Future of Life Institute Podcast

Johannes Ackva, an environmental activist and climate change expert, discusses the main drivers of climate change and our best technological and governmental options for managing it. Topics include renewable energy sources, nuclear energy, government subsidies, carbon taxation, planting trees, influencing government policy, different climate scenarios, and the decoupling of economic growth and emissions.

The podcast explores the concept of digital nations that provide representation and belonging for low-income countries affected by climate change. The speakers discuss the potential number of digital nations in the future and highlight Tuvalu's aim to become the world's first digital nation. They also explore the importance of equitable wealth distribution and borderless trade in Africa, and discuss the concept of digital persons and their potential to enhance moral knowledge. Additionally, they delve into the use of AI tools in education and encourage engagement with these ideas.

The podcast explores the concept of a unified world governed by an advanced AI system. The team behind 'Core Central' discusses the challenges of creating a cohesive imagined world and the potential of moving beyond nation states. They touch on topics such as lethal autonomous weapons, anti-aging drugs, and the increasing centralization of political unions. They also delve into the mysteries of copyright AI and the development of AI systems based on the human mind. The episode concludes with insights on the future of centralization, conflicts in beliefs, and collaboration in worldbuilding contests.

AI researcher Tom Davidson discusses the risks of AI automation, including the potential automation of AI research. Topics include the pace of AI progress, historical analogies, AI benchmarks, takeoff speed, bottlenecks, economic impacts, and the future of AI for humanity.

How does who is involved in the design of AI affect the possibilities for our future? Why isn’t the design of AI inclusive already? Can technology solve all our problems? Can human nature change? Do we want either of these things to happen? Imagine a World is a podcast exploring a range of plausible and positive futures with advanced AI, produced by the Future of Life Institute. We interview the creators of 8 diverse and thought provoking imagined futures that we received as part of the worldbuilding contest FLI ran last year In this second episode of Imagine A World we explore the fictional worldbuild titled 'Crossing Points', a second place entry in FLI's worldbuilding contest. Joining Guillaume Riesen on the Imagine a World podcast this time are two members of the Crossing Points team, Elaine Czech and Vanessa Hanschke, both academics at the University of Bristol. Elaine has a background in art and design, and is studying the accessibility of technologies for the elderly. Vanessa is studying responsible AI practices of technologists, using methods like storytelling to promote diverse voices in AI research. Their teammates in the contest were Tashi Namgyal, a University of Bristol PhD studying the controllability of deep generative models, Dr. Susan Lechelt, who researches the applications and implications of emerging technologies at the University of Edinburgh, and Nicol Ogston, a British civil servant. There's an emphasis on the unanticipated impacts of new technologies on those who weren't considered during their development. From urban families in Indonesia to anti-technology extremists in America, we're shown that there's something to learn from every human story. This world emphasizes the importance of broadening our lens and empowering marginalized voices in order to build a future that would be bright for more than just a privileged few. The world of Crossing Points looks pretty different from our own, with advanced AIs debating philosophy on TV and hybrid 3D printed meats and grocery stores. But the people in this world are still basically the same. Our hopes and dreams haven't fundamentally changed, and neither have our blindspots and shortcomings. Crossing Points embraces humanity in all its diversity and looks for the solutions that human nature presents alongside the problems. It shows that there's something to learn from everyone's experience and that even the most radical attitudes can offer insights that help to build a better world. Please note: This episode explores the ideas created as part of FLI’s worldbuilding contest, and our hope is that this series sparks discussion about the kinds of futures we want. The ideas present in these imagined worlds and in our podcast are not to be taken as FLI endorsed positions. Explore this worldbuild: https://worldbuild.ai/crossing-points The podcast is produced by the Future of Life Institute (FLI), a non-profit dedicated to guiding transformative technologies for humanity's benefit and reducing existential risks. To achieve this we engage in policy advocacy, grantmaking and educational outreach across three major areas: artificial intelligence, nuclear weapons, and biotechnology. If you are a storyteller, FLI can support you with scientific insights and help you understand the incredible narrative potential of these world-changing technologies. If you would like to learn more, or are interested in collaborating with the teams featured in our episodes, please email worldbuild@futureoflife.org. You can find more about our work at www.futureoflife.org, or subscribe to our newsletter to get updates on all our projects. Works referenced in this episode: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ainu_people https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34846958-radicals http://www.historyofmasks.net/famous-masks/noh-mask/

The podcast explores new governance mechanisms for creating a better future. It discusses the use of AI and technology to reinvent social systems and create empowered communities. The episode features the creators of a worldbuild focused on community and explores prediction markets, global collaboration, and incentivizing donations. The speakers emphasize the importance of storytelling and optimistic narratives in envisioning the future.

Coming Soon… The year is 2045. Humanity is not extinct, nor living in a dystopia. It has averted climate disaster and major wars. Instead, AI and other new technologies are helping to make the world more peaceful, happy and equal. How? This was what we asked the entrants of our Worldbuilding Contest to imagine last year. Our new podcast series digs deeper into the eight winning entries, their ideas and solutions, the diverse teams behind them and the challenges they faced. You might love some; others you might not choose to inhabit. FLI is not endorsing any one idea. Rather, we hope to grow the conversation about what futures people get excited about. Ask yourself, with each episode, is this a world you’d want to live in? And if not, what would you prefer? Don’t miss the first two episodes coming to your feed at the start of September! In the meantime, do explore the winning worlds, if you haven’t already: https://worldbuild.ai/

Robert Trager, AI governance and cybersecurity expert, discusses AI governance, incentives of governments and companies, regulatory diversity, the track record of anticipatory regulation, the security dilemma in AI, cybersecurity at AI companies, and skepticism about AI governance.

Jason Crawford joins the podcast to discuss the history of progress, the future of economic growth, and the relationship between progress and risks from AI. You can read more about Jason's work at https://rootsofprogress.org Timestamps: 00:00 Eras of human progress 06:47 Flywheels of progress 17:56 Main causes of progress 21:01 Progress and risk 32:49 Safety as part of progress 45:20 Slowing down specific technologies? 52:29 Four lenses on AI risk 58:48 Analogies causing disagreement 1:00:54 Solutionism about AI 1:10:43 Insurance, subsidies, and bug bounties for AI risk 1:13:24 How is AI different from other technologies? 1:15:54 Future scenarios of economic growth

On this special episode of the podcast, Jaan Tallinn talks with Nathan Labenz about Jaan's model of AI risk, the future of AI development, and pausing giant AI experiments. Timestamps: 0:00 Nathan introduces Jaan 4:22 AI safety and Future of Life Institute 5:55 Jaan's first meeting with Eliezer Yudkowsky 12:04 Future of AI evolution 14:58 Jaan's investments in AI companies 23:06 The emerging danger paradigm 26:53 Economic transformation with AI 32:31 AI supervising itself 34:06 Language models and validation 38:49 Lack of insight into evolutionary selection process 41:56 Current estimate for life-ending catastrophe 44:52 Inverse scaling law 53:03 Our luck given the softness of language models 55:07 Future of language models 59:43 The Moore's law of mad science 1:01:45 GPT-5 type project 1:07:43 The AI race dynamics 1:09:43 AI alignment with the latest models 1:13:14 AI research investment and safety 1:19:43 What a six-month pause buys us 1:25:44 AI passing the Turing Test 1:28:16 AI safety and risk 1:32:01 Responsible AI development. 1:40:03 Neuralink implant technology