David Duvenaud is an associate professor of computer science and statistics at the University of Toronto. He joins the podcast to discuss gradual disempowerment in a post-AGI world. We ask how humans could lose economic and political leverage without a sudden takeover, including how property rights could erode. Duvenaud describes how growth incentives shape culture, why aligning AI to humanity may become unpopular, and what better forecasting and governance might require.

LINKS:

• David Duvenaud academic homepage
• Gradual Disempowerment
• The Post-AGI Workshop
• Post-AGI Studies Discord

CHAPTERS:

(00:00) Episode Preview

(01:05) Introducing gradual disempowerment

(06:06) Obsolete labor and UBI

(14:29) Property, power, and control

(23:38) Culture shifts toward AIs

(34:34) States misalign without people

(44:15) Competition and preservation tradeoffs

(53:03) Building post-AGI studies

(01:02:29) Forecasting and coordination tools

(01:10:26) Human values and futures

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Stephen Adler is a former safety researcher at OpenAI. He joins the podcast to discuss how to govern increasingly capable AI systems. The conversation covers competitive races between AI companies, limits of current testing and alignment, mental health harms from chatbots, economic shifts from AI labor, and what international rules and audits might be needed before training superintelligent models. 

LINKS:

• Steven Adler's Substack: https://stevenadler.substack.com

CHAPTERS:
(00:00) Episode Preview
(01:00) Race Dynamics And Safety
(18:03) Chatbots And Mental Health
(30:42) Models Outsmart Safety Tests
(41:01) AI Swarms And Work
(54:21) Human Bottlenecks And Oversight
(01:06:23) Animals And Superintelligence
(01:19:24) Safety Capabilities And Governance

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Luke Drago is the co-founder of Workshop Labs and co-author of the essay series "The Intelligence Curse". The essay series explores what happens if AI becomes the dominant factor of production thereby reducing incentives to invest in people. We explore pyramid replacement in firms, economic warning signs to monitor, automation barriers like tacit knowledge, privacy risks in AI training, and tensions between centralized AI safety and democratization. Luke discusses Workshop Labs' privacy-preserving approach and advises taking career risks during this technological transition.  

"The Intelligence Curse" essay series by Luke Drago & Rudolf Laine: https://intelligence-curse.ai/
Luke's Substack: https://lukedrago.substack.com/
Workshop Labs: https://workshoplabs.ai/

CHAPTERS:
(00:00) Episode Preview
(00:55) Intelligence Curse Introduction
(02:55) AI vs Historical Technology
(07:22) Economic Metrics and Indicators
(11:23) Pyramid Replacement Theory
(17:28) Human Judgment and Taste
(22:25) Data Privacy and Control
(28:55) Dystopian Economic Scenario
(35:04) Resource Curse Lessons
(39:57) Culture vs Economic Forces
(47:15) Open Source AI Debate
(54:37) Corporate Mission Evolution
(59:07) AI Alignment and Loyalty
(01:05:56) Moonshots and Career Advice

On this special episode of the podcast, Emilia Javorsky interviews Sean Ekins about regulating AI drug discovery. Timestramps: 00:00 Introduction 00:31 Ethical guidelines and regulation of AI drug discovery 06:11 How do we balance innovation and safety in AI drug discovery? 13:12 Keeping dangerous chemical data safe 21:16 Sean’s personal story of voicing concerns about AI drug discovery 32:06 How Sean will continue working on AI drug discovery

On this special episode of the podcast, Emilia Javorsky interviews Sean Ekins about the dangers of AI drug discovery. They talk about how Sean discovered an extremely toxic chemical (VX) by reversing an AI drug discovery algorithm. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:46 Sean’s professional journey 03:45 Can computational models replace animal models? 07:24 The risks of AI drug discovery 12:48 Should scientists disclose dangerous discoveries? 19:40 How should scientists handle dual-use technologies? 22:08 Should we open-source potentially dangerous discoveries? 26:20 How do we control autonomous drug creation? 31:36 Surprising chemical discoveries made by black-box AI systems 36:56 How could the dangers of AI drug discovery be mitigated?

Anders Sandberg joins the podcast to discuss various philosophical questions about the value of the future. Learn more about Anders' work: https://www.fhi.ox.ac.uk Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:54 Humanity as an immature teenager 04:24 How should we respond to our values changing over time? 18:53 How quickly should we change our values? 24:58 Are there limits to what future morality could become? 29:45 Could the universe contain infinite value? 36:00 How do we balance weird philosophy with common sense? 41:36 Lightning round: mind uploading, aliens, interstellar travel, cryonics

Anders Sandberg joins the podcast to discuss how big the future could be and what humanity could achieve at the limits of physics. Learn more about Anders' work: https://www.fhi.ox.ac.uk Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:58 Does it make sense to write long books now? 06:53 Is it possible to understand all of science now? 10:44 What is exploratory engineering? 15:48 Will humanity develop a completed science? 21:18 How much of possible technology has humanity already invented? 25:22 Which sciences have made the most progress? 29:11 How materially wealthy could humanity become? 39:34 Does a grand futures depend on space travel? 49:16 Trade between proponents of different moral theories 53:13 How does physics limit our ethical options? 55:24 How much could our understanding of physics change? 1:02:30 The next episode

Anders Sandberg from The Future of Humanity Institute joins the podcast to discuss ChatGPT, large language models, and what he's learned about the risks and benefits of AI. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:40 ChatGPT 06:33 Will AI continue to surprise us? 16:22 How do language models fail? 24:23 Language models trained on their own output 27:29 Can language models write college-level essays? 35:03 Do language models understand anything? 39:59 How will AI models improve in the future? 43:26 AI safety in light of recent AI progress 51:28 AIs should be uncertain about values

Vincent Boulanin joins the podcast to explain how modern militaries use AI, including in nuclear weapons systems. Learn more about Vincent's work: https://sipri.org Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:45 Categorizing risks from AI and nuclear 07:40 AI being used by non-state actors 12:57 Combining AI with nuclear technology 15:13 A human should remain in the loop 25:05 Automation bias 29:58 Information requirements for nuclear launch decisions 35:22 Vincent's general conclusion about military machine learning 37:22 Specific policy measures for decreasing nuclear risk Social Media Links: ➡️ WEBSITE: https://futureoflife.org ➡️ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/FLIxrisk ➡️ INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/futureoflifeinstitute/ ➡️ META: https://www.facebook.com/futureoflifeinstitute ➡️ LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/future-of-life-institute/

Vincent Boulanin joins the podcast to explain the dangers of incorporating artificial intelligence in nuclear weapons systems. Learn more about Vincent's work: https://sipri.org Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:55 What is strategic stability? 02:45 How can AI be a positive factor in nuclear risk? 10:17 Remote sensing of nuclear submarines 19:50 Using AI in nuclear command and control 24:21 How does AI change the game theory of nuclear war? 30:49 How could AI cause an accidental nuclear escalation? 36:57 How could AI cause an inadvertent nuclear escalation? 43:08 What is the most important problem in AI nuclear risk? 44:39 The next episode

Robin Hanson joins the podcast to discuss AI forecasting methods and metrics. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:49 Robin's experience working with AI 06:04 Robin's views on AI development 10:41 Should we care about metrics for AI progress? 16:56 Is it useful to track AI progress? 22:02 When should we begin worrying about AI safety? 29:16 The history of AI development 39:52 AI progress that deviates from current trends 43:34 Is this AI boom different than past booms? 48:26 Different metrics for predicting AI

Robin Hanson joins the podcast to explain his theory of grabby aliens and its implications for the future of humanity. Learn more about the theory here: https://grabbyaliens.com Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:49 Why should we care about aliens? 05:58 Loud alien civilizations and quiet alien civilizations 08:16 Why would some alien civilizations be quiet? 14:50 The moving parts of the grabby aliens model 23:57 Why is humanity early in the universe? 28:46 Could't we just be alone in the universe? 33:15 When will humanity expand into space? 46:05 Will humanity be more advanced than the aliens we meet? 49:32 What if we discovered aliens tomorrow? 53:44 Should the way we think about aliens change our actions? 57:48 Can we reasonably theorize about aliens? 53:39 The next episode

Ajeya Cotra joins us to talk about thinking clearly in a rapidly changing world. Learn more about the work of Ajeya and her colleagues: https://www.openphilanthropy.org Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:44 The default versus the accelerating picture of the future 04:25 The role of AI in accelerating change 06:48 Extrapolating economic growth 08:53 How do we know whether the pace of change is accelerating? 15:07 How can we cope with a rapidly changing world? 18:50 How could the future be utopian? 22:03 Is accelerating technological progress immoral? 25:43 Should we imagine concrete future scenarios? 31:15 How should we act in an accelerating world? 34:41 How Ajeya could be wrong about the future 41:41 What if change accelerates very rapidly?

Basil Halperin is an assistant professor of economics at the University of Virginia. He joins the podcast to discuss what economic indicators reveal about AI timelines. We explore why interest rates might rise if markets expect transformative AI, the gap between strong AI benchmarks and limited economic effects, and bottlenecks to AI-driven growth. We also cover market efficiency, automated AI research, and how financial markets may signal progress.

• Basil's essay on "Transformative AI, existential risk, and real interest rates": https://basilhalperin.com/papers/agi_emh.pdf
• Read more about Basil's work here: https://basilhalperin.com/

CHAPTERS:

(00:00) Episode Preview

(00:49) Introduction and Background

(05:19) Efficient Market Hypothesis Explained

(10:34) Markets and Low Probability Events

(16:09) Information Diffusion on Wall Street

(24:34) Stock Prices vs Interest Rates

(28:47) New Goods Counter-Argument

(40:41) Why Focus on Interest Rates

(45:00) AI Secrecy and Market Efficiency

(50:52) Short Timeline Disagreements

(55:13) Wealth Concentration Effects

(01:01:55) Alternative Economic Indicators

(01:12:47) Benchmarks vs Economic Impact

(01:25:17) Open Research Questions

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Ajeya Cotra joins us to discuss how artificial intelligence could cause catastrophe. Follow the work of Ajeya and her colleagues: https://www.openphilanthropy.org Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:53 AI safety research in general 02:04 Realistic scenarios for AI catastrophes 06:51 A dangerous AI model developed in the near future 09:10 Assumptions behind dangerous AI development 14:45 Can AIs learn long-term planning? 18:09 Can AIs understand human psychology? 22:32 Training an AI model with naive safety features 24:06 Can AIs be deceptive? 31:07 What happens after deploying an unsafe AI system? 44:03 What can we do to prevent an AI catastrophe? 53:58 The next episode

Ajeya Cotra joins us to discuss forecasting transformative artificial intelligence. Follow the work of Ajeya and her colleagues: https://www.openphilanthropy.org Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:53 Ajeya's report on AI 01:16 What is transformative AI? 02:09 Forecasting transformative AI 02:53 Historical growth rates 05:10 Simpler forecasting methods 09:01 Biological anchors 16:31 Different paths to transformative AI 17:55 Which year will we get transformative AI? 25:54 Expert opinion on transformative AI 30:08 Are today's machine learning techniques enough? 33:06 Will AI be limited by the physical world and regulation? 38:15 Will AI be limited by training data? 41:48 Are there human abilities that AIs cannot learn? 47:22 The next episode

Alan Robock joins us to discuss nuclear winter, famine and geoengineering. Learn more about Alan's work: http://people.envsci.rutgers.edu/robock/ Follow Alan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlanRobock Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:45 What is nuclear winter? 06:27 A nuclear war between India and Pakistan 09:16 Targets in a nuclear war 11:08 Why does the world have so many nuclear weapons? 19:28 Societal collapse in a nuclear winter 22:45 Should we prepare for a nuclear winter? 28:13 Skepticism about nuclear winter 35:16 Unanswered questions about nuclear winter

Brian Toon joins us to discuss the risk of nuclear winter. Learn more about Brian's work: https://lasp.colorado.edu/home/people/brian-toon/ Read Brian's publications: https://airbornescience.nasa.gov/person/Brian_Toon Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:02 Asteroid impacts 04:20 The discovery of nuclear winter 13:56 Comparing volcanoes and asteroids to nuclear weapons 19:42 How did life survive the asteroid impact 65 million years ago? 25:05 How humanity could go extinct 29:46 Nuclear weapons as a great filter 34:32 Nuclear winter and food production 40:58 The psychology of nuclear threat 43:56 Geoengineering to prevent nuclear winter 46:49 Will humanity avoid nuclear winter?

Philip Reiner joins us to talk about nuclear, command, control and communications systems. Learn more about Philip’s work: https://securityandtechnology.org/ Timestamps: [00:00:00] Introduction [00:00:50] Nuclear command, control, and communications [00:03:52] Old technology in nuclear systems [00:12:18] Incentives for nuclear states [00:15:04] Selectively enhancing security [00:17:34] Unilateral de-escalation [00:18:04] Nuclear communications [00:24:08] The CATALINK System [00:31:25] AI in nuclear command, control, and communications [00:40:27] Russia's war in Ukraine

Daniela and Dario Amodei join us to discuss Anthropic: a new AI safety and research company that's working to build reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems. Topics discussed in this episode include: -Anthropic's mission and research strategy -Recent research and papers by Anthropic -Anthropic's structure as a "public benefit corporation" -Career opportunities You can find the page for the podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2022/03/04/daniela-and-dario-amodei-on-anthropic/ Watch the video version of this episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAA6PZkek4A Careers at Anthropic: https://www.anthropic.com/#careers Anthropic's Transformer Circuits research: https://transformer-circuits.pub/ Follow Anthropic on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnthropicAI microCOVID Project: https://www.microcovid.org/ Follow Lucas on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lucasfmperry Have any feedback about the podcast? You can share your thoughts here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/DRBFZCT Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 2:44 What was the intention behind forming Anthropic? 6:28 Do the founders of Anthropic share a similar view on AI? 7:55 What is Anthropic's focused research bet? 11:10 Does AI existential safety fit into Anthropic's work and thinking? 14:14 Examples of AI models today that have properties relevant to future AI existential safety 16:12 Why work on large scale models? 20:02 What does it mean for a model to lie? 22:44 Safety concerns around the open-endedness of large models 29:01 How does safety work fit into race dynamics to more and more powerful AI? 36:16 Anthropic's mission and how it fits into AI alignment 38:40 Why explore large models for AI safety and scaling to more intelligent systems? 43:24 Is Anthropic's research strategy a form of prosaic alignment? 46:22 Anthropic's recent research and papers 49:52 How difficult is it to interpret current AI models? 52:40 Anthropic's research on alignment and societal impact 55:35 Why did you decide to release tools and videos alongside your interpretability research 1:01:04 What is it like working with your sibling? 1:05:33 Inspiration around creating Anthropic 1:12:40 Is there an upward bound on capability gains from scaling current models? 1:18:00 Why is it unlikely that continuously increasing the number of parameters on models will lead to AGI? 1:21:10 Bootstrapping models 1:22:26 How does Anthropic see itself as positioned in the AI safety space? 1:25:35 What does being a public benefit corporation mean for Anthropic? 1:30:55 Anthropic's perspective on windfall profits from powerful AI systems 1:34:07 Issues with current AI systems and their relationship with long-term safety concerns 1:39:30 Anthropic's plan to communicate it's work to technical researchers and policy makers 1:41:28 AI evaluations and monitoring 1:42:50 AI governance 1:45:12 Careers at Anthropic 1:48:30 What it's like working at Anthropic 1:52:48 Why hire people of a wide variety of technical backgrounds? 1:54:33 What's a future you're excited about or hopeful for? 1:59:42 Where to find and follow Anthropic This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

Anthony Aguirre and Anna Yelizarova join us to discuss FLI's new Worldbuilding Contest. Topics discussed in this episode include: -Motivations behind the contest -The importance of worldbuilding -The rules of the contest -What a submission consists of -Due date and prizes Learn more about the contest here: https://worldbuild.ai/ Join the discord: https://discord.com/invite/njZyTJpwMz You can find the page for the podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2022/02/08/anthony-aguirre-and-anna-yelizarova-on-flis-worldbuilding-contest/ Watch the video version of this episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZBXSiyienI Follow Lucas on Twitter here: twitter.com/lucasfmperry Have any feedback about the podcast? You can share your thoughts here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/DRBFZCT Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 2:30 What is "worldbuilding" and FLI's Worldbuilding Contest? 6:32 Why do worldbuilding for 2045? 7:22 Why is it important to practice worldbuilding? 13:50 What are the rules of the contest? 19:53 What does a submission consist of? 22:16 Due dates and prizes? 25:58 Final thoughts and how the contest contributes to creating beneficial futures This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

David Chalmers, Professor of Philosophy and Neural Science at NYU, joins us to discuss his newest book Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy. Topics discussed in this episode include: -Virtual reality as genuine reality -Why VR is compatible with the good life -Why we can never know whether we're in a simulation -Consciousness in virtual realities -The ethics of simulated beings You can find the page for the podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2022/01/26/david-chalmers-on-reality-virtual-worlds-and-the-problems-of-philosophy/ Watch the video version of this episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hePEg_h90KI Check out David's book and website here: http://consc.net/ Follow Lucas on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/lucasfmperry Have any feedback about the podcast? You can share your thoughts here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/DRBFZCT Timestamps:  0:00 Intro 2:43 How this books fits into David's philosophical journey 9:40 David's favorite part(s) of the book 12:04 What is the thesis of the book? 14:00 The core areas of philosophy and how they fit into Reality+ 16:48 Techno-philosophy 19:38 What is "virtual reality?" 21:06 Why is virtual reality "genuine reality?" 25:27 What is the dust theory and what's it have to do with the simulation hypothesis? 29:59 How does the dust theory fit in with arguing for virtual reality as genuine reality? 34:45 Exploring criteria for what it means for something to be real 42:38 What is the common sense view of what is real? 46:19 Is your book intended to address common sense intuitions about virtual reality? 48:51 Nozick's experience machine and how questions of value fit in 54:20 Technological implementations of virtual reality 58:40 How does consciousness fit into all of this? 1:00:18 Substrate independence and if classical computers can be conscious 1:02:35 How do problems of identity fit into virtual reality? 1:04:54 How would David upload himself? 1:08:00 How does the mind body problem fit into Reality+? 1:11:40 Is consciousness the foundation of value? 1:14:23 Does your moral theory affect whether you can live a good life in a virtual reality? 1:17:20 What does a good life in virtual reality look like? 1:19:08 David's favorite VR experiences 1:20:42 What is the moral status of simulated people? 1:22:38 Will there be unconscious simulated people with moral patiency? 1:24:41 Why we can never know we're not in a simulation 1:27:56 David's credences for whether we live in a simulation 1:30:29 Digital physics and what is says about the simulation hypothesis 1:35:21 Imperfect realism and how David sees the world after writing Reality+ 1:37:51 David's thoughts on God 1:39:42 Moral realism or anti-realism? 1:40:55 Where to follow David and find Reality+ This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

Rohin Shah, Research Scientist on DeepMind's technical AGI safety team, joins us to discuss: AI value alignment; how an AI Researcher might decide whether to work on AI Safety; and why we don't know that AI systems won't lead to existential risk.  Topics discussed in this episode include: - Inner Alignment versus Outer Alignment - Foundation Models - Structural AI Risks - Unipolar versus Multipolar Scenarios - The Most Important Thing That Impacts the Future of Life You can find the page for the podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2021/11/01/rohin-shah-on-the-state-of-agi-safety-research-in-2021 Watch the video version of this episode here: https://youtu.be/_5xkh-Rh6Ec Follow the Alignment Newsletter here: https://rohinshah.com/alignment-newsletter/ Have any feedback about the podcast? You can share your thoughts here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DRBFZCT Timestamps:  0:00 Intro 00:02:22 What is AI alignment? 00:06:00 How has your perspective of this problem changed over the past year? 00:06:28 Inner Alignment 00:13:00 Ways that AI could actually lead to human extinction 00:18:53 Inner Alignment and MACE optimizers 00:20:15 Outer Alignment 00:23:12 The core problem of AI alignment 00:24:54 Learning Systems versus Planning Systems 00:28:10 AI and Existential Risk 00:32:05 The probability of AI existential risk 00:51:31 Core problems in AI alignment 00:54:46 How has AI alignment, as a field of research changed in the last year? 00:54:02 Large scale language models 00:54:50 Foundation Models 00:59:58 Why don't we know that AI systems won't totally kill us all? 01:09:05 How much of the alignment and safety problems in AI will be solved by industry? 01:14:44 Do you think about what beneficial futures look like? 01:19:31 Moral Anti-Realism and AI 01:27:25 Unipolar versus Multipolar Scenarios 01:35:33 What is the safety team at DeepMind up to? 01:35:41 What is the most important thing that impacts the future of life? This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

Future of Life Institute President Max Tegmark and our grants team, Andrea Berman and Daniel Filan, join us to announce a $25M multi-year AI Existential Safety Grants Program. Topics discussed in this episode include: - The reason Future of Life Institute is offering AI Existential Safety Grants - Max speaks about how receiving a grant changed his career early on - Daniel and Andrea provide details on the fellowships and future grant priorities Check out our grants programs here: https://grants.futureoflife.org/ Join our AI Existential Safety Community: https://futureoflife.org/team/ai-exis... Have any feedback about the podcast? You can share your thoughts here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DRBFZCT This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

Esben Kran joins the podcast to discuss why securing AGI requires more than traditional cybersecurity, exploring new attack surfaces, adaptive malware, and the societal shifts needed for resilient defenses. We cover protocols for safe agent communication, oversight without surveillance, and distributed safety models across companies and governments.   

Learn more about Esben's work at: https://blog.kran.ai  

00:00 – Intro and preview 

01:13 – AGI security vs traditional cybersecurity 

02:36 – Rebuilding societal infrastructure for embedded security 

03:33 – Sentware: adaptive, self-improving malware 

04:59 – New attack surfaces 

05:38 – Social media as misaligned AI 

06:46 – Personal vs societal defenses 

09:13 – Why private companies underinvest in security 

13:01 – Security as the foundation for any AI deployment 

14:15 – Oversight without a surveillance state 

17:19 – Protocols for safe agent communication 

20:25 – The expensive internet hypothesis 

23:30 – Distributed safety for companies and governments 

28:20 – Cloudflare’s “agent labyrinth” example 

31:08 – Positive vision for distributed security 

33:49 – Human value when labor is automated 

41:19 – Encoding law for machines: contracts and enforcement 

44:36 – DarkBench: detecting manipulative LLM behavior 

55:22 – The AGI endgame: default path vs designed future 

57:37 – Powerful tool AI 

01:09:55 – Fast takeoff risk 

01:16:09 – Realistic optimism

Dr. Filippa Lentzos, Senior Lecturer in Science and International Security at King's College London, joins us to discuss the most pressing issues in biosecurity, big data in biology and life sciences, and governance in biological risk. Topics discussed in this episode include: - The most pressing issue in biosecurity - Stories from when biosafety labs failed to contain dangerous pathogens - The lethality of pathogens being worked on at biolaboratories - Lessons from COVID-19 You can find the page for the podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2021/10/01/filippa-lentzos-on-emerging-threats-in-biosecurity/ Watch the video version of this episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6M34oQ4v4w Have any feedback about the podcast? You can share your thoughts here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DRBFZCT Timestamps:  0:00 Intro 2:35 What are the least understood aspects of biological risk? 8:32 Which groups are interested biotechnologies that could be used for harm? 16:30 Why countries may pursue the development of dangerous pathogens 18:45 Dr. Lentzos' strands of research 25:41 Stories from when biosafety labs failed to contain dangerous pathogens 28:34 The most pressing issue in biosecurity 31:06 What is gain of function research? What are the risks? 34:57 Examples of gain of function research 36:14 What are the benefits of gain of function research? 37:54 The lethality of pathogens being worked on at biolaboratorie 40:25 Benefits and risks of big data in biology and the life sciences 45:03 Creating a bioweather map or using big data for biodefense 48:35 Lessons from COVID-19 53:46 How does governance fit in to biological risk? 55:59 Key takeaways from Dr. Lentzos This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

Susan Solomon, internationally recognized atmospheric chemist, and Stephen Andersen, leader of the Montreal Protocol, join us to tell the story of the ozone hole and their roles in helping to bring us back from the brink of disaster.  Topics discussed in this episode include: -The industrial and commercial uses of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) -How we discovered the atmospheric effects of CFCs -The Montreal Protocol and its significance -Dr. Solomon's, Dr. Farman's, and Dr. Andersen's crucial roles in helping to solve the ozone hole crisis -Lessons we can take away for climate change and other global catastrophic risks You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2021/09/16/susan-solomon-and-stephen-andersen-on-saving-the-ozone-layer/ Check out the video version of the episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hwh-uDo-6A&ab_channel=FutureofLifeInstitute Check out the story of the ozone hole crisis here: https://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/0_0_0/ozone_depletion_01 Have any feedback about the podcast? You can share your thoughts here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/DRBFZCT Timestamps:  0:00 Intro 3:13 What are CFCs and what was their role in society? 7:09 James Lovelock discovering an abundance of CFCs in the lower atmosphere 12:43 F. Sherwood Rowland's and Mario Molina's research on the atmospheric science of CFCs 19:52 How a single chlorine atom from a CFC molecule can destroy a large amount of ozone 23:12 Moving from models of ozone depletion to empirical evidence of the ozone depleting mechanism 24:41 Joseph Farman and discovering the ozone hole 30:36 Susan Solomon's discovery of the surfaces of high altitude Arctic clouds being crucial for ozone depletion 47:22 The Montreal Protocol 1:00:00 Who were the key stake holders in the Montreal Protocol? 1:03:46 Stephen Andersen's efforts to phase out CFCs as the co-chair of the Montreal Protocol Technology and Economic Assessment Panel 1:13:28 The Montreal Protocol helping to prevent 11 billion metric tons of CO2 emissions per year 1:18:30 Susan and Stephen's key takeaways from their experience with the ozone hole crisis 1:24:24 What world did we avoid through our efforts to save the ozone layer? 1:28:37 The lessons Stephen and Susan take away from their experience working to phase out CFCs from industry 1:34:30 Is action on climate change practical? 1:40:34 Does the Paris Agreement have something like the Montreal Protocol Technology and Economic Assessment Panel? 1:43:23 Final words from Susan and Stephen This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

James Manyika, Chairman and Director of the McKinsey Global Institute, joins us to discuss the rapidly evolving landscape of the modern global economy and the role of technology in it.  Topics discussed in this episode include: -The modern social contract -Reskilling, wage stagnation, and inequality -Technology induced unemployment -The structure of the global economy -The geographic concentration of economic growth You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2021/09/06/james-manyika-on-global-economic-and-technological-trends/ Check out the video version of the episode here: https://youtu.be/zLXmFiwT0-M Check out the McKinsey Global Institute here: https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/overview Have any feedback about the podcast? You can share your thoughts here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/DRBFZCT Timestamps:  0:00 Intro 2:14 What are the most important problems in the world today? 4:30 The issue of inequality 8:17 How the structure of the global economy is changing 10:21 How does the role of incentives fit into global issues? 13:00 How the social contract has evolved in the 21st century 18:20 A billion people lifted out of poverty 19:04 What drives economic growth? 29:28 How does AI automation affect the virtuous and vicious versions of productivity growth? 38:06 Automation and reflecting on jobs lost, jobs gained, and jobs changed 43:15 AGI and automation 48:00 How do we address the issue of technology induced unemployment 58:05 Developing countries and economies 1:01:29  The central forces in the global economy 1:07:36 The global economic center of gravity 1:09:42 Understanding the core impacts of AI 1:12:32 How do global catastrophic and existential risks fit into the modern global economy? 1:17:52 The economics of climate change and AI risk 1:20:50 Will we use AI technology like we've used fossil fuel technology? 1:24:34 The risks of AI contributing to inequality and bias 1:31:45 How do we integrate developing countries voices in the development and deployment of AI systems 1:33:42 James' core takeaway 1:37:19 Where to follow and learn more about James' work This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

Michael Klare, Five College Professor of Peace & World Security Studies, joins us to discuss the Pentagon's view of climate change, why it's distinctive, and how this all ultimately relates to the risks of great powers conflict and state collapse. Topics discussed in this episode include: -How the US military views and takes action on climate change -Examples of existing climate related difficulties and what they tell us about the future -Threat multiplication from climate change -The risks of climate change catalyzed nuclear war and major conflict -The melting of the Arctic and the geopolitical situation which arises from that -Messaging on climate change You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2021/07/30/michael-klare-on-the-pentagons-view-of-climate-change-and-the-risks-of-state-collapse/ Check out the video version of the episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn57jxEoW24 Check out Michael's website here: http://michaelklare.com/ Apply for the Podcast Producer position here: futureoflife.org/job-postings/ Have any feedback about the podcast? You can share your thoughts here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/DRBFZCT Timestamps:  0:00 Intro 2:28 How does the Pentagon view climate change and why are they interested in it? 5:30 What are the Pentagon's main priorities besides climate change? 8:31 What are the objectives of career officers at the Pentagon and how do they see climate change? 10:32 The relationship between Pentagon career officers and the Trump administration on climate change 15:47 How is the Pentagon's view of climate change unique and important? 19:54 How climate change exacerbates existing difficulties and the issue of threat multiplication 24:25 How will climate change increase the tensions between the nuclear weapons states of India, Pakistan, and China? 26:32 What happened to Tacloban City and how is it relevant? 32:27 Why does the US military provide global humanitarian assistance? 34:39 How has climate change impacted the conditions in Nigeria and how does this inform the Pentagon's perspective? 39:40 What is the ladder of escalation for climate change related issues? 46:54 What is "all hell breaking loose?" 48:26 What is the geopolitical situation arising from the melting of the Arctic? 52:48 Why does the Bering Strait matter for the Arctic? 54:23 The Arctic as a main source of conflict for the great powers in the coming years 58:01 Are there ongoing proposals for resolving territorial disputes in the Arctic? 1:01:40 Nuclear weapons risk and climate change 1:03:32 How does the Pentagon intend to address climate change? 1:06:20 Hardening US military bases and going green 1:11:50 How climate change will affect critical infrastructure 1:15:47 How do lethal autonomous weapons fit into the risks of escalation in a world stressed by climate change? 1:19:42 How does this all affect existential risk? 1:24:39 Are there timelines for when climate change induced stresses will occur? 1:27:03 Does tying existential risks to national security issues benefit awareness around existential risk? 1:30:18 Does relating climate change to migration issues help with climate messaging? 1:31:08 A summary of the Pentagon's interest, view, and action on climate change 1:33:00 Final words from Michael 1:34:33 Where to find more of Michael's work This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

Avi Loeb, Professor of Science at Harvard University, joins us to discuss unidentified aerial phenomena and a recent US Government report assessing their existence and threat.  Topics discussed in this episode include: -Evidence counting for the natural, human, and extraterrestrial origins of UAPs -The culture of science and how it deals with UAP reports -How humanity should respond if we discover UAPs are alien in origin -A project for collecting high quality data on UAPs You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2021/07/09/avi-loeb-on-ufos-and-if-theyre-alien-in-origin/ Apply for the Podcast Producer position here: futureoflife.org/job-postings/ Check out the video version of the episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyNlLaFTeFI&ab_channel=FutureofLifeInstitute Have any feedback about the podcast? You can share your thoughts here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/DRBFZCT Timestamps:  0:00 Intro 1:41 Why is the US Government report on UAPs significant? 7:08 Multiple different sensors detecting the same phenomena 11:50 Are UAPs a US technology? 13:20 Incentives to deploy powerful technology 15:48 What are the flight and capability characteristics of UAPs? 17:53 The similarities between 'Oumuamua and UAP reports 20:11  Are UAPs some form of spoofing technology? 22:48 What is the most convincing natural or conventional explanation of UAPs? 25:09 UAPs as potentially containing artificial intelligence 28:15 Can you give a credence to UAPs being alien in origin? 29:32 Why aren't UAPs far more technologically advanced? 32:15 How should humanity respond if UAPs are found to be alien in origin? 35:15 A plan to get better data on UAPs 38:56 Final thoughts from Avi 39:40 Getting in contact with Avi to support his project This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

Avi Loeb, Professor of Science at Harvard University, joins us to discuss a recent interstellar visitor, if we've already encountered alien technology, and whether we're ultimately alone in the cosmos.  Topics discussed in this episode include: -Whether 'Oumuamua is alien or natural in origin -The culture of science and how it affects fruitful inquiry -Looking for signs of alien life throughout the solar system and beyond -Alien artefacts and galactic treaties -How humanity should handle a potential first contact with extraterrestrials -The relationship between what is true and what is good You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2021/07/09/avi-loeb-on-oumuamua-aliens-space-archeology-great-filters-and-superstructures/ Apply for the Podcast Producer position here: https://futureoflife.org/job-postings/ Check out the video version of the episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcxJ8QZQkwE&ab_channel=FutureofLifeInstitute See our second interview with Avi here: https://soundcloud.com/futureoflife/avi-loeb-on-ufos-and-if-theyre-alien-in-origin Have any feedback about the podcast? You can share your thoughts here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/DRBFZCT Timestamps:  0:00 Intro 3:28 What is 'Oumuamua's wager? 11:29 The properties of 'Oumuamua and how they lend credence to the theory of it being artificial in origin 17:23 Theories of 'Oumuamua being natural in origin 21:42 Why was the smooth acceleration of 'Oumuamua significant? 23:35 What are comets and asteroids? 28:30 What we know about Oort clouds and how 'Oumuamua relates to what we expect of Oort clouds 33:40 Could there be exotic objects in Oort clouds that would account for 'Oumuamua 38:08 What is your credence that 'Oumuamua is alien in origin? 44:50 Bayesian reasoning and 'Oumuamua 46:34 How do UFO reports and sightings affect your perspective of 'Oumuamua? 54:35 Might alien artefacts be more common than we expect? 58:48 The Drake equation 1:01:50 Where are the most likely great filters? 1:11:22 Difficulties in scientific culture and how they affect fruitful inquiry 1:27:03 The cosmic endowment, traveling to galactic clusters, and galactic treaties 1:31:34 Why don't we find evidence of alien superstructures? 1:36:36 Looking for the bio and techno signatures of alien life 1:40:27 Do alien civilizations converge on beneficence? 1:43:05 Is there a necessary relationship between what is true and good? 1:47:02 Is morality evidence based knowledge? 1:48:18 Axiomatic based knowledge and testing moral systems 1:54:08 International governance and making contact with alien life 1:55:59 The need for an elite scientific body to advise on global catastrophic and existential risk 1:59:57 What are the most fundamental questions? This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

Nicolas Berggruen, investor and philanthropist, joins us to explore the dynamics of power, wisdom, technology and ideas in the 21st century. Topics discussed in this episode include: -What wisdom consists of -The role of ideas in society and civilization  -The increasing concentration of power and wealth -The technological displacement of human labor -Democracy, universal basic income, and universal basic capital  -Living an examined life You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2021/05/31/nicolas-berggruen-on-the-dynamics-of-power-wisdom-technology-and-ideas-in-the-age-of-ai/ Check out Nicolas' thoughts archive here: www.nicolasberggruen.com Have any feedback about the podcast? You can share your thoughts here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/DRBFZCT Timestamps:  0:00 Intro 1:45 The race between the power of our technology and the wisdom with which we manage it 5:19 What is wisdom?  8:30 The power of ideas  11:06 Humanity’s investment in wisdom vs the power of our technology  15:39 Why does our wisdom lag behind our power?  20:51 Technology evolving into an agent  24:28 How ideas play a role in the value alignment of technology  30:14 Wisdom for building beneficial AI and mitigating the race to power  34:37 Does Mark Zuckerberg have control of Facebook?  36:39 Safeguarding the human mind and maintaining control of AI  42:26 The importance of the examined life in the 21st century  45:56 An example of the examined life  48:54 Important ideas for the 21st century  52:46 The concentration of power and wealth, and a proposal for universal basic capital  1:03:07 Negative and positive futures  1:06:30 Final thoughts from Nicolas This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

Bart Selman, Professor of Computer Science at Cornell University, joins us to discuss a wide range of AI issues, from autonomous weapons and AI consciousness to international governance and the possibilities of superintelligence. Topics discussed in this episode include: -Negative and positive outcomes from AI in the short, medium, and long-terms -The perils and promises of AGI and superintelligence -AI alignment and AI existential risk -Lethal autonomous weapons -AI governance and racing to powerful AI systems -AI consciousness You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2021/05/20/bart-selman-on-the-promises-and-perils-of-artificial-intelligence/ Have any feedback about the podcast? You can share your thoughts here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/DRBFZCT Timestamps:  0:00 Intro  1:35 Futures that Bart is excited about                   4:08 Positive futures in the short, medium, and long-terms 7:23 AGI timelines  8:11 Bart’s research on “planning” through the game of Sokoban 13:10 If we don’t go extinct, is the creation of AGI and superintelligence inevitable?  15:28 What’s exciting about futures with AGI and superintelligence?  17:10 How long does it take for superintelligence to arise after AGI?  21:08 Would a superintelligence have something intelligent to say about income inequality?  23:24 Are there true or false answers to moral questions?  25:30 Can AGI and superintelligence assist with moral and philosophical issues? 28:07 Do you think superintelligences converge on ethics?  29:32 Are you most excited about the short or long-term benefits of AI?  34:30 Is existential risk from AI a legitimate threat?  35:22 Is the AI alignment problem legitimate?  43:29 What are futures that you fear?  46:24 Do social media algorithms represent an instance of the alignment problem?  51:46 The importance of educating the public on AI  55:00 Income inequality, cyber security, and negative futures  1:00:06 Lethal autonomous weapons  1:01:50 Negative futures in the long-term  1:03:26 How have your views of AI alignment evolved?  1:06:53 Bart’s plans and intentions for the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence 1:13:45 Policy recommendations for existing AIs and the AI ecosystem  1:15:35 Solving the parts of the AI alignment that won’t be solved by industry incentives  1:18:17 Narratives of an international race to powerful AI systems  1:20:42 How does an international race to AI affect the chances of successful AI alignment?  1:23:20 Is AI a zero sum game?  1:28:51 Lethal autonomous weapons governance  1:31:38 Does the governance of autonomous weapons affect outcomes from AGI  1:33:00 AI consciousness  1:39:37 Alignment is important and the benefits of AI can be great This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

Jaan Tallinn, investor, programmer, and co-founder of the Future of Life Institute, joins us to discuss his perspective on AI, synthetic biology, unknown unknows, and what's needed for mitigating existential risk in the 21st century. Topics discussed in this episode include: -Intelligence and coordination -Existential risk from AI, synthetic biology, and unknown unknowns -AI adoption as a delegation process -Jaan's investments and philanthropic efforts -International coordination and incentive structures -The short-term and long-term AI safety communities You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2021/04/20/jaan-tallinn-on-avoiding-civilizational-pitfalls-and-surviving-the-21st-century/ Have any feedback about the podcast? You can share your thoughts here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/DRBFZCT Timestamps:  0:00 Intro 1:29 How can humanity improve? 3:10 The importance of intelligence and coordination 8:30 The bottlenecks of input and output bandwidth as well as processing speed between AIs and humans 15:20 Making the creation of AI feel dangerous and how the nuclear power industry killed itself by downplaying risks 17:15 How Jaan evaluates and thinks about existential risk 18:30 Nuclear weapons as the first existential risk we faced 20:47 The likelihood of unknown unknown existential risks 25:04 Why Jaan doesn't see nuclear war as an existential risk 27:54 Climate change 29:00 Existential risk from synthetic biology 31:29 Learning from mistakes, lacking foresight, and the importance of generational knowledge 36:23 AI adoption as a delegation process 42:52 Attractors in the design space of AI 44:24 The regulation of AI 45:31 Jaan's investments and philanthropy in AI 55:18 International coordination issues from AI adoption as a delegation process 57:29 AI today and the negative impacts of recommender algorithms 1:02:43 Collective, institutional, and interpersonal coordination 1:05:23 The benefits and risks of longevity research 1:08:29 The long-term and short-term AI safety communities and their relationship with one another 1:12:35 Jaan's current philanthropic efforts 1:16:28 Software as a philanthropic target 1:19:03 How do we move towards beneficial futures with AI? 1:22:30 An idea Jaan finds meaningful 1:23:33 Final thoughts from Jaan 1:25:27 Where to find Jaan This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

Joscha Bach, Cognitive Scientist and AI researcher, as well as Anthony Aguirre, UCSC Professor of Physics, join us to explore the world through the lens of computation and the difficulties we face on the way to beneficial futures.  Topics discussed in this episode include: -Understanding the universe through digital physics -How human consciousness operates and is structured -The path to aligned AGI and bottlenecks to beneficial futures -Incentive structures and collective coordination You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2021/03/31/joscha-bach-and-anthony-aguirre-on-digital-physics-and-moving-towards-beneficial-futures/ You can find FLI's three new policy focused job postings here: futureoflife.org/job-postings/ Have any feedback about the podcast? You can share your thoughts here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/DRBFZCT Timestamps:  0:00 Intro 3:17 What is truth and knowledge? 11:39 What is subjectivity and objectivity? 14:32 What is the universe ultimately? 19:22 Is the universe a cellular automaton? Is the universe ultimately digital or analogue? 24:05 Hilbert's hotel from the point of view of computation 35:18 Seeing the world as a fractal 38:48 Describing human consciousness 51:10 Meaning, purpose, and harvesting negentropy 55:08 The path to aligned AGI 57:37 Bottlenecks to beneficial futures and existential security 1:06:53 A future with one, several, or many AGI systems? How do we maintain appropriate incentive structures? 1:19:39 Non-duality and collective coordination 1:22:53 What difficulties are there for an idealist worldview that involves computation? 1:27:20 Which features of mind and consciousness are necessarily coupled and which aren't? 1:36:40 Joscha's final thoughts on AGI This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

Benjamin Todd joins the podcast to discuss how reasoning models changed AI, why agents may be next, where progress could stall, and what a self-improvement feedback loop in AI might mean for the economy and society. We explore concrete timelines (through 2030), compute and power bottlenecks, and the odds of an industrial explosion. We end by discussing how people can personally prepare for AGI: networks, skills, saving/investing, resilience, citizenship, and information hygiene.  

Follow Benjamin's work at: https://benjamintodd.substack.com  

Timestamps: 

00:00 What are reasoning models?  

04:04 Reinforcement learning supercharges reasoning 

05:06 Reasoning models vs. agents 

10:04 Economic impact of automated math/code 

12:14 Compute as a bottleneck 

15:20 Shift from giant pre-training to post-training/agents 

17:02 Three feedback loops: algorithms, chips, robots 

20:33 How fast could an algorithmic loop run? 

22:03 Chip design and production acceleration 

23:42 Industrial/robotics loop and growth dynamics 

29:52 Society’s slow reaction; “warning shots” 

33:03 Robotics: software and hardware bottlenecks 

35:05 Scaling robot production 

38:12 Robots at ~$0.20/hour?  

43:13 Regulation and humans-in-the-loop 

49:06 Personal prep: why it still matters 

52:04 Build an information network 

55:01 Save more money 

58:58 Land, real estate, and scarcity in an AI world 

01:02:15 Valuable skills: get close to AI, or far from it 

01:06:49 Fame, relationships, citizenship 

01:10:01 Redistribution, welfare, and politics under AI 

01:12:04 Try to become more resilient  

01:14:36 Information hygiene 

01:22:16 Seven-year horizon and scaling limits by ~2030

Roman Yampolskiy, Professor of Computer Science at the University of Louisville, joins us to discuss whether we can control, comprehend, and explain AI systems, and how this constrains the project of AI safety.  Topics discussed in this episode include: -Roman’s results on the unexplainability, incomprehensibility, and uncontrollability of AI -The relationship between AI safety, control, and alignment -Virtual worlds as a proposal for solving multi-multi alignment -AI security You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2021/03/19/roman-yampolskiy-on-the-uncontrollability-incomprehensibility-and-unexplainability-of-ai/ You can find FLI's three new policy focused job postings here: https://futureoflife.org/job-postings/ Have any feedback about the podcast? You can share your thoughts here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/DRBFZCT Timestamps:  0:00 Intro  2:35 Roman’s primary research interests  4:09 How theoretical proofs help AI safety research  6:23 How impossibility results constrain computer science systems 10:18 The inability to tell if arbitrary code is friendly or unfriendly  12:06 Impossibility results clarify what we can do  14:19 Roman’s results on unexplainability and incomprehensibility  22:34 Focusing on comprehensibility  26:17 Roman’s results on uncontrollability  28:33 Alignment as a subset of safety and control  30:48 The relationship between unexplainability, incomprehensibility, and uncontrollability with each other and with AI alignment  33:40 What does it mean to solve AI safety?  34:19 What do the impossibility results really mean?  37:07 Virtual worlds and AI alignment  49:55 AI security and malevolent agents  53:00 Air gapping, boxing, and other security methods  58:43 Some examples of historical failures of AI systems and what we can learn from them  1:01:20 Clarifying impossibility results 1:06 55 Examples of systems failing and what these demonstrate about AI  1:08:20 Are oracles a valid approach to AI safety?  1:10:30 Roman’s final thoughts This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

Stuart Russell, Professor of Computer Science at UC Berkeley, and Zachary Kallenborn, WMD and drone swarms expert, join us to discuss the highest risk and most destabilizing aspects of lethal autonomous weapons.  Topics discussed in this episode include: -The current state of the deployment and development of lethal autonomous weapons and swarm technologies -Drone swarms as a potential weapon of mass destruction -The risks of escalation, unpredictability, and proliferation with regards to autonomous weapons -The difficulty of attribution, verification, and accountability with autonomous weapons -Autonomous weapons governance as norm setting for global AI issues You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2021/02/25/stuart-russell-and-zachary-kallenborn-on-drone-swarms-and-the-riskiest-aspects-of-lethal-autonomous-weapons/ You can check out the new lethal autonomous weapons website here: https://autonomousweapons.org/ Have any feedback about the podcast? You can share your thoughts here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/DRBFZCT Timestamps:  0:00 Intro 2:23 Emilia Javorsky on lethal autonomous weapons 7:27 What is a lethal autonomous weapon? 11:33 Autonomous weapons that exist today 16:57 The concerns of collateral damage, accidental escalation, scalability, control, and error risk 26:57 The proliferation risk of autonomous weapons 32:30 To what extent are global superpowers pursuing these weapons? What is the state of industry's pursuit of the research and manufacturing of this technology 42:13 A possible proposal for a selective ban on small anti-personnel autonomous weapons 47:20 Lethal autonomous weapons as a potential weapon of mass destruction 53:49 The unpredictability of autonomous weapons, especially when swarms are interacting with other swarms 58:09 The risk of autonomous weapons escalating conflicts 01:10:50 The risk of drone swarms proliferating 01:20:16 The risk of assassination 01:23:25 The difficulty of attribution and accountability 01:26:05 The governance of autonomous weapons being relevant to the global governance of AI 01:30:11 The importance of verification for responsibility, accountability, and regulation 01:35:50 Concerns about the beginning of an arms race and the need for regulation 01:38:46 Wrapping up 01:39:23 Outro This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

John Prendergast, former adjunct professor of psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, joins Lucas Perry for a discussion about the experience and effects of ego-identification, how to shift to new levels of identity, the nature of non-dual awareness, and the potential relationship between waking up and collective human problems. This is not an FLI Podcast, but a special release where Lucas shares a direction he feels has an important relationship with AI alignment and existential risk issues. Topics discussed in this episode include: -The experience of egocentricity and ego-identification -Waking up into heart awareness -The movement towards and qualities of non-dual consciousness -The ways in which the condition of our minds collectively affect the world -How waking up may be relevant to the creation of AGI You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2021/02/09/john-prendergast-on-non-dual-awareness-and-wisdom-for-the-21st-century/ Have any feedback about the podcast? You can share your thoughts here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DRBFZCT Timestamps:  0:00 Intro 7:10 The modern human condition 9:29 What egocentricity and ego-identification are 15:38 Moving beyond the experience of self 17:38 The origins and structure of self 20:25 A pointing out instruction for noticing ego-identification and waking up out of it 24:34 A pointing out instruction for abiding in heart-mind or heart awareness 28:53 The qualities of and moving into heart awareness and pure awareness 33:48 An explanation of non-dual awareness 40:50 Exploring the relationship between awareness, belief, and action 46:25 Growing up and improving the egoic structure 48:29 Waking up as recognizing true nature 51:04 Exploring awareness as primitive and primary 53:56 John's dream of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj 57:57 The use and value of conceptual thought and the mind 1:00:57 The epistemics of heart-mind and the conceptual mind as we shift levels of identity 1:17:46 A pointing out instruction for inquiring into core beliefs 1:27:28 The universal heart, qualities of awakening, and the ethical implications of such shifts 1:31:38 Wisdom, waking up, and growing up for the transgenerational issues of the 21st century 1:38:44 Waking up and its applicability to the creation of AGI 1:43:25 Where to find, follow, and reach out to John 1:45:56 Outro This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

Beatrice Fihn, executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, joins us to discuss the current risks of nuclear war, policies that can reduce the risks of nuclear conflict, and how to move towards a nuclear weapons free world. Topics discussed in this episode include: -The current nuclear weapons geopolitical situation -The risks and mechanics of accidental and intentional nuclear war -Policy proposals for reducing the risks of nuclear war -Deterrence theory -The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons -Working towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2021/01/21/beatrice-fihn-on-the-total-elimination-of-nuclear-weapons/ Timestamps:  0:00 Intro 4:28 Overview of the current nuclear weapons situation 6:47 The 9 nuclear weapons states, and accidental and intentional nuclear war 9:27 Accidental nuclear war and human systems 12:08 The risks of nuclear war in 2021 and nuclear stability 17:49 Toxic personalities and the human component of nuclear weapons 23:23 Policy proposals for reducing the risk of nuclear war 23:55 New START Treaty 25:42 What does it mean to maintain credible deterrence 26:45 ICAN and working on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons 28:00 Deterrence theoretic arguments for nuclear weapons 32:36 The reduction of nuclear weapons, no first use, removing ground based missile systems, removing hair-trigger alert, removing presidential authority to use nuclear weapons 39:13 Arguments for and against nuclear risk reduction policy proposals 46:02 Moving all of the United State's nuclear weapons to bombers and nuclear submarines 48:27 Working towards and the theory of the total elimination of nuclear weapons 1:11:40 The value of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons 1:14:26 Elevating activism around nuclear weapons and messaging more skillfully 1:15:40 What the public needs to understand about nuclear weapons 1:16:35 World leaders' views of the treaty 1:17:15 How to get involved This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

Max Tegmark and members of the FLI core team come together to discuss favorite projects from 2020, what we've learned from the past year, and what we think is needed for existential risk reduction in 2021. Topics discussed in this episode include: -FLI's perspectives on 2020 and hopes for 2021 -What our favorite projects from 2020 were -The biggest lessons we've learned from 2020 -What we see as crucial and needed in 2021 to ensure and make -improvements towards existential safety You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2021/01/08/max-tegmark-and-the-fli-team-on-2020-and-existential-risk-reduction-in-the-new-year/ Timestamps:  0:00 Intro 00:52 First question: What was your favorite project from 2020? 1:03 Max Tegmark on the Future of Life Award 4:15 Anthony Aguirre on AI Loyalty 9:18 David Nicholson on the Future of Life Award 12:23 Emilia Javorksy on being a co-champion for the UN Secretary-General's effort on digital cooperation 14:03 Jared Brown on developing comments on the European Union's White Paper on AI through community collaboration 16:40 Tucker Davey on editing the biography of Victor Zhdanov 19:49 Lucas Perry on the podcast and Pindex video 23:17 Second question: What lessons do you take away from 2020? 23:26 Max Tegmark on human fragility and vulnerability 25:14 Max Tegmark on learning from history 26:47 Max Tegmark on the growing threats of AI 29:45 Anthony Aguirre on the inability of present-day institutions to deal with large unexpected problems 33:00 David Nicholson on the need for self-reflection on the use and development of technology 38:05 Emilia Javorsky on the global community coming to awareness about tail risks 39:48 Jared Brown on our vulnerability to low probability, high impact events and the importance of adaptability and policy engagement 41:43 Tucker Davey on taking existential risks more seriously and ethics-washing 43:57 Lucas Perry on the fragility of human systems 45:40 Third question: What is needed in 2021 to make progress on existential risk mitigation 45:50 Max Tegmark on holding Big Tech accountable, repairing geopolitics, and fighting the myth of the technological zero-sum game 49:58 Anthony Aguirre on the importance of spreading understanding of expected value reasoning and fixing the information crisis 53:41 David Nicholson on the need to reflect on our values and relationship with technology 54:35 Emilia Javorksy on the importance of returning to multilateralism and global dialogue 56:00 Jared Brown on the need for robust government engagement 57:30 Lucas Perry on the need for creating institutions for existential risk mitigation and global cooperation 1:00:10 Outro This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

The recipients of the 2020 Future of Life Award, William Foege, Michael Burkinsky, and Victor Zhdanov Jr., join us on this episode of the FLI Podcast to recount the story of smallpox eradication, William Foege's and Victor Zhdanov Sr.'s involvement in the eradication, and their personal experience of the events.  Topics discussed in this episode include: -William Foege's and Victor Zhdanov's efforts to eradicate smallpox -Personal stories from Foege's and Zhdanov's lives -The history of smallpox -Biological issues of the 21st century You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2020/12/11/future-of-life-award-2020-saving-200000000-lives-by-eradicating-smallpox/ You can watch the 2020 Future of Life Award ceremony here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73WQvR5iIgk&feature=emb_title&ab_channel=FutureofLifeInstitute You can learn more about the Future of Life Award here: https://futureoflife.org/future-of-life-award/ Timestamps:  0:00 Intro 3:13 Part 1: How William Foege got into smallpox efforts and his work in Eastern Nigeria 14:12 The USSR's smallpox eradication efforts and convincing the WHO to take up global smallpox eradication 15:46 William Foege's efforts in and with the WHO for smallpox eradication 18:00 Surveillance and containment as a viable strategy 18:51 Implementing surveillance and containment throughout the world after success in West Africa 23:55 Wrapping up with eradication and dealing with the remnants of smallpox 25:35 Lab escape of smallpox in Birmingham England and the final natural case 27:20 Part 2: Introducing Michael Burkinsky as well as Victor and Katia Zhdanov 29:45 Introducing Victor Zhdanov Sr. and Alissa Zhdanov 31:05 Michael Burkinsky's memories of Victor Zhdanov Sr. 39:26 Victor Zhdanov Jr.'s memories of Victor Zhdanov Sr. 46:15 Mushrooms with meat 47:56 Stealing the family car 49:27 Victor Zhdanov Sr.'s efforts at the WHO for smallpox eradication 58:27 Exploring Alissa's book on Victor Zhdanov Sr.'s life 1:06:09 Michael's view that Victor Zhdanov Sr. is unsung, especially in Russia 1:07:18 Part 3: William Foege on the history of smallpox and biology in the 21st century 1:07:32 The origin and history of smallpox 1:10:34 The origin and history of variolation and the vaccine 1:20:15 West African "healers" who would create smallpox outbreaks 1:22:25 The safety of the smallpox vaccine vs. modern vaccines 1:29:40 A favorite story of William Foege's 1:35:50 Larry Brilliant and people central to the eradication efforts 1:37:33 Foege's perspective on modern pandemics and human bias 1:47:56 What should we do after COVID-19 ends 1:49:30 Bio-terrorism, existential risk, and synthetic pandemics 1:53:20 Foege's final thoughts on the importance of global health experts in politics This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

Sean Carroll, theoretical physicist at Caltech, joins us on this episode of the FLI Podcast to comb through the history of human thought, the strengths and weaknesses of various intellectual movements, and how we are to situate ourselves in the 21st century given progress thus far.  Topics discussed in this episode include: -Important intellectual movements and their merits -The evolution of metaphysical and epistemological views over human history -Consciousness, free will, and philosophical blunders -Lessons for the 21st century You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2020/12/01/sean-carroll-on-consciousness-physicalism-and-the-history-of-intellectual-progress/ You can find the video for this podcast here: https://youtu.be/6HNjL8_fsTk Timestamps:  0:00 Intro 2:06 The problem of beliefs and the strengths and weaknesses of religion 6:40 The Age of Enlightenment and importance of reason 10:13 The importance of humility and the is--ought gap 17:53 The advantages of religion and mysticism 19:50 Materialism and Newtonianism 28:00 Duality, self, suffering, and philosophical blunders 36:56 Quantum physics as a paradigm shift 39:24 Physicalism, the problem of consciousness, and free will 01:01:50 What does it mean for something to be real? 01:09:40 The hard problem of consciousness 01:14:20 The multiple worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics and utilitarianism 01:21:16 The importance of being charitable in conversation 1:24:55 Sean's position in the philosophy of consciousness 01:27:29 Sean's metaethical position 01:29:36 Where to find and follow Sean This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

Mohamed Abdalla, PhD student at the University of Toronto, joins us to discuss how Big Tobacco and Big Tech work to manipulate public opinion and academic institutions in order to maximize profits and avoid regulation. Topics discussed in this episode include: -How Big Tobacco uses it's wealth to obfuscate the harm of tobacco and appear socially responsible -The tactics shared by Big Tech and Big Tobacco to preform ethics-washing and avoid regulation -How Big Tech and Big Tobacco work to influence universities, scientists, researchers, and policy makers -How to combat the problem of ethics-washing in Big Tech You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2020/11/17/mohamed-abdalla-on-big-tech-ethics-washing-and-the-threat-on-academic-integrity/ The Future of Life Institute AI policy page: https://futureoflife.org/AI-policy/ Timestamps:  0:00 Intro 1:55 How Big Tech actively distorts the academic landscape and what counts as big tech 6:00 How Big Tobacco has shaped industry research 12:17 The four tactics of Big Tobacco and Big Tech 13:34 Big Tech and Big Tobacco working to appear socially responsible 22:15 Big Tech and Big Tobacco working to influence the decisions made by funded universities 32:25 Big Tech and Big Tobacco working to influence research questions and the plans of individual scientists 51:53 Big Tech and Big Tobacco finding skeptics and critics of them and funding them to give the impression of social responsibility 1:00:24 Big Tech and being authentically socially responsible 1:11:41 Transformative AI, social responsibility, and the race to powerful AI systems 1:16:56 Ethics-washing as systemic 1:17:30 Action items for solving Ethics-washing 1:19:42 Has Mohamed received criticism for this paper? 1:20:07 Final thoughts from Mohamed This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

Maria Arpa, Executive Director of the Center for Nonviolent Communication, joins the FLI Podcast to share the ins and outs of the powerful needs-based framework of nonviolent communication. Topics discussed in this episode include: -What nonviolent communication (NVC) consists of -How NVC is different from normal discourse -How NVC is composed of observations, feelings, needs, and requests -NVC for systemic change -Foundational assumptions in NVC -An NVC exercise You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2020/11/02/maria-arpa-on-the-power-of-nonviolent-communication/ Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 2:50 What is nonviolent communication? 4:05 How is NVC different from normal discourse? 18:40 NVC’s four components: observations, feelings, needs, and requests 34:50 NVC for systemic change 54:20 The foundational assumptions of NVC 58:00 An exercise in NVC This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

Stephen Batchelor, a Secular Buddhist teacher and former monk, joins the FLI Podcast to discuss the project of awakening, the facets of human nature which contribute to extinction risk, and how we might better embrace existential threats.  Topics discussed in this episode include: -The projects of awakening and growing the wisdom with which to manage technologies -What might be possible of embarking on the project of waking up -Facets of human nature that contribute to existential risk -The dangers of the problem solving mindset -Improving the effective altruism and existential risk communities You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2020/10/15/stephen-batchelor-on-awakening-embracing-existential-risk-and-secular-buddhism/ Timestamps:  0:00 Intro 3:40 Albert Einstein and the quest for awakening 8:45 Non-self, emptiness, and non-duality 25:48 Stephen's conception of awakening, and making the wise more powerful vs the powerful more wise 33:32 The importance of insight 49:45 The present moment, creativity, and suffering/pain/dukkha 58:44 Stephen's article, Embracing Extinction 1:04:48 The dangers of the problem solving mindset 1:26:12 Improving the effective altruism and existential risk communities 1:37:30 Where to find and follow Stephen This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

On this episode, Calum Chace joins me to discuss the transformative impact of AI on employment, comparing the current wave of cognitive automation to historical technological revolutions. We talk about "universal generous income", fully-automated luxury capitalism, and redefining education with AI tutors. We end by examining verification of artificial agents and the ethics of attributing consciousness to machines.  

Learn more about Calum's work here: https://calumchace.com  

Timestamps:  

00:00:00  Preview and intro 

00:03:02  Past tech revolutions and AI-driven unemployment 

00:05:43  Cognitive automation: from secretaries to every job 

00:08:02  The “peak horse” analogy and avoiding human obsolescence 

00:10:55  Infinite demand and lump of labor 

00:18:30  Fully-automated luxury capitalism 

00:23:31  Abundance economy and a potential employment cliff 

00:29:37  Education reimagined with personalized AI tutors 

00:36:22  Real-world uses of LLMs: memory, drafting, emotional insight 

00:42:56  Meaning beyond jobs: aristocrats, retirees, and kids 

00:49:51  Four futures of superintelligence 

00:57:20  Conscious AI and empathy as a safety strategy 

01:10:55  Verifying AI agents 

01:25:20  Over-attributing vs under-attributing machine consciousness

Kelly Wanser from SilverLining joins us to discuss techniques for climate intervention to mitigate the impacts of human induced climate change.  Topics discussed in this episode include: - The risks of climate change in the short-term - Tipping points and tipping cascades - Climate intervention via marine cloud brightening and releasing particles in the stratosphere - The benefits and risks of climate intervention techniques  - The international politics of climate change and weather modification You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2020/09/30/kelly-wanser-on-marine-cloud-brightening-for-mitigating-climate-change/ Video recording of this podcast here: https://youtu.be/CEUEFUkSMHU Timestamps:  0:00 Intro 2:30 What is SilverLining’s mission?  4:27 Why is climate change thought to be very risky in the next 10-30 years?  8:40 Tipping points and tipping cascades 13:25 Is climate change an existential risk?  17:39 Earth systems that help to stabilize the climate  21:23 Days where it will be unsafe to work outside  25:03 Marine cloud brightening, stratospheric sunlight reflection, and other climate interventions SilverLining is interested in  41:46 What experiments are happening to understand tropospheric and stratospheric climate interventions?  50:20 International politics of weather modification  53:52 How do efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions fit into the project of reflecting sunlight?  57:35 How would you respond to someone who views climate intervention by marine cloud brightening as too dangerous?  59:33 What are the main points of persons skeptical of climate intervention approaches  01:13:21 The international problem of coordinating on climate change  01:24:50 Is climate change a global catastrophic or existential risk, and how does it relate to other large risks? 01:33:20 Should effective altruists spend more time on the issue of climate change and climate intervention?   01:37:48 What can listeners do to help with this issue?  01:40:00 Climate change and mars colonization  01:44:55 Where to find and follow Kelly This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

In this episode of the AI Alignment Podcast, Andrew Critch joins us to discuss a recent paper he co-authored with David Krueger titled AI Research Considerations for Human Existential Safety. We explore a wide range of issues, from how the mainstream computer science community views AI existential risk, to the need for more accurate terminology in the field of AI existential safety and the risks of what Andrew calls prepotent AI systems. Crucially, we also discuss what Andrew sees as being the most likely source of existential risk: the possibility of externalities from multiple AIs and AI stakeholders competing in a context where alignment and AI existential safety issues are not naturally covered by industry incentives.  Topics discussed in this episode include: - The mainstream computer science view of AI existential risk - Distinguishing AI safety from AI existential safety  - The need for more precise terminology in the field of AI existential safety and alignment - The concept of prepotent AI systems and the problem of delegation  - Which alignment problems get solved by commercial incentives and which don’t - The threat of diffusion of responsibility on AI existential safety considerations not covered by commercial incentives - Prepotent AI risk types that lead to unsurvivability for humanity You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2020/09/15/andrew-critch-on-ai-research-considerations-for-human-existential-safety/ Timestamps:  0:00 Intro 2:53 Why Andrew wrote ARCHES and what it’s about 6:46 The perspective of the mainstream CS community on AI existential risk 13:03 ARCHES in relation to AI existential risk literature 16:05 The distinction between safety and existential safety  24:27 Existential risk is most likely to obtain through externalities  29:03 The relationship between existential safety and safety for current systems  33:17 Research areas that may not be solved by natural commercial incentives 51:40 What’s an AI system and an AI technology?  53:42 Prepotent AI  59:41 Misaligned prepotent AI technology  01:05:13 Human frailty  01:07:37 The importance of delegation  01:14:11 Single-single, single-multi, multi-single, and multi-multi  01:15:26 Control, instruction, and comprehension  01:20:40 The multiplicity thesis  01:22:16 Risk types from prepotent AI that lead to human unsurvivability  01:34:06 Flow-through effects  01:41:00 Multi-stakeholder objectives  01:49:08 Final words from Andrew This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

In the contemporary practice of many scientific disciplines, questions of values, norms, and political thought rarely explicitly enter the picture. In the realm of AI alignment, however, the normative and technical come together in an important and inseparable way. How do we decide on an appropriate procedure for aligning AI systems to human values when there is disagreement over what constitutes a moral alignment procedure? Choosing any procedure or set of values with which to align AI brings its own normative and metaethical beliefs that will require close examination and reflection if we hope to succeed at alignment. Iason Gabriel, Senior Research Scientist at DeepMind, joins us on this episode of the AI Alignment Podcast to explore the interdependence of the normative and technical in AI alignment and to discuss his recent paper Artificial Intelligence, Values and Alignment.     Topics discussed in this episode include: -How moral philosophy and political theory are deeply related to AI alignment -The problem of dealing with a plurality of preferences and philosophical views in AI alignment -How the is-ought problem and metaethics fits into alignment  -What we should be aligning AI systems to -The importance of democratic solutions to questions of AI alignment  -The long reflection You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2020/09/03/iason-gabriel-on-foundational-philosophical-questions-in-ai-alignment/ Timestamps:  0:00 Intro 2:10 Why Iason wrote Artificial Intelligence, Values and Alignment 3:12 What AI alignment is 6:07 The technical and normative aspects of AI alignment 9:11 The normative being dependent on the technical 14:30 Coming up with an appropriate alignment procedure given the is-ought problem 31:15 What systems are subject to an alignment procedure? 39:55 What is it that we're trying to align AI systems to? 01:02:30 Single agent and multi agent alignment scenarios 01:27:00 What is the procedure for choosing which evaluative model(s) will be used to judge different alignment proposals 01:30:28 The long reflection 01:53:55 Where to follow and contact Iason This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.