Razib Khan's Unsupervised Learning

AI researcher Nick Cassimatis discusses the historical hype cycles of artificial intelligence, from ELIZA to Watson. The podcast dives into the evolution of AI, chatbots, transformers in neural networks, and the impact of AI on software development. The conversation also touches on transhumanism, AI creativity, and genetic testing advancements.

In this podcast, James Miller discusses AI, the singularity, and the post-human future with Razib. They explore Kurzweil's prediction that AI will surpass human intelligence by 2030 and debate the impact of AI on society. They also touch on military technology, inequality, and economic predictions influenced by tech advances.

Rob Henderson, from foster care to Ivy League, discusses his journey and the concept of luxury beliefs. He reflects on his upbringing, military service, and academic success. The conversation explores racial identity, socioeconomic differences, and the impact of geographic influences on life paths. Henderson shares personal insights on foster care challenges, academic success, and turbulent encounters.

In this episode, Razib talks to Wilfred Reilly, political scientist, author and fearless cultural commentator. Reilly holds a Ph.D. in political science from Southern Illinois and a J.D. from the University of Illinois. Raised in a working-class neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, he discusses his ten-year diversion from academia, including his stints as a canvasser for the gay rights group the Human Rights Campaign and a corporate salesperson. A prolific public intellectual, Reilly is the author of Lies My Liberal Teacher Told Me,  Taboo: 10 Facts [You Can't Talk About] and Hate Crime Hoax: How the Left Is Selling a Fake Race War. Razib asks what it means to be a “black conservative,” and Reilly responds that the term brackets all black intellectuals who dissent from the progressive orthodoxy, ranging from rock-ribbed right-wingers like Thomas Sowell to moderate liberals like John McWhorter. They also discuss the excesses of Civil Rights legislation and Richard Hanania’s thesis in The Origins of Woke: Civil Rights Law, Corporate America, and the Triumph of Identity Politics that the legal system is geared toward racial progressivism. Reilly believes that wokeness cannot be rolled back until that institutional and legal framework driving for radicalism is neutered. Segueing into the domain of political science, Razib and Reilly discuss the difference between avowed preferences and revealed preferences around issues like abortion and pornography. Both agree ordinary Americans strongly disagree with ideologues who hold extreme policies. Reilly also points out the strangeness that many of the most violent and visible activists during the BLM protests were white, and he holds these are the people who are buying books by radical activist professors like Ibram Kendi, who meanwhile has little real influence among black academics. They also discuss diversity within the black American community, including Laurence Otis Graham’s exploration of socioeconomic status in Our Kind of People: Inside America’s Black Upper Class. Reilly talks about his more upper-class mother’s attempt to inculcate elitism within him, and its failure to stick. Then Razib moots the question of the differences between “American Descendents of Slaves” (ADoS), Africans and Caribbeans, and the fact that Harvard refuses to survey its black students by sub-demographic. Finally, Reilly expounds at length on his “anti-doomer” views, arguing that economic, social and environmental catastrophism is almost always wrong, as well a providing a hearty defense of the cultural richness and economic dynamism of the Midwest. For the first time ever, parents going through IVF can use whole genome sequencing to screen their embryos for hundreds of conditions. Harness the power of genetics to keep your family safe, with Orchid. Check them out at orchidhealth.com.  

Geneticist Erich Schwarz discusses the significance of studying worms in research, the importance of model organisms, and the history of C. elegans in genetic research. He also reflects on controversial comments made by Sydney Brenner, explores early genomics progress, and discusses his current work on devising a vaccine against hookworm.

In this episode, Razib interviews Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, author of 'Who Makes the NBA?'. They discuss the relationship between height and athletic ability, the non-genetic advantage of children of NBA players, and the popularity of international basketball in certain regions. They also explore the use of genetic testing in guiding athletic development and the power of AI in data analysis.

Alex, an expert in DatePsychology, discusses the impact of dating apps and the psychology of dating with Razib on this episode of Unsupervised Learning. They explore online subcultures, the role of technology in dating dynamics, and the variables correlating with dating success. They also discuss cross-cultural differences, the impact of obesity and income on dating, and explore astrology as a tool for understanding compatibility in relationships.

  On this episode of Unsupervised Learning Razib talks to David Lightbringer, a YouTube content creator who focuses on the world of The Game of Thrones and the mythologies of ancient peoples. Though Lightbringer writes essays, and distributes his thoughts via podcast (and you can also read his views in short-form on numerous topics via his tweets on X), his primary platform is his YouTube channel. Lightbringer’s videos, range across topics as diverse as “Harappans, Aryans, and the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex: Indian Origins” to “The Grey King: Secret PreHistory of the Ironborn.”  Two years ago, journalist and entrepreneur Antonio García Martínez declared that we were entering a new “age of orality.” By this, he meant that the primacy of text was declining in our culture, as younger generations preferentially consumed audio content over magazines. Perhaps Martínez could even have stipulated that this was the age of “audiovisuality.” Anyone producing podcast content knows that the “Zoomer” generation, those born after 1995, prefer not to subscribe to a feed proactively. Instead, they spend their days passively “consuming content” by leaving YouTube in the background at length. Nearly 40% of this generation spends four or more hours a day on social media, and 88% use YouTube. Lightbringer is part of this massive, new world of creators who produce history, literary and cultural commentary content for those who prefer hour-long documentaries or impassioned monologues to short clips of funny cat memes. Razib and Lightbringer discuss his analytic method for producing secondary commentary on George R. R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire. Lightbringer points out that Martin has been explicit and open about his myriad literary influences, so filling in the “backstory” to the history and anthropology of his universe often involves detective work into its cultural roots, which go back to figures as diverse as J. R. R. Tolkien and H. P. Lovecraft, as well as ancient motifs and primal archetypes drawn from the mythologies of varied cultures. The same methodologies we can use to analyze “real” mythology, religion and cultural history, can also be employed for fantastical literary worlds. Razib and Lightbringer also shine the light on the vast world of literature and history on YouTube, which is now the primary mode for many people’s autodidact pursuits. Razib argues for the value of text, while Lightbringer asserts that the visual aspect of YouTube documentaries allows for both greater accessibility and more informational richness. For the first time ever, parents going through IVF can use whole genome sequencing to screen their embryos for hundreds of conditions. Harness the power of genetics to keep your family safe, with Orchid. Check them out at orchidhealth.com.  

Cesar Fortes-Lima, a human geneticist, discusses his new paper on the genetic legacy of the Bantu-speaking peoples in Africa. They explore the origins, routes, and migrations of the Bantu people, as well as their relationships with other African groups. They also touch on genetic diversity, human migration patterns, and patterns of adaptation and selection in different populations.

In this episode, Razib Khan interviews Cody Moser, an evolutionary psychologist and cultural evolutionist at UC Merced. They discuss the connection between population size and innovation, the benefits of fragmentation for fostering innovation, the preference for parsimony in science, the use of agent-based modeling in behavioral economics, and the differences in education and skills of immigrant populations in the US. They also explore network topology, the importance of considering evolution beyond genes, and recommend books on modeling social behavior and social evolution.