80k After Hours Highlights: #212 – Allan Dafoe on why technology is unstoppable & how to shape AI development anyway
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Mar 12, 2025 Allan Dafoe, Director of Frontier Safety and Governance at Google DeepMind, dives into the unstoppable nature of technology and its historical patterns. He explains how societies embracing new capabilities outpace those that resist. The discussion highlights the balance of offense and defense in technology, the complexities of AI cooperation, and the potential risks of backdoor technology in AI models. Dafoe also reflects on how human agency shapes tech development, emphasizing the need for ethical decision-making in AI's future.
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Macro-Historical Patterns
- Macro-historical patterns reveal that technological progress isn't solely the sum of human efforts.
- Equilibrium effects, where systems resist or amplify efforts, shape these patterns.
Technological Determinism vs. Social Constructivism
- Technological determinism, where technology shapes human action, has different interpretations.
- Social constructivism emphasizes human agency in technological development, challenging deterministic views.
Technological Politics
- Technological politics recognizes that technology can be used to express or achieve political goals.
- Design choices in infrastructure and technology can shape social dynamics and behavior.