This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 1:23 Bob’s sage status rises 4:18 GPT-4o: harbinger of the Metaverse? 13:53 Does sentience matter for AI companionship? 25:48 The promise and perils of social AI 33:46 How LLMs flip the script on computing 39:05 Heading to Overtime—and a special announcement! Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Paul Bloom (https://smallpotatoes.paulbloom.net, University of Toronto, The Sweet Spot, Ag...
May 21, 2024•43 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 4:08 How the Overton window is shifting after October 7 9:59 Israel’s 9/11, Israel’s overreaction, and liberal Zionism 15:22 The power of the Israel lobby Discussed in Overtime:How “pro-Israel” actions may undermine Israel.“From the river to the sea…” and other controversies.US and Israeli media coverage of the Gaza war.Free speech warriors turn speech code enforcers. Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of G...
May 20, 2024•26 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:24 Why this pod’s a little odd 2:50 Ilya Sutskever and Jan Leike quit OpenAI—part of a larger pattern? 10:20 Bob: AI doomers need Hollywood 16:26 Does an AI arms race spell doom for alignment? 20:40 Why the “Pause AI” movement matters 24:54 AI doomerism and Don’t Look Up: compare and contrast 27:23 How Liron (fore)sees AI doom 33:18 Are Sam Altman’s concerns about AI safety sincere? 39:46 Paperclip maximizing, evolut...
May 16, 2024•1 hr 18 min
2:20 How Jews fit—or don’t—into universities’ DEI regimes 10:55 What do controversial pro-Palestine chants really mean? 18:24 When does criticism of Israel become antisemitic? 26:41 The Israel lobby’s influence on Congress and academia 34:13 Do pro-Israel donors unwittingly inflame antisemitism? 41:22 Evidence of increasing antisemitism 49:49 Was Ilhan Omar’s “all about the Benjamins” tweet antisemitic? 57:07 Bob criticizes Bari Weiss, Bill Ackman, and an Eli tweet 1:07:12 Balancing concerns abo...
May 14, 2024•1 hr 18 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org Robert Wright and Andrew Day discuss items from the Earthling. Read this edition of the Earthling: https://nonzero.substack.com/p/protest-tips-from-boomers Recorded May 10, 2024. https://twitter.com/NonzeroNews https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods...
May 11, 2024•29 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 1:53 Is it ever okay to fire professors for speech? 13:32 Bari Weiss spreads misinformation without consequence 22:28 Are some of Israel’s American supporters unwittingly inflaming antisemitism? 33:33 Ayaan Hirsi Ali converts to Christianity without abandoning New Atheist creed 38:46 Do Sam Harris et. al. get religion totally wrong? 49:12 Heading to Overtime Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is...
May 07, 2024•52 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org Robert Wright and Andrew Day discuss items from the Earthling. Read this edition of the Earthling: https://nonzero.substack.com/p/the-new-pro-israel-assault-on-free
May 04, 2024•30 min
0:41 Coleman’s Joe Rogan appearance and new book, The End of Race Politics 2:50 Campus protests and free speech 12:53 Is anti-Zionism anti-Semitism? 17:42 Is "exterminating Hamas" a viable solution? 27:11 Bob: Israel never offered Palestinians a state 40:54 “Right of return” and Palestinian national identity 57:22 How firmly entrenched is hatred of Israel among Palestinians? 1:08:33 Could better US policy have steered Israel-Palestine toward peace? 1:19:12 Are Palestinian “sacred beliefs” the pr...
Apr 29, 2024•1 hr 38 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:29 Paul asserts his right to non-assertion 4:31 Campus protests and free speech controversies 19:53 Have pro-Palestine protestors crossed a line? Have their opposition? 31:13 Will the protests force a reckoning on campus “wokeness”? 40:09 Remembering philosopher Daniel Dennett 48:03 Bob vs Dennett on consciousness 1:00:47 Does the mind-body problem suggest a cosmic solution? 1:10:34 Heading to Overtime Robert Wright ...
Apr 24, 2024•1 hr 12 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:29 Anatoly’s strange CV 4:20 How the 20th century set the stage for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine 9:42 Why did Putin turn against the West? 24:19 Anatoly: I underestimated Russia’s incompetence 28:29 Has the Ukraine war really shifted in Russia’s favor? 35:26 Russia’s “elite human capital” problem 42:02 Is the “bio-singularity” near? 51:11 Unipolar vs multipolar AI takeover scenarios 1:00:01 Heading to Overtime Robert ...
Apr 22, 2024•1 hr 4 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org Robert Wright and Andrew Day discuss items from the Earthling. Read this edition of the Earthling: https://nonzero.substack.com/p/the-kay-burley-path-to-world-peace Recorded April 19, 2024. https://twitter.com/NonzeroNews https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods...
Apr 20, 2024•35 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:59 Why Iran’s attack on Israel was an “own goal” 5:36 Did Iran minimize casualties on purpose? 12:11 The rising odds of Israel attacking Iran directly 19:39 America’s contradictory relationship with Israel 25:43 How conflict with Iran helps Israel 34:11 What China wants in the Middle East 43:27 America’s destabilizing role in the region 57:16 Heading to Overtime Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddh...
Apr 17, 2024•1 hr
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org Robert Wright and Andrew Day discuss items from the Earthling. Read this edition of the Earthling: https://nonzero.substack.com/p/marc-andreessens-mindless-techno Recorded April 12, 2024. https://twitter.com/NonzeroNews https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods...
Apr 13, 2024•34 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:29 Why Paul’s eclipse experience eclipsed Bob’s 6:25 Remembering pioneering psychologist Daniel Kahneman 16:33 Bob fails gender affirmation test 21:14 Has the “replication crisis” tainted Kahneman’s legacy? 27:47 Eastern vs. Western “enlightenment” 35:58 How AI doomerism came to the rationalist community 45:42 3 Body Problem review goes into Overtime Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True)...
Apr 11, 2024•51 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:34 A brief message from Bob 2:12 Derek and Danny stumble into Bob’s Zoom room 3:11 Israel’s doubly out-of-control week 12:13 How Biden's Gaza failures will shape the Democratic Party 26:42 Biden’s political incentives on Israel-Palestine 30:12 Heading to Overtime Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True), Derek Davison (Foreign Exchanges, American Prestige, Discontents), and Daniel Bessner (...
Apr 05, 2024•31 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:33 Robin’s history of thinking about the future 2:48 Seeing AI as offspring, not adversary 14:54 Robin’s famous answer to a great cosmic mystery 25:21 Would evidence of aliens be good news or bad? 34:23 Is rationalist culture cultist? 44:19 LLMs: revolution or hype cycle? 55:57 Heading to Overtime Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Robin Hanson (George Mason University, The Elepha...
Apr 03, 2024•57 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:33 Ilia’s background 2:21 Things to know about the noosphere 8:43 Teilhard’s transgressive theological and scientific thought 14:57 Does AI suggest a “transcendent nature to nature”? 18:36 The Teilhardian solution to the mind-body problem 29:44 How Darwinian was Teilhard, really? 38:37 Teilhard on love 43:33 “Techno-sapiens,” redemption, and the Omega Point 55:06 Heading to Overtime Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolut...
Mar 31, 2024•57 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org Robert Wright and Andrew Day discuss items from the Earthling. Read this edition of the Earthling: https://nonzero.substack.com/p/the-new-persuaders Recorded March 29, 2024. https://twitter.com/NonzeroNews https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods...
Mar 30, 2024•35 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:33 Kati’s unusual niche 2:40 How Covid changed meditation 7:38 Kati: The optimal amount of meditation is… 15:10 Is focusing on the breath overblown? 23:06 AI as a spiritual challenge 33:03 Meditation and cognitive empathy 39:52 Using technology mindfully 46:24 Heading to Overtime Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Kathryn Devaney (The Berkeley Alembic). Recorded March 21, 2024. Tw...
Mar 26, 2024•50 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 3:05 Are Nikolay and Kirill satisfied with the "special military operation"? 8:26 Why have Russians become more supportive of the war effort? 18:07 Kirill defends the RWA tweet that unsettled Bob 32:53 US policies that made the war more likely 41:15 How much of Ukraine does Putin want? 54:29 Heading to Overtime RWA YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@RussiansWithAttitude/videos RWA podcast episodes: https://www.p...
Mar 22, 2024•57 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:33 Paul’s Substack: small potatoes or some pumpkins? 4:03 Elon sours on Lemon—is ketamine to blame? 10:00 The enduring enigma that is Elon Musk 21:25 Is Altman overdramatizing the AI #Resistance? 30:03 Paul cavalierly ignores Bob’s sage guidance 34:25 Oscars: The good, the bad, and the hammy 40:57 Heading to Overtime (plus: big Small Potatoes news!) Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) ...
Mar 20, 2024•44 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:33 Nathan’s role as “AI scout” 4:07 What "open source" in AI really means 9:45 Why the secrecy around AI training data? 17:19 What’s actually “open” about OpenAI? 32:56 The case for and against open source AI 42:35 Is an open source crackdown coming?52:25 What Waymark, Nathan’s company, does with AI Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Nathan Labenz (Cognitive Revolution, Waymark AI...
Mar 15, 2024•1 hr 2 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 2:49 Should Biden pursue regime change in Israel? 11:09 How the White House mishandled Netanyahu's far-right government 22:32 Daniel: “Israel has lost this war” 31:57 What a ceasefire deal would look like 39:16 Biden’s immense, unused leverage over Netanyahu 46:54 Heading to Overtime Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Daniel Levy (Prospects for Peace, NAF, The Century Foundation). R...
Mar 12, 2024•48 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org Robert Wright and Andrew Day discuss items from the Earthling. Read this edition of the Earthling at: https://nonzero.substack.com/p/the-real-problem-with-the-trump-biden Recorded March 08, 2024. https://twitter.com/NonzeroNews https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods...
Mar 09, 2024•32 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 0:31 The other Tim B. Lee 3:16 Unpacking the Elon v. OpenAI case 14:04 How did Google’s Gemini go wrong? 25:24 The unsung ingenious side of Gemini 34:39 Is AI a bubble? 38:53 Are some LLM issues insoluble? 44:39 How Sora changes the AI picture 51:12 Heading to Overtime Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Timothy B. Lee (Full Stack Economics, Understanding AI). Recorded March 6, 2024....
Mar 07, 2024•52 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org Robert Wright and Andrew Day discuss items from the (would-be) Earthling. Recorded March 01, 2024. https://twitter.com/NonzeroNews https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods
Mar 01, 2024•48 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 1:19 Big trouble with Small Potatoes 5:13 What makes a good podcast? 13:21 Google’s AI goes wild(ly woke) 27:02 Is Biden a “super-ager” or just super old? 35:51 On the psychology of self-immolation 52:38 Are we thinking right about mental illness? 56:52 Heading to Overtime Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Paul Bloom (https://smallpotatoes.paulbloom.net, University of Toronto, The ...
Feb 28, 2024•1 hr
0:31 Gary’s background and place in the AI world 1:45 Are Gary’s views on AI paradoxical? 9:16 Bob: Searle’s Chinese Room argument is dead 19:29 Have LLMs demonstrated "theory of mind"? 26:34 Arguing the semantics of an LLM's “semantic space” 32:04 Do LLM representations map onto the real world? 41:20 Can (and should) we slow down AI development? 52:11 Gary: I’ve never seen a field as myopic as AI today 54:53 The (symbolic?) future of AI Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Non...
Feb 22, 2024•1 hr
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org 2:19 Nikita’s memories of Navalny’s emergence as a political force 12:17 The time Nikita was detained for protesting election fraud 23:42 Navalny’s success as a political organizer 36:53 What did Navalny represent? 47:22 Navalny’s courageous post-poisoning return to Russia 57:53 Heading to Overtime (plus: Nikita’s photo with Navalny) Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Nikita Petrov ...
Feb 20, 2024•1 hr 5 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org Robert Wright and Andrew Day discuss items from the Earthling. Read this edition of the Earthling at: https://nonzero.substack.com/p/sam-altmans-big-bad-idea Recorded February 16, 2024. https://twitter.com/NonzeroNews https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods...
Feb 17, 2024•43 min
