Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of DeepMind and Inflection AI, discusses the monumental shifts brought by artificial intelligence. He highlights the rise of generative AI models like ChatGPT and their ethical implications. Suleyman shares his journey from the early days of DeepMind to envisioning personalized AI that enhances our daily lives. The conversation also addresses the rapid evolution of AI in sectors such as agriculture and healthcare, while emphasizing the need for ethical governance amid global tensions. His insights from 'The Coming Wave' are thought-provoking.
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Suleyman's Path to AI
Mustafa Suleyman dropped out of his philosophy degree at 19 to volunteer at Muslim Youth Helpline.
He later co-founded DeepMind, driven by a desire for greater impact after working for the mayor of London.
insights INSIGHT
DeepMind's Early AI Bet
DeepMind's founders bet on deep learning before it was popular, leading to early success.
They anticipated the current AI revolution, even advising key figures in today's AI landscape.
insights INSIGHT
AI's Trajectory: From Classification to Generation
AI's trajectory involves classifying data and then generating new content based on learned patterns.
Increasing computational power enables AI to plan across multiple time horizons, leading to more complex tasks like product generation.
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Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma
Mustafa Suleyman
The Coming Wave delves into the impending technological revolution driven by AI and synthetic biology, arguing that this wave will have a more dramatic impact on humanity than any previous technological advancement. Suleyman discusses how these technologies will create immense prosperity but also threaten the nation-state and global order. He examines historical technological waves and their societal implications, proposing the 'containment problem' as the essential challenge of our age. The book explores the potential for catastrophic harms, overbearing surveillance, and the need to forge a path between catastrophe and dystopia. Suleyman offers 10 steps to contain the rapid expansion of these technologies, though he acknowledges the complexity and potential failure of such containment efforts[1][3][5].
Going Infinite
The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon
Michael Lewis
In 'Going Infinite', Michael Lewis delves into the life of Sam Bankman-Fried, the enigmatic founder of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX. The book provides a psychological portrait and a financial roller-coaster ride, tracing Bankman-Fried's trajectory from becoming the world's youngest billionaire to his eventual downfall. It covers topics such as high-frequency trading, cryptocurrencies, effective altruism, and the justice system. Despite criticism for its sympathetic portrayal of Bankman-Fried, the book offers a fascinating insight into the complex world of cryptocurrencies and the character of its central figure.
Mustafa Suleyman is the ultimate AI insider. As co-founder of DeepMind and Inflection AI, he is one of the pioneers of the artificial intelligence revolution, potentially the single greatest accelerant of progress in history. His new book The Coming Wave: Technology, Power and the Twenty-First Century’s Greatest Dilemma, asks questions about whether society is prepared for such rapid change. In the first of a three-part conversation for this episode of Intelligence Squared, Suleyman joined Zanny Minton Beddoes, Editor-in-Chief of The Economist, live at the Tabernacle theatre in London to explain how he believes we are approaching a critical threshold in the history of humankind.
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