The Importance of Consciousness

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I have a pretty like practical stance on my view of consciousness and like awareness you know there's tons of like psychological definitions for it that sent center around joking kinds of benchmarks. We treat animals right and especially smarter animals with some level of consciousness more than dumber animals or plants below that I tend to ignore questions like this. There are things about something that is conscious that all conscious things tend to share there is some form of environment right and awareness of your environment to some degree notice I don't say self-awareness right because I actually don't think that that's very easy to define but there is some sort of internal reflection mechanism even trees can grow in the direction of sunlight so they can feed

In this episode, Nathan sits down with Tyler Angert, Product Designer at Replit, to discuss the future of software development. Replit is building what CEO Amjad Masad calls "the perfect substrate for AGI." In this discussion, Tyler and Nathan discuss how Replit is leveraging AI to enhance its current product, bot-bot interactions, the design and ethical considerations around AI agents, and more. If you're looking for an ERP platform, check out our sponsor, NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/cognitive

We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and more. For a list of JDs, check out: eriktorenberg.com.

TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Episode Preview

(01:10) Nathan’s Intro

(09:24) Tyler's role at Replit

(11:37) Replit as the "perfect substrate for AGI"

(14:55) Sponsor: Netsuite | Omneky

(15:45) Defining AGI

(19:26) How AI agents might interact with Replit

(23:20) Replit's "virtual developer" product

(31:11) Current state of Replit's AI features like Ghostwriter

(41:48) Measuring productivity boost from AI coding tools

(45:29) Potential for massive developer productivity gains from AI

(48:34) Technical gaps still remaining to achieve advanced AI agents

(51:45) Core AI breakthroughs have already occurred

(57:35) Timeline for functional AI agents interacting online

(01:01:20) Safety considerations for powerful AI agents on Replit

(01:08:47) Ethical considerations around AI and consciousness

(01:20:36) What constitutes consciousness in an AI system

(01:26:30) Should AI systems have rights and protections?

(01:30:32) Being polite to AI systems

(01:31:59) Advice for beginners looking to leverage AI

(01:36:58) Using AI with a Neuralink brain implant

(01:43:02) Hopes and fears about AI's impact on society

LINKS:

https://replit.com/

@tylerangert (Tyler)

@labenz (Nathan)

@eriktorenberg (Erik)

@cogrev_podcast

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This show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at erik@turpentine.co.