Robert Wright's Nonzero

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:13 Some brief NonZero World housekeeping 5:37 Trump, China and AI 31:35 Connor's interview with national security law expert Elizabeth Beavers about Trump's use of terror designationsRecorded January 31, 2025.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Two theories of Musk’s “salute” 6:18 DeepSeek-R1: Salvo or olive branch? 16:23 The misappropriation of Musk’s AI doomerism 23:43 Is the AI avatar era already upon us? 39:26 Paul fills Bob in on his “empty threat” theory 43:44 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 January 29, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.orgRobert Wright and Connor Echols discuss the panic over R1, a new, open-source AI model from Chinese startup DeepSeek.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Peter’s new book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza 1:42 Is it anti-Semitic to say Israeli policies foster anti-Semitism? 7:24 Zionism’s many meanings 10:44 How are American Jews grappling with Israel-Gaza? 16:44 The Democrats’ Israel bind 24:11 Is all hope lost for a two-state solution? 30:54 Anti-Semitic tropes, the Israel lobby, and Elon’s “gesture” 43:05 The unusual nature of Jewish identity 47:54 How Israel’s defenders get Israel wrongRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Peter Beinart (Jewish Currents, CUNY, https://peterbeinart.substack.com/). Recorded January 22, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

0:00 Intro 1:35 Natasha's new book, Another World Is Possible: Lessons for America from Around the GlobeRecorded January 14, 2025.https://twitter.com/NonzeroNewshttps://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.org0:28 Kanjun’s role as CEO of AI research lab Imbue 2:45 Worrying about a “Wall-E world” 13:32 Building human-centric AI agents 22:05 How far away is truly “agentic” AI? 32:00 The road to AI serfdom 40:42 Does the AI revolution call for a psychological revolution? 45:24 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Kanjun Qiu (Imbue). Recorded January 15, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

0:00 Tom’s Pulitzer-Prize hat trick 1:03 Why Beijing is relatively calm about Trump’s reelection 9:33 China hawkism in the AI community 15:24 What’s Trump’s logic re Greenland and Panama? 22:44 On Israel-Palestine, is a two-state solution still possible? 31:06 How a stable ceasefire in Gaza could transform Israeli politics 36:17 Why Trump may be better than Biden on Israel-Palestine 43:46 Bob and Tom debate a possible strike on Iran 52:42 Prospects for peace in Ukraine under Trump 55:24 How America is making a Chinese invasion of Taiwan more likelyRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Thomas Friedman (The New York Times). Recorded January 21, 2025. 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.org0:30 News bites 17:28 Gaza ceasefire deep dive 33:24 Bob joins to talk about Biden's legacy and Trump's imminent return to the White HouseRead this week's edition of the Earthling: https://nonzero.substack.com/p/the-looming-tech-takeoverRecorded January 17, 2025.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Bob and Paul battle for audience sympathy 4:29 Canada as 51st state: y’eh or n’eh? 15:09 How Trump-y is Canada’s likely next leader? 19:45 The humiliation theory of American politics 27:33 Trump, Elon, and the two paths to bullying 35:59 Facebook’s free speech about-face 39:24 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 January 16, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:28 Tim’s got a new podcast, and NonZero is hiring 3:31 Is large language model progress reaching a plateau? 15:20 Some shortcomings of AI today 25:42 Human cognition compared to AI 33:27 The impressive progress of "multimodal" AI 41:33 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Timothy B. Lee (Full Stack Economics, Understanding AI). Recorded January 14, 2025.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods