LessWrong posts by zvi

zvi

Audio narrations of LessWrong posts by zvi

  1. 20 HR AGO

    “AI #162: Visions of Mythos” by Zvi

    Anthropic had some problem with leaks this week. We learned that they are sitting on a new larger-than-Opus AI model, Mythos, that they believe offers a step change in cyber capabilities. We also got a full leak of the source for Claude Code. Oh, and Axios was compromised, on the heels of LiteLLM. This looks to be getting a lot more common. Defense beats offense in most cases, but offense is getting a lot more shots on goal than it used to. The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Aplocayloptimist came out this week. I gave it 4.5/5 stars, and I think the world would be better off if more people saw it. I am not generally a fan of documentary movies, but this is probably my new favorite, replacing The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. There was also the usual background hum of quite a lot of things happening, including the latest iterations of various debates. We may or may not be doomed to die, but we are definitely doomed to repeat certain motions quite a few more times, and for people to be rather slow to update. We got some very welcome quiet on the [...] --- Outline: (01:41) Language Models Offer Mundane Utility (03:00) Heads In The Sand (07:05) Huh, Upgrades (08:10) Mythos (12:07) Whats In A Name (14:59) On Your Marks (16:10) Choose Your Fighter (16:53) Get My Agent On The Line (17:31) Deepfaketown and Botpocalypse Soon (24:33) Cyber Lack Of Security (29:08) Fun With Media Generation (29:50) A Young Ladys Illustrated Primer (30:53) They Took Our Jobs (37:45) After They Take Our Jobs (39:16) Gell-Mann Amnesia (41:33) Get Involved (43:25) In Other AI News (46:41) Show Me the Money (51:08) Quiet Speculations (51:59) Explaining Persistent Model Parity (55:37) Take a Moment (01:00:54) OpenAI: The Histories (01:06:04) The Department of AI War (01:12:38) Department of AI Solidarity (01:13:46) Writing For The AIs (01:16:42) Quickly, Theres No Time (01:16:46) The Quest for Sane Regulations (01:18:10) Chip City (01:20:07) You Received The Federal Framework (01:21:02) The Week in Audio (01:24:22) Rhetorical Innovation (01:27:48) I Am The Very Human Of A Frontier Language Model (01:38:01) Aligning a Smarter Than Human Intelligence is Difficult (01:41:22) Aligning Fake Graphs Can Also Be Difficult (01:49:32) The Lighter Side --- First published: April 2nd, 2026 Source: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/iBeTkFuQwjaRPo3Ad/ai-162-visions-of-mythos --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO. --- Images from the article: Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

    1hr 50min
  2. 1 DAY AGO

    “Anthropic Responsible Scaling Policy v3: A Matter of Trust” by Zvi

    Anthropic has revised its Responsible Scaling Policy to v3. The changes involved include abandoning many previous commitments, including one not to move ahead if doing so would be dangerous, citing that given competition they feel blindly following such a principle would not make the world safer. Holden Karnofsky advocated for the changes. He maintains that the previous strategy of specific commitments was in error, and instead endorses the new strategy of having aspirational goals. He was not at Anthropic when the commitments were made. My response to this will be two parts. Today's post talks about considerations around Anthropic going back on its previous commitments, including asking to what extent Anthropic broke promises or benefited from people reacting to those promises, and how we should respond. It is good, given that Anthropic was not going to keep its promises, that it came out and told us that this was the case, in advance. Thank you for that. I still think that Anthropic importantly broke promises, that people relied upon, and did so in ways that made future trust and coordination, both with Anthropic and between labs and governments, harder. Admitting to the situation [...] --- Outline: (01:47) Promises, Promises (03:10) Anthropic Responsible Scaling Policy v3 (03:32) That Could Have Gone Better (04:36) Im Just Not Ready To Make a Commitment (08:20) So Cold, So Alone (12:24) Im Sorry I Gave You That Impression (19:44) Fool Me Twice (23:27) In My Defense I Was Left Unsupervised (26:01) Drake Thomas Finds The Missing Mood (28:49) Things That Could Have Been Brought To My Attention Yesterday (1) (30:32) Things That Could Have Been Brought To My Attention Yesterday (2) (36:13) What We Have Here Is A Failure To Communicate (39:21) You Should See The Other Guy (42:17) I Was Only Kidding (43:12) They Cant Keep Getting Away With This (44:07) Damn Your Sudden But Inevitable Betrayal --- First published: April 1st, 2026 Source: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/AkzauoTt2Lwn2yAvj/anthropic-responsible-scaling-policy-v3-a-matter-of-trust --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

    47 min
  3. 2 DAYS AGO

    “Movie Review: The AI Doc” by Zvi

    The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist is a brilliant piece of work. (This will be a fully spoilorific overview. If you haven’t seen The AI Doc,I recommend seeing it, it is about as good as it could realistically have been, in most ways.) Like many things, it only works because it is centrally real. The creator of the documentary clearly did get married and have a child, freak out about AI, ask questions of the right people out of worry about his son's future, freak out even more now with actual existential risk for (simplified versions of) the right reasons, go on a quest to stop freaking out and get optimistic instead, find many of the right people for that and ask good non-technical questions, get somewhat fooled, listen to mundane safety complaints, seek out and get interviews with the top CEOs, try to tell himself he could ignore all of it, then decide not to end on a bunch of hopeful babies and instead have a call for action to help shape the future. The title is correct. This is about ‘how I became an Apolcaloptimist,’ and why he wanted to be that, as opposed to [...] --- Outline: (03:37) Babies Are Awesome (04:58) People Are Worried About AI Killing Everyone (06:17) Freak Out (06:47) Other People Are Not Worried About AI Killing Everyone (09:27) Deepfaketown and Botpocalypse Soon (10:15) Stopping The AI Race and A Narrow Path (11:47) CEOs Know Their Roles (13:28) The Call To Action --- First published: March 31st, 2026 Source: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ppC6geY4FxGYifrWx/movie-review-the-ai-doc --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO. --- Images from the article: Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

    15 min
  4. 3 DAYS AGO

    “AI #161 Part 2: Every Debate on AI” by Zvi

    AI discorce. AI discorce never changes. That's not actually true. But it is true to a rather frustrating degree, for those of us who need to be in the thick of it all the time. It is especially true if someone says the word ‘pause,’ whether or not they would actually support one. Play it again, Sam. Meanwhile, you know what changes a lot? Actual AI capabilities. Also, war. In any case, here's the policy, discourse and alignment side of the week that was. Table of Contents The OpenAI Foundation Exists. It continues not to focus on its supposed purpose. Congress Exists. There is some attempt to focus on its supposed purpose. China Self-Owns. China prevents Manus founders from leaving the country. The Quest for Survival. Attempts to use procurement law as general AI policy. Alex Bores Watch. He does an interview with Vanity Fair. You Received The Federal Framework. Business as usual, except for the GSA. Chip City. We finally catch a major chip smuggling operation. Water Water Everywhere. Water use as Gell-Mann Amnesia. Senator Bernie Sanders Acts Authentically. He is rather alarmed by AI. Pick [...] --- Outline: (00:46) The OpenAI Foundation Exists (07:55) Congress Exists (10:47) China Self-Owns (13:16) The Quest for Survival (17:17) Alex Bores Watch (21:15) You Received The Federal Framework (26:55) Chip City (29:16) Water Water Everywhere (30:52) Senator Bernie Sanders Acts Authentically (35:29) Pick Up The Phone (35:54) Rhetorical Innovation (46:03) Im A Conscious Robot (50:21) How To Get Zvi To Read Your Paper (54:18) People Really Hate AI (54:34) Greetings From The Stop AI Protest (01:01:47) Models Have Goals (01:03:33) If I Was Two-Faced Would I Be Wearing This One (01:06:25) Other People Are Not As Worried About AI Killing Everyone --- First published: March 30th, 2026 Source: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/y6HogrdSeFyGDuYYN/ai-161-part-2-every-debate-on-ai --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO. --- Images from the article: Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

    1hr 7min
  5. 6 DAYS AGO

    “Anthropic vs. DoW #6: The Court Rules” by Zvi

    Last night, Anthropic was given its preliminary injunction, with a stay of seven days. Emil Michael is a very angry person right now. So is the Honorable Judge Lin. We were worried we would draw a judge that had no idea how any of this worked and would give the government absurd deference or buy into nonsense arguments. That is not how it played out. Judge Lin very much understood the issues in play, as they did not require a technical background. She hammered the government in the hearing, and she wrote one of the most forceful, devastating judge opinions I have ever seen. It was an honor and sparked joy to be able to read it. This post will proceed chronologically, picking up after the events of my last update. If you want the short version and don’t care about the incremental steps, you can skip directly to Judge Lin Drops The Hammer, leaving the rest as a historical document and source for those who need to establish various facts going forward, including in court. Logistical note: Due to breaking news, AI #161 Part 2 will be published on Monday. Then, if [...] --- Outline: (01:25) Anthropic Responds To The DoWs Brief (12:05) Alan Rozenshtein and Others Suggest A Narrow Legal Way Out (13:42) DoW Tried Another Uniquely Ill-Suited Theory Against Anthropic (20:48) Other Views About The Situation From Back Then (21:23) Potentially Long Suffering Judge Rita Lin Goes Hard At Hearing (29:35) Emil Michael Tells On Himself (41:54) Judge Lin Drops The Hammer (49:57) Let Me Count The Ways (53:35) Emil Michael Doubles Down Once Again (55:57) What Happens Now --- First published: March 27th, 2026 Source: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/jdWHwsj8GvwgJSxF7/anthropic-vs-dow-6-the-court-rules --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO. --- Images from the article: Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

    58 min
  6. 26 MAR

    “AI #161 Part 1: 80,000 Interviews” by Zvi

    The major technical advances this week were in agentic coding, as covered yesterday. The major non-DoW political and alignment developments will be covered tomorrow. The DoW vs. Anthropic trial continues. Judge Lin was very not happy with the government's case, which makes sense since the government has no case and was arguing a variety of Obvious Nonsense. The question now is how much preliminary relief Anthropic is entitled to. Assuming we find that out this week, I plan to cover that on Monday. Beyond that, we have new iterations of questions we’ve dealt with time and again. The debate on jobs gets another cycle. Anthropic asked over 80,000 people what they think about AI, and has published those findings, nothing shocking but interesting throughout. OpenAI is raising money again, although the terms raise some eyebrows. Elon Musk is announcing a grand chip project, but it was already kind of announced and it's not like we should believe him when he says such things. I used this lull to drop a giant response to Open Socrates, which is technically a book review but uses that as a taking off point to outline a distinct philosophy [...] --- Outline: (01:44) Language Models Offer Mundane Utility (02:44) Refine Your Paper (04:57) Language Models Dont Offer Mundane Utility (06:38) Huh, Upgrades (06:47) On Your Marks (10:53) Get My Agent On The Line (12:42) Deepfaketown and Botpocalypse Soon (15:07) Fun With Media Generation (16:45) Greetings From The Torment Nexus (17:05) A Young Ladys Illustrated Primer (20:02) You Drive Me Crazy (20:23) They Took Our Jobs (31:24) They Are Hiring (32:21) Levels of Friction (33:28) In Other AI News (34:48) Show Me the Money (43:34) Quickly, Theres No Time (44:30) The Week in Audio (46:46) 80,000 Interviews About AI (52:55) The Lighter Side --- First published: March 26th, 2026 Source: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/sw3inhvNrpuGdTyCR/ai-161-part-1-80-000-interviews --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO. --- Images from the article: Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

    56 min
  7. 25 MAR

    “Claude Code, Cowork and Codex #6: Claude Code Auto Use and Full Cowork Computer Use” by Zvi

    Whatever else you think about Anthropic's agentic coding department, they ship. The highlights of this edition are three related big upgrades. You can use Dispatch to command Claude Code and Claude Cowork from your phone, or use channels to do it via places such as Telegram or Discord. Claude Cowork now can outright use your keyboard and mouse, giving it access to actual everything one can do with a computer if it is competent to do so. Claude Code now has auto mode, where a classifier checks commands and you only get asked for permission when something seems genuinely risky. These are rather large quality of life improvements. Table of Contents Claude Auto Code. Claude Work. Never Go Full Computer Use. Get Yourself A Desktop. Okay Computer. Super App. Huh, Additional Upgrades. Agentic Coding Offers Mundane Utility. Agentic Coding Doesn’t Offer Mundane Utility. Coding Agents Everywhere. Worth It. Choose Your Fighter. Code Review. There's An App For That. In Or Out. Bulking Up. Skilling Up. Unless That Claw. The Lighter Side. [...] --- Outline: (00:53) Claude Auto Code (03:27) Claude Work (04:29) Never Go Full Computer Use (05:58) Get Yourself A Desktop (06:41) Okay Computer (09:27) Super App (10:31) Huh, Additional Upgrades (16:18) Agentic Coding Offers Mundane Utility (19:03) Agentic Coding Doesnt Offer Mundane Utility (20:02) Coding Agents Everywhere (21:04) Worth It (22:18) Choose Your Fighter (22:55) Code Review (26:17) Theres An App For That (27:37) In Or Out (28:14) Bulking Up (29:19) Skilling Up (33:12) Unless That Claw (34:44) The Lighter Side --- First published: March 25th, 2026 Source: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/8c3TED7ewqrbvheKy/claude-code-cowork-and-codex-6-claude-code-auto-use-and-full --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO. --- Images from the article: Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

    36 min
  8. 24 MAR

    “Book Review: Open Socrates (Part 1)” by Zvi

    These are all important, in their own way, call it a treasure hunt and collect them all… “Know thyself.” – The Oracle “Know thine enemy and know thyself; in a hundred battles, you will not be defeated.” – Sun Tzu “You don’t know me. You don’t know me at all.” – Lisa Loeb, ‘You Don’t Know Me’ “Just one word. Are you listening? Plastics.” – The Graduate “And Alexander wept, seeing as he had no more worlds to conquer.” – Someone Guessing “I didn’t know I had permission to murder and to maim.’ – Leonard Cohen “But that's not important right now.” – Leslie Nielsen “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson “When the facts change, I change my mind – what do you do, sir?” – John Maynard Keynes “Now we’re talking price.” – Winston Churchill “Think for yourself, schmuck.” – Hagbard Celine, Illuminatus! “Have you forgotten doublethink?” – George Orwell, 1984 “You are trying to solve the wrong problem using the wrong methods based on a wrong model of the [...] --- Outline: (05:19) Editors Note (07:28) A Difference Of Opinion (10:28) An Overview (10:45) You Dont Know Me (11:51) Untimely Questions (15:41) The Unexamined Life is Worth Living (20:59) The Quest For The Unexamined Life (26:19) Not Everyone Wants To or Should Philosophize All Day (28:49) The Seinfeld Fallacy (30:44) Socrates was the Lying GOAT of Hypocritical False Humility (36:30) Hearing Voices (39:25) Simpsons Ancient Greeks Did It (42:56) The Proposed Fourth Option: Socratic Inquiry (47:59) No Really The Position is Nothing Else Matters (51:52) The War on Wavering and Nebulosity (59:09) Living Your Best Life (01:03:17) Introducing the Socratic Method (the real one) (01:04:44) Prove Me Wrong, Kids (01:06:35) Socrates Asserts Wrong Conclusions That Are Wrong (01:11:02) You Can Question Your Beliefs (01:19:39) True Opinions Do Not Only Do Good (01:22:29) Meno Plays the Fool (01:25:48) The Central Magicians Trick (01:26:57) The Gaslighting of Alcibiades (01:40:06) The Measure of a Fight (01:49:27) The Good Fight (01:54:42) The Curious Case of Euthyphro (01:59:29) You Should Be Sad About That (02:05:11) People Respond To Incentives (02:12:30) Self Versus Other (02:13:49) Socrates Declares Humans Have Unified Minds Free Of Various Biases (02:22:27) Revenge (02:39:11) Legal Systems Very Different From Our Own (02:44:53) Socrates Claims The Just And The Advantageous Are Identical (02:56:40) First Up: Utilitarianism (02:59:28) The Main Rival: Deontology (Kantianism? Stoicism?) (03:05:28) A Trolly Problem (03:07:13) The Third and Correct Option: Virtue Ethics (03:15:14) You Are Not Omniscient (03:21:42) The Hardest Thing In This World Is To Live In It (03:27:59) They Call It Utopia For A Reason (03:29:19) The End... Of Book One --- First published: March 24th, 2026 Source: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/hc2swmyS8mz4jc79J/book-review-open-socrates-part-1 --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

    3h 30m

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Audio narrations of LessWrong posts by zvi

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