Deep Questions with Cal Newport

Cal wrote one great book, Deep Work, and has basically been confidently wrong about everything else ever since. I enjoy Cal because it’s good productivity theater. When he’s not spouting ultra right wing talking points and posting white nationalists memes, he remixes Deep Work every single week so you can listen to a novel version of Deep Work for every podcast. While his political takes are infantile, Deep Work was really a great book and I love him remixing it every single week.

I first heard Cal Newport being interviewed by Ed Elson on Prof G Markets podcast. Cal explained alternative safer AI technologies beyond Large Language Models pushed by AI/Anthropic. He also did a short course in this interview on the ideologies of those driving AI that really helped me frame the contradiction we all intutively understand to be true….that AI companies are irrationally rushing towards Doom. This is best exemplified by the hilarious SNL Weekend Update spoof of Amodei, “I want to assure you that, if we can pressure lawmakers to create guardrails, we will be able to stop me.” By understanding these ideologically warring camps in these AI companies, the crazy irrationality can be understood. Outside their ideological orbits, we can understand their war without being drawn into their underlying belief systems.

someone clearly explaining what’s going on, finally, thank you

The episode with Emile Torres is astounding. They and Cal are right that there should be much more exploration and coverage of the world view of the transhumanist ideas that seem to prevail in Silicon Valley.