The biggest one for me is the internet itself, right? I mean, if somehow someone were able to shut down the internet through some mechanism or use AI. The world would grind to a halt because everything is dependent on it. Some would say a 5% risk that all of humanity will be extinguished is unacceptably high. But we don't think enough about the risks that we're already living with in terms of technology.
The two hottest topics in tech right now are the rise of generative AI and, with Apple’s recent push into spatial computing, the mainstreaming of augmented reality. Will silicon-based machines develop sentience? Will human experience extend into virtual worlds? These distinct technologies may eventually blend to spawn a surprising future, as our “real” world becomes digitally enhanced and our machines behave increasingly like humans.
Today, a provocative discussion with some big (human) thinkers: Steven Johnson, visiting scholar at Google Labs and author of ”Extra Life,” “Where Good Ideas Come from,” and “How We Got to Now”; philosopher and cognitive scientist David Chalmers, author of ”The Conscious Mind” and “Reality+”; and Betaworks founder and AI investor John Borthwick.
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• “David Chalmers Thinks We May Be Living in a Simulation (and He’s OK With It)”
• “Steven Johnson & Michael Specter on the Future of Life”