Episode August 26, 2026 1 hr 44 min

#777 – Dr. Jeremy Heffner – Proof of the Impossible – What the AIs Are Really ‘Thinking’

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. http://www.grimerica.ca/support

Secret Teachings Esoteric Book Club audiobook library. www.skool.com/audiobooks

Pegs and Jokers – Card and peg boardgame online for free https://pegsandjokers.ca/

https://www.simulationmaps.com/#products Suite of Interactive Maps! DisasterMap, VolcanoSim, AsteroidSim, ShipwreckMap, UFOMap etc

https://www.amazon.com/Unlearned-School-Failed-What-About/dp/1998704904/ref=sr_1_3?sr=8-3

Support the show directly:

https://open.spotify.com/show/2punSyd9Cw76ZtvHxMKenI?si=ImKxfMHgQZ-oshl499O4dQ&nd=1&dlsi=4c25fa9c78674de3 Watch or Listen on Spotify

https://grimericacbd.com/ CBD / THC Gummies and Tinctures

https://www.patreon.com/grimerica

http://www.grimericaoutlawed.ca/support

Our audio book website: www.adultbrain.ca

Check out our next trip/conference/meetup – Contact at the Cabin www.contactatthecabin.com

www.grimerica.ca/shrooms and Micro Dosing