Dwarkesh Podcast

chevron_right

Gwern — Anonymous writer who predicted AI trajectory on $12K/year salary

whatshot 1091 snips

Nov 13, 2024

Guest

Gwern Branwen

Gwern Branwen is a pseudonymous researcher celebrated for his insightful analyses of AI and its future. In this discussion, he delves into the importance of anonymity in protecting biases and encourages a hybrid workplace model integrating AI and human creativity. He reflects on the evolution of intelligence, highlights the joy of intellectual curiosity through varied personal experiences, and shares his strategies for maintaining a minimal income while sustaining creative passions. The conversation also touches on the need for high-quality training data in AI development.

01:36:43

forum

Ask episode

web_stories

AI Snips

view_agenda

Chapters

menu_book

Books

auto_awesome

Transcript

info_circle

Episode notes

insights

INSIGHT

The Power of Writing

Writing influences the development of LLMs, shaping their values and knowledge.
It also creates a form of digital immortality, preserving your persona in latent space.

insights

INSIGHT

Human vs. AI Intelligence

The relationship between human and neural network intelligence remains complex and unclear.
Gwern Branwen oscillates between viewing humans as superior, networks as superior, or both as distinct.

question_answer

ANECDOTE

Maximizing Rabbit Holes

Gwern Branwen maximizes "rabbit holes," diving deep into new topics.
An example is researching catnip immunity after his cat showed no interest.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Exploring AI Collaboration and the Future of Decision-Making

02:37 • 2min

chevron_right

The Evolution of AI and the Concept of Intelligence

04:43 • 24min

chevron_right

Uncovering the Past and Future Insights into Intelligence

28:36 • 3min

chevron_right

The Joy of Intellectual Curiosity

31:43 • 22min

chevron_right

Overcoming Bottlenecks in AI Development and Reflecting on the Joy of Libraries

53:19 • 2min

chevron_right

Literary Journeys: Borges and Beyond

55:35 • 5min

chevron_right

Navigating the Intersection of Sci-Fi and Intelligence

01:00:11 • 18min

chevron_right

Balancing Aesthetics and Functionality in Online Writing

01:17:51 • 3min

chevron_right

Living on a Minimal Income: A Unique Perspective

01:21:19 • 2min

chevron_right

Exploring Relocation, Support Options, and AI Diversity

01:23:10 • 3min

chevron_right

Comparative Insights on Language Models and Health Impacts

01:25:52 • 11min

chevron_right

#1886

• Mentioned in 21 episodes

Blindsight

Peter Watts

Published in 2006, *Blindsight* follows a crew of astronauts on the ship Theseus as they investigate a trans-Neptunian comet transmitting an unidentified radio signal. The novel delves into themes of consciousness, free will, artificial intelligence, neurology, and game theory. Narrated by Siri Keeton, a synthesist with a unique neurological condition, the story raises questions about the essential character of consciousness and its necessity for human experience. The novel also features vampires resurrected through genetic engineering and aliens that challenge traditional notions of consciousness and communication.

#78887

Suzanne delage

Gene Wolfe

Gene Wolfe's "Suzanne delage" is a short story renowned for its enigmatic nature and subtle storytelling. The narrative centers on a man's seemingly insignificant recollection of not meeting a woman in his town. The story's ambiguity has challenged readers for decades, leading to numerous interpretations. Wolfe's masterful use of omission and suggestion creates a sense of mystery and intrigue, leaving much to the reader's imagination. The story's true meaning, only recently deciphered by Gwern Branwen, reveals a subtle retelling of Dracula, highlighting Wolfe's skill in crafting a narrative through what is not explicitly stated. Its enduring power lies in its ability to engage readers in a process of discovery and interpretation.

#2711

• Mentioned in 16 episodes

Story of Your Life

Ted Chiang

In 'Story of Your Life,' Ted Chiang tells the story of Dr. Louise Banks, a linguist recruited by the U.S. military to decipher the language of aliens who have landed on Earth. The narrative alternates between Louise's past interactions with the aliens, known as heptapods, and her future memories of her daughter. As Louise learns the heptapods' written language, Heptapod B, she begins to perceive time non-linearly, seeing all moments of her life simultaneously. This raises profound questions about free will, determinism, and the human experience of time. The story is a deep exploration of language, cognition, and the emotional impact of knowing one's future.

#4177

• Mentioned in 11 episodes

Hyperion

Dan Simmons

In 'Hyperion', Dan Simmons crafts a complex and engaging narrative that follows seven pilgrims as they travel to the enigmatic planet Hyperion. Each pilgrim has a unique story to tell, which they share during their journey, revealing their connections to Hyperion and the Shrike, a metallic creature with the power to grant wishes. The novel is structured similarly to 'The Canterbury Tales' by Geoffrey Chaucer, with a framing narrative that presents the tales of the pilgrims. The story explores themes of religion, war, love, and the human condition, set against a backdrop of interstellar politics and technological advancements. The novel is praised for its detailed world-building, character development, and literary references.

#88894

Erewhon, or, Over the range

Samuel Butler

In this satirical novel, Samuel Butler explores the contradictions and absurdities of Victorian society through the lens of a fictional country called Erewhon. The story follows an unnamed narrator who, after working at a sheep station in New Zealand, discovers Erewhon, a land with bizarre and unsettling beliefs. Here, crime is treated as a sickness, illness as a crime, and machines are outlawed due to fears of artificial intelligence. The novel satirizes various aspects of Victorian society, including criminal punishment, religion, and technology, drawing parallels with works like 'Gulliver's Travels' and influencing later authors such as Huxley and Herbert.

Gwern is a pseudonymous researcher and writer. He was one of the first people to see LLM scaling coming. If you've read his blog, you know he's one of the most interesting polymathic thinkers alive.

In order to protect Gwern's anonymity, I proposed interviewing him in person, and having my friend Chris Painter voice over his words after. This amused him enough that he agreed.

After the episode, I convinced Gwern to create a donation page where people can help sustain what he's up to. Please go here to contribute.

Read the full transcript here.

Sponsors:

* Jane Street is looking to hire their next generation of leaders. Their deep learning team is looking for ML researchers, FPGA programmers, and CUDA programmers. Summer internships are open - if you want to stand out, take a crack at their new Kaggle competition. To learn more, go to janestreet.com/dwarkesh.

* Turing provides complete post-training services for leading AI labs like OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and Gemini. They specialize in model evaluation, SFT, RLHF, and DPO to enhance models’ reasoning, coding, and multimodal capabilities. Learn more at turing.com/dwarkesh.

* This episode is brought to you by Stripe, financial infrastructure for the internet. Millions of companies from Anthropic to Amazon use Stripe to accept payments, automate financial processes and grow their revenue.

If you’re interested in advertising on the podcast, check out this page.

Timestamps

00:00:00 - Anonymity

00:01:09 - Automating Steve Jobs

00:04:38 - Isaac Newton's theory of progress

00:06:36 - Grand theory of intelligence

00:10:39 - Seeing scaling early

00:21:04 - AGI Timelines

00:22:54 - What to do in remaining 3 years until AGI

00:26:29 - Influencing the shoggoth with writing

00:30:50 - Human vs artificial intelligence

00:33:52 - Rabbit holes

00:38:48 - Hearing impairment

00:43:00 - Wikipedia editing

00:47:43 - Gwern.net

00:50:20 - Counterfactual careers

00:54:30 - Borges & literature

01:01:32 - Gwern's intelligence and process

01:11:03 - A day in the life of Gwern

01:19:16 - Gwern's finances

01:25:05 - The diversity of AI minds

01:27:24 - GLP drugs and obesity

01:31:08 - Drug experimentation

01:33:40 - Parasocial relationships

01:35:23 - Open rabbit holes

Get full access to Dwarkesh Podcast at www.dwarkesh.com/subscribe

Home Top podcasts Popular guests Top books