E116: Stuck Academia, US vs China, and Why Startups Work

Today, we're re-releasing an episode from 2023 where Erik Torenberg sits down with physicist and startup founder Steve Hsu on topics including the ideological shift in academia, the impact of AI on labor, China's technological advancements and geopolitical position, and the global fertility decline.

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RECOMMENDED IN THIS EPISODE:

Superfocus: https://superfocus.ai/ 

Othram: https://othram.com/index.html 

Manifold: https://www.manifold1.com/ 

Eric Kaufman’s works: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=EcCc2C4AAAAJ&hl=en

NY Times: Idaho University Murder Investigation: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/10/us/idaho-university-murder-investigation.html# 

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X / TWITTER:

@hsu_steve

@eriktorenberg

@turpentinemedia

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE EPISODE:

• Academia has shifted dramatically leftward, with around 90% of professors in social sciences being left-leaning.

• Traditional academic merit-based systems like GRE requirements are being dismantled in favor of DEI initiatives.

• Truth-seeking academics are increasingly moving to industry, particularly tech and innovation sectors.

• The University of Austin represents an attempt to create an alternative academic institution focused on traditional academic values.

• Global fertility decline is linked to fundamental changes in women's roles and societal values around family formation.

• Current demographic challenges in China won't significantly impact their economy for at least 20 years.

• AI is already capable of replacing complex customer service roles, as demonstrated in Philippines' call centers.

• Law firms are reporting 20-30% efficiency gains from current AI implementations.

• The guest views AI as humanity's descendants rather than a separate threatening entity.

• Most Westerners, including tech leaders, are poorly informed about China's actual technological and economic capabilities.

• China has built a comparable or superior tech ecosystem to the US in many areas.

• The US needs to accept a bipolar world order rather than trying to maintain sole hegemony.

• Western concerns about China's demographic collapse are often based on poor understanding of the data.

• The future of AI research should focus more on theoretical understanding rather than just building bigger models.

• The guest's company Othram has revolutionized crime-solving through advanced DNA analysis.

• The guest balances work between deep theoretical physics problems and practical startup applications.