The speaker had doubts about pursuing artificial general intelligence due to concerns and fears. However, the main reason for exploring other opportunities was the concept of comparative advantage, where one should consider shifting professions if institutions are eager to pay for current work. Despite the value of creative work, there is often an inverse relationship with compensation. The speaker believed AI was an unstoppable force by 2011-2012, attracting more capital and talent. Looking ahead, the speaker contemplates their comparative advantage in the next 20 years, leaning towards writing. The pursuit of 'newmaness' signifies the quest for profound experiences, while future learning interests include delving deeper into religion through travel, reading, and interactions with diverse cultures. Recommendations for religious exploration include visiting Istanbul and the religious site in Amritsar, with an emphasis on immersing in India's spiritual richness.
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Michael Nielsen is a scientist who helped pioneer quantum computing and the modern open science movement. He's worked at Y Combinator, co-authored on scientific progress with Patrick Collison, and is a prolific writer, reader, commentator, and mentor.
He joined Tyler to discuss why the universe is so beautiful to human eyes (but not ears), how to find good collaborators, the influence of Simone Weil, where Olaf Stapledon's understand of the social word went wrong, potential applications of quantum computing, the (rising) status of linear algebra, what makes for physicists who age well, finding young mentors, why some scientific fields have pre-print platforms and others don't, how so many crummy journals survive, the threat of cheap nukes, the many unknowns of Mars colonization, techniques for paying closer attention, what you learn when visiting the USS Midway, why he changed his mind about Emergent Ventures, why he didn't join OpenAI in 2015, what he'll learn next, and more.
Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video.
Recorded March 24th, 2024.
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