457: Robin Hanson | Futarchy, Cultural Drift, and the Future of Adaptiveness

In this episode of The Armen Show, host Armen Shirvanian is joined by economist and author Dr. Robin Hanson for a deep and wide-ranging conversation on open discourse, prediction markets, futarchy, and the evolution of culture.

They begin by examining the value of figuring things out together – why true intellectual collaboration requires curiosity, humility, and non-attachment to one’s ideas. Robin explains how focusing on key questions, rather than defending positions, allows for genuine progress in understanding the world.

From there, the discussion moves into prediction markets and how conditional decision markets can help societies make better, evidence-based decisions. Robin elaborates on his governance model of futarchy, where nations “vote on values but bet on beliefs,” and explores how this framework could reshape politics, policy, and long-term coordination.

Later, they unpack cultural drift – the idea that our modern global monoculture is evolving maladaptively as selection pressures weaken. Robin connects this to shifts in human values, conformity, and our return to pre-agricultural instincts, and Armen links it to social dynamics, risk-taking, and the modern relationship landscape.

The episode closes with insights on adaptation vs. reinvention, institutional decay, and what it means to maintain agency and alignment with reality in a rapidly converging world.

If you’re interested in how humanity thinks, governs, and evolves – this episode offers an uncommon lens on the past, present, and future of human progress.

Check out Robin’s newsletter Overcoming Bias at https://www.overcomingbias.com/