Renowned evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins joins Sam Harris in a live event. They discuss religion, Jurassic Park, AI, elitism, human evolution, and the compatibility of science and religion. They also talk about Dawkins' book 'The Selfish Gene' and the mystery of consciousness.
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Quick takeaways
Supporting organizations like the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science can help defend science and secularism against the appointment of religious individuals to key positions in the US government.
Live events like the one featuring Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins can provide an enjoyable and insightful experience that may inspire producing more podcasts in a similar format in the future.
Deep dives
Explanation of Subscription and Fundraising
The podcast episode discusses the need for subscriptions to access full episodes of the Making Sense Podcast. It emphasizes the importance of supporting the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science, which is merging with the Center for Inquiry to defend science and secularism. The episode highlights the relevance of their work due to the appointment of individuals with religious beliefs to key positions in the US government. The episode urges listeners to become members of these organizations and use their political power to advocate for science and reason.
Engaging in Live Events and Conversations
The podcast episode describes a live event featuring Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins. It mentions the success of the event, which sold out and required the booking of another night. The episode highlights the enjoyment of having a live conversation rather than over Skype. This experience has given the host an idea for producing more podcasts like this in the future.
Clarifying the Concept of the Selfish Gene
The podcast episode provides an explanation of the concept of the selfish gene. It clarifies that the term is often misunderstood, as the book primarily focuses on altruism and the idea that genes that give rise to altruistic individuals have a survival advantage. The episode emphasizes that the book does not advocate for selfishness in individuals, but rather highlights that natural selection operates at the gene level.
Artificial Intelligence and Its Ethical Implications
The podcast episode explores artificial intelligence (AI) and its relationship to biological evolution. It discusses the progress in AI and the potential future development of machines as intelligent as humans. The episode highlights the ethical considerations of building AI systems and the need to incorporate moral values. It suggests that programmers may have to make challenging choices when coding the ethics of AI systems, such as the trolley problem in self-driving cars.
Sam Harris speaks with Richard Dawkins at a live event in Los Angeles (first of two). They cover religion, Jurassic Park, artificial intelligence, elitism, continuing human evolution, and other topics.
If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, you can SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all full-length episodes at samharris.org/subscribe.
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