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(481)

Critical Race Theory, Comic Books and the Power of Public Schools

Critical Race Theory, Comic Books and the Power of Public Schools

Eve Ewing’s work as a sociologist, poet, visual artist, podcaster and comic book writer manages to do two things that are often in tension: it gives us a clear picture of how race, power and education...

9 Heinä 20211h 26min

Best of: What ‘Drained-Pool’ Politics Costs America

Best of: What ‘Drained-Pool’ Politics Costs America

In February, I spoke with Heather McGhee. I’ve been thinking about the conversation ever since. “The American landscape was once graced with resplendent public swimming pools, some big enough to hold ...

6 Heinä 20211h 8min

Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy Wants You to Be Bad at Something. It’s for Your Own Good.

Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy Wants You to Be Bad at Something. It’s for Your Own Good.

Recently, I picked up Jeff Tweedy’s “How to Write One Song.” It was a bit of a lark. Tweedy is the frontman for Wilco, one of my favorite bands, but I’m not a songwriter, and I don’t plan to become on...

2 Heinä 20211h 11min

Why Do We Work So Damn Much?

Why Do We Work So Damn Much?

Historically speaking, we live in an age of extraordinary abundance. We have long since passed the income thresholds when past economists believed our needs would be more than met and we’d be working ...

29 Kesä 20211h 22min

Republicans Are Setting Off a ‘Doom Loop’ for Democracy

Republicans Are Setting Off a ‘Doom Loop’ for Democracy

The insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6 failed. Donald Trump is not the president. But at the state level, the Republican war on elections is posting startling wins. They are trying to do what Trump...

25 Kesä 20211h 18min

Sarah Schulman’s Radical Approach to Conflict, Communication and Change

Sarah Schulman’s Radical Approach to Conflict, Communication and Change

Sarah Schulman’s work — as a nonfiction writer, novelist, activist, playwright and filmmaker — confronts the very thing most people try to avoid: conflict. Schulman, far from running from it, believes...

22 Kesä 20211h 1min

Welcome to the ‘Take This Job and Shove It’ Economy

Welcome to the ‘Take This Job and Shove It’ Economy

This is a strange moment in the economy. Wages are up, but so is inflation. Jobs are growing, but maybe not fast enough. Quit rates are at a 21st-century high. It isn’t clear what’s a trend, what’s a ...

18 Kesä 202154min

The Freeing of the American Mind

The Freeing of the American Mind

Free minds. Freedom fries. Free speech. The Freedom Caucus. Freedom from. Freedom to. What do Americans really mean when they talk about freedom?Louis Menand’s “The Free World” is a 700-plus-page inte...

15 Kesä 20211h 3min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

aikalisa
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
tervo-halme
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
politiikan-puskaradio
rss-podme-livebox
viisupodi
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
otetaan-yhdet
rss-asiastudio
rikosmyytit
rss-mina-ukkola
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
linda-maria
the-ulkopolitist
radio-antro
rss-merja-mahkan-rahat
rss-kaikki-uusiksi
rss-hyvaa-huomenta-bryssel
rss-kuka-mina-olen