Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg Darwinian Demons: Climate Change and the AI Arms Race (with Kristian Rönn)
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Sep 10, 2025 Kristian Rönn, an entrepreneur and author of The Darwinian Trap, discusses the urgent existential risks posed by AI, comparing them to historical threats like nuclear weapons. He emphasizes the need for global governance to mitigate these dangers and explores the complexities of climate change in relation to technology. Rönn raises critical questions about balancing innovation with caution and whether collaborative efforts can ensure emerging technologies uplift humanity. His insights into the interplay of competition and ethical dilemmas in AI development are thought-provoking.
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Climate As A Governance Laboratory
- Kristian Rönn entered climate work to learn how to solve global coordination problems that also apply to AI and nuclear risks.
- He viewed climate as a tractable domain with momentum for global governance to crack the formula of international cooperation.
Standards And Signals Drive Climate Action
- Kristian argues climate governance has progressed via treaties and standards like the Paris Agreement and enterprise carbon accounting.
- He sees top-down network effects where net-zero commitments cascade through value chains and capital flows.
Darwinian Demons Versus Angels
- Darwinian demons are selection pressures that incentivize agents to harm others to gain fitness or advantage.
- Life and societies balance demons with Darwinian angels—layers of cooperation that enable complex systems.
