140 episodes

After the collapse of the 20th-century systematic mode of social organization, how can we move from our internet-enabled atomized mode, toward a fluid mode? We take problems of meaning-making, typically considered spiritual, and turn them into practical problems, which are more tractable.

"Meaningness" begins with this episode: https://fluidity.libsyn.com/an-appetizer-purpose

"Meaningness And Time" begins with this episode: https://fluidity.libsyn.com/meaningness-and-time-how-meaning-fell-apart

'In The Cells Of The Eggplant" begins with this episode: https://fluidity.libsyn.com/intro-to-metarationality

You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/fluidityaudiobooks

If you like the show, consider buying me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattarnold

This is a nonfiction audiobook narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, David Chapman. Full text at: https://meaningness.com

Please email me at fluidity@hey.com.

Fluidity Matt Arnold

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.6 • 7 Ratings

After the collapse of the 20th-century systematic mode of social organization, how can we move from our internet-enabled atomized mode, toward a fluid mode? We take problems of meaning-making, typically considered spiritual, and turn them into practical problems, which are more tractable.

"Meaningness" begins with this episode: https://fluidity.libsyn.com/an-appetizer-purpose

"Meaningness And Time" begins with this episode: https://fluidity.libsyn.com/meaningness-and-time-how-meaning-fell-apart

'In The Cells Of The Eggplant" begins with this episode: https://fluidity.libsyn.com/intro-to-metarationality

You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/fluidityaudiobooks

If you like the show, consider buying me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattarnold

This is a nonfiction audiobook narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, David Chapman. Full text at: https://meaningness.com

Please email me at fluidity@hey.com.

    Only You Can Stop An AI Apocalypse

    Only You Can Stop An AI Apocalypse

    We now begin narrating the book Better Without AI, by David Chapman.
     
    https://betterwithout.ai/only-you-can-stop-an-AI-apocalypse
     
    You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon:
    https://www.patreon.com/m/fluidityaudiobooks

    If you like the show, consider buying me a coffee:
    https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattarnold]

    Original music by Kevin MacLeod.

    This podcast is under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial International 4.0 License.

    • 16 min
    Scary AI, and, Superintelligence

    Scary AI, and, Superintelligence

    Scary AI: Apocalyptic AI scenarios usually involve some qualitatively different future form of artificial intelligence. No one can explain clearly what would make that exceptionally dangerous in a way current AI isn’t. This confusion draws attention away from risks of existing and near-future technologies, and from ways of forestalling them.

    https://betterwithout.ai/scary-AI

    Superintelligence: Maybe AI will kill you before you finish reading this section. The extreme scenarios typically considered by the AI safety movement are possible in principle, but unfortunately no one has any idea how to prevent them. This book discusses moderate catastrophes instead, offering pragmatic approaches to avoiding or diminishing them.

    https://betterwithout.ai/superintelligence

    You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon:
    https://www.patreon.com/m/fluidityaudiobooks

    If you like the show, consider buying me a coffee:
    https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattarnold]

    Original music by Kevin MacLeod.

    This podcast is under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial International 4.0 License.

    • 16 min
    Mind-Like AI

    Mind-Like AI

    We have a powerful intuition that some special mental feature, such as self-awareness, is a prerequisite to intelligence. This causes confusion because we don’t have a coherent understanding of what the special feature is, nor what role it plays in intelligent action. It may be best to treat mental characteristics as in the eye of the beholder, and therefore mainly irrelevant to AI risks.

    https://betterwithout.ai/mind-like-AI

    You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon:
    https://www.patreon.com/m/fluidityaudiobooks

    If you like the show, consider buying me a coffee:
    https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattarnold

    Original music by Kevin MacLeod.

    This podcast is under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial International 4.0 License.

    • 9 min
    Autonomous AI Agents

    Autonomous AI Agents

    Most apocalyptic scenarios involve an AI acting as an autonomous agent, pursuing goals that conflict with human ones. Many people reject AI risk, saying that machines can’t have real goals or intentions. However, agency seems nebulous; and subtracting “real” agency from the scenario doesn’t seem to remove the risk.
     
    https://betterwithout.ai/agency
     
    A video in which white blood cells look as if they have agency:
     
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KrCmBNiJRI
     
    The US National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence’s 2021 Report, which recommends spending $32bn per year on AI research to dramatically increase weapon systems agency:
     
    https://www.nscai.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Full-Report-Digital-1.pdf
     
    You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon:
    https://www.patreon.com/m/fluidityaudiobooks
     
    If you like the show, consider buying me a coffee:
    https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattarnold
     
    Original music by Kevin MacLeod.
     
    This podcast is under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial International 4.0 License.

    • 9 min
    Diverse Forms Of Agency

    Diverse Forms Of Agency

    It’s a mistake to think that human-like agency is the only dangerous kind. That risks overlooking AIs causing agent-like harms in inhuman ways.

    https://betterwithout.ai/diverse-agency#fn_meme_critics

    You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon:
    https://www.patreon.com/m/fluidityaudiobooks
     
    If you like the show, consider buying me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattarnold

    Original music by Kevin MacLeod.

    This podcast is under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial International 4.0 License.

    • 14 min
    Motivation, Morals, and Monsters

    Motivation, Morals, and Monsters

    Thanks for your patience while I ran Fluidity Forum. We now resume "Better Without AI" by David Chapman.
     
    Speculations about autonomous AI assume simplistic theories of motivation. They also mistakenly confuse those with ethical theories. Building AI systems on these ideas would produce monsters.
    https://betterwithout.ai/AI-motivation
     
    Coherent Extrapolated Volition
    https://betterwithout.ai/AI-motivation#fn_Turchin:~:text=%E2%80%9C-,Coherent%20Extrapolated%20Volition,-%E2%80%9D%20at%20LessWrong%2C%20undated
     
    A.I. Alignment Problem: "Human Values" Don't Actually Exist
    https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ngqvnWGsvTEiTASih/ai-alignment-problem-human-values-don-t-actually-exist
     
    “Can we survive technology?” by John Von Neumann
    http://geosci.uchicago.edu/~kite/doc/von_Neumann_1955.pdf
     
    You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon:
    https://www.patreon.com/m/fluidityaudiobooks
     
    If you like the show, consider buying me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattarnold

    Original music by Kevin MacLeod.

    This podcast is under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial International 4.0 License.

    • 16 min

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5
7 Ratings

7 Ratings

Top Podcasts In Society & Culture

This American Life
This American Life
Stuff You Should Know
iHeartPodcasts
MeSsy with Christina Applegate & Jamie-Lynn Sigler
Wishbone Production
The Viall Files
Nick Viall
Shawn Ryan Show
Shawn Ryan | Cumulus Podcast Network
Freakonomics Radio
Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher