

#22 — Surviving the Cosmos
7 snips Oct 16, 2023
Sam Harris speaks with David Deutsch, a quantum theorist and visiting professor of physics at Oxford University. They discuss the boundary between science and philosophy, the nature of scientific authority, the utility of knowledge, artificial intelligence, moral relativism, the Fermi problem, and other topics. They explore the power of explanation and its connection to controlling the world. They also discuss the potential dangers of artificial general intelligence and concerns about the viability of human civilization. Plus, they touch on the many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics and quantum computation.
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Introduction
00:00 • 2min
An Optimistic View of Problem Solving and Progress
01:54 • 2min
Exploring the Boundaries of Knowledge
03:54 • 14min
The Nature of Scientific Authority and the Process of Error Correction
17:37 • 5min
22:31 • 5min
The Power of Explanation
27:14 • 19min
Understanding the Nature of Reality
45:57 • 11min
The Potential Dangers of Artificial General Intelligence
56:48 • 21min
Concerns About Viability of Human Civilization
01:18:08 • 30min
Many Worlds Interpretation and Quantum Computation
01:47:47 • 5min