"Pause AI or Die" For Humanity: An AI Safety Podcast Episode #14, Joep Meindertsma Interview

In Episode #14, John interviews Joep Meinderstma, Founder of Pause AI, a global AI safety policy and protest organization. Pause AI was behind the first ever AI Safety protests on the planet. John and Joep talk about what's being done, how it all feels, how it all might end, and even broach the darkest corner of all of this: suffering risk. This conversation embodies a spirit this movement needs: we can be upbeat and positive as we talk about the darkest subjects possible. It's not "optimism" to race to build suicide machines, but it is optimism to assume the best, and to believe we can and must succeed no matter what the odds. This podcast is not journalism. But it’s not opinion either. This show simply strings together the existing facts and underscores the unthinkable probable outcome, the end of all life on earth. For Humanity: An AI Safety Podcast, is the accessible AI Safety Podcast for all humans, no tech background required. Our show focuses solely on the threat of human extinction from AI. Peabody Award-winning former journalist John Sherman explores the shocking worst-case scenario of artificial intelligence: human extinction. The makers of AI openly admit it their work could kill all humans, in as soon as 2 years. This podcast is solely about the threat of human extinction from AGI. We’ll meet the heroes and villains, explore the issues and ideas, and what you can do to help save humanity. Resources: https://pauseai.info/https://discord.gg/pVMWjddaW7 Sample Letter to Elected Leaders: Dear XXXX- I'm a constituent of yours, I have lived in your district for X years. I'm writing today because I am gravely concerned about the existential threat to humanity from Artificial Intelligence. It is the most important issue in human history, nothing else is close. Have you read the 22-word statement from the Future of Life Institute on 5/31/23 that Sam Altman and all the big AI CEOs signed? It reads: "Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war." Do you believe them? If so, what are you doing to prevent human extinction? If not, why don't you believe them? Most prominent AI safety researchers say the default outcome, if we do not make major changes right now, is that AI will kill every living thing on earth, within 1-50 years. This is not science fiction or hyperbole. This is our current status quo. It's like a pharma company saying they have a drug they say can cure all diseases, but it hasn't been through any clinical trials and it may also kill anyone who takes it. Then, with no oversight or regulation, they have put the new drug in the public water supply. Big AI is making tech they openly admit they cannot control, do not understand how it works, and could kill us all. Their resources are 99:1 on making the tech stronger and faster, not safer. And yet they move forward, daily, with no oversight or regulation. I am asking you to become a leader in AI safety. Many policy ideas could help, and you could help them become law. Things like liability reform so AI companies are liable for harm, hard caps on compute power, and tracking and reporting of all chip locations at a certain level. I'd like to discuss this with you or someone from your office over the phone or a Zoom. Would that be possible? Thanks very much. XXXXXX Address Phone