#31 - Allan Dafoe on defusing the political & economic risks posed by existing AI capabilities
The debate around the impacts of artificial intelligence often centres on ‘superintelligence’ - a general intellect that is much smarter than the best humans, in practically every field. But according...
18 Maj 201848min
#30 - Eva Vivalt on how little social science findings generalize from one study to another
If we have a study on the impact of a social program in a particular place and time, how confident can we be that we’ll get a similar result if we study the same program again somewhere else? Dr Eva V...
15 Maj 20182h 1min
#29 - Anders Sandberg on 3 new resolutions for the Fermi paradox & how to colonise the universe
Part 2 out now: #33 - Dr Anders Sandberg on what if we ended ageing, solar flares & the annual risk of nuclear war The universe is so vast, yet we don’t see any alien civilizations. If they exist, whe...
8 Maj 20181h 21min
#28 - Owen Cotton-Barratt on why scientists should need insurance, PhD strategy & fast AI progresses
A researcher is working on creating a new virus – one more dangerous than any that exist naturally. They believe they’re being as careful as possible. After all, if things go wrong, their own life and...
27 Apr 20181h 3min
#27 - Dr Tom Inglesby on careers and policies that reduce global catastrophic biological risks
How about this for a movie idea: a main character has to prevent a new contagious strain of Ebola spreading around the world. She’s the best of the best. So good in fact, that her work on early detect...
18 Apr 20182h 16min
#26 - Marie Gibbons on how exactly clean meat is made & what's needed to get it in every supermarket
First, decide on the type of animal. Next, pick the cell type. Then take a small, painless biopsy, and put the cells in a solution that makes them feel like they’re still in the body. Once the cells a...
10 Apr 20181h 44min
#25 - Robin Hanson on why we have to lie to ourselves about why we do what we do
On February 2, 1685, England’s King Charles II was struck by a sudden illness. Fortunately his physicians were the best of the best. To reassure the public they kept them abreast of the King’s treatme...
28 Mars 20182h 39min
#24 - Stefan Schubert on why it’s a bad idea to break the rules, even if it’s for a good cause
How honest should we be? How helpful? How friendly? If our society claims to value honesty, for instance, but in reality accepts an awful lot of lying – should we go along with those lax standards? Or...
20 Mars 201855min
