The Science of Success Artificial Intelligence, Cryogenics, & Procrastination with Wait But Why’s Tim Urban
Nov 7, 2023
Tim Urban, writer and creator of the blog Wait But Why, discusses the threat to humanity identified by Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Stephen Hawking. They explore the biology behind cryogenics and the concept of living forever. The psychology of procrastination is also explored, including the internal conflict between instant gratification and long-term planning.
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Procrastination Mechanics
- Procrastinators have an instant gratification monkey that overpowers their rational decision maker.
- The panic monster wakes up only with deadlines, forcing action, but long-term goals lack this.
Overcoming Procrastination
- Create external pressure or panic monsters, like accountability partners or an audience.
- Building external pressure helps, but truly beating procrastination requires empowering the rational decision maker.
AGI vs. Narrow AI
- Artificial general intelligence (AGI) is different from narrow AI, possessing broad intelligence like humans.
- AGI, capable of self-improvement, could quickly become superintelligent, surpassing human understanding.