Razib Khan's Unsupervised Learning

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.

Katherine Brodsky, author and journalist, discusses her travels in Europe, her understanding of Israel, and being a Jew in the world today. She shares her observations of anti-Semitism in different countries, the global Left's support for Palestinians, and dismissals of sex crimes by feminist organizations. The conversation also covers topics like misinformation on social media, perception of ethnicity in conflicts, the political situation in Hungary, and differences in attitudes towards civil liberties in various countries.

Razib, founder of GenRAIT, and his team discuss using technology to drive science, including the intersection of data-driven approaches and life sciences, the effective utilization of language models, the role of humans in healthcare and AI applications, and understanding artificial intelligence (AI) and its capabilities.

Philippe Lemoine, a philosopher of science, discusses the controversy surrounding French food superiority. He explores the differences in food culture between France and the US, emphasizing the leisurely pace and enjoyment of food in France. The conversation also touches on topics like immigration, racial attitudes, integration, and the political landscape in France.

Mark Safranski, long-time military affairs commentator, discusses the transformation of war and diplomacy in the 21st century. They explore the theories of fourth and fifth-generation warfare and highlight the closing technological gap between the US and China. The podcast also delves into the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the influence of foreign governments on American policies, and reflections on the state of the American military.

Brent Roberts, Professor of psychology at the University of Illinois, joins Razib to discuss personality. They cover the Big Five Personality system, the relationship between personality and behavior genetics, traits changing over one's lifetime, and the nature of psychopaths and sociopaths.

Carl Zha, host of the Silk and Steel podcast, joins Razib to discuss topics such as living as a Han Chinese in Indonesia, the genetic diversity of the Han ethnicity, China's economic challenges and future predictions, the impact of AI on the global economy, Chairman G's one-man rule in China, and advancements in Chinese science challenging American dominance.

Razib interviews Nikolai Yakovenko, an AI researcher and founder of DeepNews. They discuss the leadership chaos at OpenAI and its implications, the future of AI, and the likelihood of AI becoming a corporate oligopoly. They also talk about the differences between OpenAI and Google, data center locations, and differing opinions on the timeline and impact of AGI.

Former Mencius Moldbug, Curtis Yarvin, discusses the role of poetry in culture and its decline, the power of poetry and its relationship to speech and delivery, the need for danger and heroism in society, the impact of music and entertainment on American culture, AI risk and the limitations of rational thinking, demographic replacement and the 'Gray Century', and reflections on the future.

Michael Muthukrishna, Associate Professor of Economic Psychology, discusses his new book exploring cultural evolution, cooperation, the impact of the industrial revolution, skepticism in the age of Google, Tasmanian culture, the influence of cultural tools on geniuses, controversial ideas about energy and the environment, the potential of nuclear power, hope for the future, and concluding reflections.