#19 A poetic Psy-Phi Saga: A Memoir From The First AGI – with Dave Jilk

In this episode, we sit down with Dave Jilk, an author and former serial entrepreneur with a unique blend of experience in the software and startup world. These days, Dave dedicates much of his time to writing, recently releasing his latest work, Epoch: A Poetic Psy-Phi Saga. This science fiction novel, uniquely written as an epic poem from the first-person point of view of an AGI (Artificial General Intelligence), offers a fresh and realistic take on how AGI will likely come about. It explores how AGI might be developed based on our understanding of the development of brains, intelligence, consciousness, and purpose, what it might do, and its potential impact on humanity. The book delves into some profound questions about AI alignment and what it means to be human, making it a must-read for anyone curious about how artificial superintelligence is likely to emerge. In this interview, we dive into some of the central topics from Dave’s new book. I also hope this interview can offer a glimpse of how brilliant ideas can arise by combining one’s interdisciplinary interests, expertise, and pursuits. I am excited to share this insightful conversation, and I hope it inspires the listeners as much as it did me!

Thank you to our sponsor Nomono for the amazing podcast kit (https://nomono.co/) and to The Fritt Ord Foundation for their support!

Recommended sources:

1. Dave Jilk’s book «EPOCH: A Poetic Psy-Phi Saga»: https://www.epoch.fyi

2. Dave Jilk’s website: http://www.jilk.com

3. Dennet, D. C. (1992) Conciousness Explained: https://www.amazon.com/Consciousness-Explained-Daniel-C-Dennett/dp/0316180661

4. Butler, S. (1872). Erewhon, or, Over the Range: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/1906

5. Esaias, T. (1993). Norbert and the system: https://timonsesaias.com

Timestamps: 01:45:36

[00:00:00] Intro of the episode.

[00:02:07] Sponsor: Nomono Podcasting Kit.

[00:03:04] Literary inspiration and motivation for writing a sci-fi novel as an epic poem.

[00:07:04] Dave’s diverse background and how his interest in AGI and AI emerged.

[00:12:22] Coverage of science and time, human language, history and facticity.

[00:23:01] Introducing Aither, the AGI, and his caretakers, aka the scientists.

[00:29:48] Building alignment and trust through socialization and learning interactions.

[00:36:19] The idea of Multiplicity and connecting knowledge with alignment.

[00:42:39] Parallels to human development in learning about trust and deception.

[00:50:11] Programming and tuning of the novelty drive and curiosity in the AGI.

[00:55:36] AI safety and why we should anthropomorphize AGI.

[01:03:02] Making AGI as much like a human as we can and the role of LLMs.

[01:10:09] Neural implants, sensations and consciousness; it is going to get weird.

[01:17:39] The road ahead of us: No off switch for AGI, or for humanity.

[01:28:19] The prophecy of Kronos, reflecting the fear in humans and future AGI.

[01:35:04] Transcendence by contributing a verse to a powerful play.

[01:44:28] Outro and concluding remarks.