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What if the future tech billionaires keep promising us isn’t the answer, but part of the problem?
In this episode of Into the Impossible, I talk with Adam Becker, author of More Everything Forever, about the big dreams coming out of Silicon Valley—especially when it comes to AI and the future of humanity.
We take a hard look at the idea that AI is going to fix everything, launch us into space, and solve all our problems along the way. It’s a powerful story, and a lot of very smart, very rich people believe it. But what if they’re getting the science—and the big picture—wrong? Becker argues that people like Elon Musk and Marc Andreessen are chasing a future that ignores some pretty basic realities: limits on energy, physics, and even society itself.
Instead of creating a better world, their vision might actually make things worse, deepening inequality, spreading bias, and putting even more power into the hands of a few.
If you’re excited about AI, curious about space, or just wondering where all this is heading, this is a conversation you’ll want to hear.
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Key Takeaways:
00:00 Intro
00:44 AI boom or AI doom?
03:40 What are tech billionaires wrong about?
06:10 Influence of science fiction on tech billionaires
11:05 Religious parallels in AI and space exploration
15:37 The search for extraterrestrial intelligence
24:16 Effective altruism and long-termism
35:28 Optimism and skepticism about AI
44:46 Judging a book by its cover
47:53 Impact of AI on underrepresented communities
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Additional resources:
Learn more about Adam:
💻 Website: https://freelanceastrophysicist.com/
📚 More Everything Forever: https://a.co/d/ajlYHvZ
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Into the Impossible with Brian Keating is a podcast dedicated to all those who want to explore the universe within and beyond the known.
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