Undertone

Tyler Cowen

Jan 15, 2024

Tyler Cowen, a guest on the podcast, covers a wide range of fascinating topics, including talent identification in podcasts, the value of translated literature, the experience of watching classic movies in theaters, the concept of demand sloping down, the incorporation of AI into decision-making, the impact of existing AI models on productivity, worries about AI and societal feminization, the relationship between AI and rules, and using phantoms as sources of inspiration.

01:15:38

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Episode guests

Tyler Cowen

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Highlights

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

The choice of starting question in a podcast depends on the desired atmosphere and level of familiarity with the guest, as follow-up questions can often be repetitive.

The mid-career stage of a guest is often the best for engaging interviews, offering a larger scope of experience and a more stable identity.

The negative adverse selection inherent in criminal organizations can lead to unproductive outcomes, as selecting for brutality and superficial loyalty often results in untrustworthy individuals who may pose a threat to the group's stability.

Deep dives

The importance of talent assessment in podcast episodes

Virtually everyone who's on the podcast is already highly successful, but there's still the question of how good they will be in the podcast format.

Importance of Understanding Economics for Business Leaders

03:09

Selection Matters More Than Incentives

02:39

Follow up questions in podcasts and ideal interview subject age

01:14

Using AI to Downsize Businesses and Generate Unconventional Jobs

01:15

Introduction

2min

The Marginal Improvement of Meeting Someone a Second Time

8min

Translated Literature and Its Impact on Reading Experience

9min

The Value of Watching Classic Movies in Theaters

13min

Understanding Demand Slopes Down and Differences Between Public and Private Organizations

3min

Governing Structure and Incorporating AI into Decision-Making

4min

The Impact of Existing AM Models on Productivity and a Comparison with Microsoft Excel

2min

Amplifying Worries about AI and the Feminization of Societies

3min

AI and the Concept of Rules

15min

10.

Using Phantoms as Sources of Inspiration

17min

Tyler and I talk about nearly everything.

Transcript

Timestamps

(0:00:00) Intro

(0:00:28) Identifying talent on Tyler’s podcast

(0:03:48) Why are follow up questions overrated?

(0:04:21) Tyler’s preferred guest career stage

(0:05:16) Optimal frequency for recording podcasts

(0:05:50) Tyler’s podcast prep

(0:07:39) Importance of in-person episodes

(0:09:56) What would Tyler ask Paul McCartney

(0:10:16) When to read literature in translation

(0:13:31) Tyler on Dostoyevsky and Nietzsche

(0:15:39) Elena Ferrante and the importance of pseudonyms

(0:17:17) Misreading literature

(0:17:56) Will literature get better in the next 10 years?

(0:19:21) Watching complex film

(0:22:14) Enjoying art

(0:23:08) Jonathan Swift and Peter Thiel

(0:24:45) Crude comedy

(0:25:28) Can we trust elites in the internet age?

(0:26:44) Generational theories of politics

(0:27:57) Religious thinkers and Tyler’s implicit theology

(0:29:33) What did Tyler get from Plato at a young age?

(0:30:51) Why are Shakespeare, Proust, and Melville in a league of their own?

(0:31:32) Fernando Pessoa

(0:31:59) Implications of demand sloping down

(0:33:22) Innovation in governance structures

(0:36:14) Should business leaders study the greats?

(0:38:36) GDP growth from today’s AI models

(0:40:35) LessWrong and worries about AI

(0:41:46) Feminized societies in times of chaos

(0:43:17) Fernand Braudel

(0:43:52) Best argument against NGDP targeting

(0:47:06) AI business models

(0:48:19) What is a bubble?

(0:49:33) Where are there too few Emergent Ventures applications?

(0:50:09) Unsolved problems in economics

(0:51:27) Immigration policy

(0:52:56) If Tyler wasn’t an economist

(0:53:50) Would Tyler go to Burning Man?

(0:54:33) The MR Universe

(0:55:32) Tyler’s equanimity

(0:57:15) Tyrone

(0:59:27) Joyce Carol Oates and Susan Sontag

(1:04:45) Wasting time

(1:04:54) Bach’s productivity

(1:05:29) Competitors to MR

(1:07:51) New Jersey and The Sopranos

(1:11:56) Rapid fire - what Tyler learned from different people

Links

- Follow Tyler on X

- Tyler's blog

- Tyler's podcast

- ⁠Unmasking Elena Ferrante⁠

- New Yorker on Joyce Carol Oates

- Follow Dan on X

- Subscribe to Undertone on ⁠YouTube⁠, ⁠Apple⁠, ⁠Spotify⁠, or ⁠Substack⁠

- Share anonymous feedback on the podcast: https://forms.gle/w7LXMCXhdJ5Q2eB9A

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Undertone

Tyler Cowen

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

The importance of talent assessment in podcast episodes

The limited marginal improvement of second episodes

The significance of starting questions and follow-up questions

The ideal career stage for a guest on the podcast

Challenges in selecting loyal and capable employees in organized crime

The value of acquiring conceptual frameworks for success

Importance of Understanding Economics for Business Leaders

Selection Matters More Than Incentives

Follow up questions in podcasts and ideal interview subject age

Using AI to Downsize Businesses and Generate Unconventional Jobs

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts