Future of Life Institute Podcast

How do low income countries affected by climate change imagine their futures? How do they overcome these twin challenges? Will all nations eventually choose or be forced to go digital? 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 the fourth episode of Imagine A World, we explore the fictional worldbuild titled 'Digital Nations'. Conrad Whitaker and Tracey Kamande join Guillaume Riesen on 'Imagine a World' to talk about their worldbuild, 'Digital Nations', which they created with their teammate, Dexter Findley. All three worldbuilders were based in Kenya while crafting their entry, though Dexter has just recently moved to the UK. Conrad is a Nairobi-based startup advisor and entrepreneur, Dexter works in humanitarian aid, and Tracey is the Co-founder of FunKe Science, a platform that promotes interactive learning of science among school children. As the name suggests, this world is a deep dive into virtual communities. It explores how people might find belonging and representation on the global stage through digital nations that aren't tied to any physical location. This world also features a fascinating and imaginative kind of artificial intelligence that they call 'digital persons'. These are inspired by biological brains and have a rich internal psychology. Rather than being trained on data, they're considered to be raised in digital nurseries. They have a nuanced but mostly loving relationship with humanity, with some even going on to found their own digital nations for us to join. In an incredible turn of events, last year the South Pacific state of Tuvalu was the first to “go virtual” in response to sea levels threatening the island nation's physical territory. This happened in real life just months after it was written into this imagined world in our worldbuilding contest, showing how rapidly ideas that seem ‘out there’ can become reality. Will all nations eventually go digital? And might AGIs be assimilated, 'brought up' rather than merely trained, as 'digital people', citizens to live communally alongside humans in these futuristic states? 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/digital-nations 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 Media and concepts referenced in the episode: https://www.tuvalu.tv/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolley_problem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change_in_Kenya https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_von_Neumann https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_New_World https://thenetworkstate.com/the-network-state https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_series

What if we had one advanced AI system for the entire world? Would this led to a world 'beyond' nation states - and do we want this? 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 the third episode of Imagine A World, we explore the fictional worldbuild titled 'Core Central'. How does a team of seven academics agree on one cohesive imagined world? That's a question the team behind 'Core Central', a second-place prizewinner in the FLI Worldbuilding Contest, had to figure out as they went along. In the end, this entry's realistic sense of multipolarity and messiness reflect positively its organic formulation. The team settled on one core, centralised AGI system as the governance model for their entire world. This eventually moves their world 'beyond' nation states. Could this really work? In this third episode of 'Imagine a World',​ Guillaume Riesen speaks to two of the academics in this team, John Burden and Henry Shevlin, representing the team that created 'Core Central'. The full team includes seven members, three of whom (Henry, John and Beba Cibralic) are researchers at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge, and five of whom (Jessica Bland, Lara Mani, Clarissa Rios Rojas, Catherine Richards alongside John) work with the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, also at Cambridge University. 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 imagined world: https://worldbuild.ai/core-central 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 Media and Concepts referenced in the episode: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_series https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Expanse_(TV_series) https://www.vox.com/authors/kelsey-piper https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratitude_journal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Diamond_Age https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-mind-of-an-octopus/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_workspace_theory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_hand_syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperion_(Simmons_novel)

Tom Davidson joins the podcast to discuss how AI could quickly automate most cognitive tasks, including AI research, and why this would be risky. Timestamps: 00:00 The current pace of AI 03:58 Near-term risks from AI 09:34 Historical analogies to AI 13:58 AI benchmarks VS economic impact 18:30 AI takeoff speed and bottlenecks 31:09 Tom's model of AI takeoff speed 36:21 How AI could automate AI research 41:49 Bottlenecks to AI automating AI hardware 46:15 How much of AI research is automated now? 48:26 From 20% to 100% automation 53:24 AI takeoff in 3 years 1:09:15 Economic impacts of fast AI takeoff 1:12:51 Bottlenecks slowing AI takeoff 1:20:06 Does the market predict a fast AI takeoff? 1:25:39 "Hard to avoid AGI by 2060" 1:27:22 Risks from AI over the next 20 years 1:31:43 AI progress without more compute 1:44:01 What if AI models fail safety evaluations? 1:45:33 Cybersecurity at AI companies 1:47:33 Will AI turn out well for humanity? 1:50:15 AI and board games

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/

Are today's democratic systems equipped well enough to create the best possible future for everyone? If they're not, what systems might work better? And are governments around the world taking the destabilizing threats of new technologies seriously enough, or will it take a dramatic event, such as an AI-driven war, to get their act together? 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 first episode of Imagine A World we explore the fictional worldbuild titled 'Peace Through Prophecy'. Host Guillaume Riesen speaks to the makers of 'Peace Through Prophecy', a second place entry in FLI's Worldbuilding Contest. The worldbuild was created by Jackson Wagner, Diana Gurvich and Holly Oatley. In the episode, Jackson and Holly discuss just a few of the many ideas bubbling around in their imagined future. At its core, this world is arguably about community. It asks how technology might bring us closer together, and allow us to reinvent our social systems. Many roads are explored, a whole garden of governance systems bolstered by Artificial Intelligence and other technologies. Overall, there's a shift towards more intimate and empowered communities. Even the AI systems eventually come to see their emotional and creative potentials realized. While progress is uneven, and littered with many human setbacks, a pretty good case is made for how everyone's best interests can lead us to a more positive future. 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 imagined world: https://worldbuild.ai/peace-through-prophecy 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. Media and concepts referenced in the episode: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prediction_market https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/ 'Veil of ignorance' thought experiment: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_position https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_democracy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dispossessed https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_Ignota https://equilibriabook.com/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Rawls https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_transparency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audrey_Tang https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadratic_voting#Quadratic_funding

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 joins the podcast to discuss AI governance, the incentives of governments and companies, the track record of international regulation, the security dilemma in AI, cybersecurity at AI companies, and skepticism about AI governance. We also discuss Robert's forthcoming paper International Governance of Civilian AI: A Jurisdictional Certification Approach. You can read more about Robert's work at https://www.governance.ai Timestamps: 00:00 The goals of AI governance 08:38 Incentives of governments and companies 18:58 Benefits of regulatory diversity 28:50 The track record of anticipatory regulation 37:55 The security dilemma in AI 46:20 Offense-defense balance in AI 53:27 Failure rates and international agreements 1:00:33 Verification of compliance 1:07:50 Controlling AI supply chains 1:13:47 Cybersecurity at AI companies 1:21:30 The jurisdictional certification approach 1:28:40 Objections to 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

Joe Carlsmith joins the podcast to discuss how we change our minds about AI risk, gut feelings versus abstract models, and what to do if transformative AI is coming soon. You can read more about Joe's work at https://joecarlsmith.com. Timestamps: 00:00 Predictable updating on AI risk 07:27 Abstract models versus gut feelings 22:06 How Joe began believing in AI risk 29:06 Is AI risk falsifiable? 35:39 Types of skepticisms about AI risk 44:51 Are we fundamentally confused? 53:35 Becoming alienated from ourselves? 1:00:12 What will change people's minds? 1:12:34 Outline of different futures 1:20:43 Humanity losing touch with reality 1:27:14 Can we understand AI sentience? 1:36:31 Distinguishing real from fake sentience 1:39:54 AI doomer epistemology 1:45:23 AI benchmarks versus real-world AI 1:53:00 AI improving AI research and development 2:01:08 What if transformative AI comes soon? 2:07:21 AI safety if transformative AI comes soon 2:16:52 AI systems interpreting other AI systems 2:19:38 Philosophy and transformative AI Social Media Links: ➡️ WEBSITE: https://futureoflife.org ➡️ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/FLIxrisk ➡️ INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/futureoflifeinstitute/ ➡️ META: https://www.facebook.com/futureoflifeinstitute ➡️ LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/future-of-life-institute/