"Upstream" with Erik Torenberg

Discussion on future of real estate, impact of regulations, and potential of new cities with Brad Hargreaves & Noah Smith. Exploring housing challenges, finance, floor area ratio, construction material costs, fire safety, government intervention, and building new cities.

Erik and Alex delve into Worldcoin, AGI, and future tech, discussing proof of personhood, privacy challenges, and building a startup during a global crisis. They explore the potential of AGI, ethical considerations in deployment, and plans for scaling up with more launches and active devices.

Exploring the legacy of Effective Altruism with poker player Igor Kurganov, discussing similarities between poker and EA, successes and failures of EA, and future directions. Also, touches on market failures, government intervention, critiques of utilitarianism in EA, and recommendations for tech, business, and culture podcasts.

Discussion on the risks of AI development, AI agency, and superintelligence. Debate on AI optimization and human values. Exploring AI surpassing human intelligence and power dynamics. Skepticism on AI safety and grassroots advocacy. Debating on future optimization and existential risks in AI development.

Topics discussed include dating dynamics on apps, luxury beliefs impacting society, childhood instability's effect on adulthood, men's evolving status, and navigating foster care challenges. Also explored are academic constraints, societal norms, and recommendations for personal growth.

Lynn Alden, an investment strategist with engineering, tech, and finance expertise, discusses macro trends, the impact of technology on money, competition among currencies, trade deficits, and the inevitability of technological disruption.

Bayeslord, founder of the e/acc movement, and Nadia Asparouhova, writer, discuss the foundations and future of the e/acc movement. They explore the negative perception of technology, the culture war in the tech industry, the evolution of optimism, the impact of social media and technology, and the pros and cons of documenting a movement. They tease upcoming writing and express appreciation for the conversation.

Erik Torenberg interviews economist and author Tyler Cowen on topics including Harvard, AI, talent spotting, non-legibility in society, and the future of universities. They also discuss the dangers of open sourcing AI, creating a DEI program for parenthood, and the state of Harvard administration. Tyler's new book, 'GOAT: Who is the Greatest Economist of all Time?' is promoted at the end of the podcast.

Political scientist and writer Richard Hanania discusses wokeness, Israel-Palestine conflict, mythos of the modern right, upcoming debate with Curtis Yarvin, and more in this entertaining episode of 'Upstream' with Erik Torenberg.

Erik Torenberg, Discussing B2B creators, finding profitable niches, monetizing media businesses, and more. They explore the rise of B2B creators and niche audiences, benefits of owning media properties, Colin Tamir's newsletter, under-monetization in media, recording expert calls, opportunities in the media landscape, setting goals, building a tech-centric media outlet, and podcast recommendations.