The Golem Menace

The centuries-old tale of a creature moulded from clay and brought to life as an obedient servant and fierce protector - although that isn't how the story ends. What can the golem of Jewish folklore teach us about the ethics of artificial intelligence today? Thanks to William Weingarten for help with researching and fact-checking the information in this episode.

Main Sources:

Wecker, Helene, The Golem and the Djinni (London: 2013).

Der Golem: Wie Er In Die Welt Kam, Directed by Carl Boese and Paul Wegener, Universum Film (1920, Germany).

Additional Sources:

Cooper, Marilyn, ‘Jewish Word: Golem: A Mutable Monster’ Moment Magazine (July-August 2017). Retrieved from https://momentmag.com/jewish-word-golem/ [Accessed: 02/2021].

Michaelson, Jay, ‘Golem. Making Men of Clay: Can Imitating God Extend to the Creative Realm?’, My Jewish Learning. Retrieved from https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/golem/ [Accessed 02/2021].

Samson, Shmuel Erez, Golem: A Man Made of Mud (Online Ebook: 2018).

Storied (2019), Golem: The Mysterious Clay Monster of Jewish Lore: Monstrum. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCfOH_RKgmU [Accessed 02/2021].

TED-Ed (2015), The Ethical Dilemma of Self-Driving Cars - Patrick Lin. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixIoDYVfKA0 [Accessed 02/2021].