An E-Bike for the Mind: AI, Augmentation, and Moral Hazards with Josh Brake
<p>Josh Brake shares metaphors and other ethical considerations regarding AI on Episode 607 of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast.<br />
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<h2>Quotes from the episode</h2>
<p><img decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-20934" src="https://teachinginhighered.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/TIHE607-4-300x200.png" alt="When you're moving fast, it's really easy to do things unreflectively and to make a poor decision without even realizing it." width="511" height="340" srcset="https://images.coachingforleaders.com/cb:ztCJ~31fd5/w:300/h:200/q:mauto/f:best/ig:avif/https://teachinginhighered.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/TIHE607-4.png 300w, https://images.coachingforleaders.com/cb:ztCJ~31fd5/w:768/h:512/q:mauto/f:best/ig:avif/https://teachinginhighered.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/TIHE607-4.png 768w, https://images.coachingforleaders.com/cb:ztCJ~31fd5/w:600/h:400/q:mauto/f:best/ig:avif/https://teachinginhighered.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/TIHE607-4.png 600w, https://images.coachingforleaders.com/cb:ztCJ~31fd5/w:360/h:240/q:mauto/f:best/ig:avif/https://teachinginhighered.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/TIHE607-4.png 360w, https://images.coachingforleaders.com/cb:ztCJ~31fd5/w:930/h:620/q:mauto/f:best/ig:avif/https://teachinginhighered.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/TIHE607-4.png 930w, https://images.coachingforleaders.com/cb:ztCJ~31fd5/w:930/h:620/q:mauto/f:best/ig:avif/dpr:2/https://teachinginhighered.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/TIHE607-4.png 2x" sizes="(max-width: 511px) 100vw, 511px" /></p>
<p>“When you’re moving fast, it’s really easy to do things unreflectively and to make a poor decision without even realizing it.”<br />
-Josh Brake</p>
<p>“The special thing about bicycles, at least in their non-electronic versions, is that they’re totally human-powered. So it’s all based on the energy that you put in, and it’s just transforming that energy, to make you more efficient and be able to move faster.”<br />
-Josh Brake</p>
<p>“When you have something like an E bike, that augmentation can be used in a variety of different ways, so it can be used to actually extend your capacity.”<br />
-Josh Brake</p>
<p>“It’s really this question about what’s the intention that you’re bringing to the technology when you come to the tool, what are the questions that you’re asking? And fundamentally, it’s a question of purpose and intention. Why are you using this?”<br />
-Josh Brake</p>
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<h2>Resources</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joshbrake.substack.com/p/an-e-bike-for-the-mind">An E-Bike for the Mind: E-Bikes and What They Can Teach Us About AI, by Josh Brake</a></li>
<li><a href="https://joshbrake.substack.com/p/i-grew-up-oblivious-about-grades">I Grew Up Oblivious About Grades. It Ruined Me. Now I’m on a Mission to Ruin You too, by Josh Brake</a></li>
<li><a href="https://joshbrake.substack.com/p/the-moral-hazards-of-ai-are-closer-than-you-realize">The Moral Hazards of AI Are Closer Than You Realize, by Josh Brake</a></li>
<li><a href="https://joshbrake.substack.com/p/we-are-teaching-humans">We Are Teaching Humans: A 50,000-Foot View As We Enter a New Academic Year, by Josh Brake</a></li>
<li><a href="https://joshbrake.substack.com/p/on-bandwidth-and-bottlenecks">On Bandwidth and Bottlenecks: AI Tools Help Us Go Faster, But Speed is Not All You Need, by Josh Brake</a></li>
<li><a href="https://joshbrake.substack.com/p/techniques-deception">Technique’s Deception: How Jacques Ellul Helps Us Understand the Difference Between Education and Schooling, by Josh Brake</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reels/DP9A22vDeja/">Clip – Final Advice from Suborno Isaac Bari</a></li>
<li><a href="https://archive.org/details/the-real-world-of-technology">The Real World of Technology, by Ursula Franklin</a></li>
<li><a href="https://bookshop.org/a/79174/9780385333788">Player Piano, by Kurt Vonnegut</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.chronicle.com/podcast/college-matters-from-the-chronicle">College Matters Podcast</a></li>
</ul>
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