Best of the Pod: How to Prepare for AGI According to Reid Hoffman

AGI is coming. Reid Hoffman just wrote the book on how to prepare. According to Reid, every major tech breakthrough (the written word, the printing press, the telephone) triggered mass fear. But, contrary to our worries, new technology tends to enhance human agency—even more so, if you know how to use it well. Reid is the cofounder of LinkedIn, Inflection AI, and Manas AI; a partner at venture capital firm Greylock Partners; an early backer and board member of OpenAI; and an award-winning podcaster We spent an hour talking about how to develop a compass for navigating AGI. Here are a few takeaways: Our sense of human agency is not just about external control but an internal stance—how we approach uncertainty & new tech is crucial In new technology waves, NO blueprint or plan will have the right answers. Instead, adapting to new technology requires broad access, an experimental mindset, and flexibility In an AGI world most jobs will transform, not disappear—and how you can prepare with hands-on trial and error How certain social norms and ethics should change as AGI changes the landscape—like individual access to personal data Why now may be finally be the era where quantified self tools become valuable …and more, including everything in his new book Superagency, out this week. It was a pleasure to have him on the show for a second time. This is a must-watch for anyone who wants to help build a more human future with AI. If you found this episode interesting, please like, subscribe, comment, and share! Want even more? Sign up for Every to unlock our ultimate guide to prompting ChatGPT here: https://every.ck.page/ultimate-guide-.... It’s usually only for paying subscribers, but you can get it here for free. To hear more from Dan Shipper: Subscribe to Every: https://every.to/subscribe Follow him on X: / danshipper Sponsor: Attio is the AI-native CRM built for the next era of companies. With Attio, setup takes minutes. Connect your email and calendar, and it instantly builds a CRM that mirrors your business. Go to https://www.⁠⁠⁠⁠attio.com/every to get 15% off on your first year. Timestamps: 00:00:00 — Episode Start 00:01:29 — Introduction 00:02:50 — Patterns in how we've historically adopted technology 00:07:02 — Why humans have typically been fearful of new technologies 00:13:25 — How Reid developed his own sense of agency 00:20:08 — The way Reid thinks about making investment decisions 00:22:00 — Attio: Go to⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://attio.com/every⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and get 15% off your first year on your AI-powered CRM. 00:29:40 — AI as a "techno-humanist" compass 00:35:30 — How to prepare yourself for the way AI will change knowledge work 00:41:39 — Why equitable access to AI is important 00:45:15 — Reid's take on why private commons will be beneficial for society 00:47:23 — How AI is making Silicon Valley's conception of the "quantified self" a reality 00:52:14 — The shift from symbolic to sub-symbolic AI mirrors how we understand intelligence 01:03:29 — Reid's new book, Superagency Links to resources mentioned in the episode: Reid Hoffman: @reidhoffman Superagency, Reid’s newest book: https://www.superagency.ai/