In this episode of For Humanity, John Sherman sits down with Congressman Bill Foster — the only PhD scientist in Congress, a former Fermilab physicist, and one of the few lawmakers deeply engaged with advanced AI risks. Together, they dive into a wide-ranging conversation about the accelerating capabilities of AI, the systemic vulnerabilities inside Congress, and why the next few years may determine the fate of our species.
Foster unpacks why AI risk mirrors nuclear risk in scale, how interpretability is collapsing as models evolve, why Congress is structurally incapable of responding fast enough, and how geopolitical pressures distort every conversation on safety. They also explore the looming financial bubble around AI, the coming energy crunch from massive data centers, and the emerging threat of anonymous encrypted compute — a pathway that could enable rogue actors or rogue AIs to operate undetected.
If you want a deeper understanding of how AI intersects with power, geopolitics, compute, regulation, and existential risk, this conversation is essential.
Together, they explore:
* • The real risks emerging from today’s AI systems — and what’s coming next
* Why Congress is unprepared for AGI-level threats
* How compute verification could become humanity’s safety net
* Why data centers may reshape energy, economics, and local politics
* How scientific literacy in government could redefine AI governance
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