Future of Life Institute Podcast

Future of Life Institute
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Future of Life Institute Podcast Podcast

The Future of Life Institute (FLI) is a nonprofit working to reduce global catastrophic and existential risk from powerful technologies. In particular, FLI focuses on risks from artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, nuclear weapons and climate change. The Institute's work is made up of three main strands: grantmaking for risk reduction, educational outreach, and advocacy within the United Nations, US government and European Union institutions. FLI has become one of the world's leading voices on the governance of AI having created one of the earliest and most influential sets of governance principles: the Asilomar AI Principles.

  1. Tom Barnes on How to Build a Resilient World

    6 DAYS AGO

    Tom Barnes on How to Build a Resilient World

    Tom Barnes joins the podcast to discuss how much the world spends on AI capabilities versus AI safety, how governments can prepare for advanced AI, and how to build a more resilient world.    Tom's report on advanced AI: https://www.founderspledge.com/research/research-and-recommendations-advanced-artificial-intelligence    Timestamps:  00:00 Spending on safety vs capabilities  09:06 Racing dynamics - is the classic story true?   28:15 How are governments preparing for advanced AI?   49:06 US-China dialogues on AI  57:44 Coordination failures   1:04:26 Global resilience   1:13:09 Patient philanthropy   The John von Neumann biography we reference: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/706577/the-man-from-the-future-by-ananyo-bhattacharya/

    1h 20m
  2. Samuel Hammond on why AI Progress is Accelerating - and how Governments Should Respond

    22 AUG

    Samuel Hammond on why AI Progress is Accelerating - and how Governments Should Respond

    Samuel Hammond joins the podcast to discuss whether AI progress is slowing down or speeding up, AI agents and reasoning, why superintelligence is an ideological goal, open source AI, how technical change leads to regime change, the economics of advanced AI, and much more.    Our conversation often references this essay by Samuel: https://www.secondbest.ca/p/ninety-five-theses-on-ai    Timestamps:  00:00 Is AI plateauing or accelerating?   06:55 How do we get AI agents?   16:12 Do agency and reasoning emerge?   23:57 Compute thresholds in regulation 28:59 Superintelligence as an ideological goal  37:09 General progress vs superintelligence  44:22 Meta and open source AI   49:09 Technological change and regime change  01:03:06 How will governments react to AI?   01:07:50 Will the US nationalize AGI corporations?   01:17:05 Economics of an intelligence explosion   01:31:38 AI cognition vs human cognition   01:48:03 AI and future religions  01:56:40 Is consciousness functional?   02:05:30 AI and children

    2h 16m
  3. Anousheh Ansari on Innovation Prizes for Space, AI, Quantum Computing, and Carbon Removal

    9 AUG

    Anousheh Ansari on Innovation Prizes for Space, AI, Quantum Computing, and Carbon Removal

    Anousheh Ansari joins the podcast to discuss how innovation prizes can incentivize technical innovation in space, AI, quantum computing, and carbon removal. We discuss the pros and cons of such prizes, where they work best, and how far they can scale. Learn more about Anousheh's work here: https://www.xprize.org/home   Timestamps:  00:00 Innovation prizes at XPRIZE  08:25 Deciding which prizes to create  19:00 Creating new markets  29:51 How far can prizes scale?   35:25 When are prizes successful?   46:06 100M dollar carbon removal prize  54:40 Upcoming prizes  59:52 Anousheh's time in space

    1h 3m
  4. Mary Robinson (Former President of Ireland) on Long-View Leadership

    25 JUL

    Mary Robinson (Former President of Ireland) on Long-View Leadership

    Mary Robinson joins the podcast to discuss long-view leadership, risks from AI and nuclear weapons, prioritizing global problems, how to overcome barriers to international cooperation, and advice to future leaders. Learn more about Robinson's work as Chair of The Elders at https://theelders.org   Timestamps:  00:00 Mary's journey to presidency   05:11 Long-view leadership  06:55 Prioritizing global problems  08:38 Risks from artificial intelligence  11:55 Climate change  15:18 Barriers to global gender equality   16:28 Risk of nuclear war   20:51 Advice to future leaders   22:53 Humor in politics  24:21 Barriers to international cooperation   27:10 Institutions and technological change

    30 min
  5. Emilia Javorsky on how AI Concentrates Power

    11 JUL

    Emilia Javorsky on how AI Concentrates Power

    Emilia Javorsky joins the podcast to discuss AI-driven power concentration and how we might mitigate it. We also discuss optimism, utopia, and cultural experimentation.  Apply for our RFP here:   https://futureoflife.org/grant-program/mitigate-ai-driven-power-concentration/ Timestamps:  00:00 Power concentration   07:43 RFP: Mitigating AI-driven power concentration  14:15 Open source AI   26:50 Institutions and incentives  35:20 Techno-optimism   43:44 Global monoculture   53:55 Imagining utopia

    1h 4m
  6. Anton Korinek on Automating Work and the Economics of an Intelligence Explosion

    21 JUN

    Anton Korinek on Automating Work and the Economics of an Intelligence Explosion

    Anton Korinek joins the podcast to discuss the effects of automation on wages and labor, how we measure the complexity of tasks, the economics of an intelligence explosion, and the market structure of the AI industry. Learn more about Anton's work at https://www.korinek.com   Timestamps:  00:00 Automation and wages  14:32 Complexity for people and machines  20:31 Moravec's paradox  26:15 Can people switch careers?   30:57 Intelligence explosion economics  44:08 The lump of labor fallacy   51:40 An industry for nostalgia?   57:16 Universal basic income   01:09:28 Market structure in AI

    1h 32m
  7. Christian Ruhl on Preventing World War III, US-China Hotlines, and Ultraviolet Germicidal Light

    7 JUN

    Christian Ruhl on Preventing World War III, US-China Hotlines, and Ultraviolet Germicidal Light

    Christian Ruhl joins the podcast to discuss US-China competition and the risk of war, official versus unofficial diplomacy, hotlines between countries, catastrophic biological risks, ultraviolet germicidal light, and ancient civilizational collapse. Find out more about Christian's work at https://www.founderspledge.com   Timestamps:  00:00 US-China competition and risk   18:01 The security dilemma   30:21 Official and unofficial diplomacy  39:53 Hotlines between countries   01:01:54 Preventing escalation after war   01:09:58 Catastrophic biological risks   01:20:42 Ultraviolet germicidal light  01:25:54 Ancient civilizational collapse

    1h 36m
  8. Christian Nunes on Deepfakes (with Max Tegmark)

    24 MAY

    Christian Nunes on Deepfakes (with Max Tegmark)

    Christian Nunes joins the podcast to discuss deepfakes, how they impact women in particular, how we can protect ordinary victims of deepfakes, and the current landscape of deepfake legislation. You can learn more about Christian's work at https://now.org and about the Ban Deepfakes campaign at https://bandeepfakes.org  Timestamps: 00:00 The National Organisation for Women (NOW)  05:37 Deepfakes and women  10:12 Protecting ordinary victims of deepfakes  16:06 Deepfake legislation  23:38 Current harm from deepfakes  30:20 Bodily autonomy as a right  34:44 NOW's work on AI  Here's FLI's recommended amendments to legislative proposals on deepfakes:  https://futureoflife.org/document/recommended-amendments-to-legislative-proposals-on-deepfakes/

    37 min
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About

The Future of Life Institute (FLI) is a nonprofit working to reduce global catastrophic and existential risk from powerful technologies. In particular, FLI focuses on risks from artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, nuclear weapons and climate change. The Institute's work is made up of three main strands: grantmaking for risk reduction, educational outreach, and advocacy within the United Nations, US government and European Union institutions. FLI has become one of the world's leading voices on the governance of AI having created one of the earliest and most influential sets of governance principles: the Asilomar AI Principles.

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