Night Owls Night Owls Episode 72
30 snips
Nov 14, 2025 
Cade Metz, a technology correspondent for The New York Times and author of Genius Makers, dives deep into the world of artificial intelligence. He shares his journey in AI journalism and discusses the staggering investments in AI infrastructure. The conversation covers the competition between the US and China, philosophical questions about AI consciousness, and the shifting political landscape in Silicon Valley. Metz also highlights the environmental impact of data centers and the role of the rationalist community in shaping AI development.
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Enormous Infrastructure Spend Reshapes AI
- Massive sums (hundreds of billions) are being spent building AI data centers, reshaping infrastructure priorities.
- This build-out is speculative but treated like an industrial-scale project with long-term bets.
Chatbots As The New Search Interface
- Chatbots are being positioned as a new, conversational replacement for classic search engines.
- Companies also focus on digital assistants, business tools, transcription and coding as early productive uses.
Apply AI To Protein Folding Workflows
- Use AI models to model protein folding and speed drug discovery instead of relying solely on wet labs.
- Partner with specialist firms or labs like DeepMind/Isomorphic Labs to accelerate medicine design.
