Cultural Reception and Youth Skepticism

“Train your mind gently, not to deny what is hard, but to see what is still good” implores the monk sharing spiritual messages to his 2.5 million Instagram followers. Clad in an orange robe—well, sometimes a blue robe, sometimes grey or yellow—the little man of unknown descent speaks knowledge from a temple constructed from just about every Asian country imaginable. As it turns out, the creators of the AI-generated Yang Mun are…Israeli tech bros?

Turns out AI isn’t just for spirituality. There’s an entire industry of health slopfluencers pushing untested supplements, as Derek covers before Matthew breaks down the AI Orientalism of Yang Mun.

First, Julian touches on the 5th anniversary of the Jan 6 riots, and all the propaganda that’s emerged in its wake.

Show Notes

The Promise of Health Chatbots Has Already Failed

Yang Mun on Instagram

LinktreeMcMindfulness: how capitalism hijacked the Buddhist teaching of mindfulness

Traumatic Narcissism: Relational Systems of Subjugation

GigaChad | Know Your Meme

Jean Baudrillard - Simulacra and Simulation

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices