Space Junk, Nuclear Waste, AI Nukes and the Reason We’re All Still Here
Oct 10, 2023
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Dr. Jeffrey Lewis discusses fears like nuclear weapons, space junk and climate change. He shares stories of people preventing the world from falling into oblivion and highlights the importance of successes and failures. The podcast also explores cross-cultural challenges in North Korea and the challenges of communicating with aliens and burying nuclear waste. It delves into the movie Dr. Strange Love and the concerns surrounding nuclear weapons and AI in China and Russia.
China's increase in nuclear weapons raises concerns about a potential arms race.
Russia's interest in integrating AI into nuclear command systems poses risks due to biases and flawed training data.
Individuals outside of governments play a crucial role in addressing existential threats and making the world a safer place.
Deep dives
China's nuclear weapons expansion
China is significantly increasing its number of nuclear weapons, causing concern about a potential arms race. While China is still focused on maintaining a survivable deterrent, the increase in weapons could lead to an escalation of tensions.
Russia's nuclear weapons and AI integration
Russia's nuclear weapons policy is driven by a sense of insecurity, with President Putin believing that dominance over neighboring countries is necessary for security. There are concerns about Russia's interest in integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into nuclear command and control systems. The idea is to use AI as a decision support tool, but this raises risks, particularly due to the potential for confirmation bias and flawed training data.
Integration of command control with AI
There are debates about the risks and benefits of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into nuclear command and control systems. While some argue that AI could provide valuable decision support, there are concerns about over-reliance on AI systems that may lack critical thinking abilities and be susceptible to biases. The potential for unintended consequences and loss of human control raises significant challenges.
The mission of 'The Reason We're All Still Here' podcast
The podcast explores the role of individuals outside of governments in addressing existential threats such as nuclear weapons, climate change, and environmental crimes. It highlights the importance of outsider perspectives and showcases stories of people who have made a difference by taking action and contributing to a safer and better world.
Finding hope amidst existential risks
The podcast seeks to counter feelings of existential doom by presenting stories that inspire hope. While acknowledging the seriousness of global challenges, it highlights the resilience of individuals who have made efforts to solve problems and emphasizes the potential for positive change. By sharing stories of people who have worked towards a better world, the podcast aims to motivate listeners to engage and contribute to making a difference.
There’s a lot of reasons to be worried about the future. Climate change, nuclear weapons, space junk, and World War III are all threats both present and long-term. But, every day, people are trying to make the world a better place. It lands them in weird situations like skinny dripping with Soviet officers at the height of the Cold War or getting drunk with engineers in North Korea.
This week on Cyber, Dr. Jeffrey Lewis stops by to tell us all about the brave men and women who took a chance, reached out, and helped prevent the world from falling into oblivion. Lewis is a professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies on the Nonproliferation and Terrorism Faculty. His new podcast, The Reason We’re All Still Here, explores the apocalypse with an air of hope for the future.
We’re recording CYBER live on Twitch. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show.