of "Ambient Listening" in exam rooms and why your doctor is recording you to save the hospital money, not to improve your care

  • Why AI development is currently a "luxury plane without landing gear"—moving fast with zero safety regulations

  • The terrifying potential for AI to make autonomous economic decisions regarding organ transplants and pulling the plug on life support

  • Why we cannot wait for government regulation and need "governance first" frameworks immediately

  • The critical need for "AI Literacy" so you stop treating chatbots as spiritual guides or trained clinicians

Because AI can simulate compassion, but it can never witness your suffering, and it should never hold the power to decide your fate.



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What happens when a NASA engineer and pilot applies the logic of a flight plan to the most inevitable journey of all? In this profoundly liberating episode of The Digital Legacy Podcast, host Niki Weiss, Digital Thanatologist, sits down with Willy Donaldson, a finance professor, engineer, and author of Estimated Time of Departure. Willy shares the "love story" of how he turned the terrifying taboo of death into a series of cathartic and even humorous conversations with his parents, ensuring their final departure was handled with the same rigor as a pilot filing a flight plan. You’ll discover: Why you should treat your end-of-life departure with the same logistical detail as a flight route—telling your family exactly when you're "leaving" and how many bags you're taking. Introducing "Allow a Natural Death" (A-N-D)—a more humane, personal constitution that focuses on biographical wishes rather than just medical ones. The Three C's: Ancient tribal wisdom on when a human journey is truly complete: Communication, Contribution, and Commuting. The staggering reality that nearly 20% of Medicare funds are spent in the final weeks of life on interventions that extend duration but destroy quality. Why a 150-year-old body held together by artificial implants might not be the future you actually want. A powerful conversational hack for resistant parents—stop asking what they want and start documenting what they refuse to endure. Because as Willy notes, "Death only really occurs when the last person on earth mentions your name."

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