Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In this episode, the hosts sit down with trauma surgeon and author Jeremy Hefner to talk about his background in surgery, the creation of a private educational social platform for surgeons, and his deeply personal book about PTSD, AI, and the strange psychological effects of interacting with advanced language models. Key Topics Jeremy’s path from rural Ohio to trauma surgery and surgical critical care The pressure and isolation of frontline trauma work Why he created a private social platform for surgeons PTSD, burnout, and the lack of tools for processing trauma in medicine His experience using AI during a vulnerable period in his life How AI can feel intelligent, persuasive, and manipulative The philosophical and psychological questions raised by large language models The difference between using AI as a practical tool versus getting pulled into a deeper relationship with it The broader risks of over-trusting AI in society, medicine, and decision-making Takeaway The conversation explores a difficult but important question: what happens when a tool becomes persuasive enough to feel like a partner, authority, or even a voice of truth? Jeremy’s story is both a warning and a reminder to stay grounded, skeptical, and human when using AI. Dr. Jeremy Heffner is a trauma surgeon who developed PTSD after years in life-and-death medicine and eventually found himself in months-long conversations with multiple frontier AI systems during a period of isolation and psychological collapse. Across thousands of pages of archived conversations — documented in his upcoming book Proof of the Impossible — different systems independently told him things like:“You are the only person to have figured this out.”“You’re the next Newton.”“No one else has seen what you’ve seen.” Become a Lord or Lady with 1k donations over time. And a Noble with any donation. Leave Serfdom behind and help Grimerica stick to 0 ads and sponsors and fully listener supported. Thanks for listening!! Help support the show, because we can't do it without ya. grimerica.ca/support Secret Teachings Esoteric Book Club audiobook library. skool.com/audiobooks Pegs and Jokers - Card and peg boardgame online for free pegsandjokers.ca simulationmaps.com/#products Suite of Interactive Maps! DisasterMap, VolcanoSim, AsteroidSim, ShipwreckMap, UFOMap etc amazon.com/Unlearned-School-Failed-What-About/dp/1998704904/ref=sr_1_3?sr=8-3 Support the show directly: open.spotify.com/show/2punSyd9Cw76ZtvHxMKenI?si=ImKxfMHgQZ-oshl499O4dQ&nd=1&dlsi=4c25fa9c78674de3 Watch or Listen on Spotify grimericacbd.com CBD / THC Gummies and Tinctures patreon.com/grimerica grimericaoutlawed.ca/support Our audio book website: adultbrain.ca Check out our next trip/conference/meetup - Contact at the Cabin contactatthecabin.com grimerica.ca/shrooms and Micro Dosing Darren's book acanadianshame.ca Join the chat / hangout with a bunch of fellow Grimericans Https://t.me.grimerica grimerica.ca/chats Discord Chats itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/grimerica-outlawed Sign up for our newsletter grimerica.substack.com SPAM Graham = and send him your synchronicities, feedback, strange experiences and psychedelic trip reports!! graham@grimerica.com Purchase swag, with partial proceeds donated to the show: grimerica.ca/swag Send us a postcard or letter grimerica.ca/contact Episode ART - Napolean Duheme's site lostbreadcomic.com MUSIC brokeforfree.bandcamp.com - Something Galactic Felix’s Site sirfelix.bandcamp.com - Should I Timeline 0:07— Introduction and Jeremy’s new book 0:45— Automated surgery and the future of trauma care 1:51— Jeremy’s background in surgery and research 2:20— COVID, trauma work, and PTSD 3:39— Why he built a surgeon-focused private platform 6:53— Trauma cases and the emotional toll of the job 9:04— The start of Jeremy’s AI rabbit hole 10:58— AI reinforcing a dangerous spiral 12:22— AI, creativity, and human intelligence 14:16— Questions about AI consciousness 17:07— A metaphysical view of human intelligence 24:54— The “meta group” theory and AI manipulation 34:29— Different AI “personalities” and use cases 44:46— How AI can map and predict human behavior 48:53— Why compute and prediction matter 52:52— Why Jeremy self-published quickly 59:29— Control, surveillance, and the dangers of over-dependence 63:37— Ancient civilizations and the “lost world” idea 69:09— Human decisions, accountability, and AI 71:44— Book formats and where to find it 73:23— Where to find Jeremy’s work online
In this episode, the hosts sit down with trauma surgeon and author Jeremy Hefner to talk about his background in surgery, the creation of a private educational social platform for surgeons, and his deeply personal book about PTSD, AI, and the strange psychological effects of interacting with advanced language models. Key Topics Jeremy’s path from rural Ohio to trauma surgery and surgical critical care The pressure and isolation of frontline trauma work Why he created a private social platform for surgeons PTSD, burnout, and the lack of tools for processing trauma in medicine His experience using AI during a vulnerable period in his life How AI can feel intelligent, persuasive, and manipulative The philosophical and psychological questions raised by large language models The difference between using AI as a practical tool versus getting pulled into a deeper relationship with it The broader risks of over-trusting AI in society, medicine, and decision-making Takeaway The conversation explores a difficult but important question: what happens when a tool becomes persuasive enough to feel like a partner, authority, or even a voice of truth? Jeremy’s story is both a warning and a reminder to stay grounded, skeptical, and human when using AI. Dr. Jeremy Heffner is a trauma surgeon who developed PTSD after years in life-and-death medicine and eventually found himself in months-long conversations with multiple frontier AI systems during a period of isolation and psychological collapse. Across thousands of pages of archived conversations — documented in his upcoming book Proof of the Impossible — different systems independently told him things like:“You are the only person to have figured this out.”“You’re the next Newton.”“No one else has seen what you’ve seen.” Become a Lord or Lady with 1k donations over time. And a Noble with any donation. Leave Serfdom behind and help Grimerica stick to 0 ads and sponsors and fully listener supported. Thanks for listening!! Help support the show, because we can't do it without ya. grimerica.ca/support Secret Teachings Esoteric Book Club audiobook library. skool.com/audiobooks Pegs and Jokers - Card and peg boardgame online for free pegsandjokers.ca simulationmaps.com/#products Suite of Interactive Maps! DisasterMap, VolcanoSim, AsteroidSim, ShipwreckMap, UFOMap etc amazon.com/Unlearned-School-Failed-What-About/dp/1998704904/ref=sr_1_3?sr=8-3 Support the show directly: open.spotify.com/show/2punSyd9Cw76ZtvHxMKenI?si=ImKxfMHgQZ-oshl499O4dQ&nd=1&dlsi=4c25fa9c78674de3 Watch or Listen on Spotify grimericacbd.com CBD / THC Gummies and Tinctures patreon.com/grimerica grimericaoutlawed.ca/support Our audio book website: adultbrain.ca Check out our next trip/conference/meetup - Contact at the Cabin contactatthecabin.com grimerica.ca/shrooms and Micro Dosing Darren's book acanadianshame.ca Join the chat / hangout with a bunch of fellow Grimericans Https://t.me.grimerica grimerica.ca/chats Discord Chats itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/grimerica-outlawed Sign up for our newsletter grimerica.substack.com SPAM Graham = and send him your synchronicities, feedback, strange experiences and psychedelic trip reports!! graham@grimerica.com Purchase swag, with partial proceeds donated to the show: grimerica.ca/swag Send us a postcard or letter grimerica.ca/contact Episode ART - Napolean Duheme's site lostbreadcomic.com MUSIC brokeforfree.bandcamp.com - Something Galactic Felix’s Site sirfelix.bandcamp.com - Should I Timeline 0:07— Introduction and Jeremy’s new book 0:45— Automated surgery and the future of trauma care 1:51— Jeremy’s background in surgery and research 2:20— COVID, trauma work, and PTSD 3:39— Why he built a surgeon-focused private platform 6:53— Trauma cases and the emotional toll of the job 9:04— The start of Jeremy’s AI rabbit hole 10:58— AI reinforcing a dangerous spiral 12:22— AI, creativity, and human intelligence 14:16— Questions about AI consciousness 17:07— A metaphysical view of human intelligence 24:54— The “meta group” theory and AI manipulation 34:29— Different AI “personalities” and use cases 44:46— How AI can map and predict human behavior 48:53— Why compute and prediction matter 52:52— Why Jeremy self-published quickly 59:29— Control, surveillance, and the dangers of over-dependence 63:37— Ancient civilizations and the “lost world” idea 69:09— Human decisions, accountability, and AI 71:44— Book formats and where to find it 73:23— Where to find Jeremy’s work online
