"The Culture is Weird": The Prospects and Perils of Profound Technology

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A tech expert explains that the allure of discovery is too tempting to not work on new, potentially dangerous technologies. He notes that those who work on it are a bit 'weird' and concedes that, if polled, the majority may not want it to be developed due to the risks involved. He acknowledges the religious undertones to inventing something more powerful than humanity and recommends the book 'God, Human Animal Machine' for further reading on the subject.

The New York Times Opinion columnist Ezra Klein has spent years talking to artificial intelligence researchers. Many of them feel the prospect of A.I. discovery is too sweet to ignore, regardless of the technology’s risks.

Today, Mr. Klein discusses the profound changes that an A.I.-powered world will create, how current business models are failing to meet the A.I. moment, and the steps government can take to achieve a positive A.I. future.

Also, radical acceptance of your phone addiction may just help your phone addiction.

On today’s episode:

Ezra Klein is a columnist at The New York Times and host of “The Ezra Klein Show.”

Additional reading:

Ezra Klein outlined the dramatic shifts that A.I. will enable.
In a 2022 survey of A.I. researchers, nearly half of the respondents said that there was a 10 percent or greater chance that the long-run effect of advanced A.I. on humanity would be “extremely bad.” This year, an A.I. researcher argued that natural selection favors A.I. over humans.
A 2017 article in The New Yorker said that, for some, the risks of artificial intelligence are outweighed by the prospect of discovery.
Meghan O’Gieblyn’s book “God, Human, Animal, Machine” explores the human experience in the age of artificial intelligence.
The White House released a Blueprint for an A.I. Bill of Rights to guide the development of A.I. technology.