Robert Wright's Nonzero

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:33 Paul’s Substack: small potatoes or some pumpkins? 4:03 Elon sours on Lemon—is ketamine to blame? 10:00 The enduring enigma that is Elon Musk 21:25 Is Altman overdramatizing the AI #Resistance? 30:03 Paul cavalierly ignores Bob’s sage guidance 34:25 Oscars: The good, the bad, and the hammy 40:57 Heading to Overtime (plus: big Small Potatoes news!)Robert 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 March 19, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPodsDiscussed in Overtime: The knotty SSRI sexual side effect question. How woke is Barbie? How Will Smith’s Oscar slap is like Russia-Ukraine. Is AI Bob’s ticket to immortality? Jury Duty, acting, and human nature. What is the TikTok ban really about? Is Paul Pollyanna?

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:33 Nathan’s role as “AI scout” 4:07 What "open source" in AI really means 9:45 Why the secrecy around AI training data? 17:19 What’s actually “open” about OpenAI? 32:56 The case for and against open source AI 42:35 Is an open source crackdown coming?52:25 What Waymark, Nathan’s company, does with AIRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Nathan Labenz (Cognitive Revolution, Waymark AI). Recorded March 13, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPodsThe Cognitive Revolution podcast: https://www.cognitiverevolution.ai/ Waymark AI: https://waymark.com/Overtime titles:0:00 Bob glimpses a Matrix-like future 4:34 Could (and should) we use AI to resolve human disputes? 9:47 Where Nathan falls on the AI doomer spectrum 22:50 Understanding how AI understands things 32:22 Is AI alignment overblown?

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org2:49 Should Biden pursue regime change in Israel? 11:09 How the White House mishandled Netanyahu's far-right government 22:32 Daniel: “Israel has lost this war” 31:57 What a ceasefire deal would look like 39:16 Biden’s immense, unused leverage over Netanyahu 46:54 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Daniel Levy (Prospects for Peace, NAF, The Century Foundation). Recorded March 12, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPodsOvertime titles:0:00 How the Gaza war makes Biden look weak 5:30 Has the Zionist project become more militant? 23:22 The Israel-Palestine one-state reality

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.Read this edition of the Earthling at:https://nonzero.substack.com/p/the-real-problem-with-the-trump-bidenRecorded March 08, 2024.https://twitter.com/NonzeroNewshttps://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:31 The other Tim B. Lee 3:16 Unpacking the Elon v. OpenAI case 14:04 How did Google’s Gemini go wrong? 25:24 The unsung ingenious side of Gemini 34:39 Is AI a bubble? 38:53 Are some LLM issues insoluble? 44:39 How Sora changes the AI picture 51:12 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Timothy B. Lee (Full Stack Economics, Understanding AI). Recorded March 6, 2024.Tim's Understanding AI newsletter on Substack:Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPodsOvertime titles:0:00 Are LLMs general learning machines? Are human minds? 6:44 The Darwinian dynamics of machine learning 13:37 How to conceptualize how LLMs conceptualize 20:04 Is digital technology’s impact on society overstated?

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.orgRobert Wright and Andrew Day discuss items from the (would-be) Earthling.Recorded March 01, 2024.https://twitter.com/NonzeroNewshttps://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org1:19 Big trouble with Small Potatoes 5:13 What makes a good podcast? 13:21 Google’s AI goes wild(ly woke) 27:02 Is Biden a “super-ager” or just super old? 35:51 On the psychology of self-immolation 52:38 Are we thinking right about mental illness? 56:52 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 February 27, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPodsPaul’s Substack:Overtime titles:0:00 The problem with paywalls 4:06 Is contingency in life good news or bad? 22:28 Do AIs need to be symbolic to be logical? 32:46 A new TV show Bob hates 38:04 Bob’s (mental?) break in the JFK case

0:31 Gary’s background and place in the AI world 1:45 Are Gary’s views on AI paradoxical? 9:16 Bob: Searle’s Chinese Room argument is dead 19:29 Have LLMs demonstrated "theory of mind"? 26:34 Arguing the semantics of an LLM's “semantic space” 32:04 Do LLM representations map onto the real world? 41:20 Can (and should) we slow down AI development? 52:11 Gary: I’ve never seen a field as myopic as AI today 54:53 The (symbolic?) future of AIRobert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Gary Marcus (https://garymarcus.substack.com/, Humans vs. Machines, The Algebraic Mind, Kluge). Recorded February 13, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPodsGary's Substack: 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.org2:19 Nikita’s memories of Navalny’s emergence as a political force 12:17 The time Nikita was detained for protesting election fraud 23:42 Navalny’s success as a political organizer 36:53 What did Navalny represent? 47:22 Navalny’s courageous post-poisoning return to Russia 57:53 Heading to Overtime (plus: Nikita’s photo with Navalny)Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Nikita Petrov (psychopolitica.substack.com). Recorded February 20, 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 the Earthling.Read this edition of the Earthling at: https://nonzero.substack.com/p/sam-altmans-big-bad-ideaRecorded February 16, 2024.https://twitter.com/NonzeroNewshttps://twitter.com/NonzeroPods