The Government Knows AGI is Coming
The Ezra Klein Show4 Maalis 2025

The Government Knows AGI is Coming

Artificial general intelligence — an A.I. system that can beat humans at almost any cognitive task — is arriving in just a couple of years. That’s what people tell me — people who work in A.I. labs, researchers who follow their work, former White House officials. A lot of these people have been calling me over the last couple of months trying to convey the urgency. This is coming during President Trump’s term, they tell me. We’re not ready.

One of the people who reached out to me was Ben Buchanan, the top adviser on A.I. in the Biden White House. And I thought it would be interesting to have him on the show for a couple reasons: He’s not connected to an A.I. lab, and he was at the nerve center of policymaking on A.I. for years. So what does he see coming? What keeps him up at night? And what does he think the Trump administration needs to do to get ready for the AGI — or something like AGI — he believes is right on the horizon?

This episode contains strong language.

Mentioned:

Machines of Loving Grace” by Dario Amodei

Ninety-five theses on AI” by Samuel Hammond

What It Means to be Kind in a Cruel World” by The Ezra Klein Show with George Saunders

Book recommendations:

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn

Rise of the Machines by Thomas Rid

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders

Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.

You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.

This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Rollin Hu. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, with Kate Sinclair and Mary Marge Locker. Mixing by Isaac Jones, with Efim Shapiro and Aman Sahota. Our supervising editor is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Elias Isquith, Kristin Lin and Jack McCordick. Original music by Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. Special thanks to Switch and Board Podcast Studio.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jaksot(485)

Why Housing Is So Expensive — Particularly in Blue States

Why Housing Is So Expensive — Particularly in Blue States

America is experiencing a housing crisis — or, more accurately, multiple housing crises. A massive housing shortage in major cities has resulted in skyrocketing rents. Low- and middle-income individua...

19 Heinä 20221h 16min

A Weird, Wonderful Conversation With Kim Stanley Robinson

A Weird, Wonderful Conversation With Kim Stanley Robinson

Kim Stanley Robinson is one of the great living science fiction writers and one of the most astute observers of how planets look, feel and work. His Mars Trilogy imagined what it might be like for hum...

15 Heinä 20221h 32min

First Person: To Fight for Ukraine’s Freedom, He Went Back Into the Closet

First Person: To Fight for Ukraine’s Freedom, He Went Back Into the Closet

Today, we're bringing you an episode from the recently launched New York Times Opinion podcast, “First Person,” hosted by Lulu Garcia-Navarro. In each episode, Lulu sits down with people living throug...

12 Heinä 202238min

Michelle Goldberg Grapples With Feminism After Roe

Michelle Goldberg Grapples With Feminism After Roe

“It’s true: We’re in trouble,” writes Michelle Goldberg of the modern feminist movement. “One thing backlashes do is transform a culture’s common sense and horizons of possibility. A backlash isn’t ju...

8 Heinä 20221h 20min

Liberals Need a Clearer Vision of the Constitution. Here’s What It Could Look Like.

Liberals Need a Clearer Vision of the Constitution. Here’s What It Could Look Like.

For decades now, the conservative legal movement has been on a mission to remake this nation’s laws from the bench. And it’s working. On Friday we released an episode with the legal scholar Kate Shaw ...

5 Heinä 20221h 13min

A Guide to the Supreme Court's Rightward Shift

A Guide to the Supreme Court's Rightward Shift

In the past few weeks alone, the Supreme Court has delivered a firestorm of conservative legal victories. States now have far less leeway to restrict gun permits. The right to abortion is no longer co...

1 Heinä 20221h 34min

The Supreme Court Went Off the Rails Long Before Dobbs

The Supreme Court Went Off the Rails Long Before Dobbs

On Friday, a Supreme Court majority voted to overturn Roe v. Wade. On Sunday, we released an episode with Dahlia Lithwick that goes through the court’s decision in detail, and we will continue to come...

28 Kesä 20221h 6min

The Dobbs Decision Isn’t Just About Abortion. It’s About Power.

The Dobbs Decision Isn’t Just About Abortion. It’s About Power.

On Friday, a Supreme Court majority voted to overturn Roe v. Wade. Nearly all abortions are already banned in at least nine states, home to 7.2 million women of reproductive age. And it is likely that...

26 Kesä 20221h 13min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

aikalisa
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
tervo-halme
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
politiikan-puskaradio
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
viisupodi
rss-podme-livebox
rss-asiastudio
otetaan-yhdet
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
the-ulkopolitist
rss-tasta-on-kyse-ivan-puopolo-verkkouutiset
rss-kaikki-uusiksi
rss-hyvaa-huomenta-bryssel
radio-antro
rss-kiina-ilmiot
rss-kovin-paikka
rss-polikulaari-pitka-kiekko-ja-muut-ts-podcastit
rss-vain-talouselamaa