Essentialism vs. Nominalism and AI

Learn how to use philosophy to run your business more effectively.
Reid Hoffman thinks a masters in philosophy will help you run your business better than an MBA.

Reid is a founder, investor, podcaster, and author. But before he did any of these things, he studied philosophy—and it changed the way he thinks.

Studying philosophy trains you to think deeply about truth, human nature, and the meaning of life. It helps you see the big picture and reason through complex problems—invaluable skills for founders grappling with existential questions about their business.

I usually bring guests onto my podcast to discuss the actionable ways in which people have incorporated ChatGPT into their lives. But this episode is different. 

I sat down with Reid to tackle a deeper question: How is AI changing what it means to be human? 

It was honestly one of the most meaningful shows I’ve recorded yet. We dive into:
- How philosophy prepares you to be a better founder
- The importance of interdisciplinary thinking
- Essentialism v. nominalism in the context of AI
- How language models are evolving to be more “essentialist”
- The co-evolution of humans and technology

 Reid also shares actionable uses of ChatGPT for people who want to think more clearly, like:
- Input your argument and ask ChatGPT for alternative perspectives
- Generate custom explanations of complex ideas
- Leverage ChatGPT as an on-demand research assistant

This episode is a must-watch for anyone curious about some of the bigger questions prompted by the rapid development of AI.

If you found this episode interesting, please like, subscribe, comment, and share! 

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Timestamps:
00:00:00 - START 
00:04:35 - Why philosophy will make you a better founder
00:08:22 - The fundamental problem with “trolley problems”
00:14:27 - How AI is changing the essentialism v. nominalism debate
00:29:33 - Why embeddings align with nominalism
00:34:26 - How LLMs are being trained to reason better
00:44:52 - How technology changes the way we see ourselves and the world around us
00:46:24 - Why most psychology literature is wrong
00:52:46 - Why philosophers didn’t come up with AI
00:56:30 - How to use ChatGPT to be more philosophically inclined

Links to resources mentioned in the episode:
Reid Hoffman: https://twitter.com/reidhoffman
The podcasts that Reid hosts: Possible (possible.fm) and Masters of Scale (https://mastersofscale.com/)
Reid’s book: Impromptu https://www.impromptubook.com/
The book Reid recommends if you want to be more philosophically inclined: Gödel, Escher, Bach https://www.amazon.com/G%C3%B6del-Escher-Bach-Eternal-Golden/dp/0465026567
Reid’s article in the Atlantic: "Technology Makes Us More Human" https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/01/chatgpt-ai-technology-techo-humanism-reid-hoffman/672872/
The book about why psychology literature is wrong: The WEIRDest People in the World by Joseph Henrich https://www.amazon.com/WEIRDest-People-World-Psychologically-Particularly/dp/0374173222
The book about how culture is driving human evolution: The Secrets of Our Success by Joseph Henrich https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691178431/the-secret-of-our-success