Michael Rowe

Trying to get better at getting better

Podcast: Ian Morris on whether deep history says we’re heading for an intelligence explosion

https://80000hours.org/podcast/episodes/ian-morris-deep-history-intelligence-explosion/

Host Rob Wiblin speaks with repeat guest Ian Morris about what big-picture history says about the likely impact of machine intelligence.

They cover:

  • Some crazy anomalies in the historical record of civilisational progress
  • Whether we should think about technology from an evolutionary perspective
  • Whether we ought to expect war to make a resurgence or continue dying out
  • Why we can’t end up living like The Jetsons
  • Whether stagnation or cyclical recurring futures seem very plausible
  • What it means that the rate of increase in the economy has been increasing
  • Whether violence is likely between humans and powerful AI systems
  • The most likely reasons for Rob and Ian to be really wrong about all of this
  • How professional historians react to this sort of talk
  • The future of Ian’s work
  • Plenty more

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