Bryan Johnson, entrepreneur and CEO of Kernel and OS Fund, discusses the importance of co-evolving with AI, future literacy, improving biological systems, privacy inequality, and skepticism of advice in this thought-provoking podcast.
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Quick takeaways
Brain-machine interfaces can enhance cognition and enable co-evolution with artificial intelligence.
Rapid adaptation and improvement of cognitive abilities are crucial for human survival and addressing global challenges.
Addressing privacy concerns is critical to ensure brain-enhancing technologies benefit all individuals and avoid exacerbating societal disparities.
Deep dives
The Power of Brain-Machine Interfaces
Brian Johnson, founder of Kernel, believes that brain-machine interfaces are the new frontier of human development. By integrating technology with the human mind, we can enhance our cognitive abilities and co-evolve with artificial intelligence. The current tools, such as smartphones, have reached their limits, and the brain holds the potential for exponential growth and expansion. These interfaces will allow us to expand our cognition, challenge our assumptions, and explore new realities that were previously unimaginable.
The Urgency of Adapting to Change
Johnson emphasizes the need for humans to adapt rapidly to the changing world and evolve our cognitive abilities. He argues that survival as a species hinges on our ability to improve and increase the rate at which we adapt. By leveraging brain-machine interfaces and machine learning, we can enhance our self-awareness, overcome cognitive biases, break through limitations, and become better versions of ourselves. This evolutionary path offers the greatest potential for human growth and the ability to address complex global challenges.
Privacy and Inequality as Concerns
As brain-machine interfaces advance, concerns about privacy and inequality arise. Johnson identifies privacy as one element of the larger challenge of how we deal with each other as individuals and as a society. Privacy is intertwined with the broader issue of becoming better humans and creating a cohesive and cooperative future. Addressing these challenges and ensuring that brain-enhancing technologies benefit all individuals is crucial in order to avoid exacerbating existing disparities in society.
Breaking Free from Limited Realities
Throughout his life, Johnson has experienced moments of realizing the limitations of his own reality and being exposed to new perspectives. This has fueled his drive to continually seek out and explore new realities beyond his own. He believes that the brain holds immense potential for growth and expansion, and by embracing brain-machine interfaces and harnessing their power, we can break free from our current limitations, challenge our assumptions, and unlock new realms of human cognition and understanding.
Expanding Reality Diversity
The podcast explores the idea that reality is not fixed, but rather a product of our perception. The speaker emphasizes that instead of trying to convert others to our own reality, it is important to embrace the diversity of realities and coexist without feeling threatened. This can be achieved by scaffolding society on functional elements that allow for different realities to peacefully exist. The speaker expresses the desire for humans to evolve and be equally interested in expanding their own reality and exploring the realities of others. They also discuss the potential of brain interfaces and telepathic communication in enhancing empathy and understanding between different consciousness forms.
Challenging Assumptions and Creating New Systems
The episode highlights the concept of assumption stacks, which are the underlying beliefs and scaffolding that support our decision-making and perception of reality. The speaker emphasizes the importance of questioning and challenging these assumption stacks to break free from societal norms and embrace new possibilities. They advocate for creating new systems and designing our own reality instead of blindly accepting the structures imposed by others. The speaker shares personal examples of opting out of traditional paths, such as college and conventional careers, in order to create a different system aligned with their own values and goals. They encourage individuals to develop meta-awareness and consciously choose which assumptions to accept or reject in order to create a more expansive and fulfilling life.
Bryan Johnson (@bryan_johnson) is an entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and founder and CEO of Kernel, a company developing advanced neural interfaces, and OS Fund, a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage science and technology companies.
What We Discuss with Bryan Johnson:
Why humanity needs to co-evolve with artificial intelligence if we are to survive as a species.
What future literacy is and why it's crucial for understanding the role humanity will play in the decades to come.
The steps being taken to comprehend what makes biological systems fail in order to improve their capabilities.
How privacy inequality could create more of a disparity between people than economic disparity ever could.
Why Bryan advises us to be skeptical of advice -- and how we can discern between what's applicable to our own situation and what's completely useless.
