Don't Worry About the Vase Podcast On The Adolescence of Technology
Jan 30, 2026
Dario Amodei, AI researcher and Anthropic CEO, explains his essay on the adolescence of technology and what powerful AI might look like. The conversation covers timelines and uncertainty, risks of autonomous data-center systems, defenses like interpretability and monitoring, biological and authoritarian threats, economic disruption and concentration of power. Short, provocative, and forward-looking.
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Doomerism Label Undercuts Serious Warnings
- Dario Amodei frames AI risk warnings as "doomerism" and urges avoiding sensationalism to gain broader credibility.
- Zvi Moshowitz argues this labeling dismisses legitimate existential concerns and straw-mans more careful critics.
Country Of Geniuses Frames The Threat
- Dario asks readers to imagine a "country of geniuses" and lists five major risk categories from autonomy to indirect effects.
- Zvi highlights recursive self-improvement as the pivotal, game-ending phase beyond initial takeover risks.
Intent Not Required For Catastrophe
- Dario rejects simplistic claims that AIs will never want power and cites unexpected behaviours and misgeneralization.
- Zvi counters that intent isn't required; power-seeking incentives and instrumental convergence suffice.
