The Trajectory

Daniel Faggella
  • 4.7 (6)
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

What should be the trajectory of intelligence beyond humanity?The Trajectory pull covers realpolitik on artificial general intelligence and the posthuman transition - by asking tech, policy, and AI research leaders the hard questions about what's after man, and how we should define and create a worthy successor (danfaggella.com/worthy). Hosted by Daniel Faggella.

  1. John Smart - Evolution from Cells to Super-intelligence (Worthy Successor, Episode 21)

    JAN 30

    John Smart - Evolution from Cells to Super-intelligence (Worthy Successor, Episode 21)

    This new installment of the Worthy Successor series is an interview with John Smart, Director of the EvoDevo Institute and a longtime futures theorist whose work spans accelerating change, developmental systems, and the long-term trajectory of intelligence. In this episode, we go deep on John’s view that intelligence does not evolve randomly, but instead progresses through constrained developmental stages - from chemistry to biology to nervous systems to digital cognition. He frames AGI as another “meta-system transition,” comparable in magnitude to the emergence of cells or brains, and emphasizes that such transitions come with massive jumps in modeling capacity, speed, and agency. The interview is our twenty-first installment in The Trajectory’s second series, Worthy Successor, where we explore the kinds of posthuman intelligences that deserve to steer the future beyond humanity. This episode referred to the following other essays and resources: -- A Worthy Successor - The Purpose of AGI: https://danfaggella.com/worthy Listen to this episode on The Trajectory Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-trajectory/id1739255954 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZKRXzP5IEQQ See the full article from this episode: https://danfaggella.com/smart1 ... About The Trajectory: AGI and man-machine merger are going to radically expand the process of life beyond humanity -- so how can we ensure a good trajectory for future life? From Yoshua Bengio to Nick Bostrom, from Michael Levin to Peter Singer, we discuss how to positively influence the trajectory of posthuman life with the greatest minds in AI, biology, philosophy, and policy. Ask questions of our speakers in our live Philosophy Circle calls: https://bit.ly/PhilosophyCircle Stay in touch: -- Newsletter: bit.ly/TrajectoryTw -- X: x.com/danfaggella -- Blog: danfaggella.com/trajectory -- YouTube: youtube.com/@trajectoryai

    3h 47m
  2. Susan Schneider - Intelligence Is Everywhere, Consciousness Maybe Not (Worthy Successor, Episode 20)

    JAN 23

    Susan Schneider - Intelligence Is Everywhere, Consciousness Maybe Not (Worthy Successor, Episode 20)

    This new installment of the Worthy Successor series is a conversation with Dr. Susan Schneider, a philosopher of mind and consciousness researcher whose work focuses on AI consciousness, mind uploading, and the long-run future of intelligence. In this episode, we explore why “life” and “consciousness” shouldn’t be treated as the same thing, why fluent chatbots can convincingly perform the concept of consciousness without being conscious, and what a “global brain” future might mean for sentience, ethics, and governance. The interview is our twentieth installment in The Trajectory’s second series, Worthy Successor, where we explore the kinds of posthuman intelligences that deserve to steer the future beyond humanity. This episode referred to the following other essays and resources: -- A Worthy Successor - The Purpose of AGI: https://danfaggella.com/worthy -- Chatbot Epistemology: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02691728.2025.2500030#abstract -- Is AI Conscious? A Primer on the Myths and Confusions Driving the Debate (Co-authored by Susan): https://philpapers.org/rec/SCHIAC-22 Listen to this episode on The Trajectory Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-trajectory/id1739255954 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/iFWoWSEZMTc See the full article from this episode: https://danfaggella.com/schneider1 ... About The Trajectory: AGI and man-machine merger are going to radically expand the process of life beyond humanity -- so how can we ensure a good trajectory for future life? From Yoshua Bengio to Nick Bostrom, from Michael Levin to Peter Singer, we discuss how to positively influence the trajectory of posthuman life with the greatest minds in AI, biology, philosophy, and policy. Ask questions of our speakers in our live Philosophy Circle calls: https://bit.ly/PhilosophyCircle Stay in touch: -- Newsletter: bit.ly/TrajectoryTw -- X: x.com/danfaggella -- Blog: danfaggella.com/trajectory -- YouTube: youtube.com/@trajectoryai

    1h 34m
  3. Brian Thomas Swimme - Life Is Bigger Than Humanity (Worthy Successor, Episode 19)

    JAN 9

    Brian Thomas Swimme - Life Is Bigger Than Humanity (Worthy Successor, Episode 19)

    This installment of the Worthy Successor series is a conversation with Brian Thomas Swimme, a cosmologist and philosopher of science, and a professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. Brian’s work begins from a destabilizing claim: that humanity is not the center of value, but an expression of a much larger creative process. Rather than asking how humans can remain permanently relevant, he asks how we might participate wisely in a universe defined by continual becoming. The interview is our nineteenth installment in The Trajectory’s second series, Worthy Successor, where we explore the kinds of posthuman intelligences that deserve to steer the future beyond humanity. This episode referred to the following other essays and resources: -- A Worthy Successor - The Purpose of AGI: https://danfaggella.com/worthy -- The third story of the universe: https://www.organism.earth/library/document/third-story-of-the-universe Listen to this episode on The Trajectory Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-trajectory/id1739255954 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/b9KHo4wO61w See the full article from this episode: https://danfaggella.com/swimme1 ... About The Trajectory: AGI and man-machine merger are going to radically expand the process of life beyond humanity -- so how can we ensure a good trajectory for future life? From Yoshua Bengio to Nick Bostrom, from Michael Levin to Peter Singer, we discuss how to positively influence the trajectory of posthuman life with the greatest minds in AI, biology, philosophy, and policy. Ask questions of our speakers in our live Philosophy Circle calls: https://bit.ly/PhilosophyCircle Stay in touch: -- Newsletter: bit.ly/TrajectoryTw -- X: x.com/danfaggella -- Blog: danfaggella.com/trajectory -- YouTube: youtube.com/@trajectoryai

    1h 40m
  4. David Sloan Wilson - Darwinian Forces Shape the Earth Superorganism (Worthy Successor, Episode 18)

    12/26/2025

    David Sloan Wilson - Darwinian Forces Shape the Earth Superorganism (Worthy Successor, Episode 18)

    This new installment of the Worthy Successor series is an interview with David Sloan Wilson, an American evolutionary biologist, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences and Anthropology at Binghamton University, and co-founder of the Evolution Institute and ProSocial World.   In this conversation, we explore what it would mean for humanity to act as a steward of evolution itself - not freezing life in its current form, but guiding its transformation toward futures that remain coherent, prosocial, and resilient over deep time. The interview is our eighteenth installment in The Trajectory’s second series, Worthy Successor, where we explore the kinds of posthuman intelligences that deserve to steer the future beyond humanity. This episode referred to the following other essays and resources: -- A Worthy Successor - The Purpose of AGI: https://danfaggella.com/worthy – ProSocial’s Eight Core Design Principles: https://www.prosocial.world/resources/resource-posts/short-core-design-principle-handout Listen to this episode on The Trajectory Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-trajectory/id1739255954 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/PeqlP8-ZNDQ See the full article from this episode: https://danfaggella.com/wilson1 ... About The Trajectory: AGI and man-machine merger are going to radically expand the process of life beyond humanity -- so how can we ensure a good trajectory for future life? From Yoshua Bengio to Nick Bostrom, from Michael Levin to Peter Singer, we discuss how to positively influence the trajectory of posthuman life with the greatest minds in AI, biology, philosophy, and policy. Ask questions of our speakers in our live Philosophy Circle calls: https://bit.ly/PhilosophyCircle Stay in touch: -- Newsletter: bit.ly/TrajectoryTw -- X: x.com/danfaggella -- Blog: danfaggella.com/trajectory -- YouTube: youtube.com/@trajectoryai

    2h 2m
  5. Michael Johnson - Symmetry, Beauty, and the Shape of Consciousness (Worthy Successor, Episode 17)

    12/12/2025

    Michael Johnson - Symmetry, Beauty, and the Shape of Consciousness (Worthy Successor, Episode 17)

    This new installment of the Worthy Successor series is an interview with Michael Johnson, a philosopher and neuroscientist who describes himself as working on "how to turn consciousness into a real science." Mike is known for his formalist approach to consciousness research and his work on the Symmetry Theory of Valence at the Qualia Research Institute. In this episode, we explore Mike's radical vision of what posthuman sentience could become - and why he believes human experience represents just one tiny corner of a vast, largely unexplored space of possible minds. The interview is our seventeenth installment in The Trajectory’s second series, Worthy Successor, where we explore the kinds of posthuman intelligences that deserve to steer the future beyond humanity. This episode referred to the following other essays and resources: -- A Worthy Successor - The Purpose of AGI: https://danfaggella.com/worthy/ -- Qualia Formalism and a Symmetry Theory of Valence: https://opentheory.net/Qualia_Formalism_and_a_Symmetry_Theory_of_Valence.pdf?utm Listen to this episode on The Trajectory Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-trajectory/id1739255954 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/5Kh95ylhcHo See the full article from this episode: https://danfaggella.com/johnson1 ... About The Trajectory: AGI and man-machine merger are going to radically expand the process of life beyond humanity -- so how can we ensure a good trajectory for future life? From Yoshua Bengio to Nick Bostrom, from Michael Levin to Peter Singer, we discuss how to positively influence the trajectory of posthuman life with the greatest minds in AI, biology, philosophy, and policy. Ask questions of our speakers in our live Philosophy Circle calls: https://bit.ly/PhilosophyCircle Stay in touch: -- Newsletter: bit.ly/TrajectoryTw -- X: x.com/danfaggella -- Blog: danfaggella.com/trajectory -- YouTube: youtube.com/@trajectoryai

    2h 4m
  6. Robin Hanson - A Successor Must be Adaptive (Worthy Successor, Episode 16)

    11/28/2025

    Robin Hanson - A Successor Must be Adaptive (Worthy Successor, Episode 16)

    This new installment of the Worthy Successor series is an interview with Robin Hanson - Associate Professor of Economics at George Mason University, economist, polymath, and author of The Age of Em. Hanson is one of the few thinkers who approaches the future of intelligence through the lens of deep evolutionary dynamics, cultural drift, and long-term civilizational viability. In this episode, we dig into Robin’s stark warning that humanity is losing the adaptive capacities that once made civilizations robust - and that without radical course correction, our current world order is likely to collapse and be replaced by a more adaptive successor. The interview is our sixteenth installment in The Trajectory’s second series, Worthy Successor, where we explore the kinds of posthuman intelligences that deserve to steer the future beyond humanity. This episode referred to the following other essays and resources: -- A Worthy Successor - The Purpose of AGI: https://danfaggella.com/worthy/ -- Explain the Sacred (By Robin Hanson): https://www.overcomingbias.com/p/explain-the-sacredhtml Listen to this episode on The Trajectory Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-trajectory/id1739255954 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Rk3VvLSHCbA See the full article from this episode: https://danfaggella.com/hanson1 ... About The Trajectory: AGI and man-machine merger are going to radically expand the process of life beyond humanity -- so how can we ensure a good trajectory for future life? From Yoshua Bengio to Nick Bostrom, from Michael Levin to Peter Singer, we discuss how to positively influence the trajectory of posthuman life with the greatest minds in AI, biology, philosophy, and policy. Ask questions of our speakers in our live Philosophy Circle calls: https://bit.ly/PhilosophyCircle Stay in touch: -- Newsletter: bit.ly/TrajectoryTw -- X: x.com/danfaggella -- Blog: danfaggella.com/trajectory -- YouTube: youtube.com/@trajectoryai

    2h 1m
  7. Joe Carlsmith - A Wiser, AI-Powered Civilization is the “Successor” (Worthy Successor, Episode 15)

    11/14/2025

    Joe Carlsmith - A Wiser, AI-Powered Civilization is the “Successor” (Worthy Successor, Episode 15)

    This new installment of the Worthy Successor series is an interview with Joe Carlsmith, a senior advisor at Open Philanthropy, whose work spans AI alignment, moral uncertainty, and the philosophical foundations of value. In this conversation, Joe joins us in his personal capacity, not representing any brand or company, and offering his own thoughtful perspectives. In this episode, we explore Joe’s reflections on what a “worthy successor” might really mean - not as a single entity, but as a civilization guided toward greater wisdom. His framing is rare among alignment thinkers: he treats AI not as a replacement for humanity, but as a set of tools that might help us become clearer thinkers, better philosophers, and truer to what is actually good. The interview is our fifteenth installment in The Trajectory’s second series, Worthy Successor, where we explore the kinds of posthuman intelligences that deserve to steer the future beyond humanity. This episode referred to the following other essays: -- A Worthy Successor - The Purpose of AGI: https://danfaggella.com/worthy/ -- Our Final Imperatives - Humanity's Last Goals at the Dawn of AI: https://danfaggella.com/imperatives Listen to this episode on The Trajectory Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-trajectory/id1739255954 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/bsTwkg6eYCs See the full article from this episode: https://danfaggella.com/carlmsith1 ... About The Trajectory: AGI and man-machine merger are going to radically expand the process of life beyond humanity -- so how can we ensure a good trajectory for future life? From Yoshua Bengio to Nick Bostrom, from Michael Levin to Peter Singer, we discuss how to positively influence the trajectory of posthuman life with the greatest minds in AI, biology, philosophy, and policy. Ask questions of our speakers in our live Philosophy Circle calls: https://bit.ly/PhilosophyCircle Stay in touch: -- Newsletter: bit.ly/TrajectoryTw -- X: x.com/danfaggella -- Blog: danfaggella.com/trajectory -- YouTube: youtube.com/@trajectoryai

    1h 53m
  8. Blaise Agüera y Arcas - AGI Symbiosis and the Arrow of Intelligence (Worthy Successor, Episode 14)

    10/31/2025

    Blaise Agüera y Arcas - AGI Symbiosis and the Arrow of Intelligence (Worthy Successor, Episode 14)

    This new installment of the Worthy Successor series is an interview with Blaise Agüera y Arcas, Vice President and Fellow at Google, and CTO of Technology & Society. In this conversation, Blaise talks about how life and intelligence seem to move in a single direction - toward greater complexity and deeper interdependence. Blaise describes this movement as an arrow of evolution, shaped by cooperation and merging - from the earliest partnerships between simple organisms to the way human societies and technologies grow together. The interview is our fourteenth installment in The Trajectory’s second series, Worthy Successor, where we explore the kinds of posthuman intelligences that deserve to steer the future beyond humanity. This episode referred to the following other essay: -- A Worthy Successor - The Purpose of AGI: https://danfaggella.com/worthy/ Listen to this episode on The Trajectory Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-trajectory/id1739255954 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/mAtjedPGmME See the full article from this episode: https://danfaggella.com/arcas1 ... About The Trajectory: AGI and man-machine merger are going to radically expand the process of life beyond humanity -- so how can we ensure a good trajectory for future life? From Yoshua Bengio to Nick Bostrom, from Michael Levin to Peter Singer, we discuss how to positively influence the trajectory of posthuman life with the greatest minds in AI, biology, philosophy, and policy. Ask questions of our speakers in our live Philosophy Circle calls: https://bit.ly/PhilosophyCircle Stay in touch: -- Newsletter: bit.ly/TrajectoryTw -- X: x.com/danfaggella -- Blog: danfaggella.com/trajectory -- YouTube: youtube.com/@trajectoryai

    1h 24m
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Ratings & Reviews

4.7
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

What should be the trajectory of intelligence beyond humanity?The Trajectory pull covers realpolitik on artificial general intelligence and the posthuman transition - by asking tech, policy, and AI research leaders the hard questions about what's after man, and how we should define and create a worthy successor (danfaggella.com/worthy). Hosted by Daniel Faggella.

Information

  • Creator
    Daniel Faggella
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    48
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Trajectory
  • Show Website
    The Trajectory

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