Robert Wright's Nonzero

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org1:23 Why Jeffrey helped turn Meta’s Llama into Bad Llama 9:19 Bioweapons, hacking, and other AI dangers 20:03 How America unwittingly boosts China’s AI sector 29:01 The dark side of AI “alignment” 40:15 Is superintelligence the super-weapon of the future? 49:37 The perils of AI accelerationRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Jeffrey Ladish (Palisade Research). Recorded June 19, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Edward’s new book, At the Edge of Empire: A Family’s Reckoning with China 4:05 What Americans get wrong about China 13:33 Humiliation and China’s national psychology 17:38 Why Edward’s father joined the People’s Liberation Army 26:23 How Edward’s father fell out of favor with the PLA 37:39 How draconian is Xi Jinping’s crackdown on Uyghurs? 44:20 Famine, purges, and alienation in Mao’s China 49:28 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Edward Wong (The New York Times, At the Edge of Empire). Recorded June 18, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.orgRobert Wright and Andrew Day discuss items from this week’s Earthling (had there been one).Recorded June 20, 2024.https://twitter.com/NonzeroNewshttps://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Bob re-enters reality 3:54 Elon’s X-rated horse-trading 9:41 What do LLMs really say about the “blank slate” view of the mind? 28:12 Bob challenges Paul to meditate—will Paul retreat? 33:15 Have Bob’s views changed since writing Nonzero? 44:13 Paul’s and Bob’s (semi-compatible) views on free will 50:51 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Paul Bloom (https://smallpotatoes.paulbloom.net, University of Toronto, The Sweet Spot, Against Empathy). Recorded June 17, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPodsPaul’s Substack:Overtime titles:The Buddhist solution to Paul’s Twitter troubles. Jake Gyllenhaal’s problematic bod. Dark Matter reviewed (w/ light spoilers). Bob and Paul swap faux pas horror stories. 3 Body’s entanglement problem. Has Anthropic mapped the mind of AI? Bob’s podcast no-go list. The problem with incredibly good looking people.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Glenn’s very unvarnished memoir, Late Admissions: Confessions of a Black Conservative 10:12 Glenn’s unusual urban upbringing 19:00 Is Glenn’s sermon for black men hypocritical? 22:15 Glenn’s double life at Harvard 32:40 How it all came crashing down 44:39 Is Glenn’s book _too_ honest? 52:16 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Glenn Loury (Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, Brown University, Late Admissions). Recorded June 13, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPodsOvertime titles:0:00 The Psalm that may have saved Glenn’s life 5:50 Glenn’s final crack hit 8:28 Glenn’s path from conservative to progressive and back again 21:53 The difference between Glenn and Wilt Chamberlain 23:32 Why does Glenn have such low risk aversion? 32:43 The time Glenn made Coretta Scott King cry 37:55 Explaining all without excusing all

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Kevin’s place in cyberspace history 6:54 Are we grappling with the pace of tech progress rationally? 20:49 Why Kevin identifies as a techno-optimist 23:12 Is it too early to regulate AI? 30:21 The noosphere, the technium, and species of mind 38:11 Do AI doomers think too highly of thinking? 42:13 Evolution and the question of cosmic purpose 48:42 Should we see AIs as “artificial aliens”?Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Kevin Kelly (Wired, The Inevitable, What Technology Wants). Recorded April 29, 2024.Overtime titles:Kevin's spiritual transformation.Will AI be like a god to humans? Vice-versa?How expecting near-term death changed Kevin’s life.A bettor way of making AI predictions.

1:13 AI's human-like, but inhuman, language skills 7:22 Bob argues that LLMs don’t vindicate the ‘blank slate’ view of the mind 18:56 Do humans and AIs acquire language in totally different ways? 31:11 Will AIs ever quit hallucinating? 40:47 The importance (or not) of “embodied cognition” 47:50 What is it like to be an AI? 53:48 Why Steve is skeptical of AI doom scenarios Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Steven Pinker (Harvard University, Enlightenment Now, The Language Instinct). Recorded May 21, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nonzero.org/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org1:57 Kelley’s new podcast, Trip the Beltway Fantastic 5:59 Pat Buchanan and conservative opposition to the Iraq war 10:14 Would Trump 2.0 promote foreign policy restraint? 19:12 Possible Trump appointees pushing for conflict with China 25:57 The time Tucker Carlson helped prevent war with Iran 41:13 Would Trump greenlight ethnic cleansing in Gaza? 49:32 Would Trump end the Russia-Ukraine war? 54:14 Heading to OvertimeOvertime video below paywall:A Pentagon program that corrupts officers. Kelley’s upbringing in Connecticut and early career as a reporter. How clickbait culture has degraded journalism.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.orgRobert Wright and Andrew Day discuss items from the Earthling.Recorded May 31, 2024.https://twitter.com/NonzeroNewshttps://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org00:43 The Nonzero-American Prestige apocalypse aversion project 2:02 Are Bob, Derek, and Danny surprised the Gaza war is still going on? 5:06 Biden’s simple political calculus on Gaza 13:42 Would Trump greenlight the ethnic cleansing of Gaza? 25:45 Israel’s plan (or lack thereof) for post-war Gaza 32:23 Heading to OvertimeOvertime topics: An inside view of The New Republic at its peak. Ideological engineering at The Atlantic. Russian sanctions and an antisemitic chill fall over Danny. Does “fascism” mean anything?(Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods)