Azeem Azhar's Exponential View

Leaders face the challenge of making future-proof decisions in the age of exponential technologies. A new podcast explores new perspectives on our collective future. Guests like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Silicon Valley investor Vinod Khosla discuss topics like owning thoughts and reducing global inequality with AI.

In his brief commentary, Azeem Azhar discusses the increasing complexity and capabilities of large language models (LLMs) and the transformative potential they hold. Just as the Copernican Revolution forced us to reassess our understanding of the universe and led to numerous societal and scientific changes, Azeem proposes that rapid advancements in AI could lead to a similar paradigm shift that challenges established norms and systems. @azeem @exponentialview Further resources: Exponential LLMs and the Copernican Moment, Azeem Azhar, 2023 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Azeem Azhar discusses the potential of large-language models to revolutionize the web, serving as the successor to web 2.0. He explores the challenges of web 3.0 and highlights the benefits and new behavioral interactions that large-language models can bring to the internet. He also delves into the future of the web, examining the possibility of a single dominant winner or fragmented services driven by large language models. concerns about centralized models, the importance of cultural heritage and privacy-safe on-device models, and the prediction of a variety of systems with slight differences.

In his brief commentary, Azeem Azhar shares his outlook on how artificial intelligence could change the labor market, drawing on research published by Goldman Sachs, titled “The Potentially Large Effect of Artificial Intelligence on Economic Growth.” The paper suggests a positive impact on economic growth, alongside a shift to automation that could affect two-thirds of US occupations. Twitter: @azeem @exponentialview Further resources: The Potentially Large Effect of Artificial Intelligence on Economic Growth, Goldman Sachs, March 2023 After AI, Where Will the Jobs Come From? Azeem Azhar 2023 The Future of AI in the Workplace: A Survey of American Managers, 2023 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Drawing on Carlota Perez’s framework, Azeem Azhar considers whether large language models (LLMs), such as OpenAI’s GPT-4, will drive a paradigm shift across our economies. His discussion touches on LLMs’ wide applications, their reliance on affordable computation and digital data, and their compatibility with existing and potential future digital infrastructures. Twitter: @azeem @exponentialview Further resources: LLMs and Technological Revolutions, Azeem Azhar 2023 Technological Revolutions and Techno-Economic Paradigms, Carlota Perez, 2010 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is dominating the headlines, but it’s not a new topic here on Exponential View. This week and next, Azeem Azhar shares his favorite conversations with AI pioneers. Their work and insights are more relevant than ever. For Jürgen Schmidhuber, a recognized pioneer in AI, artificial intelligence is much more than another technological revolution. He sees it as the opportunity to transcend humanity and biology. In this conversation, taped in 2019, Jürgen and Azeem Azhar discuss what the next thirty years of AI will look like. They also discussed: The role of Long Short-Term Memory architecture in recent AI breakthroughs. Why the next AI wave will see machines actively shaping the data that they perceive. The second- and third-order consequences of bringing these more sophisticated artificial neural networks into our world. Jürgen Schmidhuber @Azeem Exponential View Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is dominating the headlines, but it’s not a new topic here on Exponential View. Azeem Azhar shares his favorite conversations with AI experts. Their work and insights are more relevant than ever. Gary Marcus is well known as a deep learning critic. A neuroscientist, founder, and the author of Rebooting AI: Building Artificial Intelligence We Can Trust, Marcus believes that researchers need to move past deep learning in order to make true advances in machine intelligence. In 2019, he joined Azeem Azhar to discuss why, how, and when we can expect progress. They also discussed: What newborn ibexes can teach us about intelligence and learning. How deep learning promulgates the gap between big companies and startups. What we need for a breakthrough in AI. Further reading: How to Build Artificial Intelligence We Can Trust, Gary Marcus, September 6, 2019 Deep Learning: A Critical Appraisal, Gary Marcus, January 2, 2018 @garymarcus @azeem Exponential View Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is dominating the headlines, but it’s not a new topic here on Exponential View. This week and next, Azeem Azhar shares his favorite conversations with AI pioneers. Their work and insights are more relevant than ever.  Demis Hassabis, CEO and co-founder of DeepMind, dreams of using AI to solve fundamental problems in science. In 2020, he joined Azeem to explore his own journey from world champion gamer to neuroscientist to building AI systems that can train themselves to solve real-world engineering challenges and, eventually, make Nobel-prize winning discoveries. In 2023, DeepMind’s parent company Alphabet announced consolidation of its biggest research units, DeepMind and Google Brain, into a new division led by Demis. They also discuss: Why games are the perfect training ground for AI algorithms. How DeepMind combines the dynamism of a startup with the “blue sky” creativity of a lab. Why “deep reinforcement learning” is the basis for artificial intelligence systems. @demishassabis @azeem @exponentialview Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is dominating the headlines, but it’s not a new topic here on Exponential View. This week and next, Azeem Azhar shares his favorite conversations with AI pioneers. Their work and insights are more relevant than ever. OpenAI has stunned the world with the release of its language-generating AI, ChatGPT-4. In 2020, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman joined Azeem Azhar to reflect on the huge attention generated by the precursor to GPT-4 and what that could mean for the future research and development toward the creation of artificial general intelligence (AGI). They also explored: How AGI could be used both to reduce and exacerbate inequality How governance models need to change to address the growing power of technology companies How Altman’s experience leading YCombinator informed his leadership of OpenAI Further reading: “The messy, secretive reality behind OpenAI’s bid to save the world“ (Wired, 2020) “Sam Altman’s Manifest Destiny“ (New Yorker, 2016) “Governance in the Age of AI“ (Exponential View Podcast, 2019) @sama @azeem @exponenialview Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

After producing more than 160 episodes of Exponential View over the last six years, we’re taking a break to reflect on what we’ve learned and how the conversations we’ve hosted with leaders are changing our perspective on the future. While we percolate on the future of our podcast, we have a challenge for you: find all the phenomenal conversations we’ve hosted that you haven’t heard yet – and take a listen. (And please let us know which episodes helped you understand the world and your future!) @azeem @exponentialviews Azeem’s listening recommendations: Bubbles, Golden Ages, and Tech Revolutions with Professor Carlota Perez (Exponential View Podcast, 2019) AI and the Future of Warfare with General Sir Richard Barrons (Exponential View Podcast, 2019) DeepMind’s Journey from Games to Fundamental Science with Demis Hassabis (Exponential View Podcast, 2020) The New Science of Aging with Professor David Sinclair (Exponential View Podcast, 2020) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.