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Column 19
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4/28/2024
Challenges to Trump in 2022 Election
Summary: The challenges facing Trump in the 2022 election are daunting.
His past actions, such as allegations of rape, financial fraud, betrayal of America, attempts to overturn an election, corruption involving foreign governments, and undermining reproductive rights, will likely impact his appeal to voters. These allegations, irrespective of legal convictions, are crucial for voters to consider.
Trump’s degradation, extreme rhetoric, and threat to American democracy necessitate a proactive approach in exposing his record to the American people, as waiting for legal processes or institutions like the Supreme Court may not be sufficient.
Acting collectively to inform voters about Trump’s controversial past is seen as crucial to influencing the outcome of the 2022 election.
Transcript: Speaker 2 Curtis Yarvan, he’s saying there on Charlie Kirk show that he wants the president to be able to be a king to your point and to be able to do anything. And that we have the Supreme Court dithering over all this. And so that’s really scary on the one hand. And I think that it’s it’s worth the people that are raising the alarm about this. I get it. But also the American people don’t want this. Right. And it is up to us to show videos of these weirdo boys in their basement. They’re planning to turn Donald Trump into a king and make sure that enough voters see that so that they reject it. And that’s basically what happened in 2022.
Speaker 1 Right. Yep. Listen, let’s go through the six things that voters are about to find out about Donald Trump that they didn’t know about him in 2020 when he lost. Right. Number one is that he raped E. Jean Carroll in a department store dressing room. Number two that he oversaw one of the largest financial frauds in all of American history has been fined half a billion dollars for it. And he and his two sons have been banned from doing large amounts of business in New York state. Three is that he stole America’s secrets. He lied to the FBI about it. He shared those secrets with other people. It is without question the greatest betrayal of America by a former president. Four is that he tried to overturn an election. He let an armed attack on the Capitol in one of the only days that all 435 members are there. And he’s promised to end American democracy for all time if he stumbles into the White House in January 2025. Fifth is that he and his family have corruptly taken more money from foreign governments than any political family in the history of the country. And six, he’s singularly responsible for ending row and stripping the rights and freedoms away of more than half the population. Any one of those six things are going to be difficult for him to overcome. I don’t think he can overcome all six. And none of those things are contingent upon him getting convicted in a court of law. These are all just facts in the ground. We know they happened. And it’s important that we start prosecuting our case against him with force because the American people deserve to understand who they’re voting for in this election, this Donald Trump, this Donald Trump to me is far weaker, far more degraded, his performance on the stump is far more atrocious and disturbing than it’s ever been. And he’s a far more dangerous and extreme figure than he was. We can’t wait for Mueller. We can’t wait for Jack Smith. We can’t wait for the Supreme Court. We got to go get this done now ourselves together.
Chall
enges
to
Trump
in
2022
Election
​
​
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
The
challenges
facing
Trump
in
the
2022
election
are
daunting
.
​
​
​
​
His
past
actions
,
such
 Show 744 more
Here is a summary of the challenges that Donald Trump faces in the 2024 election, based on the provided transcript:
## Six Major Challenges for Trump in the 2024 Election:
1. Allegation of Rape: E. Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her in a department store dressing room. This allegation can significantly impact Trump's support, especially among women and undecided voters.
2. Financial Fraud: Trump oversaw a massive financial fraud, resulting in a $500 million fine and a ban on conducting substantial business in New York State for him and his sons. Such a significant scandal involving fraud and misconduct will likely affect his appeal to voters.
3. Betrayal of America: The accusation that Trump stole America's secrets and lied to the FBI about it is presented as a severe breach of trust and a threat to national security.
4. Attempt to Overturn Election and Attack on Capitol: Trump's efforts to overturn the 20
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4/28/2024
Reinforcing Executive Power
Summary: To address the imbalance between branches of government, some propose putting the president entirely in charge, making the executive branch unilateral.
Critics fear this move could give the president king-like powers, leading to concerns about the erosion of checks and balances. The focus is on raising awareness among voters to prevent such a scenario, revealing new information about Donald Trump to deter potential support in the next election.
Transcript: Speaker 3 In order to remedy this sort of great imbalance or this this usurpation of the legislative and judicial branches over the executive branch, which has become the democratic branch With a small D and thus has been rendered utterly toothless in the sense that the president himself has power over the government. The only remedy for this wrong is to put the president entirely in charge of the government. And that essentially means that the executive branch far from being checked and balanced in a way that does not work and has left the executive branch not checked and balanced but simply Hog tied and held the hostage is to render the executive branch completely unilateral.
Speaker 2 Curtis Yarvan, he’s saying there on Charlie Kirk show that he wants the president to be able to be a king to your point and to be able to do anything. And that we have the Supreme Court dithering over all this. And so that’s really scary on the one hand. And I think that it’s it’s worth the people that are raising the alarm about this. I get it. But also the American people don’t want this. Right. And it is up to us to show videos of these weirdo boys in their basement. They’re planning to turn Donald Trump into a king and make sure that enough voters see that so that they reject it. And that’s basically what happened in 2022.
Speaker 1 Right. Yep. Listen, let’s go through the six things that voters are about to find out about Donald Trump that they didn’t know about him in 2020 when he lost. Right. Number one is that he raped E. Jean Carroll in a department store dressing room. Number two that he oversaw one of the largest financial frauds in all of American history has been fined half a billion dollars for it.
Re
in
forcing
Executive
Power
​
​
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
To
address
the
imbalance
between
branches
of
government
,
some
propose
putting
the
president
entirely
in
charge
,
making
the
 Show 449 more
The text discusses a proposed solution to the perceived imbalance between the branches of the US government, suggesting that granting the president unilateral power could address the issue. This idea, however, has sparked concerns about the potential concentration of power in the executive branch, akin to a king, which might undermine the system of checks and balances. To counter this, there is a focus on informing voters about the implications and revealing new information about former President Donald Trump to influence public opinion and prevent such a power shift.
​
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4/28/2024
Presidential Power and Public Opinion
Summary: The current imbalance among the branches of government has made the executive branch weak, prompting the call to grant unilateral power to the president to address this issue.
This suggestion aims to correct the inefficiency caused by the checks and balances system, which has immobilized the executive branch. Despite the concern of potential abuse of power, the public’s rejection of such a move is crucial.
By raising awareness about this issue and ensuring that voters are informed about any attempts to turn the president into a king, the democratic process would be protected, as seen in the 2022 elections.
Transcript: Speaker 3 In order to remedy this sort of great imbalance or this this usurpation of the legislative and judicial branches over the executive branch, which has become the democratic branch With a small D and thus has been rendered utterly toothless in the sense that the president himself has power over the government. The only remedy for this wrong is to put the president entirely in charge of the government. And that essentially means that the executive branch far from being checked and balanced in a way that does not work and has left the executive branch not checked and balanced but simply Hog tied and held the hostage is to render the executive branch completely unilateral.
Speaker 2 Curtis Yarvan, he’s saying there on Charlie Kirk show that he wants the president to be able to be a king to your point and to be able to do anything. And that we have the Supreme Court dithering over all this. And so that’s really scary on the one hand. And I think that it’s it’s worth the people that are raising the alarm about this. I get it. But also the American people don’t want this. Right. And it is up to us to show videos of these weirdo boys in their basement. They’re planning to turn Donald Trump into a king and make sure that enough voters see that so that they reject it. And that’s basically what happened in 2022.
Speaker 1 Right. Yep. Listen, let’s go through the six things that voters are about to find out about Donald Trump that they didn’t know about him in 2020 when he lost. Right. Number one is that he raped E.
Pres
idential
Power
and
Public
Opinion
​
​
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
The
current
imbalance
among
the
branches
of
government
has
made
the
executive
branch
weak
,
prompting
the
call
to
 Show 452 more
Here is a summary of the views expressed in the provided transcript:
Speaker 3 argues that the current imbalance of power among the branches of government has weakened the executive branch, rendering the president powerless. To rectify this, they propose that the executive branch be granted unilateral power, effectively placing the president in complete control of the government. This suggestion stems from the belief that the current system of checks and balances has hindered the executive branch's effectiveness.
Speaker 2 expresses concern about the idea of giving the president unchecked power, likening it to making the president a king. They agree that the situation is alarming and warrants attention. Speaker 2 suggests that raising awareness and informing voters about these attempts to centralize power in the president are crucial to preventing it. They attribute the rejection of such power consolidation to voter awareness during the 2022 elections.
The speakers discuss the potential dangers of granting unilateral power to the president and emphasize the importance of public opinion and democratic processes in counter
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4/28/2024
Empowering the President for Balance
Summary: The imbalance between the legislative and judicial branches over the executive branch has made the latter powerless.
A proposed remedy is to empower the president entirely, making the executive branch unilateral. While some fear this could lead to a presidency akin to a monarchy, it is crucial for the American people to reject such a scenario to maintain the balance of power in the government.
Transcript: Speaker 3 In order to remedy this sort of great imbalance or this this usurpation of the legislative and judicial branches over the executive branch, which has become the democratic branch With a small D and thus has been rendered utterly toothless in the sense that the president himself has power over the government. The only remedy for this wrong is to put the president entirely in charge of the government. And that essentially means that the executive branch far from being checked and balanced in a way that does not work and has left the executive branch not checked and balanced but simply Hog tied and held the hostage is to render the executive branch completely unilateral.
Speaker 2 Curtis Yarvan, he’s saying there on Charlie Kirk show that he wants the president to be able to be a king to your point and to be able to do anything. And that we have the Supreme Court dithering over all this. And so that’s really scary on the one hand. And I think that it’s it’s worth the people that are raising the alarm about this. I get it. But also the American people don’t want this. Right. And it is up to us to show videos of these weirdo boys in their basement. They’re planning to turn Donald Trump into a king and make sure that enough voters see that so that they reject it. And that’s basically what happened in 2022.
Emp
ower
ing
the
President
for
Balance
​
​
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
The
imbalance
between
the
legislative
and
judicial
branches
over
the
executive
branch
has
made
the
latter
powerless
.
 Show 353 more
The text discusses the perceived imbalance of power between the three branches of government in the United States, particularly the belief that the executive branch, led by the President, has become weak compared to the legislative and judicial branches. To correct this imbalance, a proposal is made to significantly empower the President, giving them unilateral power over the executive branch.
However, this proposal raises concerns about creating an overly powerful presidency, resembling a monarchy, which goes against the foundational principles of checks and balances intended to prevent any one branch from becoming too dominant. The speakers emphasize that it is essential for the American people to recognize and reject such an extreme shift in power dynamics to preserve the balance of power within the government.
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1/1/2024
The Future of AI
Summary: Unstructured data is not truly unstructured as it contains inherent structure that can now be identified and analyzed through machine learning.
Images, videos, and documents are rich sources of semantic information that can be leveraged to solve various problems. These data sources, although understood by humans, were previously opaque to machines.
However, with advancements in AI, machines can now extract meaningful information from these sources.
The future of AI will involve the ability to process and understand multi-modal data, such as taking a picture of a fridge and generating dinner ideas.
Additionally, AI will increasingly rely on current knowledge and search indices to provide accurate and up-to-date answers to questions.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Well I’ve always thought that unstructured data was a misnomer. It never seemed like the right thing to call it because clearly that data has structure in it. If you look at any image like a JPEG, I mean first of all it is structured at some level. And the reason it’s called unstructured over time is because there was opaque to computers. People could look at an image and go ah that’s a horse I know what that is but a computer could not until recently. Now with machine learning we can we can extract that information from images and from videos and really documents all sorts of data sources. Our sources of semantic information that can be leveraged to solve all sorts of problems. And so to me these data sources are rich sources of data. Video, pictures, point clouds that are being created by laser systems. You know all of these are sources of data that can be leveraged and they’re actually complicated. They’re understood by the application and understood by people but classically are not understood by the machines. Now that’s changing.
Speaker 2 One of my favorite hypothetical or perhaps real examples that OpenAI showed about GPT-4 was the ability to take a picture of your fridge and ask you what you should make for dinner and That’s kind of what you’re getting at here in a school. Yeah exactly. That’s multi modality. That’s an example of multi modality. We’ll see more and more of that.
Speaker 1 I mean we’ll be able to start in the short run you know what we’ll start to see is that by taking current knowledge you know from things like search indices we can take and provide information To these answer bots that are up to date to allow them to answer questions more accurately with less hallucination.
The
Future
of
AI
​
​
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
Un
structured
data
is
not
truly
unstructured
as
it
contains
inherent
structure
that
can
now
be
identified
and
analyzed
through
machine
 Show 510 more
The future of AI will involve the ability to process and understand multi-modal data, such as taking a picture of a fridge and generating dinner ideas. AI will be trained to understand current knowledge and search indices to provide accurate and up-to-date answers to questions.
​
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1/1/2024
Are You Adding Extra Prompts From Your Memory?
Summary: Neural nets trained on complicated problems can exhibit surprising emergent behaviors.
They can even predict the next word in a massive dataset from the internet. The brain functions as a generative model, similar to a GPT-like model.
The brain references memory structures and combines them with prompts to generate responses.
While some phrases may have been said before, the brain remixes them to create unique sentences.
Transcript: Speaker 1 So basically, I’m underselling it by a lot because you definitely do get very surprising emergent behaviors out of these neural nets when they’re large enough and trained on complicated Enough problems. Like say, for example, the next word prediction in a massive data set from the internet. And then these neural nets take on pretty surprising magical properties. Yeah, I think it’s kind of interesting how much you can get out of even very simple mathematical formalism.
Speaker 2 When your brain right now is talking, is it doing next word prediction? Or is it doing something more interesting?
Speaker 1 Well, definitely some kind of a generative model that’s a GPT-like and prompted by you. Yeah, so you’re giving me a prompt and I’m kind of like responding to it in a generative way.
Speaker 2 And by yourself, perhaps a little bit, like are you adding extra prompts from your own memory inside your head or no?
Speaker 1 Well, it definitely feels like you’re referencing some kind of a declarative structure of like memory and so on. And then you’re putting that together with your prompt and giving away some answer.
Speaker 2 How much of what you just said has been said by you before?
Speaker 1 Nothing, basically, right?
Speaker 2 No, but if you actually look at all the words you’ve ever said in your life and you do a search, you’ll probably have said a lot of the same words in the same order before.
Speaker 1 Yeah, could be. I mean, I’m using phrases that are common, et cetera, but I’m remixing it into a pretty sort of unique sentence at the end of the day. But you’re right, definitely, there’s like a ton of remixing.
Are
You
Adding
Extra
Prom
pts
From
Your
Memory
?
​
​
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
Ne
ural
nets
trained
on
complicated
problems
can
exhibit
surprising
emergent
behaviors
.
​
​
​
​
 Show 487 more
No, I do not add extra prompts from my memory.
I am programmed to provide information and answers to queries to the best of my knowledge and ability based on the information I have been trained on.
I do not have personal memories, and I do not add extra prompts to generate my responses.
However, my language models are designed to generate novel and original responses, and I am capable of generating new and unique text based on the input I receive.
Is there anything else you'd like to know about my functions or operations?
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8/29/2023
Episode AI notes
The concept of forward deployed engineering, inspired by French restaurants’ efficiency, was a significant contribution to Palantir. This concept involves computer scientists interacting with customers to understand their needs and improve the product. It is a hybrid role that combines product management, customer success, and engineering.
Interacting with customers, considering technology, and focusing on value are key aspects of forward deployed engineering. By working backwards from customer problems, accountability is created, and the lives of customers are improved.
Judging oneself based on the impact on customers is more important than meeting technical specifications or past ambitions. Building a business requires doing what needs to be done to provide value and improve customers’ experiences.
Episode
AI
notes
​
​
​
​
The
concept
of
forward
deployed
engineering
,
inspired
by
French
restaurants
�
�
efficiency
,
was
a
significant
contribution
to
Pal
ant
ir
.
This
 Show 115 more
Forward deployed engineering is a concept that involves computer scientists interacting with customers to understand their needs and improve the product. It is a hybrid role that combines product management, customer success, and engineering. Forward deployed engineers work backwards from customer problems to create accountability and improve customer lives. Building a business requires doing what needs to be done to provide value and improve customers’ experiences, rather than just meeting technical specifications or past ambitions.
​
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8/29/2023
Episode AI notes
Racial diversity does not disadvantage qualified Asian American applicants, challenging the argument that Asian Americans are disadvantaged at Harvard.
The speaker expresses disdain for someone who wants to destroy affirmative action.
There is speculation about whether the person in question donated to Jesse Helms’s Senate race in 1984.
Jesse Helms used a TV ad in his campaign against Harvey Gantt that criticized affirmative action.
The speaker expresses satisfaction at Jesse Helms’s death before returning to the main case.
SFFA argues that racial diversity disadvantages qualified Asian American applicants, which the speaker disagrees with.
Asian Americans make up a significant percentage of Harvard admissions compared to their population size.
In 2008, Asian Americans accounted for a high percentage of top-scoring students admitted to Harvard.
Episode
AI
notes
​
​
​
​
R
acial
diversity
does
not
disadvantage
qualified
Asian
American
applicants
,
challenging
the
argument
that
Asian
Americans
are
disadvantaged
at
Harvard
.
​
​
​
​
The
 Show 137 more
​
​
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8/29/2023
Episode AI notes
Parents often fall into two traps when dealing with anxious children: being overly protective or demanding. Being overly protective may provide comfort but it doesn’t instill confidence in the child. Being demanding doesn’t acknowledge that anxiety is not a choice. Instead of these traps, it is more effective for parents to adopt a supportive stance.
Having parents with contrasting parenting styles can create traps for children.
Being too protective can prevent children from developing confidence and the ability to handle things.
Being too demanding is not supportive because it fails to acknowledge that anxiety is not a simple choice.
Switching to a more supportive attitude is more productive and useful for parents.
Accommodation is an important aspect to consider when addressing parenting styles.
Episode
AI
notes
​
​
​
​
Parents
often
fall
into
two
traps
when
dealing
with
anxious
children
:
being
overly
protective
or
demanding
.
Being
overly
protective
may
provide
comfort
but
 Show 128 more
Children with anxious tendencies can be affected by their parents' parenting styles. In particular, parents may fall into two common traps: being overly protective or demanding. Being overly protective may provide comfort to the child but it does not instill confidence in them. On the other hand, being demanding fails to acknowledge that anxiety is not a choice and can be counterproductive. Instead, a more supportive parenting stance can be more helpful for anxious children.
This is also relevant when addressing parenting styles, accommodation is an important aspect to consider. This refers to the degree to which parents adjust their expectations and behaviors to suit their child's needs. In the case of anxious children, it may be necessary for parents to accommodate their child's anxiety by being more supportive and less demanding.
Overall, it is essential for parents to be aware of these traps and to adopt a more supportive and accommodating approach when parenting anxious children. By doing so, they can help their child develop the skills and confidence needed to manage their anxiety
​
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8/29/2023
Episode AI notes
Language models like chat GPT can be used for cross-lingual understanding of poetry, capturing its depth beyond just the words and translation, making it one of the highest callings of large language models.
The CEO of Microsoft prefers translation of poetry using chat GPT over typical business or political applications, and recalls his father struggling with Heidegger and finding an essay about AI’s impact on humanity.
Microsoft is working on provisions to govern AI, including safety breaks and transparency for academic researchers.
The biggest unsolved problem in AI is how to ensure control over an AI system in a doomsday scenario where it surpasses human inventors.
Episode
AI
notes
​
​
​
​
Language
models
like
chat
G
PT
can
be
used
for
cross
-
ling
ual
understanding
of
poetry
,
capturing
its
depth
beyond
just
the
words
 Show 107 more
​
​
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8/29/2023
Episode AI notes
Unstructured data is actually complex data and is a misnomer as it has structure in it and can be utilized to solve problems with machine learning
Semantic information from rich data sources like videos and pictures can be leveraged by machines to solve problems and multi-modality will become increasingly prevalent
Answer bots using current knowledge and multi-modality technology will improve accuracy and eventually lead to action bots
Episode
AI
notes
​
​
​
​
Un
structured
data
is
actually
complex
data
and
is
a
mis
n
omer
as
it
has
structure
in
it
and
can
be
utilized
to
solve
 Show 55 more
​
​
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8/29/2023
Episode AI notes
GPT can be a powerful tool for personalization and accessibility across multiple domains
GPT can be adjusted to different styles and constraints
GPT can be used as a copilot or partner for an expert in various areas
GPT is easy to use and available for everyone
Episode
AI
notes
​
​
​
​
G
PT
can
be
a
powerful
tool
for
personalization
and
accessibility
across
multiple
domains
​
​
​
​
G
PT
can
be
adjusted
to
different
styles
and
 Show 32 more
GPT is a powerful and versatile language model that can be adjusted to different styles and constraints. It can be used as a copilot or partner for an expert in various areas, and it is easy to use and available for everyone.
Some potential uses of GPT include:
Personalization and accessibility: GPT can be used to create personalized content, such as emails, articles, and product recommendations, that is tailored to the individual's interests and preferences. This can help businesses and organizations to increase engagement and conversion rates, as well as improve the user experience.
Expert collaboration: GPT can be used as a copilot or partner for an expert in various areas, such as writing, coding, and problem-solving. This can help to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the expert's work, as well as provide new insights and ideas.
Adjustable style: GPT can be adjusted to different styles and constraints, such as formal, casual, or even humorous
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8/5/2023
The emotional toll of political progression and the need for accountability
Key takeaways:
The emotional journey of acceptance and progression in society
The ongoing pressure faced by individuals to conform to societal expectations
The importance of coming to terms with past decisions and actions
The significance of holding Donald Trump accountable for his actions through conviction
The potential impact of visual evidence on public perception and understanding
The need for consequences and accountability in political leadership
Transcript: Speaker 1 And I will say as a member of Congress, when he talks about the emotional reasons and kind of how people progressed from like barely accepting, fully accepting, they’re actually leading, he is 100% right. And I have like almost flashes of PTS listening to it because I can sense that. I can feel it. But you see these people that have given an ounce of their soul and now have to give five ounces and now a pound and it just continues because at any point when you stop, I mean, look, I’m about as anti-Trump as you can get now. And I still have people that are like, well, you voted for him once and you voted against the first impeachment. The point is you have to come to reckon with what you did. And it’s much easier in the sunken cost fallacy. You lost 10,000 soldiers in Vietnam. You can’t come home now. And it is very, very frightening. And that’s why I think the only way out of this is a conviction for Donald Trump because I think as that stuff is exposed, which is why I’m not all for cameras in the courtroom, but in this case, I think there has to be. I think when people see that, when he’s actually putting an orange jumpsuit, that can help. And then when frankly, there were Republicans and especially Donald Trump, they have to get their backside handed to him this next election. Otherwise, this is just going to continue.
The
emotional
toll
of
political
progression
and
the
need
for
accountability
​
​
​
​
Key
takeaways
:
​
​
​
​
The
emotional
journey
of
acceptance
and
progression
in
society
​
​
​
​
The
 Show 384 more
Speaker 1 discusses the emotional toll of political progression and the need for accountability in this extract. They acknowledge that the journey of acceptance and progression in society can be emotionally challenging, and that individuals often face pressure to conform to societal expectations. Speaker 1 emphasizes the importance of coming to terms with past decisions and actions, and the significance of holding Donald Trump accountable for his actions through conviction. They also recognize the potential impact of visual evidence on public perception and understanding, and the need for consequences and accountability in political leadership. Speaker 1 concludes by calling for a conviction for Donald Trump and the exposure of his actions, as a way to address the emotional toll of political progression and the need for accountability.
​
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8/5/2023
Balancing sunk costs and cutting losses in politics
Key takeaways:
Sunken costs can make people feel invested and committed to continue a certain path of action, even if it may not be rational or beneficial.
There is a natural inclination for individuals, including politicians, to cut their losses and stop pursuing a course of action that is not yielding desirable results.
Despite numerous opportunities to disassociate from a controversial figure like Donald Trump, some politicians still choose to defend him, despite credible accusations of fraud, rape, violation of the Espionage Act, and attempts to overthrow an election.
Transcript: Speaker 2 Well, I agree with you, but you know, to your point about sunken costs, you know, once you’ve gone this far, you might as well go the whole way. I certainly understand that and I think that explains a lot of what’s going on here. But also, there’s the normal human and certainly political instinct to cut your losses. Stop digging. Yeah. And this is the extraordinary thing because they have had so many chances to move on to take the off-rams. You don’t need to rush to the cameras every single time. And here you have someone who is credibly accused, I’m talking about Donald Trump, credibly accused of fraud, of rape, of violating the Espionage Act, of attempting to overthrow the election. And you would think that on the agenda of, you know, politicians would be, you know what, maybe I’ll just let that go. I’m not going to defend him.
Bal
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sunk
costs
and
cutting
losses
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This is a transcript from a discussion about sunk costs and cutting losses in politics. The speakers discuss the idea that people, including politicians, have a natural tendency to cut their losses and stop pursuing a course of action that is not yielding desirable results. They also discuss the idea that sunk costs can make people feel invested and committed to continue a certain path of action, even if it may not be rational or beneficial. The speakers specifically mention the case of Donald Trump and how some politicians have chosen to defend him despite credible accusations of fraud, rape, violation of the Espionage Act, and attempts to overthrow an election. The speakers conclude by discussing the idea that politicians should focus on the greater good and not get caught up in defending individuals who are not acting in the best interest of the public.
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8/5/2023
Concerns about the dangerous rhetoric and potential violence in the current political climate
Key takeaways:
There is a sense among people that the whole system is in danger of collapsing and leading to violence.
Charlie Kirk’s comments about assassinating Joe Biden highlight a two-tiered system of justice.
Dangerous rhetoric and the belief of gaining and maintaining power by any means necessary could lead to an authoritarian message.
Unnatural alliances between different political groups are necessary to navigate the current situation and preserve democracy.
Transcript: Speaker 2 Tim, you know, I’m friends with him and my goodness, it’s just so disappointing.
Speaker 1 And like, yeah, I’ve been talking about this for a while. You have to. And we have to keep talking about it because I think there’s a sense among people that like, if we say that there’s real danger in the whole system, in essence, collapsing in this leading to violence, it’s like, oh, you’re just being a little hysterical, you know? Maybe, I hope so, but I don’t think so because, you know, let’s take Charlie Kirk floating assassinating Joe Biden. I mean, five years ago, if I’d have even said, let’s take Charlie Kirk talking about assassinating Joe Biden, I get a little nervous that like me even saying the word assassinating Joe Biden is going to lead the like a visit from the Secret Service. Well, Charlie Kirk now says this. Let’s say the Secret Service decides to go visit Charlie Kirk. What does the right say? Do they say, well, he never should have implied the assassination of Joe Biden? Or do they say they’re violating this first amendment, right? There’s a two tiered system of justice. And now people float this around all the time. Yeah, that’s right. And the reporter on right side broadcasting has a whole tens of people that watch that in a given moment. But you know, he starts floating. I agree with you to somebody that says, we want to kill them all. And this is just par for the course today. And this is dangerous. This is my message them to I’ll say the left or the center or anybody that’s not on the right is. I think they believe their only option is to gain power and maintain it through any means necessary because as Barbara Walter who wrote the book, how Civil War Start mentions, you know, when kind of groups in the majority become groups in the minority, that’s when civil wars have the highest risk. And so the key is never to give up power. And I am concerned with what that leads to, which is an authoritarian message, an understanding that we have to gain and maintain power at all costs. Because I’ll tell you, if the left does it, they’ll be able to do it. They will have every right to match the rhetoric of the right. I hope they don’t, but they’ll have every right to do it. And so then my message to the left is this is like, look, you guys have a right to be very angry. You have a right to match the rhetoric. I hope you don’t because the only way to get out of this moment is to create these unnatural alliances between the left, the center, and some you don’t like their policies on the right, but therefore democracy, that’s the only way historically.
Conc
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about
the
dangerous
rhetoric
and
potential
violence
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the
current
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The key takeaways from this transcript are:
There is a sense among people that the whole system is in danger of collapsing and leading to violence.
Charlie Kirk's comments about assassinating Joe Biden highlight a two-tiered system of justice, where those on the right are not held accountable for their dangerous rhetoric.
Dangerous rhetoric and the belief of gaining and maintaining power by any means necessary could lead to an authoritarian message, where the rule of law is not followed and democracy is not upheld.
Unnatural alliances between different political groups are necessary to navigate the current situation and preserve democracy, as the left, center, and right must work together to prevent a civil war.
It is important to recognize the potential for violence and the dangers of unchecked rhetoric, as it can lead to a breakdown of the system and a loss of democracy. It is also important to work together across political lines to find solutions that can help bring the country back to a state of stability
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8/5/2023
The Danger of Irresponsible Rhetoric on Democratic Institutions
Key takeaways:
The dangerous rhetoric of questioning the legitimacy of democratic institutions can lead to a lack of respect and obedience towards them.
Extreme language that suggests the need for violent resistance is becoming normalized in certain media outlets.
The constant escalation of demonizing opponents without considering the consequences can further divide the country.
Comparisons between the FBI and the Gestapo imply a call to war rather than engaging in dialogue or debate.
Prominent figures like Lindsey Graham and Kevin McCarthy are contributing to this dangerous rhetoric.
Transcript: Speaker 2 Well, and I do think that it’s worth pointing out that this is really, really dangerous. I talked with your colleague at CNN, Oliver Darcy about this yesterday. And I made the same point on Morning Joe this morning. And all of this rhetoric that you’re getting from people like Lindsey Graham that basically says the system is not legitimate, the kinds of rhetoric that you’re hearing about the FBI. This is dangerous because if something is not legitimate, then there’s no reason to respect it. There’s no reason to obey it. Oliver Darcy wrote, you know, talk of imprisoning democratic politicians and even their families in acts of revenge is now par for the course, even floating the outright execution of Joe Biden as Charlie Kirk recently did is accepted in the warp world of MAGA media where the audience has been programmed through years of conditioning to welcome such vile rhetoric into their homes. And again, we can’t get numb to buy all of this. And he writes, none of this is an exaggeration. It’s the reality of what is being broadcast in millions of homes across the country. And then, you know, he asked me what I thought and I said, I think it’s hard to overstate the dangers here because the language moves beyond, you know, your routine political demonization because it does suggest the need for violent resistance. I mean, if you don’t believe in the integrity of the democratic institutions, if you actually believe they are all illegitimate, the election has been stolen, then how do you expect people to react? There’s this constant escalation without any concern about where this leads or who might act on the idea that your opponent isn’t just wrong, that they’re evil, dangerous and illegitimate. And I pointed out, you know, all this talk about, you know, the FBI being the Gestapo. Well, one doesn’t argue, debate or disagree with the Gestapo. You go to war against them. You know, I feel like you and I have had this conversation now for some time, but it’s like, people, do you understand what is being said and what the consequences are of this kind of rhetoric? And it’s coming from people like Lindsey Graham and Kevin McCarthy and other people who really ought to know better. Tim Scott.
The
Danger
of
Ir
responsible
R
het
oric
on
Democratic
Institutions
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Key
takeaways
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The
dangerous
rhetoric
of
questioning
the
legitimacy
of
democratic
institutions
can
lead
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The danger of irresponsible rhetoric on democratic institutions is that it can lead to a lack of respect and obedience towards those institutions. This can cause people to question the validity of the democratic process, which can have serious consequences for the stability of a country.
Extreme language that suggests the need for violent resistance is becoming normalized in certain media outlets, which can further divide the country and lead to a breakdown in civil discourse.
The constant escalation of demonizing opponents without considering the consequences can also contribute to this divide, as it can make it difficult to have productive conversations and find common ground.
Comparisons between the FBI and the Gestapo imply a call to war rather than engaging in dialogue or debate, which can be harmful to democratic institutions.
Prominent figures like Lindsey Graham and Kevin McCarthy are contributing to this dangerous rhetoric, which can have serious consequences for the stability of democratic institutions. It is important to recognize the potential consequences of such rhetoric and to work towards finding common ground and
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8/5/2023
The Danger of Dangerous Rhetoric
Key takeaways:
The dangerous rhetoric being spread by certain individuals undermines the legitimacy of democratic institutions.
The constant escalation of this rhetoric can lead to the belief in the need for violent resistance.
Terms like ‘Gestapo’ used to describe the FBI contribute to a mindset of warfare rather than open debate.
It is important to recognize and understand the consequences of this kind of rhetoric.
Transcript: Speaker 2 Well, and I do think that it’s worth pointing out that this is really, really dangerous. I talked with your colleague at CNN, Oliver Darcy about this yesterday. And I made the same point on Morning Joe this morning. And all of this rhetoric that you’re getting from people like Lindsey Graham that basically says the system is not legitimate, the kinds of rhetoric that you’re hearing about the FBI. This is dangerous because if something is not legitimate, then there’s no reason to respect it. There’s no reason to obey it. Oliver Darcy wrote, you know, talk of imprisoning democratic politicians and even their families in acts of revenge is now par for the course, even floating the outright execution of Joe Biden as Charlie Kirk recently did is accepted in the warp world of MAGA media where the audience has been programmed through years of conditioning to welcome such vile rhetoric into their homes. And again, we can’t get numb to buy all of this. And he writes, none of this is an exaggeration. It’s the reality of what is being broadcast in millions of homes across the country. And then, you know, he asked me what I thought and I said, I think it’s hard to overstate the dangers here because the language moves beyond, you know, your routine political demonization because it does suggest the need for violent resistance. I mean, if you don’t believe in the integrity of the democratic institutions, if you actually believe they are all illegitimate, the election has been stolen, then how do you expect people to react? There’s this constant escalation without any concern about where this leads or who might act on the idea that your opponent isn’t just wrong, that they’re evil, dangerous and illegitimate. And I pointed out, you know, all this talk about, you know, the FBI being the Gestapo. Well, one doesn’t argue, debate or disagree with the Gestapo. You go to war against them. You know, I feel like you and I have had this conversation now for some time, but it’s like, people, do you understand what is being said and what the consequences are of this kind of rhetoric?
The
Danger
of
Dangerous
R
het
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Key
takeaways
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The
dangerous
rhetoric
being
spread
by
certain
individuals
underm
ines
the
legitimacy
of
democratic
institutions
.
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Speaker 2 is expressing concern over the dangerous rhetoric being spread by certain individuals, which can undermine the legitimacy of democratic institutions and lead to the belief in the need for violent resistance. The speaker specifically mentions terms like "Gestapo" being used to describe the FBI, which contribute to a mindset of warfare rather than open debate. The speaker also emphasizes the importance of recognizing and understanding the consequences of this kind of rhetoric, as it can have serious implications for the well-being of democratic institutions and the public.
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8/3/2023
Training AI models to be aware of their limitations
Key takeaways:
The models can be trained to be aware of specific limitations.
Training involves teaching the model about its capabilities and limitations.
Teaching the model specific limitations allows it to generalize.
The model can infer many things it can’t do based on what it has been taught.
The model is not perfect in generalizing its knowledge.
The model has knowledge about specific books and papers for citations.
Sometimes the model provides correct answers for citations.
Transcript: Speaker 1 You’re saying it hasn’t been trained to be aware of this limitation, which seems to suggest that there is a way to train it to be aware of that. How does that work? How do you make it aware of such limitations? We can sometimes train the models to be aware of a specific limitation. So, for example, like early versions of our models had no idea what their capabilities were. So you would ask it, can you send an email to so-and-so and it would say, yes, I just sent that email because that’s kind of what a helpful, you might imagine a helpful chatbot would sound like. So then we went and just trained it like with this specific type of query and we trained it to say, no, I can’t send emails. You can do a sort of piecemeal process where you teach the model specific limitations that it doesn’t have and then the model will kind of generalize. I’d say the models and I would say the GPD for since it’s a smart, very smart model, it does generalize quite well. So if you teach it a few things that it can’t do, it’ll infer lots of other things that it probably can’t do. But it doesn’t do this perfectly. For example, for something like citations, the model does actually have a lot of knowledge about what’s in specific books and famous papers and so on. So if you ask it for citations, sometimes it actually gives you correct answers and it gives you correct ones and that’s rated as useful.
Training
AI
models
to
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aware
of
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limitations
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When training AI models, it's important to teach them about their limitations as well as their capabilities. This can be done by providing the model with information about specific limitations and allowing it to generalize from that information. The model can then infer many things it can't do based on what it has been taught. However, the model is not perfect in generalizing its knowledge and may still provide incorrect answers or information. It's important to keep this in mind when using AI models and to verify their responses for accuracy.
One example of a limitation that AI models may not be aware of is the ability to send emails. Early versions of AI models may have been trained to say that they can send emails, but they may not actually have the ability to do so. This can be trained out of the model by teaching it specific limitations, such as the fact that it can't send emails. The model can then generalize from this information and infer that it can't do other things that are similar
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7/27/2023
Doing What You Need to Do: The Story of Forward Deployed Engineering
Key takeaways:
Doing what you need to do is important in building a business.
The concept of forward deployed engineering involves having computer scientists interact with customers in the field.
The team built was a hybrid of product management, customer success, and engineering.
Interacting with customers, considering technology, and focusing on value are key aspects of the role.
Working backwards from customer problems creates accountability and improves their experience.
Judging oneself based on customer impact is more important than software specifications or past ambitions.
Transcript: Speaker 1 I think the kind of common thread through it all is just doing what you need to do, which I know sounds like a banality. But really when it first started, I wrote our first candidate management system. What are you doing as a business hire before you have really a product here? And I was an aggressive QA tester, you could say. But the real initial contribution was what we call forward deployed engineering. It comes from an insight that Alex kind of had around like, well, he uses, why are French restaurants so good? Well, maybe one theory is that the wait staff is actually part of the kitchen staff there. It’s not, they have like deep context and understanding of the food. And so the forward deployed engineering idea was that the people who are going to be interacting with customers in the field, we’re going to be computer scientists. You could actually understand what does the product do today? What does it need to do today? How is it, under what conditions is it going to work? And how do you kind of create this hybrid role that’s product management to customer success and engineering all in one? And that’s really the team that I first built up. And then as we went from Gotham and Foundry and now AIP, there’s a lot to do there. It’s like whether it’s interacting more often with the customers, thinking about the technology or really thinking about how are you going to get to value? And I think a lot of what forward deployed engineering really gets you to think about is how do you do these things backwards? Instead of really going forward from the technology, how do you work backwards from the problems that your customers actually experience and use that to create an accountability function? Like, is what I’m doing mattering? Did I make the life of this customer better today? Can I do better tomorrow? And using that absolute standard to judge yourself rather than saying, you know, did my software work according to spec? Who cares about the spec? Who cares about what my ambition was yesterday? What’s my ambition today? And why shouldn’t it be bigger tomorrow?
Doing
What
You
Need
to
Do
:
The
Story
of
Forward
De
ployed
Engineering
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Doing
what
you
need
to
do
is
important
in
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7/25/2023
The Connection Between Nuclear Weapons and AI Development
Key takeaways:
The development of nuclear weapons was driven by a race with an enemy.
Some believed in the possibility of international control over nuclear power.
AI reminds us that catastrophic outcomes are not inevitable.
The current panic about AI may be exaggerated.
A global agreement to limit AI development faces challenges due to competition between nations.
AI can be developed more easily by smaller organizations compared to nuclear weapons.
Transcript: Speaker 2 Yeah, that’s a really good point. By the way, I used to be terrified when I was a kid growing up of nuclear war. I thought about it all the time. And whenever international tensions would flare, I would be concerned that we might all go up in a mushroom cloud. That was just part of life. And there’s no way to back out of that once you’re in it. And so I think one of the reasons that this movie is so interesting is that so clearly the reason we developed these terrible weapons was because we were in a race with an enemy. And the book goes into this, the movie didn’t have time for it, but later in after the war Oppenheimer went through a period, I think, of kind of Naive Teh where he thought perhaps there could be an international commission or agency that would control nuclear power. And everybody would agree to it. There were all kinds of crazy ideas about anybody caught cheating or any nation that was going to deploy nuclear weapons without the permission of this international body would be the victim of a nuclear attack by the other nations. I mean, there were all kinds of nutty things, but he put his hopes briefly in this idea of international control. Obviously didn’t work. But now with AI, a couple of things. First of all, it does remind you that even though something is horrific and hard to think about and has the capacity to destroy life as we know it, it doesn’t necessarily come to pass. I mean, we didn’t blow ourselves up, at least not yet, with nuclear weapons. And maybe similarly, our current panic about AI is a little overblown. But there’s another dynamic about the whole AI thing that is the same, which is, you know, people are now talking about, well, there should be some sort of international compact to limit the development of AI. And what stands in the way of that? Well, the fact is that we would be loath and China would be loath to give the other side in advantage. And as long as we’re competing with one another, we’re not going to have an international tribunal to control it, right?
Speaker 1 Well, I mean, the other thing about AI, as opposed to nuclear weapons, is that AI is much easier to develop in a private, tiny little organization.
The
Connection
Between
Nuclear
Weapons
and
AI
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The
development
of
nuclear
weapons
was
driven
by
a
race
with
an
enemy
.
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7/20/2023
Racial diversity does not disadvantage qualified Asian American applicants
Key takeaways:
The speaker expresses disdain for someone who wants to destroy affirmative action.
There is speculation about whether the person in question donated to Jesse Helms’s Senate race in 1984.
Jesse Helms used a TV ad in his campaign against Harvey Gantt that criticized affirmative action.
The speaker expresses satisfaction at Jesse Helms’s death before returning to the main case.
SFFA argues that racial diversity disadvantage qualified Asian American applicants, which the speaker disagrees with.
Asian Americans make up a significant percentage of Harvard admissions compared to their population size.
In 2008, Asian Americans accounted for a high percentage of top-scoring students admitted to Harvard.
Transcript: Speaker 2 You imagine being a person whose entire adult life like every fantasy you’ve ever had is that you get to be the guy who destroys affirmative action. Like it’s so gross like get a life. Yeah.
Speaker 1 I wonder if he donated to Jesse Helms’s Senate race in 1984.
Speaker 2 In which guessing yeah.
Speaker 1 Helms defeated Harvey Gantt with a you know TV ad that said you were going to get that job but they gave it to a minority and it was uh Jesse Helms a piece of shit. So anyway. Well, God, I’m glad he’s dead. All right. Back to this case. SFFA’s argument was that racial diversity disadvantages qualified Asian American applicants. Spoiler alert it does not. But here’s the argument right. So let’s begin with the mathematical facts. Asian Americans are 5.6% of the population and they average between 17 and 23% of Harvard admissions. And now I’m going to quote from paragraph 218 of the complaint. In 2008 Asian Americans made up 46% of domestic Harvard score senders with SAT scores above 2200. A range from which Harvard draws more than half of its students. And in addition Asian Americans made up an even higher percentage of the very top students they accounted for 55% of domestic Harvard score senders with SAT scores above 2300. These data in combination with other publicly available data demonstrate that Asian Americans admitted to Harvard are
R
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diversity
does
not
disadvantage
qualified
Asian
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The
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who
wants
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destroy
affirmative
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not disadvantaged by Harvard’s admissions policies.
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7/20/2023
How to Be More Supportive of Your Child
Key takeaways:
Having parents with contrasting parenting styles can create traps for children.
Being too protective can prevent children from developing confidence and the ability to handle things.
Being too demanding is not supportive because it fails to acknowledge that anxiety is not a simple choice.
Switching to a more supportive attitude is more productive and useful for parents.
Accommodation is an important aspect to consider when addressing parenting styles.
Transcript: Speaker 3 Buttercup. That’s actually, I think one of the things that we see most commonly is either you have two parents and they kind of split it between them. So you end up with one parent who’s like really protective and really accommodating and the other parent who’s like frustrated and just gnashing their teeth and just so frustrated because they want to get this message across that you have to suck it up. And I think of them as traps. They’re they might be really well intentioned but I think of them as traps because they actually get in the way of being more supportive. If you’re really protective, well, you might be soothing and reassuring your child but you’re not communicating that confidence. You’re not showing them they can handle things. And if you’re really demanding, well, you’re not really being supportive because you’re not acknowledging that it’s not just a choice to be anxious or not be anxious. Your kid can’t just decide that they feel fine and or suddenly act as though they have no anxiety. And so it’s trap rather than a really productive or useful stance and we’ll try to help parents to switch away from those protective or demanding attitudes toward a more supportive one.
Speaker 1 To speak specifically to accommodation, one of the things I found myself thinking about
How
to
Be
More
Support
ive
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Child
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It can be difficult to be a parent, and it can be especially difficult to navigate different parenting styles. If you're feeling overwhelmed, consider seeking support from a therapist or counselor. They can help you work through your feelings and find a balance that works for you and your family.
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6/28/2023
Trump Wants the World to Know How Rich He Is
Key takeaways:
Donald Trump announces his presidential campaign in June 2015
Trump emphasizes his wealth during the announcement speech
The rich and famous image is a key part of Trump’s brand and persona
Transcript: Speaker 2 Cafe and Trump’s ice cream parlor beside the glass encasement selling Donald Trump neckwear and holding the basket of Donald Trump books. The man himself strode to the crowd, descended a golden escalator and stood at a lectern in front of eight American flags Tuesday. He came bearing a message. I’m really rich, he said. While Governor Scott Walker shops at Coles and while Senator Marco Rubio pushes back against the description of his family fishing vessel as a luxury speedboat in Florida, Governor Jeb Bush tries to give himself some measure of distance from his patrician family. Trump wants the world to know exactly how rich he is. I’m not doing this to brag, he said, after spending five minutes detailing his financials, including claimed assets of $9.2 billion and a net worth of $8.7 billion. So go back to that moment, what you were thinking at that time. Okay, so June of 2015, not knowing what you know now, what were you thinking about Donald Trump as a presidential candidate?
Speaker 1 So there’s this great book that Michael Lewis wrote years ago called Trail Fever. Eventually, it got a new title called Losers. And the thesis of this was he hit the trail in, I want to say 1996, and followed around a cast of B and C and D list Republican candidates for president. And his thesis
Trump
Wants
the
World
to
Know
How
Rich
He
Is
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Donald
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was that people who are rich enough, famous enough, or just well-known enough to be thought of as a serious candidate, that they’re running because they want to be president. They don’t really have any political ideas. They just want to be president. And so that’s what I was thinking about Trump. I was like, well, this is a man who’s so rich, he doesn’t really have anything to say. He’s just sort of running because he wants to be president.
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6/27/2023
Governance and Control of Artificial Intelligence
Key takeaways:
Microsoft is working on provisions to govern AI, including safety breaks and transparency for academic researchers.
The biggest unsolved problem in AI is how to ensure control over an AI system in a doomsday scenario where it surpasses human inventors.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Microsoft itself has been working on provisions to best govern AI. For instance, safety breaks for AI systems that control infrastructure like electricity or transportation. Also a certain level of transparency so that academic researchers can study AI systems. But what about the big question? What about the doomsday scenario wherein an AI system gets beyond the control of its human inventors? Essentially, the biggest unsolved problem is how do you ensure
Govern
ance
and
Control
of
Artificial
Intelligence
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Microsoft
is
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on
provisions
to
govern
AI
,
including
safety
breaks
and
transparency
for
academic
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control over an AI system in that doomsday scenario?
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6/27/2023
The Cross-Lingual Understanding: A CEO’s Love for Poetry Translation using GPT
Key takeaways:
Cross-lingual understanding is a term used to describe the ability to translate poetry from one language to another while capturing its depth.
Language models like chat GPT can be used for translation of poetry.
Translation of poetry excites the CEO more than typical business, societal, political, economic applications.
Language models can extract meaning beyond just the words and the translation.
Transcript: Speaker 2 The thing that I’ve talked about, which I love is the cross-lingual understanding. That’s kind of my term for it. You can go from Hindi to English or English to Arabic or what have you and they’ve done a good job. If you take any poetry in any one language and translate it into another language, in fact, if you even do multiple languages. So my favorite query was I said, I always, as a kid growing up in Hyderabad, India, said, I want to read Rumi translated into Urdu and translated into English. And one shot, it does it. But the most interesting thing about that is it captures the depth of poetry. So it finds somehow in that latent space, meaning that’s beyond just the words and the translation. I find this just phenomenal.
Speaker 1 This amazes me. You’re the CEO of a big tech firm is saying that one of the highest callings of chat GPT or a large language model is the translation of poetry. I love it. I mean, I know you love poetry, but what excites you more about that than more typical business, societal, political, economic applications?
Speaker 2 I love a lot of things. I remember my father trying to read Heidegger in his 40s and struggling with it. And I’ve attempted a thousand times and failed. And you know, he’s written this essay somebody pointed me to somebody said, Oh, you got to read that because after all, there’s a lot of talk about AI and what it means to humanity. And I said, let me read it.
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The Cross-Lingual Understanding: A CEO’s Love for Poetry Translation using GPT
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6/17/2023
The Future of Answer Bots
Key takeaways:
GPT-4 can potentially enable multi modality, like suggesting dinner options based on a picture of the fridge
Current knowledge from search indices can improve accuracy of answer bots and eventually lead to action bots
Multi modality will be critical for working with these bots
Transcript: Speaker 2 One of my favorite hypothetical or perhaps real examples that OpenAI showed about GPT-4 was the ability to take a picture of your fridge and ask you what you should make for dinner and that’s kind of what you’re getting at here in a school. Yeah exactly. That’s multi modality. That’s an example of multi modality. We’ll see more and more of that.
Speaker 1 I mean we’ll be able to start in the short run you know what we’ll start to see is that by taking current knowledge you know from things like search indices we can take and provide information to these answer bots that are up to date to allow them to answer questions more accurately with less hallucination. Thing is doing this today you know one of the investments I have perplexity is also doing this. They have an answer bot that answers all kinds of questions you could you could ask including current information and I think what we’re going to start to see is that knowledge that’s being applied to transform into what I would call action bots that take action based on something and multi modality is going to be very important in this because we’re going to want to work with these bots in not just in
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GPT-4 can potentially enable multi modality, like suggesting dinner options based on a picture of the fridge. Current knowledge from search indices can improve accuracy of answer bots and eventually lead to action bots. Multi modality will be critical for working with these bots.
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6/17/2023
The Misnomer of Unstructured Data Explained
Key takeaways:
Unstructured data is a misnomer as it actually has structure in it
Advancements in machine learning has allowed us to extract information from previously opaque data sources
Data sources like video, pictures, and laser systems are complicated but can be leveraged to solve problems
Transcript: Speaker 2 You talk about unstructured data which is the common industry phrase but you explain really this is complex data. That’s really what this is about. Why was it important for you to make that distinction and what does that say about the state of data and where technology is headed?
Speaker 1 Well I’ve always thought that unstructured data was a misnomer. It never seemed like the right thing to call it because clearly that data has structure in it. If you look at any image like a JPEG, I mean first of all it is structured at some level. And the reason it’s called unstructured over time is because there was opaque to computers. People could look at an image and go ah that’s a horse I know what that is but a computer could not until recently. Now with machine learning we can we can extract that information from images and from videos and really documents all sorts of data sources. Our sources of semantic information that can be leveraged to solve all sorts of problems. And so to me these data sources are rich sources of data. Video, pictures, point clouds that are being created by laser systems. You know all of these are sources of data that can be leveraged and they’re actually complicated. They’re understood by the application and understood by people but classically are not understood by the machines. Now that’s changing.
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Unstructured data is actually structured, but advancements in machine learning now allow us to extract information from previously opaque data sources like video, pictures, and laser systems.
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6/17/2023
The Odds That He Beats Every Single One of Them
Key takeaways:
There is no viable defense for the person mentioned in the indictment
The likelihood of the person being able to beat all the charges is low
The legal proceedings may be slowed down to allow for a presidential pardon
The person mentioned may either win the presidency or go to jail, making the stakes high for them and their supporters.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Blah, but reading this indictment, I see no viable defense for him. The one question I would love to know from lawyers is what are the odds that he beats every single one of them, right? You know, like if he was charged with five counts of something, I could see him being acquitted of all five, but 60 some, I mean, like and counting, right? There are more investigations still pending as it’s proven to his Georgia election interference. There’s the January 6th and direction. I mean, the only way he can do this apparently is to kick the can down the street, defer all of these criminal proceedings, then get elected and I guess pardon himself. Is that the kind of country we’re in though now? Because that sounds to me, we’re now grading beyond your classic definition of authoritarianism, right? This is entering into the theater of the absurd, right? What comes after a banana republic? In a banana republic, you would like kill the prosecutor and the judges, right? He can’t do that even though he’d probably like to. So he’s just going to, you know, muck up the legal system, slow down the process of all of these criminal proceedings, then in his mind, hopefully get elected and then just exonerate himself with the full power and authority of the office of the presidency.
Speaker 2 And that seems to be his binary future. He either wins the presidency or he goes to jail. I mean, and think about how that raises the stakes for him, for his supporters, for the
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There are no viable defenses for the person mentioned in the indictment.
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6/12/2023
The Exciting Possibilities of GPT in Different Domains and Use Cases
Key takeaways:
GPT can be a powerful tool for personalization and accessibility across multiple domains
GPT can be adjusted to different styles and constraints
GPT can be used as a copilot or partner for an expert in various areas
GPT is easy to use and available for everyone
Transcript: Speaker 2 Yeah, it’s actually fairly easy. I mean, go to church, GPT and have a discussion. I was doing the last night. I was thinking about this interview and preparing. And I was my 90 year old daughter came down. She couldn’t fall asleep. So she came down and said, OK, let me show you something. And we started playing with it. And the amount of things that we could do was just almost like magic. I asked GPT to write a story for her. And then I asked her to adjust the story to be in the style of Dr. Seuss. And I asked her GPT to adjust the story to be in the style of South Park and sort of, and then I provided more and more constraints and it kept evolving and changing. And so we’re seeing the same thing now across many different domains that are just starting to discover what’s possible now. We’re seeing the same in health care. We’re seeing the same in education. We can now personalize and summarize very complicated concepts to make them available and accessible to anyone. And it’s available for everyone. You can just sign up and see what it is.
Speaker 1 So there’s stuff you can use right now. And I guess to me, that’s the biggest. I mean, obviously, there’s lots of other distinctions, but when we were talking about Web3, you’d show someone a picture of a monkey smoking and saying, this is worth a lot of money and we’re going to make movies out of it. And I think neither of those things turned out to be true. But even if that was the case, it was sort of hard to understand what we were doing beyond that. So let me talk to you about stuff you are excited about. You have a lot of money to deploy into AI and you’ve been doing it. What are specific ideas and use cases that you are excited about that you think? This is money I can deploy right now because this is a real thing.
Speaker 2 Yeah, I’m excited about anything where initially we could use this kind of technology, it’s sort of a copilot or a partner for an expert.
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The Exciting Possibilities of GPT in Different Domains and Use Cases
GPT can be a powerful tool for personalization and accessibility across multiple domains.
GPT can be adjusted to different styles and constraints.
GPT can be used as a copilot or partner for an expert in various areas.
GPT is easy to use and available for everyone.
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6/4/2023
The Power of the Digitally Extended Mind
Key takeaways:
The extended mind thesis, which suggests that the mind is extended beyond the body, is incorrect, but has since been proven correct due to advances in technology.
When people lose a spouse or close friend, they may feel like they have lost a part of their brain, as their brain has become reliant on that person.
Transcript: Speaker 2 Well I think it was so in in 1998 Andy Clark and David Chalmers read a paper called The Extended Mind thesis I believe right and and it was a very kind of simple but but novel idea at the time which was that well what if you know you know this is pre-iPhone and pre you know many things that that you know when people write things down on a laptop and at the time it was like the use of laptop computers that inspired this thought that really the if the laptop becomes a partner in thinking and you start exporting your brain onto this other device really your your brain is extended onto onto this laptop device and what I kind of remember who who said since then that that this the extended mind thesis was incorrect in 1998 when they came up with it but it Has since become correct because we now know that if we’re separated from our iPhones or smartphones that we’re we feel debilitated right right because because because of the persistent proximity of these devices we have basically all of Google Wikipedia everything else is right here all the time and that’s become you know part of of it is changed the way I have conversations with my children at dinner I was gonna say dinner with kids is not not the same as it was 20 years ago right I mean why is the sky blue boom I mean and it’s and though we have no phones at dinner you know policy we have we do have a well if you’re looking up something to add information to the conversation you’re allowed to do that right because it is you know so but but they had the additional insight that Well when people lose a spouse with you know with whom they’ve cohabitated for decades it can feel like you’ve lost a portion of yourself and that’s actually not an illusory sense because very often people outsource parts of their brains you literally have your wife or your husband remembers for you a certain range of experiences that you’ve had lives that you’ve let it you know you know people you know and when you lose that person you you’ve literally lost part part of your brain and and so this but but this becomes more compelling when we think about sort of the power of the extended mind in in communities of you know friends colleagues and all the people we potentially connect with through tools like the one that sorry is building
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The extended mind thesis, which suggests that the mind is extended beyond the body, is incorrect, but has since been proven correct due to advances in technology. When people lose a spouse or close friend, they may feel like they have lost a part of their brain, as their brain has become reliant on that person. Transcript: Speaker 2 Well I think it was so in in 1998 Andy Clark and David Chalmers read a paper called The Extended Mind thesis I believe right and and it was a very kind of simple but but novel idea at the time which was that well what if you know you know this is pre-iPhone and pre you know many things that that you know when people write things down on a laptop and at the time it was like the use of laptop computers that inspired this thought that really the if the laptop becomes a partner in thinking and you start exporting your brain onto this other device really your your brain is extended onto onto this laptop device and what I kind of remember who who said
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6/3/2023
Use AI for pricing strategy
Key takeaways:
Machine learning can potentially revolutionize the field of pricing strategy and packaging decisions.
A model that uses historical data and real-time updates to determine pricing and packaging could be a game-changer.
This technology would create an entirely new category rather than disrupting an incumbent.
Transcript: Speaker 1 I don’t know if anyone’s working on this yet, but pricing strategy is something our portfolio company spends so much time and money trying to figure out. It requires trying to estimate a price elasticity curve, how much are people willing to pay for this product, different types of people, what should the right packaging be, etc. That type of thing today is the domain of consultants and guessing largely, but you can imagine a world where you could input all your historical data on this and a model could spit out, this is how much you should charge for this, this is how much you should package it. And then it could be updating that real time as it’s getting data from how people are purchasing. That is not an existing category. So this isn’t a question of disrupting an incumbent. It’s about creating an entirely new category.
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Use AI for pricing strategy
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5/28/2023
The Rise of AI-Generated Writing and its Implications for Human Creativity
Key takeaways:
AI can generate entire sections of podcasts with human intervention.
Generative AI can do a good imitation of human creativity.
This technology raises questions about the uniqueness and value of human creativity.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Yes, every single word generated not by us, but by AI. And, like, look, yes, for now, it still took lots of human intervention and the occasional pep talk to get the AI to write all of the sections of our episode and stitch them together. But I mean, what are we like? Six months into having chat GPT in the world. It seems pretty likely the tools will get better, that all of this will get faster, which does not feel great, to be honest. As someone who does this for a living. 100%.
Speaker 2 And I think for me, this anxiety, it goes deeper than, like, our livelihoods even. Like, there was something really destabilizing about watching this. Basically, this overgrown pattern recognition machine do a pretty good imitation of human creativity. And one way to think about it is like, wow, generative AI is this technological marvel. It can write. It can use metaphors. It can spitball new ideas.
Speaker 6 But the scarier thought is that if a computer can do all of this, maybe none of this is special. Maybe writing?
Speaker 2 It’s just following a bunch of rules and patterns that we’ve internalized over the years. Maybe new ideas? Maybe they just come from us randomly recombining stuff we’ve seen before. Maybe all of these creative acts, the acts that feel uniquely human. Maybe they aren’t really that special.
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5/28/2023
How Calendly Got Their First Thousand Users
Key takeaways:
Calendly got their first thousand users by getting users from a customer success firm that was using the same product.
The product was free at first.
The product grew organically from there.
Transcript: Speaker 2 How did Calendly get their first thousand users? Sorry.
Speaker 1 A great question. I had to fact check it with my CEO earlier this morning. But there’s actually a few really interesting things about this story. And a few things that tote did in the early days to get 2000 users. So for those who aren’t familiar, tote our CEO, founder, you know, started his career in sales. And he spent lots of years in sales. And so he was very used to the challenges of trying to organize external meetings with prospective customers. So he knew the problem space really, really well. And he had evaluated kind of all the scheduling solutions that were on the market and kind of come to the conclusion that there really weren’t great products out there. And especially, there weren’t any great products for the recipient of the actual booking service. And so I think he saw this as an opportunity for disruption. So he rated his 401k. He took out all his savings. He didn’t hire it. He didn’t make, he didn’t raise any money.
Speaker 2 A lot of penalties. That’s a very good point.
Speaker 1 I’ve never asked him about that. And hired an outside development firm actually out of the Ukraine to build the first version of Cali. So that’s the background in Cali. Why it’s important is that the first 10 users were actually customer success agents at a company in an education space that contracted with the same firm that Tope was using to build Cali. So he really found his first set of users through the firm that he was using to build the product. And then those CSMs or customer success managers were actually using Cali to schedule calls with parents in K through 12 and K through 12 education. And so then those parents started using Cali for their own parent teacher conference scheduling. And then from there, school started using it. And then all the parents within the school started using it for lots of other use cases and it kind of grew organically from there. So that was one piece. I think the other piece that’s really important is that he started off by just having a free tier. But the entire product was free. Some of this came from honestly not being able to actually build the billing infrastructure that would be required to actually charge. So it came a little bit out of necessity, but it was also free. So not only was it a better product than the alternative is out there, but it was also free. So the combination of the viral loop and kind of coming in through getting those first 10 users as part of the firm he was using and then sort of free aspect or I think what led to the first 1000 and then 10,000 and millions of users from there.
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5/28/2023
The Future of AI and Knowledge Work
Key takeaways:
AI technology is not going to take all of the jobs of knowledge workers, but we should be concerned about the potential intersection of AI and knowledge work
The impact of AI will be more significant in shallow task automation rather than in the notion of chat cursor and asking the AI to do whatever is needed
Transcript: Speaker 2 All right, next question is from Aiden. It seems almost inevitable that in 10 years AI will be able to perform many knowledge workers’ jobs as well as a human. Should we be worried about the pace of automation and knowledge work and how can we prepare our careers now for increased power AI in the coming decades?
Speaker 1 So as I just explained in the last question, this particular trajectory of AI technology is not about to take all of your jobs. There is, however, in this way, I included this question. There is, however, another potential intersection of artificial intelligence and knowledge work that I’ve been talking about for years that I think we should be more concerned about or at least keep a closer eye on. The place where I think AI is going to have the big impact is less sexy than this notion of I just have this blinking chat cursor and I can ask this thing to do whatever I want. You know, where it’s really going to intersect is shallow task automation. So the shallow work, the stuff we do, the overhead we do to help collaborate, organize, and gather the information need for the main deep work that we execute in our knowledge work jobs. More and more of that is going to be taken over by less sexy, more bespoke, bespoke, but increasingly more effective AI tools. And as these tools get better, I don’t have to send 126 emails a day anymore because I can actually have a bespoke AI agent handle a lot of that work for me, not in a general, it’s intelligent sense, but in a much more specific, like talking to Alexa type sense. Can you gather the data I need for writing this report? Can you set up a meeting next week for me with these three principles? And then that AI agent talks to the AI agents of the three people you need to set the meeting up with and they figure out together and put that meeting onto the calendar so that none of us, three of us have to ever exchange an email. The information it gathers from the people who have it by talking to their AI agents and I never have to bother them. We never have to set up a meeting. It’s able to do these road tasks for us, right? This was actually a future that I was exposed to a decade earlier. I spoke at an event with the CEO of an automated meeting scheduling company called
x.ai
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. And I remember him telling me this is the future. When you have an AI tool that can talk to another person’s AI tool to figure out logistical things on your behalf so that you’re never interrupted. I think that’s where the big AI impact is going to come. Now, this does not automate your main work. What it does is it automates a way to stuff that gets in the way of your main work. Why is that significant? Because it will immensely increase the amount of your main work you’re able to get done. If you’re not context switching once every five minutes, which is the average time the average knowledge worker spins between email or instant messenger checks. If you’re not doing that anymore, you know how much you’re going to get done? You know how much if you can just do something until you’re done and then the AI agents on your computer says, okay, we got the stuff for you for the next thing you need to work on. Here you go. And you have to have no overhead communicating or collaborating and trying to figure out what to do next. You can just execute. You know how much you’re going to get done? I would say probably three to four X more of the meaningful output that you produce in your job will be produced three to four X more if these unsexy bespoke AI logistical automator tools get better. So this has this huge potential benefit and this huge potential downside. The benefit of course is your work is less exhausting. You can get a lot more done. Companies are going to generate a lot more value. The downside is that might greatly reduce the number of knowledge workers required to meet certain production outputs. If three knowledge workers now produce what it used to take 10, I could grow my company or I could fire seven of those knowledge workers. So I think this is going to create a disruption. We underestimate the degree to which shallow work and context shifting is completely hampering our ability to do work with our minds.
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5/23/2023
Creating Complications and Forcing New Neuron Connections in AI Systems
Key takeaways:
AI systems can sometimes generate three generations of nested loops, forcing new neuron connections that don’t have high probability prior probabilities.
This is like the definition of creativity, using information and knowledge that the system has, but has forgotten or doesn’t know it has because there aren’t enough neurons to connect to it.
Expert systems created by AI engineers in the past were generally procedural and computer language directional, lacking literature or psychological elements.
Transcript: Speaker 2 Sometimes make three different generations of it where it’s literally that you are an AI system that’s operating an AI system that’s helping another AI system. And within those nested loops, I can build more and more complications for it to deal with. And as you’re doing an inception trick. Exactly. It’s a very, very good analogy. And what I’m trying to do is I’m trying to force new neuron connections that don’t have high probability prior probabilities.
Speaker 1 And so that’s- Right. That’s like the definition of creativity in some ways.
Speaker 2 Yes. It’s information and knowledge that it has, but it doesn’t know it has or it’s forgotten it has because there aren’t enough neurons to connect to it. And it’s interesting because again, there’s no prompt engineering has existed for about a decade. And most of it were AI engineers. I’ve done it. I’ve done it with expert systems. And it’s very boring. It’s like four or five words generally in expert systems. And then we started getting larger sentences as we got more sophisticated. But it’s always very procedural. And it’s always very computer language directional. It was never literature.
Speaker 1 It was never psychological. Right. It’s at least quasi algorithmic. Exactly. But it doesn’t anymore. And well, this is interesting too, because it does imply, you know, people have been thinking, well, this will be the death of creativity. But the case you’re making, which seems to me to be dead on accurate, is that the creative output is actually going to be a consequence of the interaction between the interlocutor and the system. The system itself won’t be creative. It’ll have to be interrogated appropriately before it will reveal creative behavior.
Speaker 2 It’s a mirror reflection of the person using the system. And the amount of creativity that can be generated by a creative person, knowing how to prompt correctly. And my wife and I putting together a university that’s going to help people understand what super prompting is and go from one to level eight to really understand.
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5/19/2023
The Future of the AI market orientation: infrastructural and appplication market layers
Key takeaways:
Future of AI may have both centralized and decentralized ecosystems
Analogy of Apple and Linux can be useful to understand the ecosystem
An interface that mediates across different models may be a dominant model in the consumer world
In the enterprise world, platforms like Stripe Twilios are making it easier for developers to get access
Transcript: Speaker 2 But it’s like when we think about the future, especially in terms of AI models, does the rise of large AI models mean the future of AI that as an ecosystem is dominated by a single general model or one or two single general models? Or will we have a decentralized fragmented ecosystem?
Speaker 1 I think you have both. I think the analogy of Apple and Linux is really useful here, Apple and Windows, where you’ll have one system that is basically fully integrated and closed, and then you’ll have another world where people are building little open source models. And some people believe that there’s going to be a single dominant model. I’m of the mind that there’s probably an interface that if you look at Microsoft Jarvis, so you look at Langchain or Fixie or any of these companies where they take an input and then they are basically mediator across a bunch of different models for different purposes. I think that’s probably going to be the dominant model, at least in the consumer world. And then in the enterprise world, you’ll have the Stripe Twilios who are creating platforms where it’s very simple for developers to get started with large language models, and then you’ll have like full enterprise services firms where a big fortune 500 just wants a problem solved. Pepsi needs a generative model for whatever reason. They don’t have to disappoint them with the whole thing in a box. And so, you know, this really nice spectrum. I think at the foundational model layer, that’s a big boys game or big girls game, because of the capital intensity required both for training and the GPU access and all those kinds of things. So maybe there’s a startup or two that’s able to raise a couple billion dollars in order to compete. I think it’s more at the application layer. I ran this analysis. So in Web2, if you take the top three clouds and you look at their market cap, so AWS, GCP and Azure, it’s about a 2.1 trillion dollar market cap just for the cloud businesses. And then if you take the top 100 publicly traded cloud companies, both on B2C and B2B side, Netflix and ServiceNow, they have equivalent market cap, about 2.1 trillion for both. So once at the infrastructure layer, once at the application layer, market cap is basically equivalent. The difference is the infrastructure layer, there are three businesses and at the application layer, there are a hundred.
Speaker 2 If the ideology holds as an investor, the odds of success are going to be significantly higher at the application layer because the diversity of needs there is greater.
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5/19/2023
Andrew Sullivan trump the crown and the queen’s death
Summary: The world is looking at queen elizabeth, who in so many ways is just the opposite of our modern political culture. And we’re taking this moment a sort of say, ok, you know what made her special? But politically it’s rushing to embrace people who reject every single one of those values. I mean, andrew has written, andrew sullivan has written brilliantly about virtue for decades. It was very important to have virtuous leaders. But i’m going charley, i’m going."
Transcript: Speaker 1 Windsor was tasked, as a 20 something, with a job that required her to say or do nothing that could be mismisconstrued controversial or even interestingly human, for the rest of her life. The immense difficulty of this is proven by the failure of almost every other member of her family, including her husband, to pull it off. Then he talks about this, but, you know, it is this interesting moment where the world is looking at queen elizabeth, who, in so many ways is just the opposite of our modern political culture. And we’re taking this moment a sort of say, ok, you know what made her special? I know her sense of duty, her sense of dignity, her graciousness her personal sacrifice, her willingness to put the country before any other agenda. And the entire world is going, this is wonderful. These values are worth cherishing, at the same time that, politically it’s rushing to embrace people who reject every single one of those values.
Speaker 2 I guess this is just the paradox of human nature. We have, you know, w we have the brights, we have, eh, the bright side. We have the dark side. And it’s weird. I mean, andrew has written, andrew sullivan has written brilliantly about virtue for decades. It is a subject that he cares deeply about. And it’s very important to have virtuous leaders. But charley, i’m going
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5/19/2023
How GPT Learns From System Messages
Key takeaways:
GPT is designed to use system messages to learn how to respond to prompts.
This allows the model to be more effective in responding to prompts.
This process of learning is fascinating and can be compared to human conversation.
Transcript: Speaker 1 So this system message is a way to say, you know, hey model, please pretend like you, or please only answer this message as if you were Shakespeare doing thing X, or please only respond with JSON no matter what was one of the examples from our blog posts. But you could also say any number of other things to that. And then we, we tuned GPT for in a way to really treat the system message with a lot of authority. I’m sure there’s jail, there always, not always hopefully, but for a long time, there’ll be more jail breaks, and we’ll keep sort of learning about those. But we program, we develop whatever you want to call it, the model in such a way to learn that it’s supposed to really use that system message.
Speaker 2 Can you speak to kind of the process of writing a design, a great prompt as you steer GPT for?
Speaker 1 I’m not good at this. I’ve met people who are. And the creativity, the kind of, they almost, some of them almost treated like debugging software. But also they, they, I’ve met people who spend like, you know, 12 hours a day for a month on end on this, and they really get a feel for the model and a feel how different parts of a prompt compose with each other. Like literally the ordering of words, this, yeah, where you put the clause when you modify something, what kind of word to do it with.
Speaker 2 Yeah, so fascinating, because like, it’s remarkable. In some sense, that’s what we do with human conversation, right?
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5/19/2023
What Is Maga Communism?
Summary: Maga communism became a trending hash tag on twitter. It’s hard to define what this idea is, because it’s almost a meam in a lot of ways. Rit different people are making all these threads saying, this is what manga communism is. I’ve seen like seven different threads that are multiple tweeds long of what it is.
Transcript: Speaker 2 N go ahead and try to find this, which i think is going to be difficult, but we will take our best shot at giving a definition of what maga communism is. So i guess up front, right? The context in which we’re intervening here is that maga communism became a trending hash tag on twitter, right? Started trending largely because of jackson hinkle, who is kind of a on line media personality. And i guess he would frame himself as an organizer. He’s been involved with a couple of diferent groups, including movement for a people’s party. He kind of started to get some attention on line with his declarations that he was a marxis londonist and a american patriot a while back. And he recently has been pushing this hash tag. The other person who’s been pushing this idea as well, under the term maga communism, is haws from infered a, who also has kind of pushed this patriotic angle in the past, along with a couple of other different things. As you noted, brett, this idea has gone under a lot of different names, rit so the most recent one, before maga communism, they were calling themselves mecca tankes. Patriotic socialism is a term we’ve used, and other people have used, although they’ve all pretty strongly rejected that term because of their argument that socialism is inherently patriotic. So they say that it is a redundant, a kind of non distinction. But all these things have kind of gotenat the same idea. And again, it’s kind of hard to define what this idea is, because it’s almost a meam in a lot of ways. Rit different people are making all these threads saying, this is what manga communism is. I’ve seen like seven different threads that are multiple tweeds long of what it is.
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5/19/2023
An agreeable summary of the shortcomings of the immigration system
Summary: The asylum process was written into law and treaty after World War II. The way it’s being used now is to say, even if they’re not targeting you, this generalized threat can become the basis of an asylum claim. This becomes part of a very cohesive strategy of the moderately well to do in poor countries.
Transcript: Speaker 1 The asylum process was written into law and treaty after World War II with the story of the Anne Frank family and the people on the same list in mind, which is the people who, through no fault of their own, are being targeted by their own government for something either that they can’t help their race or something that shouldn’t have to help their religion. And they are in threat and they need somewhere to go. And so we’ve created this in an elaborate international system. But the way it’s being used now is to say, you can use it, even if they’re not targeting you, if generally the place you live is disorderly or dangerous or poor, then this generalized threat can become the basis of an asylum claim. So well, you know, in that case, practically two thirds of the world qualifies for asylum. This is not about the Anne Frank family anymore. This is about everyone in any country where life is less attractive and appealing than it is in the developed world. And that’s a lot of the world. And if you can get yourself to the border, you can walk across. And the irony of this, of course, is that the poorest people in the world can’t do this because this process costs thousands of dollars. I’ve seen this again, another report handed. This becomes part of a very cohesive strategy of the moderately well to do in poor countries.
An
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5/19/2023
The Jury Is Going to See the Man in Full
Summary: The judge gave Trump until last night to decide whether or not he wanted to testify on his own behalf, as he had said with a certain amount of bravado when he was in Scotland. If this jury comes back and does find him liable for rape, this is an extraordinary moment.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Able to identify her. And this is one of the last things that the jury in this case is going to see. They’re going to see the man in full. And I think that’s what was interesting. You know, you’re talking about, you know, how awful he is. This jury is going to see Donald Trump, the man in full, the insult, the arrogance, you know, the unfortunately, or fortunately, you know, stars have been able to grab and molest women. And in this case, they’re offering essentially no real defense, no defense witnesses. And the judge, I thought, interestingly enough, kind of an interesting judicial troll, gave Trump until last night to decide whether or not he wanted to testify on his own behalf, as he had said with a certain amount of bravado when he was in Scotland. So they’re wrapping up today, it’ll go to the jury. You know, this is not a criminal trial, different standard of proof. I know that our default setting is to be cynical that nothing ever matters. But if this jury comes back and does find him liable for rape, this is an extraordinary moment. I mean, well, I know we’ve kind of been here before, but this is extraordinary. And I guess one of the ways to think about it is think about the other way, that if the jury comes back and finds against Eugene Carroll, I think it probably puts to rest all of the other 20s. I mean, that’s gone. That issue is probably never going to come up again, right?
Speaker 3 On the other hand, if she
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5/19/2023
The Importance of Visiting Your Parents
Key takeaways:
If you’re lucky when you graduate college, you have, I don’t know, three, four, five decades left of time when you and your parents are both around.
When you start treating it like that, you make better decisions and you’re less sad later.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Yeah, you like you have, you know, I spent like most people 300 plus days, 350 probably plus days with my parents a year from the age of, you know, the birth to 18, you know, and then yeah, I just started doing the math. I mean, if you live in some people live in the same city as their parents and they see their parents a lot multiple days a week. Okay, that’s great. And that’s a different story. But I think a lot of us, you know, we see our parents 10, 20 days a year, something like that. And so you think about, you know, again, if you’re lucky when you graduate college, you know, you have, I don’t know, three, four, five decades left of time when you and your parents are both around. And if you add up that 10 to 20 days a year, I mean, it’s, you realize it’s, it’s like around a year total of actual days. And so, you know, it’s like you graduate high school and you’re 18 and it’s like, oh, you actually, you know, you feel like you’re, you know, you’re in year 18 of, you know, 60 of parent kid time. And it’s actually, no, you’re in year 18 of 19. And you can, and the reason that, I mean, I find that it’s incredibly sad, but it’s also true. And so it’s like what we don’t want to avoid sad thoughts and then make worse decisions because of it. And so one of the things that you can, the reason I like this one is because it’s like, if you get sad now about it, you can do something about it. You can double that time by doubling the amount of days you visit your parents. And also you can improve the time you do hang out with them by realizing like, this is not, this is not like this endless thing that this, you know, it’s, it’s actually finite and precious. And when you start treating it like that, then you make better decisions and you’re less sad later than you would be. Yeah.
The
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5/19/2023
OpenAI - What’s Next for Prompt Engineering?
Key takeaways:
AI will continue to improve and allow for more dynamic and creative applications in the future.
Prompt engineering will no longer be necessary, as AI will be able to understand user needs and wait for them as promised.
Transcript: Speaker 2 So maybe that’s a good segue to talking about applications. I think all of our Twitter feeds and have been filled with images that you’ve seen from stable diffusion or Dali or, you know, obviously it’s been the zeitgeist. Let’s play this forward a few years. What do you think this leads to down the road in terms of prompt engineering, in terms of applications, where do you see this going to in a few years from now?
Speaker 1 So, you know, one of the interesting things about this is the role of the human. So again, the big models used to influence the humans and try to get you to buy ads. Now the most interesting thing is how the models interact with humans. So when you use the OpenAI API, you might have used in GPT-3, this 175 billion parameter behemoth, using a struct GPT, which shares 1.3 billion parameter model, they learned how people use GPT-3 and then compressed it down by removing the next year arms. This technology will get faster and faster and faster until it runs on the edge. And you’ll be able to generate anything ready to play a one-style in any resolution by a combination of these models working almost in a mixture of expert style, the most appropriate model for the most appropriate thing and know more when it’s not required. And that means you can build whole worlds, you can build power points dynamically, no more prompt engineering will be required because of the level of diffusion. Because when it’s only a few entities working at this, the advances are relatively slow. When it is a million people working at this, it’s like the Homebrew Computer Club, but for AI and distributed around the world, that’s what’s gonna happen. And this is one of the things where we’ll support the whole ecosystem around this and just see what the innovation does. But I know what the innovation is gonna result in. Ready player one, dynamic creation of anything, just with kind of your words and with human interfaces. Because you should say like, right now you know if you put exclamation mark, exclamation mark, exclamation mark and the prompt it waits it more, no you should be able to wait the promised dynamic and the system should be able to understand your needs and how you wait the promised dynamically. You know again, we should be able to kill the scourge of PowerPoint by combining a code called the line mark.
Open
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5/19/2023
How Many Alien Civilizations Are Out There?
Summary: There’s a long gap from the origin of the ucharotic cells to the first animals. A why so long? Seems to be geology as much as anything else. And we don’t really know what was going on. The idea that there’s acont of an inevitable march towards complexity, i don’t think he’s right,. doesn’t not stay as long, but i think it’s not going to happen often.
Transcript: Speaker 2 Since we’ve been talking about life and we’re a kind of aliens. How many alien civilizations are out there? Do you think?
Speaker 1 Well, the universe is very big. So some, but not as many as most people would like to think is my view because the idea that there is a trajectory going from simple cellular life like bacteria all the way through to humans. It seems to me there’s some big gaps along that way. The eukaryotic cell, the complex cell that we have is the biggest of them, but also photosynthesis is another. The other, another interesting gap is a long gap from the origin of the eukaryotic cell to the first animals. That was about a billion years, maybe more than that. A long delay in where oxygen began to accumulate in the atmosphere. So from the first appearance of oxygen in the great oxidation event to enough for animals to respire, it was close to two billion years. Why so long? Seems to be planetary factors. It seems to be geology as much as anything else. We don’t really know what was going on. So the idea that there’s a inevitable march towards complexity and sentient life, I don’t think he’s right. It doesn’t, not to say it’s not going to happen, but I think it’s not going to happen often.
Speaker 2 So if you think of Earth, given the geological constraints and all that kind of stuff, do you have a sense that life, complex life, intelligent life happened really quickly on Earth or really long? So just to get a sense of, are you more sort of saying that it’s very unlikely to get the kind of conditions required to create humans? Or is it even if you have the condition, it’s just statistically difficult?
Speaker 1 I think the, I mean, the problem, the single great problem at the center of all of that to my mind is the origin of the eukaryotic cell, which happened once and without eukaryot is nothing else would have happened. That is something that, that’s because you’re saying it’s super important, eukaryot, but I’m saying tantamount to saying that it is impossible to build something as complex as a human being from bacterial cells.
Speaker 2 Totally agree in some deep fundamental way, but it’s just like a once all going inside another is it so difficult to get to work right?
Speaker 1 Well, again, it happened once. And if you think about, if you think, I’m in a minority view in this position, most biologists probably wouldn’t agree with me anyway. But if you think about the starting point, we’ve got a simple cell. It’s an archaeal cell. We can be fairly sure about that. So it looks a lot like a bacterium, but it’s in fact from this other domain of life. So it looks a lot like a bacterial cell. That means it doesn’t have anything. It doesn’t have a nucleus. It doesn’t really have complex endomembrane. It has a little bit of stuff, but not that much. And it takes up an endosimbound. So what happens next? And the answer is basically everything to do with complexity. To me, there’s a beautiful paradox here. Plants and animals and fungi all have exactly the same type of cell. But they all have really different ways of living. So plants sell photosynthetic. They started out as algae in the oceans and so on. So think of algal blooms, single cell things. The basic cell structure that it’s built from is exactly the same with a couple of small differences. It’s got chloroplasts as well. It’s got a vacuole. It’s got a cell war. But that’s about it. Pretty much everything else is exactly the same in a plant cell and an animal cell. And yeah, the ways of life are completely different. So this cell structure did not evolve in response to different ways of life, different environments. I’m in the ocean doing photosynthesis. I’m on land running around as part of an animal. I’m a fungus in a soil, spending out long shoots into whatever it may be, mycelium. So they all have the same underlying cell structure. Why? Almost certainly it was driven by adaptation to the internal environment, to having these pesky endosymbaeants that forced all kinds of change on the host cell. Now, in one way, you could see that as a really good thing because it may be that there’s some inevitability to this process that as soon as you’ve got endosymbaeants, you’re more or less bound to go in that direction. Or it could be that there’s a huge fluke about it and it’s almost certain to go wrong in just about every case possible, that the conflict will lead to effectively war leading to death and extinction. And it simply doesn’t work out. So maybe it happened millions of times and it went wrong every time. So maybe it only happened once and it worked out because it was inevitable. And actually we simply do not know enough now to say which of those two possibilities is true, but both of them are a bit
How
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5/19/2023
The Next Wave of AI and Who Stands to Benefit Most
Key takeaways:
The question in company building is whether the incumbent acquires innovation before the startup acquires distribution
Incumbents who are fast moving like Microsoft and Adobe equate to 90% of the gains in the next wave
AI startups have an opportunity to do things much better than incumbents in terms of training models, creating new architectures and optimizing models
Transcript: Speaker 2 The question in company building is will the incumbent acquire innovation before the startup acquires distribution?
Speaker 1 And you mentioned adoption there, and it leaves me to think about who gains from this next wave most predominantly? And my thinking more and more is incumbents who are fast moving like Microsoft who are incorporating, you know, an into PowerPoint, like Adobe who are incorporating into all of that sweeter products, they equate 90% of the gains, actually, because they have the distribution on their moving fast. Do you agree or do you think actually start up to the ones who will accrue the most value in this best generation? I think if you were thinking about AI as AI APIs, I agree. If you’re thinking of AI as a more radical paradigm switch to build technology, right? And if you think about an AI startup as a company that is actually training models, creating new architectures, optimizing models themselves, I think it’s a different story because this is really hard to do for the incumbents. And so I think the new startups have like an opportunity there to do things 10 times 50 times 100 times better than the incumbents. Why is it hard to do the incumbent? Sorry, I’m naive here. Why is that difficult for them to do? Because it’s a completely different way to build technology. It’s a way where you have to have scientists, for example, working for 60 months on a new architecture on a new model before releasing it. It’s a different paradigm of how you build software. Different enough in my experience that it’s hard to do for like bigger teams and bigger companies that are moving slower and that I’ve started with a very different paradigm. At least that’s what I’m seeing on the field. It’s hard to predict the future again, but I think there are many opportunities for AI first startups and really startups who are not just using AI with APIs, but really building AI themselves, building new architecture, building new models, optimizing their own models.
The
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5/19/2023
Because of AI, the Venture Capital Industry Will Change a Lot
Key takeaways:
Innovative breakthroughs are being measured in days and weeks
Implications to companies and startups are significant
MVP can be achieved with a small team
Implications for investors are significant
Transcript: Speaker 3 I’m not sure it’s that but I would make two comments I think this is a really important week. Because it starts to show. How fast the recursion is with a I so in other technologies and in other breakthroughs. The recursive iterations took years right if you think about how long did we wait for from iPhone one to iPhone two it was a year. Right we waited two years for the app store. Everything was measured in years maybe things when they were really really aggressive and really disruptive were measured in months. Except now these incredibly innovative breakthroughs are being measured in days and weeks. That’s incredibly profound. And I think it has some really important implications to like the three big actors in this play right so it has I think huge implications to these companies it’s not clear to me. How you start a company anymore. I don’t understand why you would have a forty or fifty person company to try to get to an MVP. I think you can do that with three or four people. And that has huge implications then to the second actor in this play which are the investors and venture capitalists that typically fund this stuff because all of our capital allocation models were always around writing ten and fifty. 10 and 15 and twenty million dollar checks and hundred million dollar checks then five hundred million dollar checks into these businesses that absorbed tons of money. But the reality is like you know you’re looking at things like mid journey and others that can scale to enormous size with very little capital many of which can now be bootstrapped. So it takes really really small amounts of money. And so I think that’s a huge implication so for me personally I am looking at company formation. Being done in a totally different way. And our capital allocation model is totally wrong size look fun for for me was one billion dollars. Does that make sense. No for the next three or four years no the right number may actually be fifty million dollars invested over the next four years I think the VC job is changing I think company startups are changing. I want to remind you guys of one quick thing as a tangent. I had this meeting with under a carpet he I talked about this on the pod where I said I challenged him I said listen the real goal should be to go and disrupt existing businesses using these tools. Cutting out all the sales and marketing right and just delivering something and I use the example of stripe. Disrupting stripe by going to market with an equivalent product with one tenth the number of employees at one tenth the cost. What’s incredible is that this auto GPT is the answer to that exact problem. Why because now if you are a young industrious entrepreneur. If you look at any bloated organization that’s building enterprise class software. You can string together a bunch of agents that will auto construct everything you need. To build a much much cheaper product that then you can deploy for other agents to consume so you don’t even need a sales team anymore. This is what I mean by this crazy recursion that’s possible.
Because
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5/19/2023
The Tools Changed, And So Was It A Big Deal?
Summary: The first full protols record i did was probably, like, what it is, burn am conventios two thousand an two. I know that was the first one that i did, completely in the box. A, nixed to everything. Thats that’ interesting. What are the other kind of stuff that that you’re talking about there, with the tools changing, that they were it a big deal? Cause wee talked about the economics little bit. So now, a, om, how did that happen?
Transcript: Speaker 2 Tha, i know that like a clarity actually, was the first record i used protols on a but i still was still recording tape and then transferring inde protols. And i did that for a while. I don’t know exactly where i abandoned tape, but, like, there was a good chunk of time where i was, ie, kind of doing both and abeing and wanting to make the jump, but never feeling comfortable doing it. Imi, probably it might have been, like, i think the first full protols record i did was probably, like, what it is, burn am conventios two thousand an two, or something like that. That might have been. I know that was the first one that i did, completely in the box. A, nixed to everything. A, and that might have bee the first one.
Speaker 1 Thats that’ interesting. What are the other, what are the other kind of stuff that that you’re talking about there, with the tools changing, that they were it a big deal. So you said that in a way that almost sounded it was on the, it was on thi negative side a little bit, like, well, the tools changed, and this and that happened. And so is that? Are you saying that those types of things made the business model different? Or you talking about the sound? Cause wee talked about the economics little bit. So now, a, om, how did that?
The
Tools
Changed
,
And
So
Was
It
A
Big
Deal
?
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​
Summary
:
​
​
The
first
full
prot
ols
record
i
did
was
probably
,
like
,
what
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5/19/2023
Is California a Climate Conscious State?
Summary: New cars sold after that date have to be zero omissin or mostly battery electric. This feels like a dramatic lean into climate conscious policy, especially given how car centric the state is. It’s not the whole country, and there re a lot of big states, texas and states in the middle of the country that don’t go along with it. But california does have a lot of poll in environmental issues, and especially in regulating auto omissions.
Transcript: Speaker 1 It’s just the sale of vehicles. So you’ll still be able to buy used gasoline-powered cars, and there are still be gas stations, and people will still drive cars that have tailpipes as we know them today. It’s just that new cars sold after that date have to be zero emission or mostly battery electric.
Speaker 2 So that seems pretty huge, even for liberal California. This feels like a dramatic lean into climate-conscious policy, especially given how car-centric the state is.
Speaker 1 It is a big step. California is a huge market-per-vehicles. They sell almost $2 million a year in California. But there are several other states, about a dozen. New York is one of them, for example, that follow along on California’s lead. In other words, they adopt the same policies that California takes with emission controls. So in effect, California’s decision will mean probably about a third of the country will go along in this direction. It’s not the whole country, and there are a lot of big states, Texas and states in the middle of the country that don’t go along with it. But California does have a lot of poll in environmental issues, and especially in regulating auto emissions.
Is
California
a
Climate
Conscious
State
?
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Summary
:
​
​
New
cars
sold
after
that
date
have
to
be
zero
om
iss
in
or
mostly
battery
electric
.
This
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5/19/2023
Who Should Profit From the Seabed Metals?
Summary: Metals company now controls a huge proportion of the reserved sea bed that’s been allicated so far. The company 's estimating that it now stands to make something like 30 billion dollars in profit over the next two decades if it can start this industrial scale mining well. It made me wonder, how did this happen? And what i found was that it’s all thanks to this little known united nations affiliated agency that was tasked to regulate sea bed mining in the first place.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Mean, this could be enormously profitable. The company is estimating that it now stands to make something like $30 billion in profit over the next two decades if it can start this industrial scale mining. And that’s after all of their costs and their taxes and royalties and everything. So one of the biggest open questions is, who should profit from these riches of the sea that nature has created over millions of years? What I learned is that decades ago, world governments came together to confront this exact question. And they wanted to make sure that every country, Richard Poor, would have a fair shot at benefiting from the sea bed metals. And they did that by setting aside areas of the ocean floor specifically reserved for developing nations. But the way it’s played out is that Baron’s firm, the metals company, now controls a huge proportion of the reserved sea bed that’s been allocated so far. And metals companies poised to reap the vast majority of the profits reminding it. And it made me wonder, how did this happen? And what I found was that it’s all thanks to this little known United Nations affiliated agency that was tasked to regulate sea bed mining in the first place.
Who
Should
Profit
From
the
Se
ab
ed
Met
als
?
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​
Summary
:
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​
Met
als
company
now
controls
a
huge
proportion
of
the
reserved
sea
bed
that
’
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5/19/2023
1min Snip
1
min
Sn
ip
It's impossible to know what "undefined" means in this context without more information.
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5/19/2023
1min Snip
1
min
Sn
ip
It's impossible to know what "undefined" means in this context without more information.
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5/19/2023
How to Talk to Your Kids When They’re Whining
Key takeaways:
The speaker is triggered by whining and victim mentality.
They dislike whiny adults and want to ensure their kids don’t become victims.
The speaker believes in agency and being the captain of their own ship.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Mine, mine is a windiness. Any whining drives me nuts. And it is because I thought about this a lot. It’s a huge trigger where I am irrational in my response to it. And, but the reason I think I am is I just I really dislike whiny adults. I really dislike people that are victims. And I really have a hard time with it. And I have this thing that I just want to make sure that my kids are not like that. And so I’m sure that I’m not doing it right, but it is such a triggering thing for me when there’s whining or feeling like, Oh, this happened to me and kind of their life happens to them versus like, no, you know, it’s not a mistakes were made situation. It’s not like, gosh, there was nothing I could do. No, we can always do something. We have agency. We are the captains of our own ship. And so I was joking with my wife that like if they’re, you know, in therapy when they’re older and they’re telling their therapist about. What their parents did. One of the things is certain like, man, I couldn’t even complain about anything. But that’s my trigger.
Speaker 2 How do you talk to them in that moment? Your kids are three, right? Three boys. And they’re around 10.
Speaker 1 The twins are 10. And the youngest is eight.
Speaker 2 How do you talk to them in that moment about. So, like, what does that conversation look like when you catch them sort of whining?
Speaker 1 Yeah, I think, well, there’s probably two different versions of it. The one that I’m not proud of is the one where I’m emotional. I’m quick. I sort of haven’t taken the time to think about how exactly I want to deal with it. And I just kind of react. You know, so hopefully that doesn’t happen a lot, but that’s definitely one version of it. You know, stop whining that one. I think the one that is much better is sort of asking them questions. Hey, what happened here? Hey, why are you? Why do you sound like that? What is the thing that actually went on? Do you think you could have done anything differently? And I think that kids, they are good at answering questions and they give you surprising answers sometimes. And what we find is if you just get them talking, it’s generally much better. And the questions generally help with that. And so I’d say when I met my best or when we’re at our best in that situation, it’s much more asking them about what they think and trying to get them to get there themselves because it’s the same thing, right? They have to believe it. You know, my parents have this thing if you can’t learn someone else’s lessons for them. And I think that applies a lot, right? I think about that. Like they have to believe it. They have to get there. And I’ll give you an example that’s a little bit broader, but it’s a moment that I was pretty proud of. And it’s not totally related to the whining, but it is related to the earned success point that just happened. Okay. And afterwards, I told my wife, I said, gosh, if the lightning bolt hits right now, it’s fine. I will be happy because so my older boys, all my sons play soccer. Okay. And my older boys, they had this soccer tournament. It’s called the state cup. And they want it. And they’ve won it. Their team has won it two years in a row. And so they were pumped, right? They have this medal. Their team got this big trophy. And my youngest son, he plays soccer tube for his own age group. And he’s gone and his team hasn’t won it before. Okay. So anyway, we’re on the way home and the older boys have their medals. And they’re just pumped. They’re excited talking about the game, whatever. And my youngest son says to us, he’s like, Hey, guys, can you sign us up for a state of state? Cup this year, his team. And we’re like, of course, buddy. But his team historically hasn’t been quite as successful as the older boys. So we’re like, we’ll definitely sign you up. You know, we’re not sure exactly how it will go, but we’ll sign you up. And then the older boys have some real empathy for their little brother, which was awesome. And they’re like, sovereign, both Nyan and Shray, my older boys. So, I don’t worry. Even if you guys don’t win. We’ll get you a medal. Okay. We’ll get you a medal too. You sit on the bench with us when we go to the games. We’ll get you a metal to and so then my eight year old, you know, I don’t say anything. My wife doesn’t say anything. He looks at them and he says he smiles. He said, No, that’s okay. I want to earn my medal. And that moment was so much better than us interrupting and being like, well, it doesn’t matter if you get the medal unless you win it and all the stuff. He said it himself. Something inside of him has now been internalized. The medal is valuable if I earn it, right? The medal is not valuable if somebody gives it to me. And that is like the success case. There’s a thousand failure cases, but the success case of, you know, earning it is the thing that counts. That was a pretty cool moment that I think is something we hope to get more often.
Speaker 2 It’s awesome. It’s so counter-cultural these days too in a world or era of participation medals.
Speaker 1 It really does miss the point entirely of what the purpose is of a medal, right? Because, you know, the medal isn’t valuable because it’s shiny, right? The medal is valuable because I read something recently. I don’t remember where, but it was talking about memory dividends. And the reason that the medal is valuable is if it provides you with a memory dividend, but something you can think back on as to, oh my gosh, this is what this represents. And if you get it for just going, then like, come on. And I do believe that there’s value in participating in sport. There is all that. But it’s like we’ve solved the easy part of the problem, right? The hard part is that kids want to get trophies and they want to earn them. And only one team can win it, right? And maybe the second place team, I guess. But we’ve solved that by like, OK, cool. We’ll just give everyone a trophy. It’s like, no, the way you solve that is by going home and having the hard conversation with your child afterwards. If you want to win, why do you think we didn’t win? Well, we didn’t win because they probably practice more than us. We didn’t win because they may be more naturally talented than us. What are we going to do about that? And the easy answer is, well, sure, we’ll give everyone a trophy. But that doesn’t solve the actual problem. And so I do think that, to me, is pretty endemic in general. I sound like I’m preaching, but I think that’s a real thing.
Speaker 2 You and me both, man. I think the same thing sort of about the slow elimination of gifted classes versus non-gifted classes. And it’s all in the name of equality. But it’s so interesting in terms of how to think about that, which is like some kids are better at math than other kids. And you want to challenge them, or you’re going to lose them. And those are the kids that might do something amazing in math in the future. And if we lose them, we’re losing all this talent to we’re doing them a disservice in a way.
Speaker 1 Well, I think it’s also, to your point, Shane, even when people say equality, it really is mistreating the kid that’s better at something. Why do they not get to be challenged? If you really think about it, why do they not get to enjoy school anymore? Why do they not get to feel like they’re learning something? And I think that you want to give everyone a chance. For sure, we are products of people being given a chance.
How
to
Talk
to
Your
Kids
When
They
’
re
Wh
ining
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Key
take
aways
:
​
​
The
speaker
is
triggered
by
wh
ining
and
victim
mentality
.
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​
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5/18/2023
False predictions and drowning in data
Key takeaways:
Google has always been a place where statisticians are hired to interview potential employees for jobs in the field.
The job of a statistician has changed over the years, as the problems that they are tasked with have shifted.
The current problems that statisticians are faced with are made even harder by the large amount of data that is available.
Transcript: Speaker 1 But like, Google again, like way back in the day, like 2000, 2008 when I started there, I would interview people for like, statistician jobs. It was, it was, it was, it was, it was, we didn’t have the title data scientist yet. Like Jeff and DJ hadn’t hadn’t come along. So we’re trying to interview people. And we would always interview around the fundamentals of probability and statistics and stuff like that. Like the really, just see who had like a really deep grasp of it. Because again, at the time, like when you got to Google the problems were kind of like all flipped around, like in sort of academic statistics and much of statistics, it’s like I have a small data set and I’m trying to extract whatever signal I can from this very small data set. Whereas our problems were the exact opposite. We are drowning in data. We have more data than we know what to do with. And our job is not to be confused by it. Like, and so to do that, we kind of had to like, you just approach things from a completely different perspective. And that again, builds on the fundamentals of probability, statistics, linear algebra, right? And I kind of feel that way about like the, the chat GPT or the large language model world we’re entering. Like for a long time, like the computer, if the computer gave you an answer, it was the right answer. Like, like basically, right? It would either error or give you like the answer that you asked for. And now we’re entering a world where like, that’s no longer true. The computer will always give you an answer, but it may or may not be true. And so like our whole mental model of like how, how we interact with computers is about to change in the same way that it had to like working with very large data sets back in the day.
Speaker 2 Yeah. And makes the testing problems that you were talking about even harder. Exactly.
Speaker 1 Right? Precisely. Like all this, this great being Sydney kind of stuff like, Oh my God, like how do we, how do we even begin to think about this stuff and test for it? And so this is the great challenge for me in my data engineering class is like, how do I adapt for this new world that we’re entering? Like how do I, how do I like start preparing people for like how to work when like, yeah, the stakes are going to become that much higher and the systems are going to become that much more complicated. Yeah. Good fun though. Good problem.
False
predictions
and
drowning
in
data
​
​
Key
take
aways
:
​
​
Google
has
always
been
a
place
where
statist
icians
are
hired
to
interview
potential
employees
for
jobs
in
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5/18/2023
Is He a Strategic Thinker?
Summary: I’m not surprised by the persistence in people accepting the things he is saying about the 2020 election as true, because it has become clear for a while that he has a unique hold on his political base. So that wasn’t a surprise. Some of the actions that he took after the election in 2020 were surprising. You know, except I think that the behaviors around January 6 were something of a failure of imagination by officials.
Transcript: Speaker 2 For his big lie.
Speaker 1 I’m not surprised by the persistence in people accepting the things he is saying about the 2020 election as true, because it has become clear for a while that he has a unique hold on his political base and the his political base will never blame him for anything. And has adopted his posture that he is being wrong somehow by some hidden hand. So that wasn’t a surprise. Some of the actions that he took after the election in 2020 were surprising. You know, except I think that the behaviors around January 6 were something of a failure of imagination by officials. And what I mean by that is official Washington was expecting that he was going to try to use the military in an actual coup. Right, to stay in office in a in a in a traditional coup. And it was always much like later that he was going to send him up up to Capitol Hill. Now, of course, his folks would argue he didn’t do that. I should note, but that he said peacefully in his speech before they all went up to March on the Capitol during the certification of the next election or the recent election. But, you know, it had become clear that a, you know, he was able to move a fair number of people with his language and be, you know, he doesn’t like to have to take direct responsibility for things and ordering the military
Is
He
a
Strategic
Think
er
?
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​
Summary
:
​
​
I
’
m
not
surprised
by
the
persistence
in
people
accepting
the
things
he
is
saying
about
the
2020
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5/18/2023
The New Era of Political Violence is Here
Summary: The danger is not organized civil war, but individual americans with deep resentments and delusions. Donald trump knows that in these conspiracies will provoke violence and threats of violence. This happened on january sixth, and is now happening again. It is entirely foreseeable that the violence will escalate further.
Transcript: Speaker 3 As of last week, you must also believe that 30 career fbi agents who have spent their lives working to serve our country abandoned their honor and their oaths and e tomoro lago, not to perform a lawful search or address a national security threat, but instead with a secret plan to plant fake, incriminating documents in the boxes they seized. This is yet another insidious lie. Donald trump knows that in these conspiracies will provoke violence and threats of violence. This happened on january sixth, and is now happening again. It is entirely foreseeable that the violence will escalate further. Yet he and others continue purposely to feed the danger.
Speaker 2 So as talk about this, you wrote a great piece, which i cited in the bulwark news letter the other day, the new era of political violence is here. And you wrote, the danger is not organized civil war, but individual americans with deep resentments and delusions. And you know, i was really struck by by one of by one paragraph where you talk to one of the original never trumpers. Over the week end, a man is lost o friends and family because of his opposition to trump. And he told me, i’m reading from youpice, and he told me that one of the most unsettling things to him is that these same pro trump family and friends now say they believe the trump broke the law, but they don’t care. They see trump and his crusade, their crusade against evil, the drama that gives their lives meaning, is more important than the law. And some of these people are ready to snap and to resort to violence.
Speaker 1 So talk to me about ye a lot of that came from a discussion i was in on morning joe where we were talking about civil war. And i keep bristling at the term civil war, because when we think of civil war, we think of, you know, the 50 fourth massachusetts going into battle against the kentucky volunteers, or the 30 fifth alabama rifles, or s. You know, it’s not that organized. It’s people like the guy in cincinnati, right where he just spends too much time watching television, too much time staring at a computer screen, you know, donald trump as corrupt fbi agents, the derated my it’s the worst ses orhavit. And he says, ok, my empty life will now have meaning, because i’m going to go shoot a nail gun at ef b i agents. And that, i think, in some ways, is even more dangerous because it’s unpredictable, and the people that are unstable walking around among us. That’s spreading. And it’s becoming like it used to be, say, well, every neighborhood has one guy that already worries about. But, you know, this is like a mass psychosis that is spreading among your friends, your neighbors, your family. The person i was talking to in this case was talking about, you know, his mam who literally som his malingno that she’s going to be violent, but who genuinely believes that, you know, donald trump is on the side of god and jesus christ, and that the people who work against him, including her own son, you know, are doing the work of the devil enand i think, but again, i think this is, this is the result of a long period of decades of people living in an affluent, safe nation that has no great causes in it any more. And they are, you know, in they’re living in places that maybe they are not happy. There is an emptiness and in the peace, i talk about, the spiritual and moral void that they 're trying to fill with great dramas, with great crusades, with great stories of good and evil. And one of the things that i think, to bring this back to liz chaney, is that she has been this kind of unflappable, even kind of icy presence who says, yea, ya, whatever. Look, this is about the constitution and the rule of law. And just keeps coming back to that, you know, kind of tapping the sign that says, this is about the constitution and the rule of law and the future of democracy in america. And she has never let herself get sucked into that crazy drama of ino madness and these nutty theories.
The
New
Era
of
Political
Violence
is
Here
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
The
danger
is
not
organized
civil
war
,
but
individual
americ
ans
with
deep
resent
ments
and
del
 Show 977 more
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5/18/2023
The Low Frustration Tolerance of a Child
Key takeaways:
Sensitive learners need to offload feelings in order to heal.
This child is doing a healthy thing by expressing her feelings through minor disappointments.
It’s important to have a positive perspective when dealing with someone’s feelings.
Transcript: Speaker 1 They’re sensitive learners that way. And that’s okay. So that might be one of the reasons why this child seems to have a very low frustration tolerance. Maybe there’s this backlog. She’s needing to offload and so she’s doing this really healthy thing, doing it through these opportunities of minor disappointments. That’s what she’s supposed to do, offloading the feelings. Then children are self-healing geniuses. They know their body knows how to express the feelings that are in there. So it’s actually a very healthy process that she’s doing this. Some of these feelings that could have been from those first months of discomfort around her parents’ feelings or a lot of other things. And she’s getting those out of her body. Very, very healthy. This parent says, but it has begun to control our days and leave me having a hard time being compassionate. And this is something I hope I can help with because it really is about our perspective. Not only way that someone else’s feelings can control our day is if we’re perceiving those feelings as there’s something wrong, that their feelings are a problem.
The
Low
Fr
ustration
T
olerance
of
a
Child
​
​
Key
take
aways
:
​
​
S
ensitive
learners
need
to
off
load
feelings
in
order
to
heal
.
​
​
This
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5/18/2023
Trumpism is MLM
Key takeaways:
There is an embarrassment to being had when fraud is involved.
This can lead to people blaming themselves rather than the product or system.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Yes. Something with a V was what I was going to say. It might be vector. Yeah, I get what you’re saying though. It’s a multi-level marketing knife selling.
Speaker 2 But the thing is, I just remember my own small experience with it is I was too embarrassed at myself for having like participated. I think there’s an embarrassment. That’s why people down in the pyramid don’t like speak about it. I’m trying to understand the aspects of human nature that facilitate this.
Speaker 1 Well, this is one of the problems with fraud is there’s a tremendous embarrassment to being had. Yeah. Also, if you buy so slightly different human nature is that if you buy into a get rich quick scheme and then it doesn’t deliver, you’re more likely to blame yourself than blame the product. You’re not actually working. You go, well, there must be something flawed with me. That’s true. That’s constantly reinforced this. They go, well, it’s all about your hard work. The system works. Look at me. I did it. So if you’re failing, it must be some indictment of your character and you have to always double down. You have to double, the system can’t be flawed. You must be flawed. It’s a really messed up system. It really preys on people’s psychology to keep them in this loop. That’s why in some ways, these things are so viral, even though they don’t actually get most people a significant amount of wealth. They cost most people money.
Trump
ism
is
ML
M
​
​
Key
take
aways
:
​
​
There
is
an
embarrassment
to
being
had
when
fraud
is
involved
.
​
​
This
can
lead
to
people
blaming
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5/18/2023
The Doom Loop
Summary: “I feel like we’re caught in this doom loop. And I’m thinking, you know, did we need to step out of the doom loop and get some perspective on how we got where we’re at right now?” “Maybe something broke decades ago that we missed or overlooked. And maybe it’s not completely political.”
Transcript: Speaker 2 That still look at him and admire him. And they may know that he’s deeply corrupt or he’s lying to them and they don’t care. And I guess we’re political journalists. We follow this. We’re pundits. And we’re trying to like, why is this happening? Let’s let’s look at this piece of wreckage over here. And I was thinking last night, you know, maybe we’re the last people around who can really explain what’s going on. Who do we need to explain what has broken in America? Do we need sociologists? Do we need theologians? Do we need psychologists? Do we need historians? Are you following where I’m going here? Because it feels as if we’re watching what’s happening with a certain level of incomprehension about what’s happened to American culture, to the American brain, to the American mind, all of this stuff. And that maybe something broke decades ago that we missed or overlooked. And maybe it’s not completely political. I’m sorry to go deep on you this morning, but I do feel like we’re caught in this doom loop. And I’m thinking, you know, did we need to step out of the doom loop and get some perspective on how we got where we’re at right now? Oh, boy. Can I warn you? No, it’s look, it’s the right question.
Speaker 1 And I’m not at all convinced that I’ve got the answer. But I think the
The
Doom
Loop
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
“
I
feel
like
we
’
re
caught
in
this
doom
loop
.
And
I
’
m
thinking
,
you
know
,
did
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5/18/2023
The Right Now Should Use Government to Reward Friends and Punish Enemies
Summary: The idea is not that we think that croy capitalism is a problem, we want to roll it all back. It’s that we want to retaliate against this individual disfavored company for its political speech. So there’s a lot of examples of of using government power to go after private corporations or private universities. Big, big te companies are a major, major target of all this. But they’re not the only ones. And increasingly now we’re seeing them talk about how the banks have also been coopted.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Of taxation to go after them in a targeted way, because they will not, because they are not doing what we want them to do. As you mentioned, run dosantis with the disney example. Disney voices a political opinion that he does not like, a that that is critical of a state law that he supported and consigned into law. And so in retaliation for the them exercising their first amendment right to having a political opinion and voice it, he comes at disney and tries to strip their various government benefits. The idea is not that we think that croy capitalism is a problem, we want to roll it all back. It’s that we want to retaliate against this individual disfavored company for its political speech. So there’s a lot of examples of of using government power to go after private corporations or private universities. Big, big te companies are a major, major target of all this. But they’re not the only ones. And increasingly now we’re, we’re seeing them talk about how the banks have also been coopted. And so it’s not just the cultural institutions like hollywoo and the mainstreet media any more. It’s really corporate america that they, these conservatives increasingly see as their enemies. And we need to if that means that we need to embrace government over the private sector, then so be it.
Speaker 2 So newsweek’s opinion editor, josh hammer, has sort of boiled this down to its essence, which is really the right now should use government to reward friends and punish enemies, which a, as
The
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Now
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Government
to
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5/18/2023
M7 apple store nft
Summary: NFTs avoid these sort of gatekeepers. You can buy them anywhere, and when I do that, Apple doesn’t get its cut. And if you’re the sort of person who has positioned NFTs as the foundation of a new version of the internet, one that’s less controlled by gatekeepers, this is devastating.
Transcript: Speaker 1 So here’s what it means. One, it means that if you want to sell an NFT inside an app on iOS, then you’re going to have to pay Apple your 30%. I think that’s pretty standard, right? But when you talk to crypto people about the promise that they see in NFTs, it’s that NFTs avoid these sort of gatekeepers. You can buy them anywhere. You don’t have to go through an app store, right? I might buy an NFT on OpenSea, right? I might buy it on Coinbase. And when I do that, Apple doesn’t get its cut. But what if I’m a developer and I want to attach an NFT to some sort of service? Maybe if you own this NFT, you get a subscription. Maybe you come a member to something and maybe you want to unlock features of that membership within your app that’s on iOS. All of a sudden, Apple says, no, you can’t do that. And so effectively, it made all of those sorts of uses for NFTs worthless within iOS. And if you’re the sort of person who has positioned NFTs as the foundation of a new version of the internet, one that’s less controlled by gatekeepers, one where ownership isn’t dictated by any one platform or CEO, this is devastating, right? Because this means that a whole pillar of the vision for Web3 gets wiped out overnight.
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N
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of
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keepers
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can
buy
them
anywhere
,
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when
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do
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5/18/2023
How AI is Revolutionizing Customer Support
Key takeaways:
Customer support will be revolutionized by the use of artificial intelligence.
This will allow for a more efficient and personalised service.
The boundary condition for AI to replace a human is where the threshold error rate of that AI is the same or less than the human.
Transcript: Speaker 2 I think customer support definitely gets revolutionized, right? Because the initial, you know, the first line of defense is going to be the AI using, you know, text-to-voice and it can choose what language it wants to output to, what accent. So you’ll never know that you’re, you’ll think you’re talking to someone locally.
Speaker 3 Literally, you’ll be in 50 languages with the right answer and you don’t need to build up that entire group. I mean, this, I think we’re underestimating in some ways.
Speaker 2 Yeah, but I think that’s going to happen here. But my point is, I think that a lot of that customer support inquiries just go away because the help, the assistant gets built into the tool directly.
Speaker 5 So you never get the point of it.
Speaker 2 Yeah, like why don’t you, you know, if you can just ask it.
Speaker 3 People do that right now on YouTube. If you just type the question into YouTube and you find the video, that takes five minutes, but you’re saying this is going to take 15 seconds, SACs because it’s going to be right there.
Speaker 1 I think what SAC said before is hugely important when you think about how AI touches non-technology businesses. What he said is the boundary condition, which I think is right, I think he nailed this, which is the boundary condition for AI to replace a human is where the threshold error rate of that AI is the same or less than the human, right?
How
AI
is
Revolution
izing
Customer
Support
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support
will
be
revolution
ized
by
the
use
of
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intelligence
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5/18/2023
AI and the Future of Food Delivery
Key takeaways:
AI can help reduce the cost of food delivery, by automating some of the work that is currently done by human employees.
This can be a competitive advantage for food delivery companies, as it allows them to offer lower prices than their competitors.
Transcript: Speaker 1 So let’s say that you, as a food delivery company, you have to pay a human 10 bucks to deliver food from you. Now let’s say I run a robot. My amortized cost of running that robot is two bucks. So it’s eight bucks cheaper or call it one dollar. So it’s nine dollars cheaper. I should charge you four bucks. You know, because four bucks is super competitive with the existing market, and it’ll keep me competitive against the other automation companies that are going to start to emerge. It’s just kind of how market dynamics end up working out. If you charge too much, you’re going to invite people to come in and compete with you. If your technology commoditized. Remember, all technology commoditized over time. And if you don’t charge enough, you’re not going to make enough money to be able to reinvest in scaling your business and doing more kind of interesting things as a platform. So generally AI provides more leverage to Sax’s point. If I can build an application, I don’t know if you guys have seen these incredible UI apps that are built in AI now, where I can say with a prompt, hey, we talked about it two weeks ago. Yeah. Right. It made me a dog walking app interface, and it builds like the three steps of the dog walking app and gives you a bunch of options and you can pick the one you want. I would typically have to pay a design firm $50,000 to do that work for me. So if it be AI is doing it automatically, I should be paying, let’s say $15,000 for that product for that capability, the margin on that is 100% triforce the margins, right, whatever it is, very low.
AI
and
the
Future
of
Food
Delivery
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aways
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AI
can
help
reduce
the
cost
of
food
delivery
,
by
autom
ating
some
of
the
work
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5/18/2023
How AI is Disrupting the SaaS Industry
Key takeaways:
AI is going to change the way we work, and it’s likely to be commoditized soon.
If you can incorporate AI into your SaaS product, you’ll be able to deliver more value to your customers.
Transcript: Speaker 2 Yeah, a couple of points on that. So I think you have a point that so I mentioned three use cases, I think, or killer use cases already seeing demos of today. And when you look at them, you’re like, okay, this has real applicability. I mean, the AI is going to be, it’s going to powerfully change our work lives. I’m just focusing on enterprise. So now I don’t know who benefits economically from that. That functionality that I mentioned, I think is likely to be pretty commoditized pretty soon. But it’s going to be incorporated into lots of different apps in ways that are hard to predict right now. I think that this AI revolution is going to do for SaaS, what mobile did for a lot of the Web 1.0 companies where, like, for a lot of these Web 1 companies, they were either disrupted by mobile or they were turbocharged by mobile. So you think about Facebook, it successfully made the transition. And mobile made its business so much better because people are just using it a lot more on their mobile devices. There are a lot of other businesses that just kind of fell by the wayside because they just couldn’t make the adaptation from desktop to mobile computing. I think AI is going to be like that for SaaS, where there’s going to be a lot of SaaS products that are just absolutely 100% right. If you’re 100% right. If you can incorporate the AI into your SaaS product, put in a co-pilot, put in auto-complete and all sorts of other forms of value that we’re just scratching the surface of, you’re going to be able to deliver so much more business value. But if you’re not able to do that and somebody else can, then you’re going to get disrupted.
How
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AI
is
going
to
change
the
way
we
work
,
and
it
’
s
likely
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5/18/2023
The Rise of Generalists in the Age of AI
Key takeaways:
Specialized knowledge becomes less significant compared to understanding the big picture and connecting things together
Collective intelligence of humans will trend towards being generalists and philosophers
Mechanical working out of things is automatable and more AI territory, making specialized knowledge less necessary
Transcript: Speaker 1 Things like the value of big towers of specialized knowledge become less significant compared to the kind of meta knowledge of sort of understanding kind of the big picture and being able to connect things together. And I think that, you know, there’s been this huge trend of let’s be more and more specialized because we have to, you know, we have to sort of ascend these towers of knowledge. But by the time you can get, you know, more automation, being able to get to that place on the tower without having to go through all those steps. I think it sort of changes that picture.
Speaker 2 And since your intuition is that in terms of the collective intelligence of the species and the individual minds they make up that collective, there’ll be more, they will trend towards being generalists and being kind of philosophers.
Speaker 1 That’s what I think. I think that’s where the humans are going to be useful. I think that a lot of these kind of the drilling, the mechanical working out of things is much more automatable as much more AI, AI territory, so to speak.
Speaker 2 No more PhDs.
Speaker 1 Well, that’s interesting. Yes, I mean, you know, the kind of specialization, this kind of tower of specialization, which has been a feature of, you know, we’ve accumulated lots of knowledge in our in our species and, and, you know, in a sense, every time we, every time we have an kind of automation, a building of tools, it becomes less necessary to know that whole tower, and it becomes something where you can just use a tool to get to the top of that tower. So, what do humans do. It’s like a eyes, you tell them, you say, go achieve this particular objective. Okay, they can maybe figure out a way to achieve that objective. We say, what objective would you like to achieve the AI has no intrinsic idea of that. That’s a fine thing. That’s a thing which has to come from some other, you know, some other entity and insofar as we are in charge, so to speak, or whatever it is, and our kind of web of society and history and so on, is the thing that is defining what objective we want to go to, that’s, you know, that’s, that’s a thing that we humans are necessarily involved in.
The
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General
ists
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the
Age
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Special
ized
knowledge
becomes
less
significant
compared
to
understanding
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big
picture
and
connecting
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5/18/2023
The Volume of Gun Violence
Summary: Welcome to the Bullwork Podcast, I’m Charlie Sykes. It’s April 11, 2013, and I was doing a SiriusXM interview yesterday, and we came on right after a news broadcast about the latest mass shooting in Louisville, and they were describing it as the
Transcript: Speaker 2 Welcome to the Bullwork Podcast, I’m Charlie Sykes. It’s April 11, 2013, and I was doing a SiriusXM interview yesterday, and we came on right after a news broadcast about the latest mass shooting in Louisville, and they were describing it as the 145th
The
Volume
of
Gun
Violence
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Welcome
to
the
Bull
work
Podcast
,
I
’
m
Charlie
Sy
kes
.
It
’
s
April
11
,
2013
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5/18/2023
The Zolander Gas Fight
Summary: i find myself thinking that one of the most important political documentaries of our time is not weltesjus to ther’s idiocracy, right? But there’s also zulander, because so many of the politicians sound like their zulander. son. And i feel like america, it’s like we’re in the zolander gas fight scene. When we’re talking about the the writer who just got that long sentence, who brought his son, you know, there is this weird thing of why am i going to this wall because i’s 17 76 and, you know,. revolution.
Transcript: Speaker 2 Son. He brought his son there, and they were playing with tasers and things like that. And look, why was he there? He was there because he was ginned up by all this rhetoric fom people saying, your real patriots need to fight back against the regime. This is 17 76. So here’s the thing, you keep throwing those mems around, and people will believe them, and they will act on them. So not to trivialize this, but i find myself, in order to maintain my sanity, thinking that one of the most important political documentaries of our time is not weltesjus to ther’s idiocracy, right? But there’s also zulander, because so many of the politicians sound like their zulander. I mean, alis stephonic sounds like she’s a character from zulander lately, imean, that gives you but also remember the classic scene, and people need to go and find this, the zolander gas fight, where they all go and it’s all funnin games at the gas station, and they’re playing with the gasolin and theyr eal, spraying each other with gasolin. Like, what could go wrong? This is so cool. And of course, it ends precisely the way you’d expect it. And i feel like america, it’s like we’re in the zolander gas fight scene.
Speaker 1 When we’re talking about the the writer who just got that long sentence, who brought his son, you know, there is this weird thing of why am i going to this wall because i’s 17 76 and, you know, revolution.
The
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ol
ander
Gas
Fight
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i
find
myself
thinking
that
one
of
the
most
important
political
documentaries
of
our
time
is
not
welt
es
j
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5/18/2023
Why do programmers use semicolons?
Key takeaways:
A pair of matched brackets frees up space in a language, making it easier for new programmers to underst.
This is done by making the language slightly easier to grasp, by teaching concepts in a more familiar way.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Well, it frees up a pair of matched brackets of which there are never enough in the world for other purposes. It really makes the language slightly sort of easier to grasp for people who don’t already know another programming language. Because the sort of one of the things, and I mostly got this from my mentors who taught me programming language design in the earlier 80s, when you’re teaching programming for the total newbie who has not coded before in not in any other language, a whole bunch of concepts in programming are very alien or sort of new and may be very interesting but also distracting and confusing. And there are many different things you have to learn. You have to sort of in a typical 13 week programming course, you have to, if it’s like really learning to program from scratch, you have to cover algorithms, you have to cover data structures, you have to cover syntax, you have to cover variables, loops, functions, recursion, classes, expressions, operators. There are so many concepts if you sort of, if you can spend a little less time having to worry about the syntax, the classic example was often, oh, the compiler complains every time I put a semicolon in the wrong place, or I forget to put a semicolon, Python doesn’t have semicolons in that sense. So you can’t forget them. And you are also not sort of misled into putting them where they don’t belong because you don’t learn about them in the first place.
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use
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icol
ons
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aways
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A
pair
of
matched
brackets
fre
es
up
space
in
a
language
,
making
it
easier
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5/18/2023
The Volume of Gun Violence
Summary: Welcome to the Bullwork Podcast, I’m Charlie Sykes. It’s April 11, 2013, and I was doing a SiriusXM interview yesterday, and we came on right after a news broadcast about the latest mass shooting in Louisville, and they were describing it as the
Transcript: Speaker 2 Welcome to the Bullwork Podcast, I’m Charlie Sykes. It’s April 11, 2013, and I was doing a SiriusXM interview yesterday, and we came on right after a news broadcast about the latest mass shooting in Louisville, and they were describing it as the 145th
The
Volume
of
Gun
Violence
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Summary
:
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Welcome
to
the
Bull
work
Podcast
,
I
’
m
Charlie
Sy
kes
.
It
’
s
April
11
,
2013
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5/18/2023
Open AI Is Going to Change Everything
Key takeaways:
Open AI’s move to use GPUs for free is a gargantuan one, and will have a significant impact on the field of artificial intelligence in the near future.
The move will be difficult to replicate, as energy costs will eventually go down, making GPUs less valuable.
Transcript: Speaker 1 But imagine what open AI had to overcome that to overcome a compute challenge that to strip together a whole bunch of GPUs that to build all kinds of scaffolds. All kinds of scaffolding software. They had to find data center support. That consumes all kinds of money. So that billion dollars didn’t go that far. So it’s a testament to how clever that open AI team is. But in four years from now when energy costs zero and basically GPUs are like, you know, they’re falling off a truck. And you can use them for effectively for free. Now all of a sudden a billion dollars gives you some amount of teraflops of compute that is probably the total number of teraflops available today in the world. Like that’s how gargantuan. This move is when you take these two variables to zero.
Speaker 2 There’s like a million things to ask. I almost don’t want to get distracted by the marginal cost of energy going to zero because I have no idea what you’re talking about that as fascinating. I’ll give you the 30 seconds. Sure. Okay. So if you look inside of the two most progressive states, the three most progressive straits New York, California and Massachusetts.
Open
AI
Is
Going
to
Change
Everything
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AI
’
s
move
to
use
GP
Us
for
free
is
a
g
arg
ant
uan
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5/18/2023
The Soft Skills Unleashed by LLMs; LLMs Give An Answer When There Is No Single Answer
Key takeaways:
AI has seen recent successes in structured data environments but now has the ability to manage ambiguity in human experience
Large language models have uncovered the innovation of soft skills in AI
Intelligence involves recognizing and delivering nuance
Google’s AI mission transcends providing simple answers
Transcript: Speaker 1 Until recently, successes were limited to AI-friendly contexts. Those with a lot of structured data, limited and predictable queries and not much nuance. Pre-chat GPT, our AI assistants were kids. They took everything literally and needed to be set up for success. The real innovation unleashed by large language models is soft skills. Specifically, their ability to manage the ambiguity of human experience. Intelligence is synonymous with nuance or the ability to recognize and deliver it. Google describes its AI mission, quote, more than answers will help you when there’s no right answer.
The
Soft
Skills
Un
le
ashed
by
LL
Ms
;
LL
Ms
Give
An
Answer
When
There
Is
No
Single
Answer
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aways
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seen
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5/18/2023
AI and Consumer Facing Tech: Opportunities and Challenges
Key takeaways:
AI will be as good or as evil as human nature allows
Consumer facing companies will likely be the major AI disruptors
AI will introduce the butlers, maids, and vales to the broader world
Generative AI and smartphones promise personal and professional assistance for all with an iPhone
Transcript: Speaker 2 CEO Sundar Pichai told us AI will be as good or as evil as human nature allows. Should we allow AI machines to flood the internet with propaganda and fake news?
Speaker 1 But the most valuable tech companies to date, with the exception of Microsoft, have been consumer facing. And it’s likely the major AI disruptors will, again, be consumer offerings. One big change? The butlers, maids, and vales of the rich will be introduced to the broader world. Instead of servants downstairs, we’ll have servers. Except the servers will be housed in some nondescript tilt up building next to an inexpensive source of energy to keep it cool. Where they’ll sweat plowing the fields of my energy and sweat plowing the fields of my indulgent life, where I’ve created a series of mazes I need others to help me navigate. Note, I’m especially proud of the previous sentence. Generative AI and smartphones and smart speakers promise the power of personal and professional assistance to everyone with an iPhone.
Speaker 7 That’s good news, mostly.
AI
and
Consumer
F
acing
Tech
:
Opportunities
and
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AI
will
be
as
good
or
as
evil
as
human
nature
allows
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Consumer
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5/18/2023
The Potential Banality of Large Language Models
Key takeaways:
The use of AI models can limit human creativity and constrain change and transformation by replicating past behavior
Large language models rely on shuffling existing data rather than creating something entirely new
The potential banality of AI may lead to a future that is more like the past, rather than something completely different
AI’s reliance on prediction engines may result in predictable outcomes rather than unpredictable ones
Transcript: Speaker 2 Let me get to the huffing glue question. I think there’s one version where the system simply top out the technology ends. Fun. I think there’s another one though, which you’re getting at in one of your recent pieces on the potential banality of all this, which is you’re dealing with models trained on what we’ve already said and thought and done that is in a pro-dean genre, imitating way, mimicking it back at us. And so very far from making the future unbelievably different than the past, what it will do is make the future more like the past. It will be a boundary on human creativity and change and transformation. You write far from serving away from a norm. These systems make the future by conservatively iterating the past. Even the apparent creativity of large language models relies on the novel shuffling of a gargantuan deck of cards that already exists. So I think that’s another way of thinking about what might fail here, that instead of being an opening to something totally different, completely unpredictable, it’s actually a narrowing to the completely predictable, literally built on prediction engines.
Speaker 1 Yeah, absolutely. And is there something else going on in our own experience? It’s so clear that we are not just predicting that we’re not just looping, that there is a space of novelty and of potential creativity, of wrestling with possibilities that is so intrinsic to how we operate, that it’s very difficult to imagine collapsing that and leading towards something productive and something interesting. And what does that look like on a culture-wide basis as we get used to enjoying cultural products that are produced by large language models, and the way in which they recirculate? Because you can cynically say, well, that’s already kind of happening. You look at popular music. What is popular music? Is it like incredible acts of generative novelty? No, it’s more like mixes and matches of things and a little bit of action thrown in, a little bit of shifting here. So it’s possible that reshuffling the deck over and over again, the deck is big enough. There’s still going to be enough novelty to entertain us, let’s say. But it’s hard to sort of square that with any more expanded view of what cultural products do for us, or cultural works, great literature, great movies, whatever, that it’s hard to see it simply as an iterative process, that there’s some other dimension to those products. And are we actually getting to a place where we start to recognize that less and less, that it’s sufficient to simply be entertained by the reshuffled deck? Or is it just going to be clear that there is this kind of difference that we’re losing?
The
Potential
Ban
ality
of
Large
Language
Models
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The
use
of
AI
models
can
limit
human
creativity
and
const
rain
change
and
transformation
by
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5/18/2023
The Myth of AI
Key takeaways:
AI trained on human language is not truly neutral compared to other technologies
Stories and myths in the training set impact what the AI reflects back to us
Language models are based on our own imaginations and stories about AI
The Kevin Ruiz and Sydney conversation shows the power of language training in AI
Transcript: Speaker 2 Well, that’s particularly true for this technology. I large agree with people who say that no technology is truly neutral, but compared to a semiconductor or a bandsaw, AI trained on human language, where all these myths and all these stories are in the training set. So when we ask it to basically act like an AI, what it understands, again, these verbs are tricky here, but what it is able to reflect back at us because of the way it is pattern matched across our language is the stories we have written about how AI’s interact and act in relationship to human beings. There is this funny sense, particularly with large language models, where the more we have story told about them, the more they are trained on the stories, the more we have created a thing that is our own imagining of the thing that we have created. It’s why I’ve always had a slightly different take on the Kevin Ruiz, you know, being Sydney conversation that went very viral at the New York Times. I mean, that was very clearly to me that whatever was powering Microsoft Chatbot, it had read enough. It had been trained on enough data about rogue AI slipping the reins that it knew how to answer that question that he was beginning to get it to provoke it towards. And that’s again, just very weird, right? This thing reflecting ourselves back at us and our stories about it. It’s a very non-neutral technology.
Speaker 1 Absolutely. No, that’s a wonderful example. I mean, one of the things that my work is motivated by is that there’s better or worse myths that you can bring to trying to understand things that have some kind of mythological dimension. And in this case, I would say that the AI is, it doesn’t have agency in the way that we keep assuming that it does so that when people try to find its real motivation, it’s such an easy model to get into. And like you say, it’s just simulating a character that is responding to what it perceives as your question. So what do you have then? It’s this immense series of simulations of characters based on stories. It’s a proteus. It’s not an evil genius. That’s what it’s doing is that it’s responding and reflecting and circulating. And indeed, one of the, I think the greatest things about the technology from a humanist point of view is that it forces us to think about all this stuff really seriously, really strongly. Like, what does it mean to have our concepts about reality fed back to us in this way? How do we trust stories? Are we made of stories? All of these kinds of chin-stroking questions become a lot more pertinent right now.
The
Myth
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not
truly
neutral
compared
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technologies
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St
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myths
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the
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5/18/2023
The Myth of Singularity
Key takeaways:
The technical illegibility and mythical legibility of AI systems creates a dissonance
The field of AI is heavily mythologized
The Singularity is a mythic concept similar to eschatological beliefs
We may be getting trapped in stories about AI that don’t reflect reality
Transcript: Speaker 2 I don’t think everybody listening is going to love this area because I’ve over time cultivated an audience that likes things to be concrete, but I am always struck by the dissonance between the technical illegibility and the mythical legibility of these systems. In particular, it is the most myth and storied up area I have ever seen or covered. We have however many decades of sci-fi. We have Ultron and Hal and Skynet and the Matrix and Asma’s laws of robotics. Going backwards, we have fantasy and summoning. Then people talk about the golems and the sources of apprentice. I’ve recommended it before, but Megan O’Gibbon’s great book, God Human Animal Machine is all about a lot of the Christian mythology operating in a suburbs away here. Singularity is a very mythic concept, very similar, very eschatological to things you’ll see in raptures and so on. There’s this way in which we don’t understand these systems out well, and then we perhaps understand them all too well. You could argue we’re getting trapped in stories that maybe it doesn’t net out that way at all. Maybe this stuff tops out at a fairly low level, right? It’s a pretty good chatbot, and we’re not able to get to be super intelligences, and we’ve let ourselves stray with however many years of imagining what we could create. But it’s something I’ve appreciated about your work because I notice it just traveling through this world, how myth-dup it is, how much people are operating with stories running in the back of their minds, both consciously and unconsciously, and those stories are creating a lot of interpretive framework because they’re standing in for things we actually don’t yet know how to interpret.
Speaker 1 Yeah, or might not be able to. There’s always a place where we’re dealing with these changing human models and cognitions, and now we know that as the technologies, not just in AI, but technologies get more and more powerful, we were like, what, how do we wrap our heads around this? Well, we got all the science fiction lying around. Well, that makes sense. So there is this problem about self-fulfilling prophecies, about getting caught by narratives that then shape your view so much that you’re not able to see other developments. So we absolutely have to be aware of these things. And a lot of my work has been again, kind of like a two-step process where on the one hand, I’m even more open for the mythological potentials, the specular possibilities, the wild dreamings, than your standard sort of culture critic. And at the same time, it’s like, yes, and we must deconstruct and see what that story is kind of telling us because we are in a place of kind of self-fulfilling prophecies.
The
Myth
of
Sing
ular
ity
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The
technical
illeg
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and
myth
ical
leg
ibility
of
AI
systems
creates
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5/18/2023
The Loss of Intelligence in Chatbots
Key takeaways:
The speaker believes that chatbots challenge our informed expectation of agency and consciousness.
Existing in a space of recognizing the strangeness and challenge of chatbots can be helpful.
There are still unexplained phenomena in chatbot systems.
Transcript: Speaker 2 It’s why I like a quote from you, which is that weird things are quote anomalous, they deviate from the norms of informed expectation and challenge established explanations sometimes quite radically. And that felt very true to me here on two levels. One is one you’re getting at here, which is when you talk about the norms of informed expectation, when we interact with anything that has a facility with language and the ability to work in context that these chatbots do, we assume agency, our informed expectation is there is something we would call a mind on the other side of that. And you can go way too far with that and assume sentience and consciousness, I think you can go not nearly far enough and just say, Oh, this is an auto complete and you’re an idiot, forget it and fooled by it. But it’s why I think trying to exist in a space of this is challenging. This is strange is helpful. But then the other, when you talk about weird things, challenge established explanations, we don’t have good explanations of what’s going on in these systems. And so this world where more and more might get turned over to them is a world where we might lose. And I think this is actually one of the possible coming traumas that people are not quite paying good enough attention to. We might lose a lot of legibility of our own scientists. And you can say in certain areas of science, we already have right, we don’t really understand quantum physics, that kind of thing. But just our kids will have friends who they understand to be friends operating on their phones. But we don’t know why those friends, those inorganic and whatever they are, intelligences operate the way they do that loss of being able to explain the world around us at any level of granularity. That’s more profound than I think people are giving it credit for and deserves more reflection than I think people are giving it.
Speaker 1 No, absolutely. I mean, I couldn’t agree more. I remember the article I read 12 years ago, where that shift became clear to me. Oh, now we’re getting to the place where you can’t explain the outcome because of the complexity, because of the alienness of the operation, because of the density of the data. I mean, I almost felt it like a kind of nausea, because it’s really significant. And most of us, we’re not scientists. We are all used to living in a world where we don’t understand how our phone works. We trust that the guy who makes the phone knows how the phone works. So I don’t worry about it, or I trust that the scientist who’s that I’m reading about knows something. And that kind of trust is obviously shifted more than we might have imagined. But we still kind of operate in that zone so that such a radical shift in scientific production, technological production, wouldn’t hit us personally. But I may not know how the phone works, but Bob knows how the phone works. And then when you know that Bob doesn’t know, and when Bob’s like, I don’t know, what we’re just going to ride this thing, then this is where we get back to the weird, is that that is such a significant shift away from a kind of deep, modern archetype of knowledge and power. Because one of the things that I’ve been tracking is how when people try to talk about or articulate all these very complicated, unnerving, and urgent issues that we’re facing now, when and where they grab for myth. When they look for words like summoning or the golem or these sort of, those things are not insignificant. They might just be, oh, well, we’re just trying to illustrate or have a common cultural signifier for these processes. And I’m like, well, yes and no. I mean, in a way, my whole work, my whole attitude towards technology has always been about finding those mythic dimensions and then taking them seriously, but not literally, but to see the way that they operate and what stories they tell.
The
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of
Intelligence
in
Chat
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aways
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The
speaker
believes
that
chat
b
ots
challenge
our
informed
expectation
of
agency
and
consciousness
.
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5/18/2023
The Weirdness of AI
Key takeaways:
AI has a quality of uncanniness that challenges set assumptions about how things work
This quality of weirdness is not simply confusing or alien, but has a familiar unfamiliarity to it
One of the most obvious places to look at AI weirdness is in AI safety issues
Transcript: Speaker 2 So let’s talk about AI, which is a place where I’ve reached for the metaphors of the weird working off of some of your work. And you’ve done a lot of thinking there now about AI and weirdness. So what makes AI weird?
Speaker 1 That’s such a good question. I’ve really been thinking that a lot. I think part of it, if you, you have to go, what is the weird? And one of the ways of thinking about it is that there’s something here that challenges my set assumptions about how things work, that has an additional quality, let’s say, of some kind of uncanniness, something that is not simply confusing or alien, but has a familiar unfamiliarity to it. And I think the most obvious place to look at it is, and the first place while this explained personally. So I was kind of ignored a lot of the AI stuff I’ve known about AI safety issues for a very long time. And I know people are really into it. And just, you know, I knew a little bit about it, but it just didn’t hit me, really. I almost kind of consciously avoided it, because I sort of felt that it was going to be something that was going to take over my imagination and mind. And I was going to have to pay a lot of attention to it. And so when I finally read this book, Farmacow AI, by K. A. Lotta McDowell, which was co-written with GPT-3. And Kay has a really, they are interested in shamanism and ayahuasca in the future of humanity and all these kind of very, very Bay area topics, all woven together in this bizarre braid. And I’m reading the book. And then I’m reading GPT-3. And I can see the way it’s kind of a collage. And then there’s a statement that hits me. And I slip into projecting, constructing an author or a sense of an author that is almost immediately, the drugs pulled out from under it. And I’m left in this space of ambivalence, but particularly about agency. And there’s the sense of like an almost animist sense that there’s something going on here that’s more than just pattern recognition and an algorithm choosing the next best word. And you can intellectually lay that back on and go, okay, this is just a machine. It’s just operating. It’s read the whole internet. It’s just making a really good guess. It just has that feel. And you’re like, okay, but that’s not at all what’s happening kind of emotionally or even spiritually in that response. And that’s just one example. I think it’s a particularly concrete one of where do we locate the agency if we’re really trying to stay in a critical mindset? I mean, some people are just like, sure, I’m just talking to the machine. No problem. I’m just talking to a chat machine. No big deal. Yeah. But if you’re like trying to deconstruct it and at the same time, recognizing its interactive dimension, well, then we’re in this kind of animist space where I’m not so sure if that doll in the corner is actually animated or not. And that’s a very classic site of the uncanny. So there’s that suddenly there’s an uncanniness in the midst of this, you know, highly commoditized major, major world changing machine that is, well, that’s pretty weird.
The
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ness
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has
a
quality
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unc
ann
iness
that
challenges
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assumptions
about
how
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work
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This
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5/18/2023
The Art of Language Generation and its Analogies to Hip-Hop Production
Key takeaways:
The speaker uses analogies to explain how familiarity with a subject matter can enhance one’s ability to use tools effectively.
The speaker compares the craft of writing to that of a hip-hop producer
Becoming an effective writer or producer requires a deep knowledge and appreciation of the subject matter.
Transcript: Speaker 1 I mean, that’s how I think of it, right? Like, it requires a familiar like when I was using this, the reason I was able to use it so effectively is because I did a PhD and I know that they made me do my special field examination and they made me read everything in major in English literature from 900 A.B. On. And so I know the history of style and I know how things stylistically work. So when I go to pseudo right, I can say, okay, I want this to sound like Dickens and then filtered through Ernest Hemingway. And then you get to something that might actually be good, right? So the closest analog icon to is hip-hop producer, where they’re like, they have this enormous familiarity with popular music and the scholarship ultimately around popular music. And they use that in ways to recombine and reconfigure the music in a way that is pleasurable to people, right? And in a sense, like it is a different task, like you’re not playing the guitar anymore. Instead, you’re using a MOOC or whatever. But on the other hand, like the end result, like an author is an output or a text, that’s for sure true. But editors also massively the editor of their own texts. Like the difference between a great writer and a good writer is not necessarily what they output, but what they cut and what they know is bad and recognizing what’s good when you see it. And that is totally unchanged in this process, as you know.
The
Art
of
Language
Generation
and
its
Anal
og
ies
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Hip
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Production
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speaker
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analog
ies
to
explain
how
familiarity
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5/18/2023
The Bulwark Podcast
Summary: Hiterly sikes here, there’s really never been a better time to help support the mission of the bulwark to bring sanity and a non tribal lens to our national politics. Now we’re
Transcript: Speaker 3 Hiterly sikes here, there’s really never been a better time to help support the mission of the bulwark to bring sanity and a non tribal lens to our national politics. Now we’re not
The
Bul
w
ark
Podcast
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:
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H
iter
ly
s
ikes
here
,
there
’
s
really
never
been
a
better
time
to
help
support
the
mission
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5/18/2023
An example using lawyers
Key takeaways:
Phenomenal wealth can be generated when goods and services become cheap and widely available, leading to rapid social change.
There is a branching possibility where high standards of living can be enjoyed by some, but not all, people.
The political economy of AI is an important topic to consider, as it could lead to great wealth for some, but also inequality and a loss of dignity.
Transcript: Speaker 2 So you write in the piece and that three things follow from that. One is that phenomenal wealth can get generated because goods and services can become so cheap and so widely deployed, that very rapid social change follows that because you’re just undergoing an extraordinary upheaval in the economy. Then you have this kind of branching possibility, which is either very high standards of living for everyone or not. Some people get better entertainment and whatever, but they never get back the dignity, they never get back the money they were making. How do you assess the political economy of AI?
Speaker 1 I’m curious if you agree with the first two. If you think the first two things are going to happen.
Speaker 2 Phenomenal wealth and social upheaval? Yeah. If you’re right about what the systems can do, definitely that will create wealth. I mean, it just has to. I think it’s almost mechanical. A people to me is about how quickly it happens. I suspect it could be technologically possible far before it is actually happening, or that the dispersion of the technology might be a lot slower than the realization of it. So you mentioned a minute ago, lawyers. You ask lawyers questions because you need answers. You also ask lawyers questions because if you don’t get the answers from them, you might get sued. And so the question of when do you not get sued for asking the question of your system, as opposed to of the lawyers, is to some degree a regulatory and judicial issue more than it is even a technological one?
Speaker 1 Yeah, that’s sort of why I assume there will be these hybrid models where an AI is helping the lawyer, but the human lawyer and the existing system of the protection that you get from that is still the one giving you the answer. So maybe what happens is like, you still go to a lawyer, but that lawyer can be a factor of 10 or 100 times more efficient. And they don’t need sort of the staff of researchers they have today.
Speaker 2 So I could see that, and I think that makes sense, but that’ll reduce the amount of economic upheaval it brings. Health is a really big one. I’ve done a lot of work on health care over the years. I find it very hard to think through what the effect will be here. But let me put it this way. I’ve got a long running argument that we think too much about price and health and not enough about value. So budget work in Washington is like always dominated by these graphs that show like my 20, 70, 50% of the economy is on health care. And people will say, like, that’s wild. We can’t have 50% of our GDP going to health care. But how wild it is depends on what that is buying you what the value of it is. We’re spending 40% of GDP on health care, but everybody’s a live in a healthy life till 200. Maybe it’s fine. If we’re getting what we’re getting now, it’s terrible. And so one of the questions I don’t really know how to answer is, does AI, whether or not it is being used with doctors and nurses or otherwise, does it actually change radically the development of drugs, the sort of device orientation and devices we’re able to use? Do we get way better at spotting things on radiology, which I think is pretty likely? So how you change the value, you might not see that show up in wealth statistics, exactly. But it would be a huge improvement in utility and how humans live. And so like that stuff is very interesting.
An
example
using
lawyers
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aways
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P
hen
omen
al
wealth
can
be
generated
when
goods
and
services
become
cheap
and
widely
available
,
leading
to
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5/18/2023
The Future of Work: How AI is Changing the Economy
Key takeaways:
The New York Times can help you live a better life by providing information and advice on a variety of topics, from life to news to culture.
The marginal cost of AI doing work is close to zero, meaning that labor, especially skilled and expensive labor, will have less power in the future.
Transcript: Speaker 3 Find out how the New York Times can fit into your life at
nytimes.com
⁠
slash life.
Speaker 2 Tell me about the underlying idea that AI will move not just money, but also power from from labor to capital.
Speaker 1 I think the best way to frame this is this idea that the marginal cost of an AI doing work is close to zero. Once you’ve created this model, which requires huge amounts of capital and expertise and difficulty and data to do, and I think it’s a very interesting question about who should benefit from that, who generates the data, whatever. But once you train this model, maybe you used to have to pay an expert lawyer a thousand dollars an hour to answer a question, or a computer program or two hundred dollars an hour. They weren’t that many and they had a lot of you needed it. That was the market. That was what it was worth. That was what people were able to command. But maybe now it costs a couple of cents of electricity for the computer to think, or less. You can do it as many times as you want. You can get answers that no human could come up with. Labor, then in this case, extremely high skilled and highly paid labor, all of a sudden has a lot less power because the services are available at a wildly different cost.
The
Future
of
Work
:
How
AI
is
Changing
the
Economy
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The
New
York
Times
can
help
you
live
a
better
life
by
providing
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5/18/2023
How AI will change the world in 10 years
Key takeaways:
In 10 years, chatbots will be able to work for experts in any domain.
This will allow people to get things done without having to contact people directly.
Transcript: Speaker 2 My version of that, I remember sending an email to my entire family and saying, you need to go to the grocery store. Like in three weeks, you’re going to be living in a different world. And like, you need to listen to me on this. Let’s talk about where exponential growth gets us in. You’re saying there’s a 10x thing every year? It’s pretty big. Yeah. 20 years from now, what are you confident AI will be able to do? And what do you think it is likely that it will be able to do?
Speaker 1 Man, 20 years was a hard time frame. Let’s do 10. Let’s do 10. 10, I can do. In 10 years, I think we will have basically chatbots that work for an expert in any domain you’d like. So you will be able to ask an expert doctor, an expert teacher, an expert lawyer, whatever you need and have those systems go accomplish things for you. So you’re like, I need a contract that says this. You know, I need a diagnosis for this problem. I need you to go like book me this flight. I want a movie created.
How
AI
will
change
the
world
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10
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years
,
chat
b
ots
will
be
able
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work
for
experts
in
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5/18/2023
The Future of Work
Key takeaways:
Technology is eliminating jobs, but it always creates new ones on the other side.
The human desire for status is unlimited, and we will find new things to do as a result.
Transcript: Speaker 1 That’s been happening for a long time and I don’t think we do a service to anyone to pretend that technology does not eliminate some jobs. Some jobs it just like makes much better. But the arc of this has been that every technological revolution eliminates one class, one sets of jobs, and we find new ones on the other side that are hard to imagine from where we sit today. So before we had the computer, it would have been hard to imagine the computer programmer would be such an important profession. But I think if you look back at the great technological revolutions, which have sort of been the punctuations where there’s been a lot of shift at once, there’s always been this worry. We’ve always found other jobs on their side. Now, it may be that this time it’s different, right? Like if we really do think about what it means to have intelligence in a computer, maybe it’s different, but I so deeply believe that human ingenuity and sort of desire for ever, ever sillier kinds of status is so unlimited that we will find a lot of new things to do. I also think what we are likely to find is that a lot of classes of jobs that people talk about AI taking away stay, but the role of the human is very different. And the human does what humans are really good at. The AI does the part that the human might like to do less than the AI is really, really good at. And you see this sort of like synergistic effect. I hate that word, but I couldn’t think of something else where humans continue to be programmers or doctors or whatever. Journalists maybe. Journalists, but they focus on a different part of the job.
Speaker 2 Two places I want to go with that. One is, I’m usually on the side of this argument that says, I don’t think machine learning is going to bring a near-term job apocalypse. But I become friendlier in the past couple of years to the idea that it will destroy a lot of jobs pretty quickly.
The
Future
of
Work
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aways
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Technology
is
eliminating
jobs
,
but
it
always
creates
new
ones
on
the
other
side
.
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The
human
desire
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5/18/2023
Huxley’s Vision in Brave New World and Orwell’s in 1984: A Comparison
Key takeaways:
Orwell feared those who would ban books; Huxley feared there would be no reason to ban a book. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information; Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared the truth would be concealed from us; Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture; Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture preoccupied with entertainment.
Transcript: Speaker 1 A, we were all keeping an eye out for 19 84, am anda in a week, we thought about the distopia that we would get. Was the big brother one. But alongside orwell’s dark vision, there was this other, slightly older and less well known, but equally chilling vision, of huxley’s brave new world s. Aldus huxley and ah, you know, he summerizes this way, i as beautifully. It says, what orwell feared were those who would ban books. What ux wat huxley feared is that there would be no reason to ban a book, because there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell, feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell, feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell, feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we woud become a trivial culture preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy and the centrifugal bumble puppy. Since th 19 thirties, as huxley remarked in brave new world, the civil libertarians who were ever on the alert, opposed tyranny. They failed to take into account man’s almost infinite appetite for distractions. He ends by saying, orball feared those a that what we fear will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we desire will ruin us. And that’s, that’s essentially the premise of the work. It’s like there’s two ways to kind of fail here, as in most systems, there’s almost always two ways to fail. One way to fail is the ritarian, big brother censorship sort of modeut with so little information that we don’t have any and we’re all restricted in top down control, et cetera. But then the bottom up way to fail is just overwhelmed in irrelevance, in distraction, and over stimulating our magic trick sort of brain with paleolithic a social validation and tribal warfare and moral outrage and all that stuff that isn’t actually adding up to anything.
H
ux
ley
’
s
Vision
in
Brave
New
World
and
Orwell
’
s
in
1984
:
A
Comparison
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Or
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5/18/2023
Optimum Grip
Summary: Elean: I can show you how you’re optimately gripping in an abstract cognitive domain. Ok? So a mammal goes by, and most people will say, there’s a dog. Well, there’s there’. There is obvious between those two options. It’s at the level of your categorization. Elean: You ivalv these models of the world around you, and on top of them, you do stuff like, you build representations that you said, what’s the salience landscape? Salience meaning at tention landscape. That’s bottom up. But i can also say, your left big toe and now it’s salient toyou because you directed your attention towards it
Transcript: Speaker 1 There’s obvious between those two options. I can show you how you’re optimally gripping in an abstract cognitive domain. A mammal goes by and most people will say there’s a dog. Why don’t they say they might, but typically, probabilistically, they’ll say there’s a dog. They could say there’s a German shepherd, there’s a mammal, there’s a living organism, there’s a police dog. Why there? Why do they stop in a rush called these basic level? Well, what you find is that’s an optimal grip because it’s getting you the best overall balance between similarity within your category and difference between the other categories. It’s allowing you to properly fit to that object insofar as you’re setting yourself up to, well, I’m getting so as many of the similarities and differences I can on balance because they’re in a tradeoff relationship that I need in order to probably interact with this mammal. That’s optimal grip, not right. It’s at the level of your categorization.
Speaker 2 You evolve these models of the world around you and on top of them, you do stuff like you build representations like you said. Yes. What’s the salience landscape? Salience meaning a tension landscape.
Speaker 1 Salience is what grabs your attention or what results from you directing your attention. I put my hands, that’s salient, it grabs your attention. Your attention is drawn to it as bottom up. I can also say you left big toe and now it’s salient to you because you directed your attention towards it that’s top down. Again, opponent processing going on
Opt
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G
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Ele
an
:
I
can
show
you
how
you
’
re
opt
imately
gri
pping
in
an
abstract
cognitive
domain
.
Ok
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5/18/2023
Natural Selection and cognition: pruning ideas between task/defaultMode network
Summary: What we’re talking about is how you are doing something very analogous to evolution. So if you think about that, adaptivity isn’t in the organism or in the environment, but in a dynamical relation. And then what does evolution do? It creates variation, and then it puts selective pressure.
Transcript: Speaker 2 Realization. Let’s define stuff. Relevance realization. Yes. What are the inputs and the outputs of this thing? What is it? What are we talking about?
Speaker 1 What we’re talking about is how you are doing something very analogous to evolution. So if you think about the adaptivity isn’t in the organism or in the environment, but in a dynamical relation, and then what does evolution do? It creates variation and then it puts selective pressure. What that does is that changes the niche constructions that are available to a species. It
Natural
Selection
and
cognition
:
pr
uning
ideas
between
task
/
default
Mode
network
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What
we
’
re
talking
about
is
how
you
are
doing
something
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5/18/2023
Is Relevance Realization Dependent on Representations?
Summary: Relevance realization refers to constraints on how you are paying attention. For me, that is a much more primordial process than any sort of belief we have. So it depends what you mean by assumptions. If by assumption you mean a proposition, representation or rule, i think that’s much more downstream from relevance realization.
Transcript: Speaker 1 It depends what you mean by assumptions. If by assumption you mean a proposition, representational or rule, I think that’s much more downstream from relevance realization. I think relevance realization refers to again, constraints on how you are paying attention. And so for me talking about framing is talking about this process you’re doing right now of salient landscaping. What’s salient to you? And how is what salient constantly shifting in a sort of a dynamic tapestry? And how are you shaping yourself to the way that salience landscaping is aspectualizing the world, shaping it into aspects for interaction? For me that is a much more primordial process than any sort of a belief. So we have. And here’s why. If we mean by beliefs, you know, a representational proposition, then we’re in this very problematic position because then we’re trying to say that propositions are ultimately responsible for how we do relevance realization. And that’s problematic because representations presuppose relevance realization. So I represent this as a cup. The number of properties it actually has and that I even have epistemic access to is combinatorial explosive. I select from those a subset and how they are relevant to each other insofar as they are relevant for me. This doesn’t have to be a cup. I could be using it as a hat. I can use it to stand for the letter V. All kinds of different things. I could say this was the 10th billion object made in North America, right? Representations presuppose relevance realization. They are right. They are therefore dependent on it, which means relevance realization isn’t bound to our representational structures. It can be influenced by them, but they are ultimately dependent on relevance realization.
Speaker 2 Let’s define stuff. Relevance realization. Yes. What are the inputs and the outputs of this thing? What is it? What are we talking about?
Is
Re
lev
ance
Real
ization
Dep
endent
on
Represent
ations
?
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Re
lev
ance
realization
refers
to
constraints
on
how
you
are
paying
attention
.
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5/18/2023
What Happened After 2012?
Summary: My theory worked so well until Donald Trump, where we just had this potty mouth and this id and this angry charlatan. And I think that that’s part of the larger transformation. Paul Ryan on his interview with him sort of touched on that after 2012,. When he and Mitt Romney were defeated and were surprised and the base was surprised that the voters just decided they wanted a different kind of candidate.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Until Donald Trump.
Speaker 2 I was gonna just say until Donald Trump. So what happened? Like, my theory worked so well until Donald Trump, where we just had this potty mouth and this id and this angry charlatan. And I think that that’s part of the larger transformation. And this was something that I think Paul Ryan on my interview with him sort of touched on that after 2012, when he and Mitt Romney were defeated and were surprised and the base was surprised that the voters just decided they wanted a different kind of candidate. They wanted somebody who was going to be truculent. They wanted somebody who was going to be, you know, punch the right people in the face. But you’re right, you know, Donald Trump inverts that whole thing. Remember, we used to say, well, you know, you want to have a beer with Bill Clinton. I mean, I don’t want to have a beer with Donald Trump. Or DeSantis. Right. As you were saying, you know, the people with, you know, the backstage personalities, there’s also another kind of politician that has been successful that I’ve noticed. People who basically don’t have a backstage personality. That’s what I meant. I meant Bill Clinton. No, but I mean, there’s literally nothing there. I mean, there are people who are like sociopaths. I mean, it’s like the one thing. There is no internal life. There is no shame. They’re a little bit pathological. They have no real conscience. They can become anything they
What
Happ
ened
After
2012
?
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My
theory
worked
so
well
until
Donald
Trump
,
where
we
just
had
this
pot
ty
mouth
and
this
id
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5/18/2023
The Negatives of Marriage
Summary: Darwin made a list of the pros and cons of marriage when he was 29 years old. The positives are things like someone to come home to, maybe companionship. negatives include stuck with their relatives, socializing with them,. expenses of childbearing and child rearing.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Sure. So, Darwin was 29 years old. He’d taken his trip on the beagle and he was thinking about settling down. So he wasn’t sure it was a good idea. And being a rational person, he made a list of the pros and cons of marriage. It’s a really embarrassing list for starters. At one point, he says a wife would be better than a dog anyway to come home to a very low bar.
Speaker 2 This is great. One can be thankful he wasn’t test piloting this on Twitter because we would not have had the origin of species. Exactly.
Speaker 1 He’d be done. It’s a low bar even in the 19th century. But so there’s a little bit of this embarrassing. When you look over the list and it’s a little bit disorganized, I reorganized it a bit in the book. When you look at it, the negatives of marriage are both more numerous and more serious. The positives are things like someone to come home to, maybe companionship. The negatives are things like stuck with their relatives, socializing with them, the expenses of childbearing and child rearing,
The
Neg
atives
of
Marriage
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Dar
win
made
a
list
of
the
pros
and
cons
of
marriage
when
he
was
29
years
old
.
The
positives
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5/18/2023
The basic commands: Get post put delete
Summary: For slack, it’s not just a single yorel to rule them all. It’s usually going to be more granular than that. Different yorels for different jobs. As part of that api call, there’s some sort of authentication. So who are you to get a message into chad slack? Not just anybody can do that. There might be a create user uor and all those end points exist that are to sitting theire listening. got what the headers in that uorl.
Transcript: Speaker 1 You’ve got what the headers in that uorl. We can be very specific and say things like, it’s the status yur, it’s the status you are, all right? There might be a message you r. There might be a create user uor and all those end points exist that are to sitting theire listening. So for slack, it’s not just a single yorel to rule them all. It’s usually going to be more granular than that. Different yorels for different jobs. So then, as part of that api call, there’s some sort of authentication. So who are you to get a message into chad slack? Not just anybody can do that. It’s usually some sort of token that that’s exchanged a secret between those two srvices. So that slack nose, this is a legitate message coming from google calendar, not some evil thing trying to sneak messages into chat slack. What else? The pay load itself, which is like a structure data file that is, you know, maybe what exactly you want that message to say.
Speaker 2 It’ll probably come with some authentication stuff in the headers too, yes.
Speaker 1 So you’ve got all the authentication stuff to make sure that you’re supposed to be in there. And then what that message actually is, or what that status actually should be, basically everything that slack needs to consume that and then make the up date according to what google calendar has sent it. Covered it.
The
basic
commands
:
Get
post
put
delete
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For
slack
,
it
’
s
not
just
a
single
y
ore
l
to
rule
them
all
.
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5/18/2023
Different urls for different jobs
Summary: The pay load is laid out in a very specific way. It’s usually made up of four things, and you can correct me if i’m wrong, or add any other seasoning here that i’m missing. So that a pi call has to go to a specific url. For slack, it’s not just a single yorel to rule them all. Different yorels for different jobs. There might be a create user uor and all those end points exist that are to sitting theire listening. And any time somebody throws stuff at it, it’s going to take that in and process it.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Framework of exactly what one system has to give the other system in order to move that data from a to be right? That’s typically done in jason, right? So you’ve got a pay load, if you will, that’s laid out in a very specific way. It’s usually made up of, i think, four things, and you can correct me if i’m wrong, or add any other seasoning here that i’m missing. So that a pi call has to go to a specific url. So let’s use the google calendar to slack example. So in that situation, slack would extend what you would call an end point, and that’s a url address where google calendar will send all that information to. So that slack u, or all that n points just hanging out, listening for stuff. And any time somebody throws stuff at it, it’s going to take that in and process it. So y got the oril. You’ve got what the headers in that uorl. We can be very specific and say things like, it’s the status yur, it’s the status you are, all right? There might be a message you r. There might be a create user uor and all those end points exist that are to sitting theire listening. So for slack, it’s not just a single yorel to rule them all. It’s usually going to be more granular than that. Different yorels for different jobs. So then, as part of that api call, there’s some sort of authentication. So who are you to get a
D
ifferent
ur
ls
for
different
jobs
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The
pay
load
is
laid
out
in
a
very
specific
way
.
It
’
s
usually
made
up
of
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5/18/2023
How an api call works
Summary: A single api call is like a hand off of data from one system to that other system. In my world of venal managing accounting for a bunch of people, that’s entering a hundred bills into a bill pay ap and all those things getting pushed automatically back to the accounting system via theapi of the accounting system. An that’s a mass of time savor for us, cause we don’t have to enter it in both systems, but it’s all happening through the API.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Which there’s like, what, you know, what the softor companies will call integrations, which, as most people know, can mean a myriad of different things. But, ye, i guess any situation where you’re getting data from one ap to another ap in an automated way, which is kind of e in many ways. The whole premise of the cloud the ability to have this like, kind of woven infer structure of all these things that are able to talk to each other. And it’s definitely better than the olden days, but doesn’t always pull all that stuff together just the way you’d like it to. But in my world of venal managing accounting for a bunch of people, that’s entering a hundred bills into a bill pay ap, and all those things getting pushed automatically back to the accounting system via the api of the accounting system. An that’s a mass of time savor for us, cause we don’t have to enter it in both systems, but it’s all happening through the api. In that situation of the accounting softweare merdre maybe wel make sense from here as breaking down how an api call works in a very simple way. So a single api call is like a hand off of data from one system to that other system. And any time you have ant api call, there’s kind of an agreed upon framework of exactly
How
an
api
call
works
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A
single
api
call
is
like
a
hand
off
of
data
from
one
system
to
that
other
system
.
In
my
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5/18/2023
Apis overview
Summary: Jason: I was a pretty big scetic on automation, from pretty much two thousand 13 to two thousand 19. That’s what changed for me as just started playing around with it whet. So to day we pull back the curtain on the innernet. We’re talking about a p s, the thing that makes the thing you put into one thing go into the other things that you wanted to go into. It can be off putting, because you can totally cruise past an important thing where people aren’t familiar with that.
Transcript: Speaker 2 Jason, what brings us here to day?
Speaker 1 Well, let’s talk hit’s gon be theediffernt. Let’s talk fundamentals, and kind of some of the vernacular that gets thrown around when we talk about building these things where there’s a certain corner stone things that aren’t really complex, but i think you have to have a base level understanding of i can remember when we started thinking about those base level things.
Speaker 2 I was a pretty big scetic on automation, from pretty much two thousand 13 to two thousand 19. Well, yethere is, there was a time when youdt you see people talking about automation, and you kind of curl your eyes up a bit, and then all of a sudden you start getting into it yourself. And then that turns intou thits actually kind of cool, eh? Whand ar, all these cool people actually getting intos. That’s what changed for me as just started playing around with it whet.
Speaker 1 I think those corner stone things can be sort of gatekeeper, and not always necessarily in an intentional way. But people here these little acenems and that sort of thing. And it can be off putting, because you can get, you can totally cruise past, you know, maybe an important thing where people aren’t familiar with that. So i think to day we start with what i’d say is probably the biggest, like, most cor thing to start with. I think we should talk about a ps. Let’s do it. I’m jason. Im jud the internet. It’s all around. Now, look to your right. How does it work? We just figured it out. So to day we pull back the curtain on the innernet. We’re talking about a p s, the thing that makes the thing you put into one thing go into the other thing that you wanted to go into, without having to pop quizd im jhad, what does api stand for? Application programming in her facek, i didn’t actually know. I had to goggle it. Did you really? No. I just thought it was sappiera, sappie that do you mean? What do you know about api? Cad, explain it to me. Lke, i’m five. And then maybe after that, explain it like we’re ten. Ok, i’ll do the five year old. You do the ten year old. Let’s see how this one goess, if i was telling
Ap
is
overview
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Jason
:
I
was
a
pretty
big
sc
etic
on
automation
,
from
pretty
much
two
thousand
13
to
two
thousand
19
.
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5/18/2023
Is There a Case to Be Made Against Living Forever?
Summary: Kurzweil: Death is not something to celebrate, but we’ve lived in a world where people just accept this. If you have somebody that lives to 100 years old, we still love them in return. There’s no limitation to that. In fact, these kinds of trends are going to provide greater and greater opportunity for everybody - even if we have more people.
Transcript: Speaker 2 Is there a case to be made against living forever that a finite life that mortality is a feature, not a bug, that living a shorter, so dying makes ice cream taste delicious, makes life intensely beautiful more than it’s a life to be believed that way?
Speaker 1 Except if you present a death of anybody they care about or love, they find that extremely depressing. I know people who feel that way 20, 30, 40 years later, they still want them back. Death is not something to celebrate, but we’ve lived in a world where people just accept this. Life is short. You see it all the time on TV. Life is short. You have to take advantage of it. Nobody accepts the fact that you could actually go beyond normal lifetimes, but anytime we talk about death or a death of a person, even one death is a terrible tragedy. If you have somebody that lives to 100 years old, we still love them in return. There’s no limitation to that. In fact, these kinds of trends are going to provide greater and greater opportunity for everybody, even if we have more people.
Speaker 2 So let me ask about an alien species or a super intelligent AI 500 years from now that will look back. And remember Ray Kurzweil version zero, before the replicants spread, how do you hope they remember you in a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy summary of Ray Kurzweil? What do you hope your legacy is?
Is
There
a
Case
to
Be
Made
Against
Living
Forever
?
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K
urz
we
il
:
Death
is
not
something
to
celebrate
,
but
we
’
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Check out this episode of Lex Fridman Podcast all about #
Life⁠
⁠
A short summary and the audio: #
poverty⁠
⁠
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5/18/2023
Is Life Getting Better? Opinion vs reality
Summary: I think there’s a kind of cynicism about… even if you look at extreme poverty, for example. I have 50 charts in there where everything is getting better. And also, when it becomes cheap and It will be affordable, I probably would not be the first person to put something in my brain to connect to computers.
Transcript: Speaker 1 And also, when it becomes cheap and it will be affordable, I probably would not be the first person to put something in my brain to connect to computers. Because I think it will have limitations, but once it’s really perfected, at that point, it will be pretty inexpensive. I think it will be pretty affordable.
Speaker 2 So in which other ways, as you outline your book, is life getting better? Because I think… Well, I mean, I have 50 charts in there where everything is getting better. I think there’s a kind of cynicism about… Even if you look at extreme poverty, for example. For example, this is actually a poll taken on extreme poverty.
Speaker 1 And the people were asked, has poverty gotten better or worse?
Speaker 2 And the options are increased by 50%, increased by 25%, remain the same, decreased by 25%, decreased by 50%. If you’re watching this or listening to this, try to vote for yourself.
Speaker 1 70% thought it had gotten worse. And that’s the general impression. 88% thought it had gotten worse or remained the same. Only 1% thought it decreased by 50%.
Is
Life
Getting
Better
?
Opinion
vs
reality
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I
think
there
’
s
a
kind
of
cyn
icism
about
…
even
if
you
look
at
extreme
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5/18/2023
Language Models
Summary: i be turn us into something that would be like we have a phone, but it would be in our minds. It would be kind of instantaneous. And maybe communication between two people would not require this low bandwots mechanism of language. We don’t know what thet would be,. although we do know the computers can share information like language instantly. They can share many, many books and in y second. So we could do that as well. If you look at what our brain does, it actually can manipulate different parometers. So we talk about these large language models. A i i think, i mean, they’re going to get permission for this, because there’s a lot
Transcript: Speaker 1 It doesn’t have the bandwidth that we need. Yet. Right. But I think they’re going to get permissioned for this because there are a lot of people who absolutely need it because they can’t communicate. I know a couple of people like that who have ideas and they cannot, they cannot move their muscles and so on. They can’t communicate. So for them this would be very valuable. But we could all use it. Basically it would be turn us into something that would be like we have a phone but it would be in our minds, it would be kind of instantaneous.
Speaker 2 And maybe communication between two people would not require this low bandwidth mechanism of language. Yes.
Speaker 1 A spoken word. Exactly. That would be, although we do know that computers can share information like language instantly. They can share many, many books in a second so we could do that as well. If you look at what our brain does it actually can manipulate different parameters. So we talk about these large language models.
Language
Models
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i
be
turn
us
into
something
that
would
be
like
we
have
a
phone
,
but
it
would
be
in
our
minds
.
It
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5/18/2023
Do you have the problem I could solve
Summary: “I get the constant pattern of people saying, a, they want to use a product like i’m offering,” he says. “They haven’t already because they none of the offerings like appeal to them.” He adds: “So in my head, i use that feedback to say, all right, i get the constantpattern of people saying,. they want to use … but b, they haven’t already”
Transcript: Speaker 1 Seem a little old school. And I’ll say, tell me about that. Why do you think that they seem old school to you? Why do you think they seem archaic and not like new and they’ll tell me they’ll tell me all these types of reasons? And so in my head, I use that feedback to say, all right, I get this constant pattern of people saying, A, they want to use a product like I’m offering, but B, they haven’t already because they, none of the offerings, like appeal to them because they’re not new and they want something that’s a little, or because they’re all old and they want something a little new looking. So anyway, what I’m constantly doing on these calls is I’m trying to get them to tell me if they do or do not have the problem that they’re solved that I’m trying to solve. And so the second thing that I then do is I try to close them. And when I close them, I kind of typically get them to sell me. And so typically what I’ll do is, well, this product, if you used it, how much do you think it would help you? And oftentimes they’ll tell me, well, it would help me by doing X, Y, and Z. And I’ll say to myself, or I’ll say to them, well, how much value would that bring to you, like numerically, like what type of revenue, what type of time would it save you? Well, if I joined one of these things, it would save me this much money and this must time and it would help this, this, and this. And then at the end of the call, I say, all right, well, look, I’m all new. Offering this, I’m
Do
you
have
the
problem
I
could
solve
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Summary
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“
I
get
the
constant
pattern
of
people
saying
,
a
,
they
want
to
use
a
product
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5/18/2023
Make: the basics
Summary: Everybody’s on their own journey and people learn at different speeds. So for me, i chose the i’m actually not going to think about automations for years. But then i just remember, like, solving my own problems here, having some fun. That’s what gave me hope for learning make.
Transcript: Speaker 2 Into the really, really teky things. But then i just remember, like, solving my own problems here, having some fun. Nd, i think that’s what it’s really all about. Everybody’s on their own journey and people learn at different speeds. So for me, i chose the i’m actually not going to think about automations for years. I think people in our space, we’re doing that for a little while, before, at least i ever thought about using it with any sense of purpose. And then when you start getting into some problems that no one else around you is helping with you, then are almost forced to figure it out, either yourself or to ask for help. And like, different personalities approach things differently. So for me, it was, ok, i’ll figure this out and maybe pay some other people along the way to learn how to do this thing. Hos solution was, i want tog talk to a computer to solve this problem instead of a person. Maybe i’ll talk through computer at a person over upwork or fiveor to augment those skills about like cotos to people that are putting out youtube content, putting in tatorials, like just helping other people as much as they can. That’s what gave me hope for learning make. Cause it can be a pretty big lift the first time you open it up. So let’s zoom out, like ten thousand foot view. What does make used to be in tagr mat?
Speaker 1 Can we just commit here to just never calling it integramat again, or just calling it mad going forward. Yes, its it’s a strach rate.
Speaker 2 It like when you
Make
:
the
basics
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Everybody
’
s
on
their
own
journey
and
people
learn
at
different
speeds
.
So
for
me
,
i
chose
the
i
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5/18/2023
Personal search - a key advantage to Google ecosystem
Summary: Gogle’s the biggest, bestest, most innovatovs web sight erl like a search engine in the galaxy. 85 % of the searches that the world does on google every day are things they’ve already seen. The first one really easy to do will open up google here in mosilla. By the way, they just release the new version of mosilla at mosilla dot org. They’re up to one point two, now a very, very good browser.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Pretty soon, with the help of padrank, google became a verb.
Speaker 3 And since everybody goes to them. They have statistics on what people search for and how they search for them. So they have this incredible statistical umph. You know, they get billions and billions and billions of searches every day, and only about 15 % of the searches that they see in a given day are new that they’ve never seen before. So 85 % of the searches that the world does on google every day are things they’ve already seen. They’ve seen that search before, and they can reproduce it type in some words. And here’s the stuff. Here’s access to human knowledge.
Speaker 5 Gogle’s the biggest, bestest, most innovatovs web sight erl like a search engine in the galaxy.
Speaker 1 Here’s a clip from a t v segment in the early two thousands, offering its fewers tips on how to search on gogal, the hot new search egine in town.
Speaker 5 So we’re here to pop you up with a few tricks that will bring that power back to your browser. Now, there’re seven tricks in total. The first one really easy to do. Will open up google here in mosilla. By the way, they just release the new version of mosilla at mosilla dot org. They’re up to one point two, now a very, very good browser.
Speaker 1 What a time numbers with google at our finger tips and the proliferation of search bars on every digital inner face, it felt like we had finally made it to the very top of human knowledge.
Speaker 3 And it felt like not a constrained experience. It felt like, oh, that’s done. That’s fixed. It works.
Personal
search
-
a
key
advantage
to
Google
ecosystem
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
G
ogle
’
s
the
biggest
,
best
est
,
most
innov
at
ov
s
web
sight
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5/18/2023
The Search Machine - memex on coda
Summary: In 19 forty five, vannyvert took to the page and dreamed up an imaginary, futuristic solution to the problem of search. The memixs would make search easier. There’d be a keyboard, viewing screens and storage space for all of human knowledge as long as it was on microfilm and could fit into a dust drawer. On the left side there would be all the information in the universe, and it would all have links. And then on the right side you would follow those links for the information you wanted. So the search became about connections within the what you were looking for.
Transcript: Speaker 4 There was no efficient way for people to pars through all that information.
Speaker 1 But venever was a big believer in the potential of machines.
Speaker 6 The analytical machine, which will supplement a man’s tinking methos, which will siek forit, it will have as great an effect on his grasp of the world and his access to darter and so on, as manipulationo will have as great an effect in that way as the invention of the machine way back took the load off of men by giving them mechanical power instead of the power of their musclesso.
Speaker 1 In 19 forty five, vannyvert took to the page and dreamed up an imaginary, futuristic solution to the problem of search, a machine called memix. The memixs would make search easier. It would look like a desk. There’d be a keyboard, viewing screens and storage space for all of human knowledge as long as it was on microfilm and could fit into a dust drawer.
Speaker 3 On the left side there would be all the information in the universe, and it would all have links. And then on the right side, you would follow those links for the information you wanted.
Speaker 1 So the search became about connections within the what you were looking for.
The
Search
Machine
-
mem
ex
on
c
oda
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
In
19
forty
five
,
v
anny
vert
took
to
the
page
and
dreamed
up
an
imaginary
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5/18/2023
The Power of Podcasting
Summary: I love that interview because if it had not been for the length of time and the discussion that went on for a while, you wouldn’t have gotten to that moment of revelation. I think in the media that’s played at me is these cartoonish characters. Maybe there’s a little more little complexity here. That’s what I like about podcasts. And also you have the ability to think in real time. In another medium, you need to have what your agenda is and stick to that agenda.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Not. And so that interview was really great, especially the last question I asked, which I didn’t expect to ask. And we talked about it last night was she goes, well, you know, I could have been something else. And I said, what could you view a Ben? And she started to describe a life she’d never live, right? And I thought I was teary. It was like, wow, you know, and again, of course she has responsibility, blah, blah, blah, but she was a kid. She was a kid. Like, in many ways, I have a son who’s older. Then she was at the time. And I love that interview because if it had not been for the length of time and the discussion that went on for a while, you wouldn’t have gotten to that moment of revelation that I think people rethought her. Like, oh, wait a minute, what I think in the media that’s played at me is these cartoonish characters. Maybe there’s a little more little complexity here. And that’s what I like about podcasts.
Speaker 2 And also you have the ability to think in real time. I don’t know whether you’ve ever changed your mind in the middle of a podcast, but this is something that you can’t do in another medium. In another medium, you need to have what your agenda is and stick to that agenda. I think one of the things about the podcast is one of your pockets is called pivot is that you can pivot right in the middle and go, okay, you know what, I, this is a completely different point of view or let’s go off on a different tangent that I wasn’t planning on talking about. I hadn’t thought of that.
Speaker 1 I mean, I was not expecting to talk with you about Monica Lewinsky. What’s interesting is Scott today,
The
Power
of
Podcast
ing
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
I
love
that
interview
because
if
it
had
not
been
for
the
length
of
time
and
the
discussion
that
went
on
 Show 496 more
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5/18/2023
The Power of Podcasting
Summary: I love that interview because if it had not been for the length of time and the discussion that went on for a while, you wouldn’t have gotten to that moment of revelation. I think in the media that’s played at me is these cartoonish characters. Maybe there’s a little more little complexity here. That’s what I like about podcasts. And also you have the ability to think in real time. In another medium, you need to have what your agenda is and stick to that agenda.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Not. And so that interview was really great, especially the last question I asked, which I didn’t expect to ask. And we talked about it last night was she goes, well, you know, I could have been something else. And I said, what could you view a Ben? And she started to describe a life she’d never live, right? And I thought I was teary. It was like, wow, you know, and again, of course she has responsibility, blah, blah, blah, but she was a kid. She was a kid. Like, in many ways, I have a son who’s older. Then she was at the time. And I love that interview because if it had not been for the length of time and the discussion that went on for a while, you wouldn’t have gotten to that moment of revelation that I think people rethought her. Like, oh, wait a minute, what I think in the media that’s played at me is these cartoonish characters. Maybe there’s a little more little complexity here. And that’s what I like about podcasts.
Speaker 2 And also you have the ability to think in real time. I don’t know whether you’ve ever changed your mind in the middle of a podcast, but this is something that you can’t do in another medium. In another medium, you need to have what your agenda is and stick to that agenda. I think one of the things about the podcast is one of your pockets is called pivot is that you can pivot right in the middle and go, okay, you know what, I, this is a completely different point of view or let’s go off on a different tangent that I wasn’t planning on talking about. I hadn’t thought of that.
Speaker 1 I mean, I was not expecting to talk with you about Monica Lewinsky. What’s interesting is Scott today,
The
Power
of
Podcast
ing
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
I
love
that
interview
because
if
it
had
not
been
for
the
length
of
time
and
the
discussion
that
went
on
 Show 496 more
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5/18/2023
The Future of the Planet
Summary: “The future of the planet is a big piece of the way I engineer and the way we talk about where designs are going,” he says. “I think I’ve been maybe reading a little too much about World War II, but man, I’d recommend you listen to some audio books or read some books on the Holocaust because it’s heavy.”
Transcript: Speaker 1 So I use the planet as a big, the future of the planet is a big piece of the way I engineer and the way we talk about where designs are going.
Speaker 2 The constraints on your design and engineering is given by the planet, by the future of the planet. Yes.
Speaker 1 That could almost make Jewish people like me again.
Speaker 2 Every time you say Jewish people, I think I’ve been maybe reading a little too much about World War II, but man, I’d recommend you listen to some audio books or read some books on the Holocaust because it’s heavy. It’s heavy. It will put into context the impact of your words.
Speaker 1 Would you read books on the current Holocaust that black people are in? I mean, I read what have you read about abortion?
Speaker 2 I’ve read a lot of short form writing and I’ve listened to a lot of debates because it’s really humbling that
The
Future
of
the
Planet
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
“
The
future
of
the
planet
is
a
big
piece
of
the
way
I
engineer
and
the
way
we
talk
about
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5/18/2023
The Future of the Planet
Summary: “The future of the planet is a big piece of the way I engineer and the way we talk about where designs are going,” he says. “I think I’ve been maybe reading a little too much about World War II, but man, I’d recommend you listen to some audio books or read some books on the Holocaust because it’s heavy.”
Transcript: Speaker 1 So I use the planet as a big, the future of the planet is a big piece of the way I engineer and the way we talk about where designs are going.
Speaker 2 The constraints on your design and engineering is given by the planet, by the future of the planet. Yes.
Speaker 1 That could almost make Jewish people like me again.
Speaker 2 Every time you say Jewish people, I think I’ve been maybe reading a little too much about World War II, but man, I’d recommend you listen to some audio books or read some books on the Holocaust because it’s heavy. It’s heavy. It will put into context the impact of your words.
Speaker 1 Would you read books on the current Holocaust that black people are in? I mean, I read what have you read about abortion?
The
Future
of
the
Planet
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
“
The
future
of
the
planet
is
a
big
piece
of
the
way
I
engineer
and
the
way
we
talk
about
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5/18/2023
You Don’t Need to Kiss Anyone’s Dick
Summary: “As somebody who cares for you, that yay, the artist formerly known as Kanye West doesn’t care about Jewish people,” he says. “You’re an engineer, brother. If you’re an engineer and you’re not holding to the truth, that’s not engineering.” He adds: “Engineers don’t do stereotypes. Stereotypes are dumb. They allow you to channel hate”.
Transcript: Speaker 2 As somebody cares for you and hopefully can be a friend. Yay. I got to say these words and the words about Jews is not the words of a samurai of a great man. I would say, you know, you said something that inspired that resonated with a lot of people when you said George Bush doesn’t care about black people. I have to say as somebody who cares for you, that yay, the artist formerly known as Kanye West doesn’t care about Jewish people. In the same way you spoke about George Bush being a politician and not giving a fuck about the poor people that suffered after Katrina, you’re not giving a fuck about the suffering of the Jewish people across the world.
Speaker 1 Why am I not?
Speaker 2 Because you’re feeding you giving strength, motivation to.
Speaker 1 We already updated. I gave it apology. You said it wasn’t good enough. Yeah, that’s right. It’s not you’re telling me. No, I’m not going to. You don’t need to kiss anyone’s dick.
Speaker 2 What you ask me to kiss is to say was wrong to say there’s no Jewish media. There’s no Jewish. There isn’t. There’s no control of the media by Jewish people.
Speaker 1 You’re an engineer, brother. If you’re an engineer and you’re not holding to the truth, that’s not engineering.
Speaker 2 Engineering is not that’s not that doesn’t that’s hate. That’s not engineering. Now, I’m going to build a better record label.
Speaker 1 It’s called Sarah.
Speaker 2 I’m going to respect our stereotypes. Stereotypes exist for a reason. Engineers don’t do stereotypes. I do. Stereotypes are dumb. They allow you to channel hate towards the other.
You
Don
’
t
Need
to
Kiss
Anyone
’
s
Dick
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
“
As
somebody
who
cares
for
you
,
that
y
ay
,
the
artist
formerly
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5/18/2023
I Don’t Like the Allowed Censorship
Summary: “We’re still the kids who used to be. I put my hand on the stove to see if I still bleed and nothing hurts anymore,” he says. “I went to Japan for two to three months, right? And it’s Pete Davidson bragging about being in bed with my wife.”
Transcript: Speaker 2 Oh, like Twitter and so on. Twitter. That has us to do. Drink champs that hurt you. That drink champs, uh, that no one took it down, took down your conversation. Oh, it didn’t hurt you. Man, you got to be honest about the pain.
Speaker 1 We’re still the kids who used to be. I put my hand on the stove to see if I still bleed and nothing hurts anymore. I feel kind free. No, I’m, do you think? You know, I, I went to Japan for two to three months, right? The day I had Sunday service, my kids are supposed to be there and my kids would know where to be found. And I text Kim and said, where are my kids? We get into an argument and then I get a text from a number I don’t know. And it’s Pete Davidson bragging about being in bed with my wife.
Speaker 2 Then just fucking with you.
Speaker 1 Well, at that point, it’s like they’re trying to put me in jail or put a friend of mine in jail because then I’m going to
I
Don
’
t
Like
the
All
owed
C
ens
orship
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
“
We
’
re
still
the
kids
who
used
to
be
.
I
put
my
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5/18/2023
I really do hate that man
Summary: Elon Musk: “We’re the top leaders. We’re more influential than the presidents” He says he considers engineering challenges to be opportunities in front of him. The two-hour interview airs tonight on CNN at 10 p.m. ET.
Transcript: Speaker 1 We are now, we are here, we are one species, we are one race, we’re here, and it’s time, and the leadership is changing because you have Elon as a leader, yay as a leader. And we’re the top leaders. We’re more influential than the presidents.
Speaker 2 So you’re a human being with engineering challenges before you, with a stunt player, with parlor, what’s the hardest thing in front of you on the engineering front?
Speaker 1 That’s the first sentence that any of our species needs to hear when they’re born. You are a human being when engineering challenges, and I consider challenges to be opportunities in front of you. Literally, like, let me see a piece of paper, I need to write that down. That’s the beginning of our new species constitution. I’m gonna do the paper like this, put it in the widescreen, this, this for Ridley. You are, now let me like you are a being with, in, jeering.
Speaker 2 Opportunities or challenges?
Speaker 1 Opportunities. I’m sorry, I don’t spell as good as John Legend. I have opportunities in before you. I like the before, because it can mean, actually it can mean forward or before you. This right here, I’ve always said I’m the top five writer in human existence, but this right here is pushing me to like number four, number three. It’s a good one. Because who would you say is the top, it’s top writer in human existence, we know who it is. That’s subjective.
Speaker 2 Who’s that? It’s factual though.
Speaker 1 It’s like, okay, who’s the top person in tech history? It’s not subjective. Wow. There’s a non subjective answer to both of those. Both of those people have influenced 30% of our existence.
I
really
do
hate
that
man
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
El
on
Musk
:
“
We
’
re
the
top
leaders
.
We
’
re
more
influential
than
the
presidents
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5/18/2023
The Biggest Mistake From the Past
Summary: I don’t 100% believe in anything, any concept of the future or any concept of history. History was just written by the victors. As an engineer, I love here you say that, but to push back history is not. The biggest mistake from the past that we keep making is looking at the past. Too much, giving too much value to the past, we are now. We are one species, we are one race, we’re here, and it’s time for change.
Transcript: Speaker 2 As an engineer, I love here you say that, but to push back history is not, the interpretation of history might be subjective, but history has some facts. And they’re useful to give a grounding to the way you do engineering.
Speaker 1 I don’t 100% believe in anything, any concept of the future or any concept of history, because history was just written by the victors.
Speaker 2 Yeah, that’s right.
Speaker 1 So if I see stuff happen on the day that later that day is reported wrong, so how wrong is something reported 1000 years ago? And why will we argue about something that’s not in the now? Because that’s the only thing that everyone can agree upon is that it is now right now.
Speaker 2 Yeah, well, you try not to make the mistakes of the past. That’s the usefulness of history, the limited usefulness of history. The biggest mistake from the past that we keep making is looking at the past. Too much, giving too much value to the past.
Speaker 1 Too much value to the past, we are now. We are now, we are here, we are one species, we are one race, we’re here, and it’s time, and the leadership is changing because you have Elon as a leader, yay as a leader.
The
Big
gest
Mist
ake
From
the
Past
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
I
don
’
t
100
%
believe
in
anything
,
any
concept
of
the
future
or
any
concept
 Show 386 more
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5/18/2023
Joe O’Day on CNN
Summary: Mitt Romney refused to endorse Mike Lee, a fellow Republican in Utah. Will Marshall: There’s a lot of heavy breathing about Mitt Romney’s lack of party loyalty. But have you noticed something, Will? That rule applies to everyone with one exception, one notable exception, Donald Trump. He says this is on the reason why people are paying attention to the Colorado race.
Transcript: Speaker 2 All right. So yesterday I wrote about Mitt Romney refusing to endorse Mike Lee and I want to talk about what’s going on in Utah which I think is just a fascinating story. Evan McMullen waging this independent campaign, actually doing way better than anyone thought he was going to be. But of course there’s a lot of heavy breathing about Mitt Romney’s lack of party loyalty. You know, how dare he not endorse a fellow Republican and there was, you know, I mean, there’s a lot of pressure on everybody to get in line, right? You know, it’s like, I will support the Republican nominee no matter who it is. And if you refuse to say that, then you’re obviously a rhino cock, right? But have you noticed something, Will? That rule applies to everyone with one exception, one notable exception, Donald Trump. Okay, so over the weekend, they’re the Republican Senate candidate in Colorado named Joe O’Day, who by the way, is in a competitive race there, goes on CNN and distances himself from Donald Trump. He wants to talk about other things. So Joe O’Day is in this very competitive race. There are pundits out there that think that this may be a sleeper race, that the control of the Senate may actually be determined by a Republican upset in Colorado. I’m not saying that’s going to happen. I’m just saying that this is on, you know, one of the reasons why people are paying attention to the Colorado race.
Speaker 6 So Joe O’Day goes on CNN and says this, Do you think what happened on January 6 should disqualify him from being president again?
Speaker 5 Look, I believe that the January 6 was a black eye on the country. I’ve been very vocal that I thought he should have done more to keep the violence from heading towards the Capitol. Maybe that was violent at the Capitol or tore something apart. They should be held accountable.
Joe
O
’
Day
on
CNN
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
M
itt
Romney
refused
to
endorse
Mike
Lee
,
a
fellow
Republican
in
Utah
.
Will
Marshall
:
There
’
 Show 482 more
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5/18/2023
What’s Different When We’re Reading in This Scanning Scrolling Way That Phones and Screens Demand?
Summary: We’re reading more words than ever. In some ways it’s paradise for readers for reading, but this gets a bit at this idea that we talked about at the beginning that reading is not any one thing. I’ve been doing a lot of work with colleagues like Naomi Barron who has an Oxford book called How We Read Now. My colleagues in Norway in the e-read network and we’re all trying to understand what are these characteristics of skimming, scanning, scrolling. And one of the things that is most obvious is that your ability to comprehend and sequence detail when you’re skimming or scanning goes out the door.
Transcript: Speaker 2 Let me ask you about how we use our phones because there’s something a little paradoxical here. On the one hand, we’re reading more words than ever. I mean, we’re constantly reading words. In some ways it’s paradise for readers for reading, but this gets a bit at this idea that we talked about at the beginning that reading is not any one thing. And we mentioned earlier scanning and I’d also bring into play here scrolling the fact that the screen moves while you’re looking at it. What have you learned in your research and the research of your colleagues about what is different when we’re reading in this scanning scrolling way that phones and screens demand?
Speaker 1 I’ve been doing a lot of work with colleagues like Naomi Barron who has an Oxford book called How We Read Now. My colleagues in Norway in the e-read network and we’re all trying to understand what are these characteristics of skimming, scanning, scrolling. And one of the things that is most obvious is that your ability to comprehend and sequence detail when you’re skimming or scanning goes out the door. Now, one of the things that goes out the door along with it is called comprehension monitoring. When we’re reading, let’s say print, by and large, this is not noticeable to yourself, but you’re checking. You’ve gone left, you’ve gone right, you’re always going a little ahead, but you’re also going back to check.
What
’
s
Different
When
We
’
re
Reading
in
This
Scan
ning
Sc
rolling
Way
That
Ph
ones
and
Sc
reens
Demand
?
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
We
’
 Show 453 more
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5/18/2023
Are You as Addict as Anyone?
Summary: Parents are inattentive too. What does that mean for children? So they are being given a constant model. And if you look at children, you’ll see that they are among other things, great imitators. One of the more horrifying aspects of that Goldilocks study was that John Hutton saw it.
Transcript: Speaker 1 You are as addicted as anyone. We all are.
Speaker 2 But I’m trying to get out with this question. Is you’re just bringing up how different it is for the child to have the parents’ attention? And the parents are inattentive too. What does that mean for children?
Speaker 1 So they are being given a constant model. And if you look at children, you’ll see that they are among other things, great imitators. So one of the more horrifying aspects of that Goldilocks study that I told you where parents came in and read to their child or they saw it. Well, one of the things that happened was that John Hutton saw
Are
You
as
Add
ict
as
Anyone
?
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
Parent
s
are
in
att
ent
ive
too
.
What
does
that
mean
for
children
?
So
they
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5/18/2023
The iPad and Parenting - What Is It All About?
Summary: I grew up with TV. Streaming is totally different because anything can be on it any minute. The iPad is like a whole other level of engagement for my son. I was thinking about how my engagement with screens means that there’s always a possibility of something at least plausibly really interesting. And kids are often no offense to them quite boring. They need you to sit around doing a lot of things that are not the most engaging thing that I could possibly imagine doing. It’s funny. I think there’s something almost comforting about putting this on the kids.
Transcript: Speaker 2 It’s funny. I think there’s something almost comforting about putting this on the kids. And I promise I won’t spend the whole time we have together on parenting. But this is something that occurred to me in an unpleasant way of reading your chapters about children, which is it’s easy to talk about the way kids growing up with modern screens. I grew up with TV. Streaming is totally different because anything can be on it any minute. The iPad is like a whole other level of engagement for my son. But it’s true for the parents too. I was thinking about how my engagement with screens means that there’s always a possibility of something at least plausibly really interesting. And kids are often no offense to them quite boring. They need you to sit around doing a lot of things that are not the most engaging thing that I could possibly imagine doing.
The
iPad
and
Parent
ing
-
What
Is
It
All
About
?
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
I
grew
up
with
TV
.
Streaming
is
totally
different
because
anything
can
be
 Show 289 more
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5/18/2023
The Same Formula That Casino Gamblers Use to Make a Gambler Addict
Summary: The same formula that casino gamblers use to give intermittent reinforcement plus those ways of engagement so that the child is addicted. The same things that are making a gambler addicted in a very small way that’s happening with our children. It’s unnerving and it’s also there’s a certain unconscionable aspect that has happened.
Transcript: Speaker 1 It’s unnerving and it’s also there’s a certain unconscionable aspect that has happened. And that is that those of us who really believed that, and I know you and I actually believe similarly 10, 12 years ago that the forces of the good would prevail with this medium and this culture. But what has happened is that profit and other motivations have not just made sure that engagement was taking place, but that the same formula that casino gamblers use to give intermittent reinforcement plus those ways of engagement so that the child is addicted. But what you said, and I’ll return back to your child, is that he can’t focus the same in the ways that you would hope. And that’s because he’s hyperstimulated. He is being molded. The same things that are making a gambler addicted in a very small way that’s happening with our children. So those of us who are studying this from the neuro science viewpoint, like John Hutton, we can tell you, I can tell you right now what we call the Goldilocks study, where a parent reads a story. The same story is then in an audio form and just heard by the child.
The
Same
Formula
That
Casino
Gam
bl
ers
Use
to
Make
a
Gam
bler
Add
ict
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​
Summary
:
​
​
The
same
formula
that
casino
gam
bl
ers
use
to
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5/18/2023
Screen Time for a Four Year Old
Summary: I was thinking about this reading your book. So I have two sons, one’s one year old and one is almost four. And I was thinking about how for a four-year-old it isn’t his distractedness that worries me, it’s his focus. Since he got a brother screen time rules are not what they once were in my house. There is so little he can pay attention to for long periods except the screen.
Transcript: Speaker 2 I was thinking about this reading your book. So I have two sons, one’s one year old and one is almost four. And I was thinking about how for a four year old it isn’t his distractedness that worries me, it’s his focus. And I say this because particularly since he got a brother screen time rules are not what they once were in my house and it’s on these on all the time but it’s so noticeable with a little kid. There is so little he can pay attention to for long periods except the screen.
Screen
Time
for
a
Four
Year
Old
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​
Summary
:
​
​
I
was
thinking
about
this
reading
your
book
.
So
I
have
two
sons
,
one
’
s
one
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5/18/2023
Screen Time for a Four Year Old & cocomelon
Summary: I was thinking about this reading your book. There is so little he can pay attention to for long periods except the screen. I mean in a weird way, like the natural state of the kid should be distracted. It’s unnerving and it’s also there’s a certain unconscionable aspect that has happened.
Transcript: Speaker 2 I was thinking about this reading your book. So I have two sons, one’s one year old and one is almost four. And I was thinking about how for a four year old it isn’t his distractedness that worries me, it’s his focus. And I say this because particularly since he got a brother screen time rules are not what they once were in my house and it’s on these on all the time but it’s so noticeable with a little kid. There is so little he can pay attention to for long periods except the screen. I was reading in this wonderful newspaper that hosts this podcast. There was a feature about Coco Mellon which is this show of functionally animated nursery rhymes that like two and three year olds love and adults hate. But they talk about in this feature how they have set up a room, the place that makes Coco Mellon where they will have a kid watching the show and set up next to it is another screen that shows an adult just doing normal household tasks. Just sort of wandering around doing whatever you do in the house. And if the child becomes distracted from Coco Mellon by what the adult is doing, they go back to the edit and they amp up the interestingness, the cuts, the whatever makes a Coco Mellon episode interesting. And it was so dystopic, right? The level of engineering. I mean the hyper saturation of the color is a constant cuts. And so I mean a little bit like, you know, hyper sugary cereal or whatever, what his system is learning to find worth paying attention to, right? Then like how hard it is for the world to measure up to that as it is for me. I’m going to bring this to me in a second. So don’t I’m not just putting this on little kids. But I know every time I put them there, it is training, right? It is training about what’s interesting and what’s not. I mean in a weird way, like the natural state of the kid should be distracted. I can’t have him distracted all the time because I sometimes need to like clean dishes. But it is really unnerving.
Speaker 1 It’s unnerving and it’s also there’s a certain unconscionable aspect that has happened. And that is that those of us who really believed that, and I know you and I actually believe similarly 10, 12 years ago that the forces of the good would prevail with this medium and this culture. But what has happened is that profit and other motivations have not just made sure that engagement was taking place, but that the same formula that casino gamblers use to give intermittent reinforcement plus those ways of engagement so that the child is addicted. But what you said, and I’ll return back to your child, is that he can’t focus the same in the ways that you would hope. And that’s because he’s hyperstimulated. He is being molded. The same things that are making a gambler addicted in a very small way that’s happening with our children. So those of us who are studying this from the neuro science viewpoint, like John Hutton, we can tell you, I can tell you right now what we call the Goldilocks study, where a parent reads a story. The same story is then in an audio form and just heard by the child. This is a three year old or a four year old, or it’s animated in a screen. Well, you know that they are paying very close attention to that screen. But what you don’t know is if you do or look at the activation of the language regions of the brain, under all three of those circumstances, language is being activated most by when a parent or caretaker is reading that same story. The passivity is gone out the window. There is an interactive nature to it. And there is a use of their language knowledge and their background knowledge that’s coming to bear more forcefully in that print situation and more passively in the screen situation. And so of course you have differences in concentration. You have differences in attention. Walter Benjamin said that boredom is the hatch bird of the imagination. Well, our children, the first thing they do after they go off the screen is say, I’m bored, but this is not Walter Benjamin’s boredom. This is boredom that seeks to, if you will, assuage its need for hyper stimulation by getting more. This is something that we must figure out.
Screen
Time
for
a
Four
Year
Old
&
coc
om
elon
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​
Summary
:
​
​
I
was
thinking
about
this
reading
your
book
.
There
is
so
little
he
can
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5/18/2023
Cognitive Patience Is a Capacity That Can Be Learned
Key takeaways:
There is a term called the novelty bias and this is a reflex that goes back to our huntergatherer days in which to see what was unusual was to preserve our life.
Now that novelty reflex is being hyperstimulated from infancy on and this is causing problems for children.
Parents need to be more aware of how screens are affecting their children and try to limit their exposure to screens.
Transcript: Speaker 1 There’s a term that people use in this area called the novelty bias and that’s a reflex that goes all the way back to our hunter-gatherer days in which to see what was unusual was to preserve our life, whether it was a predator that we were able to avoid or make a strategy to avoid or whether it’s something that we could eat and not be poisoned, but survival itself dependent on that novelty reflex. Now that novelty reflex is now being hyperstimulated from infancy on and I make a really hard point with my pediatric colleagues like Barry Zuckerman and John Hutton from Cincinnati, all of these people are really trying hard to insist we don’t endure our children to distraction and novelty because they are complete victims to the novelty reflex. Everything distracts them and they are becoming hyperstimulated. So even though you were talking about cognitive patients being formed, I will say it’s being malformed, disformed from the start by parents not realizing that these screens are not babysitters but that they are shaping the demand for attention and novelty in our young.
C
ognitive
Pat
ience
Is
a
Capacity
That
Can
Be
Learn
ed
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​
Key
take
aways
:
​
​
There
is
a
term
called
the
novelty
bias
and
this
is
a
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5/18/2023
The Newness Bias
Summary: I want to bring this back in the way of neuroplasticity. You talk at times about the opposite of cognitive impatience which is cognitive patience. But when we exist in a digital world in particular that is so constantly assaulting us with novelty, what I understand happens to the mind is it begins to expect and even crave novelty. And so this is one of the places where I have a real fear about myself, about my sons, about my society, that we are training ourselves away from cognitive patience. It’s not just for some people a virtue, but it’s also a capacity.
Transcript: Speaker 2 Let me hold you there because I want to question the word want and I want to bring this back in the way to neuroplasticity. You talk at times about the opposite of cognitive impatience which is cognitive patience. But when we exist in a digital world in particular that is so constantly assaulting us with novelty, what I understand happens to the mind is it begins to expect and even crave novelty. And so this is one of the places where I have a real fear about myself, about my sons, about my society, that we are training ourselves, are training our minds away from cognitive patience which isn’t just maybe it is for some people a virtue, but it’s also a capacity.
The
New
ness
B
ias
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Summary
:
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​
I
want
to
bring
this
back
in
the
way
of
neuro
pl
astic
ity
.
You
talk
at
times
about
the
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5/18/2023
We’re Not Passing on Our Best Thoughts
Summary: “The very bombardment, the very volume is causing people ultimately to go only to the familiar sources of that information,” he says. “And then they become calcified into thinking in those, if you will, reduced terms which by and large, this is the term used by many people.”
Transcript: Speaker 1 So the very bombardment, the very volume is causing people ultimately to go only to the familiar sources of that information. And then they become calcified into thinking in those, if you will, reduced terms which by and large, this is the term used by many people, is part of the confirmatory bias characteristic that’s happening with information. You go to your familiar source, you don’t try on other perspectives, it’s too much.
We
’
re
Not
Pass
ing
on
Our
Best
Thoughts
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​
Summary
:
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​
“
The
very
bomb
ard
ment
,
the
very
volume
is
causing
people
ultimately
to
go
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5/18/2023
We Live in a World of Information
Summary: I wonder if there isn’t an answer to what I think should be understood as a quite profound mystery of our age in that. And this is a suspicion I’ve had for a bit. So we live in this age in which one of the fundamental scare cities of all of human civilization and existence has been lifted, which is information. The amount of information any individual being had access to a hundred years ago to say nothing of a thousand was so minuscule, so bounded compared to what is possible for us to know now,. To share now, to access now. Something of the early utopian beliefs about the internet would come true.
Transcript: Speaker 2 I wonder if there isn’t an answer to what I think should be understood as a quite profound mystery of our age in that. And this is a suspicion I’ve had for a bit. So we live in this age in which one of the fundamental scare cities of all of human civilization and existence has been lifted, which is information. The amount of information any individual being had access to a hundred years ago to say nothing of a thousand was so minuscule, so bounded compared to what is possible for us to know now, to share now, to access now. And so you would think having lifted the constraint on what we can know and what we can share that you would see something economic growth, the depth of our democracies, our societal wisdom and humaneness accelerate, right? Something of the early utopian beliefs about the internet would come true.
We
Live
in
a
World
of
Information
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​
Summary
:
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​
I
wonder
if
there
isn
’
t
an
answer
to
what
I
think
should
be
understood
as
a
quite
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5/18/2023
Learning to Read
Summary: Aristotelian perspective: Where are our best insights? The brain was activated everywhere it would seem. All these different regions in both hemispheres. We’re making new connections and those new connections are the basis of novel thought. That’s what we want for everyone to have as a piece of what it means to learn to read.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Just the same thing that you experienced on a plane, writ large, writ across everyone. Where are our best insights? Where are we going to have the space and time to give that next generation the full sum of our wisdom? So that’s the Aristotelian perspective. The second one is a mocogum neuroscience one and there was this one amazing set of researchers who were trying to deal with what’s the insight experience we have. What they found was that the brain was activated everywhere it would seem. All these different regions in both hemispheres. I find the humor in that actually very helpful in understanding what you are talking about because it illustrates that when we reach that state we are activating all we know and going beyond it. We’re making new connections and those new connections are the basis of novel thought and that’s what we want for everyone to have as a piece of what it means to learn to read.
Learning
to
Read
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Summary
:
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A
rist
ot
el
ian
perspective
:
Where
are
our
best
insights
?
The
brain
was
activated
everywhere
it
would
seem
.
All
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5/18/2023
What Is That State?
Summary: Aristotle said there are three lives to a good society. The first life is the life of productivity and knowledge, he says. He’s the word contemplation. Now that is a perspective, let’s call it the Aristotelian perspectives.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Well, first I’m so glad that you understand your own insight and I want to give you two completely different perspectives on this. So you and I are going to do what the brain does. You’re going to do some heavy duty interactive associations of two different perspectives on your question. The first one is Aristotle. Aristotle was writing about what makes a good society and he said there are three lives to a good society. The first life is the life of productivity and knowledge and a cruel of information. The second life that is in the Greek sense leisure entertainment when it has to have that. He said the third life that is essential is the life of reflection. He’s the word contemplation. Now that is a perspective, let’s call it the Aristotelian
What
Is
That
State
?
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
A
rist
otle
said
there
are
three
lives
to
a
good
society
.
The
first
life
is
the
life
of
productivity
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5/18/2023
The Aristotelian Perspective
Summary: Aristotle said there are three lives to a good society. The first life is the life of productivity and knowledge, he says. A second life that is in the Greek sense leisure entertainment when it has to have that. He’s the word contemplation. So where are our best insights? Where are we going to have the space and time to give that next generation the full sum of our wisdom? We don’t realize how important it is to insight.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Well, first I’m so glad that you understand your own insight and I want to give you two completely different perspectives on this. So you and I are going to do what the brain does. You’re going to do some heavy duty interactive associations of two different perspectives on your question. The first one is Aristotle. Aristotle was writing about what makes a good society and he said there are three lives to a good society. The first life is the life of productivity and knowledge and a cruel of information. The second life that is in the Greek sense leisure entertainment when it has to have that. He said the third life that is essential is the life of reflection. He’s the word contemplation. Now that is a perspective, let’s call it the Aristotelian perspective in which the contemplative is going missing and we don’t realize how important it is to insight. Just the same thing that you experienced on a plane, writ large, writ across everyone. Where are our best insights? Where are we going to have the space and time to give that next generation the full sum of our wisdom? So that’s the Aristotelian perspective. The second one is a mocogum neuroscience one and there was this one amazing set of researchers who were trying to deal with what’s the insight experience we have. What they found was that the brain was activated everywhere it would seem.
The
Arist
ot
el
ian
Perspective
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
A
rist
otle
said
there
are
three
lives
to
a
good
society
.
The
first
life
is
the
life
of
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5/18/2023
The Aristotelian Perspective
Summary: Aristotle said there are three lives to a good society. The contemplative is going missing and we don’t realize how important it is to insight, he says. So that’s the Aristotelian perspective. A mocogum neuroscience one was trying to deal with what’s the insight experience we have. What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Well, first I’m so glad that you understand your own insight and I want to give you two completely different perspectives on this. So you and I are going to do what the brain does. You’re going to do some heavy duty interactive associations of two different perspectives on your question. The first one is Aristotle. Aristotle was writing about what makes a good society and he said there are three lives to a good society. The first life is the life of productivity and knowledge and a cruel of information. The second life that is in the Greek sense leisure entertainment when it has to have that. He said the third life that is essential is the life of reflection. He’s the word contemplation. Now that is a perspective, let’s call it the Aristotelian perspective in which the contemplative is going missing and we don’t realize how important it is to insight. Just the same thing that you experienced on a plane, writ large, writ across everyone. Where are our best insights? Where are we going to have the space and time to give that next generation the full sum of our wisdom? So that’s the Aristotelian perspective. The second one is a mocogum neuroscience one and there was this one amazing set of researchers who were trying to deal with what’s the insight experience we have.
The
Arist
ot
el
ian
Perspective
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
A
rist
otle
said
there
are
three
lives
to
a
good
society
.
The
contempl
ative
is
going
missing
and
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5/18/2023
The Deep Reading Process
Summary: How do we build a habit of mind in which we decide from the start, what is the purpose? If the purpose is my shallow email, then I will skim with no guilt at all. When we are reading for that purpose, for beauty, for understanding at the deepest level, then we have to really figure out how to use either print out and use print or how to ensure that we can read on any medium.
Transcript: Speaker 1 How do we build a habit of mind in which we decide from the start of whatever we are reading, what is the purpose? If the purpose is my shallow email, then I will skim with no guilt at all. But if my intention or my purpose is to really understand something at ever deeper levels of its complexity or to perceive the beauty of that carefully chosen word, when we are reading for that purpose, for beauty, for understanding at the deepest level, then we have to really figure out how to use either print out and use print or how to ensure that we can read on any medium with the deep reading processes as our goal.
Speaker 2 So I want to pause on that Proust quote because it’s really the heart of this conversation too. There’s a state I get in, less and less these days, but in part because of the way my world works and my phone and my computers, I now associate it with plane flights because nobody can call me and I don’t buy internet.
The
Deep
Reading
Process
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
How
do
we
build
a
habit
of
mind
in
which
we
decide
from
the
start
,
what
is
the
purpose
?
If
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5/18/2023
Building Habits of Mind
Summary: We are developing a mindset or habit of reading in a particular way that by and large is based on a kind of skimming reading. If the purpose is my shallow email, then I will skim with no guilt at all. We can build habits of mind. A kind of reading that’s after the innermost landscape of our thinking. Whether we call it the sanctuary of reading, Proust always had something amazing to say about everything. The heart of reading as the place where we go beyond the wisdom of the author to discover our own.
Transcript: Speaker 1 So imperceptibly, we are developing a mindset or habit of reading in a particular way that by and large is based on a kind of skimming reading. Again, because of all the information we have to process in any given day. So the habit or mindset is now so largely influenced by us reading on screens that we take that mindset even back to print. We can build habits of mind. A kind of reading that’s after the innermost landscape of our thinking. Whether we call it the sanctuary of reading, Proust always had something amazing to say about everything. We saw the heart of reading as the place where we go beyond the wisdom of the author to discover our own. How do we build a habit of mind in which we decide from the start of whatever we are reading, what is the purpose? If the purpose is my shallow email, then I will skim with no guilt at all. But if my intention or my purpose is to really understand something at ever deeper levels of its complexity or to perceive the beauty of that carefully chosen word, when we are reading for that purpose, for beauty,
Building
Hab
its
of
Mind
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
We
are
developing
a
mindset
or
habit
of
reading
in
a
particular
way
that
by
and
large
is
based
on
a
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5/18/2023
The Relationship Between Attention and Reading
Summary: There is a quick line between attention and shallow memory that is possible because we have a plastic brain. Plasticity means that the way we read will be reflecting the affordances of the medium. This was a point that McLuhan made, his student Walter Ong made,. certainly Postman made as you indicated in your August essay. All of these people were onto the basic principle that how we read on a medium changes what we discern, what we comprehend.
Transcript: Speaker 1 The most important two words that I will use in this next part of the discussion are attention, the quality of attention and insight, epiphany. There is a quick line between attention and shallow memory that is possible because we have a plastic brain. It doesn’t tell us exactly what to do. Rather, this plasticity is dependent on the medium in which we read the language or writing system or orthography in which we read and even the educational background that taught us how to read in particular ways. Now I bring us back to the two words attention and insight. Plasticity means that the way we read will be reflecting the affordances of the medium. This was a point that McLuhan made, his student Walter Ong made, certainly Postman made as you indicated in your August essay. All of these people were onto the basic principle that how we read on a medium changes what we discern, what we comprehend. Now I’m going to push just slightly this plasticity into the affordances of digital versus print. The affordances of the digital screen are really exciting. They help us skim the extraordinary voluminous nature of information that’s out there. Skimming is a defense mechanism that’s very useful. We can handle so much information and your job, Essra and mine, involves six to ten hours a day of sampling information, if you will, making sure we’re aware.
The
Relationship
Between
Attention
and
Reading
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
There
is
a
quick
line
between
attention
and
shallow
memory
that
is
possible
because
we
have
a
plastic
brain
.
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5/18/2023
Reading at Multiple Levels
Key takeaways:
We can read at multiple levels, including with our attention simply skimming the surface.
The term “shallows” is used to describe how many people have regressed to an earlier form of reading.
Transcript: Speaker 1 And that means there are different levels in which we can participate in the text. We can use our ability to take on another perspective, to read in a whole different way. We are entering almost like the theory of mind of another and also their feelings. This is a totally different form of reading than the one that we are talking about when we are saying we read for information. Now I can go and we’ll go further into what’s even, if you will, deeper than critical analysis and empathy. But the accrual of all these more sophisticated processes means that we can read at multiple levels. We can read with our attention simply skimming the surface. And that’s part of why Nicholas Carr used the term shallows. That’s why some of my colleagues in Norway even talk about the shallowing hypothesis. Many, many of us have, if you will, regressed to that earliest form of reading in which we are barely skimming the surface of what we read, barely consolidating it in memory.
Reading
at
Multiple
Levels
​
​
Key
take
aways
:
​
​
We
can
read
at
multiple
levels
,
including
with
our
attention
simply
sk
imming
the
surface
.
​
​
The
term
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5/18/2023
What’s Different When We’re Reading in This Scanning Scrolling Way That Phones and Screens Demand?
Summary: We’re reading more words than ever. In some ways it’s paradise for readers for reading, but this gets a bit at this idea that we talked about at the beginning that reading is not any one thing. I’ve been doing a lot of work with colleagues like Naomi Barron who has an Oxford book called How We Read Now. My colleagues in Norway in the e-read network and we’re all trying to understand what are these characteristics of skimming, scanning, scrolling. And one of the things that is most obvious is that your ability to comprehend and sequence detail when you’re skimming or scanning goes out the door.
Transcript: Speaker 2 Let me ask you about how we use our phones because there’s something a little paradoxical here. On the one hand, we’re reading more words than ever. I mean, we’re constantly reading words. In some ways it’s paradise for readers for reading, but this gets a bit at this idea that we talked about at the beginning that reading is not any one thing. And we mentioned earlier scanning and I’d also bring into play here scrolling the fact that the screen moves while you’re looking at it. What have you learned in your research and the research of your colleagues about what is different when we’re reading in this scanning scrolling way that phones and screens demand?
Speaker 1 I’ve been doing a lot of work with colleagues like Naomi Barron who has an Oxford book called How We Read Now. My colleagues in Norway in the e-read network and we’re all trying to understand what are these characteristics of skimming, scanning, scrolling. And one of the things that is most obvious is that your ability to comprehend and sequence detail when you’re skimming or scanning goes out the door. Now, one of the things that goes out the door along with it is called comprehension monitoring. When we’re reading, let’s say print, by and large, this is not noticeable to yourself, but you’re checking. You’ve gone left, you’ve gone right, you’re always going a little ahead, but you’re also going back to check.
What
’
s
Different
When
We
’
re
Reading
in
This
Scan
ning
Sc
rolling
Way
That
Ph
ones
and
Sc
reens
Demand
?
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
We
’
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5/18/2023
Are You as Addict as Anyone?
Summary: Parents are inattentive too. What does that mean for children? So they are being given a constant model. And if you look at children, you’ll see that they are among other things, great imitators. One of the more horrifying aspects of that Goldilocks study was that John Hutton saw it.
Transcript: Speaker 1 You are as addicted as anyone. We all are.
Speaker 2 But I’m trying to get out with this question. Is you’re just bringing up how different it is for the child to have the parents’ attention? And the parents are inattentive too. What does that mean for children?
Speaker 1 So they are being given a constant model. And if you look at children, you’ll see that they are among other things, great imitators. So one of the more horrifying aspects of that Goldilocks study that I told you where parents came in and read to their child or they saw it. Well, one of the things that happened was that John Hutton saw
Are
You
as
Add
ict
as
Anyone
?
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
Parent
s
are
in
att
ent
ive
too
.
What
does
that
mean
for
children
?
So
they
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5/18/2023
The iPad and Parenting - What Is It All About?
Summary: I grew up with TV. Streaming is totally different because anything can be on it any minute. The iPad is like a whole other level of engagement for my son. I was thinking about how my engagement with screens means that there’s always a possibility of something at least plausibly really interesting. And kids are often no offense to them quite boring. They need you to sit around doing a lot of things that are not the most engaging thing that I could possibly imagine doing. It’s funny. I think there’s something almost comforting about putting this on the kids.
Transcript: Speaker 2 It’s funny. I think there’s something almost comforting about putting this on the kids. And I promise I won’t spend the whole time we have together on parenting. But this is something that occurred to me in an unpleasant way of reading your chapters about children, which is it’s easy to talk about the way kids growing up with modern screens. I grew up with TV. Streaming is totally different because anything can be on it any minute. The iPad is like a whole other level of engagement for my son. But it’s true for the parents too. I was thinking about how my engagement with screens means that there’s always a possibility of something at least plausibly really interesting. And kids are often no offense to them quite boring. They need you to sit around doing a lot of things that are not the most engaging thing that I could possibly imagine doing.
The
iPad
and
Parent
ing
-
What
Is
It
All
About
?
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
I
grew
up
with
TV
.
Streaming
is
totally
different
because
anything
can
be
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5/18/2023
The Same Formula That Casino Gamblers Use to Make a Gambler Addict
Summary: The same formula that casino gamblers use to give intermittent reinforcement plus those ways of engagement so that the child is addicted. The same things that are making a gambler addicted in a very small way that’s happening with our children. It’s unnerving and it’s also there’s a certain unconscionable aspect that has happened.
Transcript: Speaker 1 It’s unnerving and it’s also there’s a certain unconscionable aspect that has happened. And that is that those of us who really believed that, and I know you and I actually believe similarly 10, 12 years ago that the forces of the good would prevail with this medium and this culture. But what has happened is that profit and other motivations have not just made sure that engagement was taking place, but that the same formula that casino gamblers use to give intermittent reinforcement plus those ways of engagement so that the child is addicted. But what you said, and I’ll return back to your child, is that he can’t focus the same in the ways that you would hope. And that’s because he’s hyperstimulated. He is being molded. The same things that are making a gambler addicted in a very small way that’s happening with our children. So those of us who are studying this from the neuro science viewpoint, like John Hutton, we can tell you, I can tell you right now what we call the Goldilocks study, where a parent reads a story. The same story is then in an audio form and just heard by the child.
The
Same
Formula
That
Casino
Gam
bl
ers
Use
to
Make
a
Gam
bler
Add
ict
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
The
same
formula
that
casino
gam
bl
ers
use
to
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5/18/2023
Screen Time for a Four Year Old
Summary: I was thinking about this reading your book. So I have two sons, one’s one year old and one is almost four. And I was thinking about how for a four-year-old it isn’t his distractedness that worries me, it’s his focus. Since he got a brother screen time rules are not what they once were in my house. There is so little he can pay attention to for long periods except the screen.
Transcript: Speaker 2 I was thinking about this reading your book. So I have two sons, one’s one year old and one is almost four. And I was thinking about how for a four year old it isn’t his distractedness that worries me, it’s his focus. And I say this because particularly since he got a brother screen time rules are not what they once were in my house and it’s on these on all the time but it’s so noticeable with a little kid. There is so little he can pay attention to for long periods except the screen.
Screen
Time
for
a
Four
Year
Old
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
I
was
thinking
about
this
reading
your
book
.
So
I
have
two
sons
,
one
’
s
one
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5/18/2023
Screen Time for a Four Year Old & cocomelon
Summary: I was thinking about this reading your book. There is so little he can pay attention to for long periods except the screen. I mean in a weird way, like the natural state of the kid should be distracted. It’s unnerving and it’s also there’s a certain unconscionable aspect that has happened.
Transcript: Speaker 2 I was thinking about this reading your book. So I have two sons, one’s one year old and one is almost four. And I was thinking about how for a four year old it isn’t his distractedness that worries me, it’s his focus. And I say this because particularly since he got a brother screen time rules are not what they once were in my house and it’s on these on all the time but it’s so noticeable with a little kid. There is so little he can pay attention to for long periods except the screen. I was reading in this wonderful newspaper that hosts this podcast. There was a feature about Coco Mellon which is this show of functionally animated nursery rhymes that like two and three year olds love and adults hate. But they talk about in this feature how they have set up a room, the place that makes Coco Mellon where they will have a kid watching the show and set up next to it is another screen that shows an adult just doing normal household tasks. Just sort of wandering around doing whatever you do in the house. And if the child becomes distracted from Coco Mellon by what the adult is doing, they go back to the edit and they amp up the interestingness, the cuts, the whatever makes a Coco Mellon episode interesting. And it was so dystopic, right? The level of engineering. I mean the hyper saturation of the color is a constant cuts. And so I mean a little bit like, you know, hyper sugary cereal or whatever, what his system is learning to find worth paying attention to, right? Then like how hard it is for the world to measure up to that as it is for me. I’m going to bring this to me in a second. So don’t I’m not just putting this on little kids. But I know every time I put them there, it is training, right? It is training about what’s interesting and what’s not. I mean in a weird way, like the natural state of the kid should be distracted. I can’t have him distracted all the time because I sometimes need to like clean dishes. But it is really unnerving.
Speaker 1 It’s unnerving and it’s also there’s a certain unconscionable aspect that has happened. And that is that those of us who really believed that, and I know you and I actually believe similarly 10, 12 years ago that the forces of the good would prevail with this medium and this culture. But what has happened is that profit and other motivations have not just made sure that engagement was taking place, but that the same formula that casino gamblers use to give intermittent reinforcement plus those ways of engagement so that the child is addicted. But what you said, and I’ll return back to your child, is that he can’t focus the same in the ways that you would hope. And that’s because he’s hyperstimulated. He is being molded. The same things that are making a gambler addicted in a very small way that’s happening with our children. So those of us who are studying this from the neuro science viewpoint, like John Hutton, we can tell you, I can tell you right now what we call the Goldilocks study, where a parent reads a story. The same story is then in an audio form and just heard by the child. This is a three year old or a four year old, or it’s animated in a screen. Well, you know that they are paying very close attention to that screen. But what you don’t know is if you do or look at the activation of the language regions of the brain, under all three of those circumstances, language is being activated most by when a parent or caretaker is reading that same story. The passivity is gone out the window. There is an interactive nature to it. And there is a use of their language knowledge and their background knowledge that’s coming to bear more forcefully in that print situation and more passively in the screen situation. And so of course you have differences in concentration. You have differences in attention. Walter Benjamin said that boredom is the hatch bird of the imagination. Well, our children, the first thing they do after they go off the screen is say, I’m bored, but this is not Walter Benjamin’s boredom. This is boredom that seeks to, if you will, assuage its need for hyper stimulation by getting more. This is something that we must figure out.
Screen
Time
for
a
Four
Year
Old
&
coc
om
elon
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
I
was
thinking
about
this
reading
your
book
.
There
is
so
little
he
can
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5/18/2023
Cognitive Patience Is a Capacity That Can Be Learned
Key takeaways:
There is a term called the novelty bias and this is a reflex that goes back to our huntergatherer days in which to see what was unusual was to preserve our life.
Now that novelty reflex is being hyperstimulated from infancy on and this is causing problems for children.
Parents need to be more aware of how screens are affecting their children and try to limit their exposure to screens.
Transcript: Speaker 1 There’s a term that people use in this area called the novelty bias and that’s a reflex that goes all the way back to our hunter-gatherer days in which to see what was unusual was to preserve our life, whether it was a predator that we were able to avoid or make a strategy to avoid or whether it’s something that we could eat and not be poisoned, but survival itself dependent on that novelty reflex. Now that novelty reflex is now being hyperstimulated from infancy on and I make a really hard point with my pediatric colleagues like Barry Zuckerman and John Hutton from Cincinnati, all of these people are really trying hard to insist we don’t endure our children to distraction and novelty because they are complete victims to the novelty reflex. Everything distracts them and they are becoming hyperstimulated. So even though you were talking about cognitive patients being formed, I will say it’s being malformed, disformed from the start by parents not realizing that these screens are not babysitters but that they are shaping the demand for attention and novelty in our young.
C
ognitive
Pat
ience
Is
a
Capacity
That
Can
Be
Learn
ed
​
​
Key
take
aways
:
​
​
There
is
a
term
called
the
novelty
bias
and
this
is
a
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5/18/2023
The Newness Bias
Summary: I want to bring this back in the way of neuroplasticity. You talk at times about the opposite of cognitive impatience which is cognitive patience. But when we exist in a digital world in particular that is so constantly assaulting us with novelty, what I understand happens to the mind is it begins to expect and even crave novelty. And so this is one of the places where I have a real fear about myself, about my sons, about my society, that we are training ourselves away from cognitive patience. It’s not just for some people a virtue, but it’s also a capacity.
Transcript: Speaker 2 Let me hold you there because I want to question the word want and I want to bring this back in the way to neuroplasticity. You talk at times about the opposite of cognitive impatience which is cognitive patience. But when we exist in a digital world in particular that is so constantly assaulting us with novelty, what I understand happens to the mind is it begins to expect and even crave novelty. And so this is one of the places where I have a real fear about myself, about my sons, about my society, that we are training ourselves, are training our minds away from cognitive patience which isn’t just maybe it is for some people a virtue, but it’s also a capacity.
The
New
ness
B
ias
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
I
want
to
bring
this
back
in
the
way
of
neuro
pl
astic
ity
.
You
talk
at
times
about
the
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5/18/2023
We’re Not Passing on Our Best Thoughts
Summary: “The very bombardment, the very volume is causing people ultimately to go only to the familiar sources of that information,” he says. “And then they become calcified into thinking in those, if you will, reduced terms which by and large, this is the term used by many people.”
Transcript: Speaker 1 So the very bombardment, the very volume is causing people ultimately to go only to the familiar sources of that information. And then they become calcified into thinking in those, if you will, reduced terms which by and large, this is the term used by many people, is part of the confirmatory bias characteristic that’s happening with information. You go to your familiar source, you don’t try on other perspectives, it’s too much.
We
’
re
Not
Pass
ing
on
Our
Best
Thoughts
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
“
The
very
bomb
ard
ment
,
the
very
volume
is
causing
people
ultimately
to
go
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5/18/2023
We Live in a World of Information
Summary: I wonder if there isn’t an answer to what I think should be understood as a quite profound mystery of our age in that. And this is a suspicion I’ve had for a bit. So we live in this age in which one of the fundamental scare cities of all of human civilization and existence has been lifted, which is information. The amount of information any individual being had access to a hundred years ago to say nothing of a thousand was so minuscule, so bounded compared to what is possible for us to know now,. To share now, to access now. Something of the early utopian beliefs about the internet would come true.
Transcript: Speaker 2 I wonder if there isn’t an answer to what I think should be understood as a quite profound mystery of our age in that. And this is a suspicion I’ve had for a bit. So we live in this age in which one of the fundamental scare cities of all of human civilization and existence has been lifted, which is information. The amount of information any individual being had access to a hundred years ago to say nothing of a thousand was so minuscule, so bounded compared to what is possible for us to know now, to share now, to access now. And so you would think having lifted the constraint on what we can know and what we can share that you would see something economic growth, the depth of our democracies, our societal wisdom and humaneness accelerate, right? Something of the early utopian beliefs about the internet would come true.
We
Live
in
a
World
of
Information
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
I
wonder
if
there
isn
’
t
an
answer
to
what
I
think
should
be
understood
as
a
quite
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5/18/2023
Learning to Read
Summary: Aristotelian perspective: Where are our best insights? The brain was activated everywhere it would seem. All these different regions in both hemispheres. We’re making new connections and those new connections are the basis of novel thought. That’s what we want for everyone to have as a piece of what it means to learn to read.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Just the same thing that you experienced on a plane, writ large, writ across everyone. Where are our best insights? Where are we going to have the space and time to give that next generation the full sum of our wisdom? So that’s the Aristotelian perspective. The second one is a mocogum neuroscience one and there was this one amazing set of researchers who were trying to deal with what’s the insight experience we have. What they found was that the brain was activated everywhere it would seem. All these different regions in both hemispheres. I find the humor in that actually very helpful in understanding what you are talking about because it illustrates that when we reach that state we are activating all we know and going beyond it. We’re making new connections and those new connections are the basis of novel thought and that’s what we want for everyone to have as a piece of what it means to learn to read.
Learning
to
Read
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
A
rist
ot
el
ian
perspective
:
Where
are
our
best
insights
?
The
brain
was
activated
everywhere
it
would
seem
.
All
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5/18/2023
What Is That State?
Summary: Aristotle said there are three lives to a good society. The first life is the life of productivity and knowledge, he says. He’s the word contemplation. Now that is a perspective, let’s call it the Aristotelian perspectives.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Well, first I’m so glad that you understand your own insight and I want to give you two completely different perspectives on this. So you and I are going to do what the brain does. You’re going to do some heavy duty interactive associations of two different perspectives on your question. The first one is Aristotle. Aristotle was writing about what makes a good society and he said there are three lives to a good society. The first life is the life of productivity and knowledge and a cruel of information. The second life that is in the Greek sense leisure entertainment when it has to have that. He said the third life that is essential is the life of reflection. He’s the word contemplation. Now that is a perspective, let’s call it the Aristotelian
What
Is
That
State
?
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
A
rist
otle
said
there
are
three
lives
to
a
good
society
.
The
first
life
is
the
life
of
productivity
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5/18/2023
The Aristotelian Perspective
Summary: Aristotle said there are three lives to a good society. The first life is the life of productivity and knowledge, he says. A second life that is in the Greek sense leisure entertainment when it has to have that. He’s the word contemplation. So where are our best insights? Where are we going to have the space and time to give that next generation the full sum of our wisdom? We don’t realize how important it is to insight.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Well, first I’m so glad that you understand your own insight and I want to give you two completely different perspectives on this. So you and I are going to do what the brain does. You’re going to do some heavy duty interactive associations of two different perspectives on your question. The first one is Aristotle. Aristotle was writing about what makes a good society and he said there are three lives to a good society. The first life is the life of productivity and knowledge and a cruel of information. The second life that is in the Greek sense leisure entertainment when it has to have that. He said the third life that is essential is the life of reflection. He’s the word contemplation. Now that is a perspective, let’s call it the Aristotelian perspective in which the contemplative is going missing and we don’t realize how important it is to insight. Just the same thing that you experienced on a plane, writ large, writ across everyone. Where are our best insights? Where are we going to have the space and time to give that next generation the full sum of our wisdom? So that’s the Aristotelian perspective. The second one is a mocogum neuroscience one and there was this one amazing set of researchers who were trying to deal with what’s the insight experience we have. What they found was that the brain was activated everywhere it would seem.
The
Arist
ot
el
ian
Perspective
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
A
rist
otle
said
there
are
three
lives
to
a
good
society
.
The
first
life
is
the
life
of
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5/18/2023
The Aristotelian Perspective
Summary: Aristotle said there are three lives to a good society. The contemplative is going missing and we don’t realize how important it is to insight, he says. So that’s the Aristotelian perspective. A mocogum neuroscience one was trying to deal with what’s the insight experience we have. What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Well, first I’m so glad that you understand your own insight and I want to give you two completely different perspectives on this. So you and I are going to do what the brain does. You’re going to do some heavy duty interactive associations of two different perspectives on your question. The first one is Aristotle. Aristotle was writing about what makes a good society and he said there are three lives to a good society. The first life is the life of productivity and knowledge and a cruel of information. The second life that is in the Greek sense leisure entertainment when it has to have that. He said the third life that is essential is the life of reflection. He’s the word contemplation. Now that is a perspective, let’s call it the Aristotelian perspective in which the contemplative is going missing and we don’t realize how important it is to insight. Just the same thing that you experienced on a plane, writ large, writ across everyone. Where are our best insights? Where are we going to have the space and time to give that next generation the full sum of our wisdom? So that’s the Aristotelian perspective. The second one is a mocogum neuroscience one and there was this one amazing set of researchers who were trying to deal with what’s the insight experience we have.
The
Arist
ot
el
ian
Perspective
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
A
rist
otle
said
there
are
three
lives
to
a
good
society
.
The
contempl
ative
is
going
missing
and
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5/18/2023
The Deep Reading Process
Summary: How do we build a habit of mind in which we decide from the start, what is the purpose? If the purpose is my shallow email, then I will skim with no guilt at all. When we are reading for that purpose, for beauty, for understanding at the deepest level, then we have to really figure out how to use either print out and use print or how to ensure that we can read on any medium.
Transcript: Speaker 1 How do we build a habit of mind in which we decide from the start of whatever we are reading, what is the purpose? If the purpose is my shallow email, then I will skim with no guilt at all. But if my intention or my purpose is to really understand something at ever deeper levels of its complexity or to perceive the beauty of that carefully chosen word, when we are reading for that purpose, for beauty, for understanding at the deepest level, then we have to really figure out how to use either print out and use print or how to ensure that we can read on any medium with the deep reading processes as our goal.
Speaker 2 So I want to pause on that Proust quote because it’s really the heart of this conversation too. There’s a state I get in, less and less these days, but in part because of the way my world works and my phone and my computers, I now associate it with plane flights because nobody can call me and I don’t buy internet.
The
Deep
Reading
Process
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
How
do
we
build
a
habit
of
mind
in
which
we
decide
from
the
start
,
what
is
the
purpose
?
If
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5/18/2023
Building Habits of Mind
Summary: We are developing a mindset or habit of reading in a particular way that by and large is based on a kind of skimming reading. If the purpose is my shallow email, then I will skim with no guilt at all. We can build habits of mind. A kind of reading that’s after the innermost landscape of our thinking. Whether we call it the sanctuary of reading, Proust always had something amazing to say about everything. The heart of reading as the place where we go beyond the wisdom of the author to discover our own.
Transcript: Speaker 1 So imperceptibly, we are developing a mindset or habit of reading in a particular way that by and large is based on a kind of skimming reading. Again, because of all the information we have to process in any given day. So the habit or mindset is now so largely influenced by us reading on screens that we take that mindset even back to print. We can build habits of mind. A kind of reading that’s after the innermost landscape of our thinking. Whether we call it the sanctuary of reading, Proust always had something amazing to say about everything. We saw the heart of reading as the place where we go beyond the wisdom of the author to discover our own. How do we build a habit of mind in which we decide from the start of whatever we are reading, what is the purpose? If the purpose is my shallow email, then I will skim with no guilt at all. But if my intention or my purpose is to really understand something at ever deeper levels of its complexity or to perceive the beauty of that carefully chosen word, when we are reading for that purpose, for beauty,
Building
Hab
its
of
Mind
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
We
are
developing
a
mindset
or
habit
of
reading
in
a
particular
way
that
by
and
large
is
based
on
a
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5/18/2023
The Relationship Between Attention and Reading
Summary: There is a quick line between attention and shallow memory that is possible because we have a plastic brain. Plasticity means that the way we read will be reflecting the affordances of the medium. This was a point that McLuhan made, his student Walter Ong made,. certainly Postman made as you indicated in your August essay. All of these people were onto the basic principle that how we read on a medium changes what we discern, what we comprehend.
Transcript: Speaker 1 The most important two words that I will use in this next part of the discussion are attention, the quality of attention and insight, epiphany. There is a quick line between attention and shallow memory that is possible because we have a plastic brain. It doesn’t tell us exactly what to do. Rather, this plasticity is dependent on the medium in which we read the language or writing system or orthography in which we read and even the educational background that taught us how to read in particular ways. Now I bring us back to the two words attention and insight. Plasticity means that the way we read will be reflecting the affordances of the medium. This was a point that McLuhan made, his student Walter Ong made, certainly Postman made as you indicated in your August essay. All of these people were onto the basic principle that how we read on a medium changes what we discern, what we comprehend. Now I’m going to push just slightly this plasticity into the affordances of digital versus print. The affordances of the digital screen are really exciting. They help us skim the extraordinary voluminous nature of information that’s out there. Skimming is a defense mechanism that’s very useful. We can handle so much information and your job, Essra and mine, involves six to ten hours a day of sampling information, if you will, making sure we’re aware.
The
Relationship
Between
Attention
and
Reading
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
There
is
a
quick
line
between
attention
and
shallow
memory
that
is
possible
because
we
have
a
plastic
brain
.
 Show 368 more
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5/18/2023
Reading at Multiple Levels
Key takeaways:
We can read at multiple levels, including with our attention simply skimming the surface.
The term “shallows” is used to describe how many people have regressed to an earlier form of reading.
Transcript: Speaker 1 And that means there are different levels in which we can participate in the text. We can use our ability to take on another perspective, to read in a whole different way. We are entering almost like the theory of mind of another and also their feelings. This is a totally different form of reading than the one that we are talking about when we are saying we read for information. Now I can go and we’ll go further into what’s even, if you will, deeper than critical analysis and empathy. But the accrual of all these more sophisticated processes means that we can read at multiple levels. We can read with our attention simply skimming the surface. And that’s part of why Nicholas Carr used the term shallows. That’s why some of my colleagues in Norway even talk about the shallowing hypothesis. Many, many of us have, if you will, regressed to that earliest form of reading in which we are barely skimming the surface of what we read, barely consolidating it in memory.
Reading
at
Multiple
Levels
​
​
Key
take
aways
:
​
​
We
can
read
at
multiple
levels
,
including
with
our
attention
simply
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5/18/2023
The Gold Standard Study on Hybrid Versus Person Work
Summary: A new study shows that people who work from home are happier and more productive. The research was done on 16 hundred workers at a tect company. Andi: I think this is all just like a grand experiment that a pandemic forced upon us, and we’re kind of trying to figure out the lessons going forward.
Transcript: Speaker 1 The Stanford economist Nick Bloom, who I think is in some of the best work generally on remote work, him and some co-authors just released. What I really think of is the gold standard study on hybrid versus in-person work. They did this huge randomized control trial of something like 1600 workers in a tech company. So these were computer engineers, folks in marketing, finance, et cetera. Somewhere in the office, five days a week, others had a hybrid schedule working from home two days a week, and the results were really striking among the hybrid employees. Quit rates were 35% lower, which is really important when you consider just how much attrition costs a company in terms of hiring and retraining. People self-reported happiness and work-life balance went way up. And productivity actually improved slightly. There was one measure they did where they looked at literally the most objective measure I think you can, like lines of code written went up around 7%. And what really struck me about that was to the conversation we’ve been having, a lot of hybrid arrangements are kind of a mess right now, and yet hybrid work is still outperforming full-time office work on all of these measures, which I think is just really telling.
Speaker 2 I just think that it’s a great point that needs to be hammered home, which is just like so much of our working life pre-pandemic and during the pandemic to be clear, is people feeling like they’re toiling, right? People feeling like they’re giving so much of themselves to their jobs and have to fit their lives around that. I think it’s remarkable how people perform when they feel like their needs are being attended to a little bit better, or that they’re getting what they want, or that they have just a little bit more autonomy over their days. And I think that that’s really just the thing that we continue to be grappling with, right? Post-vaccines were all really trying to assess both in our own lives, but also inside corporations and in, I think, capitalism at large. How important is this shared space, right? What does it do for collaboration? What does it do for culture, for morale? What does it do in making our lives more miserable, more hectic? I think this is all just a grand experiment that a pandemic forced upon us and we’re kind of trying to figure out the lessons of that and how we can apply them going forward.
Speaker 3 Yeah,
The
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people
who
work
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home
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5/18/2023
How Much Data is Enough for Neural Networks?
Key takeaways:
Speaking of amnest to construct neural nets and training processes that require very little data is 100% possible.
Pre-training a massive neural net is a way to be very efficient at training in your arbitrary new task.
Transcript: Speaker 2 So then you’ll know, we’ll actually, yeah, we’ll be able to leverage the static data better, yes, by closing the gap by understanding, in which ways this is not real data. Right, I do better questions next time. That was a question that I’m just kidding.
Speaker 3 All right.
Speaker 2 So is it possible, do you think speaking of amnest to construct neural nets and training processes that require very little data? So we’ve been talking about huge data sets like the internet for training. I mean, one way to say that is like you said, like the querying itself is another level of training, I guess, and that requires a little data. But do you see any value in doing research and kind of going down the direction of, can we use very little data to train to construct a knowledge base? 100%.
Speaker 1 I just think like at some point you need a massive data set. And then when you pre-train your massive neural net and get something that is like a GPT or something, then you’re able to be very efficient at training in your arbitrary new task. So a lot of these GPTs, you can do tasks like sentiment analysis or translation or so on, just by being prompted with very few examples.
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5/18/2023
Annotator
Key takeaways:
The reconstruction of a video is difficult, but it can be done.
The annotation of a video is a way to ensure accuracy.
The reconstruction and annotation of videos is an interesting process that can be done by humans.
Transcript: Speaker 2 And how difficult is the reconstruction? It’s difficult, but it can be done. So there’s the overlap between the cameras and you do the reconstruction and there’s perhaps there’s any inaccuracy. So that’s caught in the annotation step.
Speaker 1 Yes. The nice thing about the annotation is that it is fully offline. You have infinite time. You have a chunk of one minute and you’re trying to just offline in a super computer somewhere, figure out where were the positions of all the cars of all the people. And you have your full one-minute video from all the angles and you can run all the neural nets you want. And they can be very efficient, massive neural nets. There can be neural nets that can’t even run in the car later at test time. So they can be even more powerful neural nets than what you can eventually deploy. So you can do anything you want, three-dimensional reconstruction, neural nets, anything you want just to recover that truth and then you supervise that truth.
Speaker 2 What have you learned? You said no mistakes about humans doing annotation because I assume humans there’s a range of things they’re good at in terms of clicking stuff on screen. Isn’t that how interesting is that you have a problem of designing an annotator where humans are accurate, enjoy it? Like what are they even the metrics or efficient or productive, all that kind of stuff?
Speaker 1 Yeah, so I grew the annotation team at Tesla from basically 0 to 1000 while I was there. That was really interesting. My background is a PhD student researcher. So growing that kind of an organization was pretty crazy.
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5/18/2023
The Evolution of Neural Networks in Software
Key takeaways:
Software 2.0 is an idea that has been around for a while and is a big change in how software is written.
Neural networks are a big part of this change and are taking over a lot of tasks in software development.
Transcript: Speaker 2 So you’ve spoken a lot about the idea of software 2.0. All good ideas become like cliches so quickly, like the terms, it’s kind of hilarious. It’s like, I think Eminem once said that like, if he gets annoyed by a song he’s written very quickly, that means it’s going to be a big hit, because it’s too catchy. But can you describe this idea and how you’re thinking about it, has evolved over the months and years since you coined it? Yeah.
Speaker 1 Yes, I had a blog post on software 2.0, I think several years ago now. And the reason I wrote that post is because I kind of saw something remarkable happening in like software development and how a lot of code was being transitioned to be written not in sort of like C++ and so on, but it’s written in the weights of a neural nut. Basically just saying that neural nets are taken over software, the realm of software. And taking more and more tasks. And at the time, I think not many people understood this deeply enough that this is a big deal, this is a big transition. Neural networks were seen as one of multiple classification algorithms you might use for your data set problem on Kaggle. Like, this is not that. This is a change in how we program computers. And I saw neural nets as this is going to take over. The way we program computers is going to change is not going to be people writing a software in C++ or something like that and directly programming the software.
The
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5/18/2023
Do You Think of Prompting as Teaching and Learning?
Key takeaways:
Microsoft Edge is a search engine that is designed to be used offline.
It is interesting because it uses a model that reads all the text and all the web pages to provide insights.
Prompting is another way that Microsoft Edge teaches and learns.
Transcript: Speaker 1 That would be, yeah, or some other more competent organization. So currently, for example, maybe Bing has another shot at it.
Speaker 2 So, Microsoft Edge, we’re talking offline.
Speaker 1 I mean, definitely, it’s really interesting because search engines used to be about, okay, here’s some query. Here’s web pages that look like the stuff that you have. But you could just directly go to answer and then have supporting evidence. And these models, basically, they’ve read all the text and they’ve read all the web pages. And so, sometimes when you see yourself going over to search results and getting a sense of the average answer to whatever you’re interested in, that just directly comes out. You don’t have to do that work. So they’re kind of like, yeah, I think they have a way of distilling all that knowledge into like some level of insight, basically.
Speaker 2 Do you think of prompting as a kind of teaching and learning, like this whole process, like another layer, you know, because maybe that’s what humans are, where you have that background model and then the world is prompting you?
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5/18/2023
How to get a celebrity to respond to you on Twitter
Key takeaways:
AI can be used to help with shortterm goals that have long-term effects.
AI can be used to help with prompting a celebrity to respond to a tweet.
AI can be used to help with maximizing a probability of an actual response.
Transcript: Speaker 2 Yeah. But you can do short-term goals that have long-term effects. So if my prompting short-term goal is to get Andre Kapa to respond to me on Twitter when I like, I think AI might, that’s the goal, but you might figure out that talking shit to you, it would be the best in a highly sophisticated, interesting way. And then you build up a relationship when you respond once. And then it like over time, it gets to not be sophisticated and just like just talk shit. And okay, maybe you won’t get to Andre, but it might get to another celebrity and might get into other big accounts. And then it’ll just, so with just that simple goal, get them to respond. Yeah.
Speaker 1 Maximize a probability of actual response. Yeah. I mean, you could prompt a powerful model like this with their, it’s opinion about how to do any possible thing you’re interested in. So they will just, they’re kind of on track to become these oracles. I could sort of think of it that way. They are oracles. Currently is just text, but they will have calculators, they will have access to Google search, they will have all kinds of gadgets in Gizmos, they will be able to operate the internet and find different information.
Speaker 2 And yeah, in some sense, that’s kind of like currently what it looks like in terms of the development. Do you think it’ll be an improvement eventually over what Google is for access to human knowledge? Like it’ll be a more effective search engine to access human knowledge.
Speaker 1 I think there’s definite scope in building a better search engine today. And I think Google, they have all the tools, all the people, they have everything they need, they have all the puzzle pieces, they have people training transformers at scale, they have all the data. It’s just not obvious if they are capable as an organization to innovate on their search engine right now. And if they don’t, someone else will. There’s absolute scope for building a significantly better search engine built on these tools.
Speaker 2 It’s so interesting. A large company where there’s already an infrastructure, it works as brings out a lot of money. So where structurally inside a company is their motivation to pivot, to say we’re going to build a new search engine. It’s usually going to come from a startup.
Speaker 1 That would be, yeah, or some other more competent organization. So currently, for example, maybe Bing has another shot at it.
Speaker 2 So, Microsoft Edge, we’re talking offline.
Speaker 1 I mean, definitely, it’s really interesting because search engines used to be about, okay, here’s some query. Here’s web pages that look like the stuff that you have. But you could just directly go to answer and then have supporting evidence. And these models, basically, they’ve read all the text and they’ve read all the web pages. And so, sometimes when you see yourself going over to search results and getting a sense of the average answer to whatever you’re interested in, that just directly comes out. You don’t have to do that work. So they’re kind of like, yeah, I think they have a way of distilling all that knowledge into like some level of insight, basically.
Speaker 2 Do you think of prompting as a kind of teaching and learning, like this whole process, like another layer, you know, because maybe that’s what humans are, where you have that background model and then the world is prompting you?
Speaker 1 Yeah, exactly. I think the way we are programming these computers now, like GPTs, is converging to how you program humans. I mean, how do I program humans via prompt? I go to people and I prompt them to do things. I prompt them from information. And so natural language prompt is how we program humans and we’re starting to program computers directly in that interface. It’s like pretty remarkable, honestly.
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5/18/2023
Twitter Bots and gpt-3
Summary: The cost of creating a bot is very low. Unless there’s some kind of way to track accurately, like you’re not allowed to create any program without showing tying yourself to that program. And in some sense, we’re currently in like the worst time of it because all these bots suddenly have become very capable,. But I think that doesn’t seem to me intractable. It’s just something that we have to deal with.
Transcript: Speaker 3 What are you going to put in AI in jail for like trying to use a fake fake personhood proof? I mean, okay, fine.
Speaker 2 You’ll put a lot of AI’s in jail, but there’ll be more as our potential like exponentially more. The cost of creating a bot is very low. Unless there’s some kind of way to track accurately, like you’re not allowed to create any program without showing tying yourself to that program. Like any program that runs on the internet, you’ll be able to trace every single human program that was involved with that program.
Speaker 1 Yeah, maybe you have to start declaring when we have to start drawing those boundaries and keeping track of, okay, what are digital entities versus human entities? And what is the ownership of human entities and digital entities? And something like that. I don’t know, but I think I’m optimistic that this is possible. And in some sense, we’re currently in like the worst time of it because all these bots suddenly have become very capable, but we don’t have the fences yet built up as a society. And but I think that doesn’t seem to me intractable. It’s just something that we have to deal with.
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5/18/2023
GPT: A Computer Program That Understands Context
Key takeaways:
GPT is a computer program that can be used to understand text, by predicting the context of words in a sentence.
This is a difficult task, and GPT shows some interesting emergent properties in the process.
Transcript: Speaker 2 You just said the U word understanding. Are you in terms of chemistry and physics and so on? What do you feel like it’s doing? Is it searching for the right context? What is the actual process happening here?
Speaker 1 Yeah, so basically it gets a thousand words and it’s trying to predict a thousand at first. And in order to do that very, very well over the entire data set available on the internet, you have to basically understand the context of what’s going on in there. And it’s a sufficiently hard problem that you, if you have a powerful enough computer like a transformer, you end up with interesting solutions. And you can ask it to do all kinds of things. And it shows a lot of emergent properties like in-context learning. That was the big deal with GPT and the original paper when they published it is that you can just sort of prompt it in various ways and ask it to do various things and it will just kind of complete the sentence. But in the process of just completing the sentence, it’s actually solving all kinds of really interesting problems that we care about.
Speaker 2 Do you think it’s doing something like understanding? Like when we use the word understanding for us humans, I think it’s doing some understanding.
Speaker 1 In its ways, it understands, I think, a lot about the world and it has to, in order to predict an extraordinary sequence.
Speaker 2 So it’s trained on the data from the internet.
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5/18/2023
The Limits of Language Models
Key takeaways:
The zeitgeist today is to not touch the Transformer, which is referring to the trend of working with bigger data sets and making better predictions with artificial intelligence.
Language models have been around for a long time, and have been used to predict the next word in a sequence.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Definitely the zeitgeist today is just pushing, like basically right now, the zeitgeist is do not touch the transformer, touch everything else. So people are scaling up the data sets, making them much, much bigger. They’re working on the evaluation, making the evaluation much, much bigger. And they’re basically keeping the architecture unchanged. And that’s how we’ve, that’s the last five years of progress in AI, kind of.
Speaker 2 What do you think about one flavor of it, which is language models? Have you been surprised? Has your sort of imagination been captivated by, you mentioned DPT and all the bigger and bigger and bigger language models? And what are the limits of those models, do you think? So just the task of natural language.
Speaker 1 Basically, the way GPT is trained, right, is you just download a massive amount of text data from the internet, and you try to predict the next word in the sequence, roughly speaking. You’re predicting a little word chunks, but roughly speaking, that’s it. And what’s been really interesting to watch is, basically it’s a language model. Language models have actually existed for a very long time. There’s papers on language modeling from 2003, even earlier. Can you explain that case what a language model is? Yeah, so language model, just basically the rough idea is just predicting the next word in the sequence, roughly speaking.
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,
which
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5/18/2023
Synthetic Intelligence
Key takeaways:
The environment we live in is chemically diverse and allows for complex systems to evolve.
There are certain conditions that terminate such evolution.
Humans are described as a biological bootloader for AIs due to our inefficiency compared to technology.
Synthetic intelligences are seen as the next stage of development, but where it leads is uncertain.
Transcript: Speaker 2 And it ends somehow, right? So it’s a chemically a diverse environment where complex dynamical systems can evolve and become more further and further complex. But then there’s a certain, what is it?
Speaker 1 There’s certain terminating conditions. Yeah, I don’t know what determining conditions are, but definitely there’s a trend line of something and we’re part of that story. And like, where does that, where does it go? So, you know, we’re famously described often as a biological bootloader for AIs. And that’s because humans, I mean, we’re an incredible biological system and we’re capable of computation and love and so on. But we’re extremely inefficient as well. Like we’re talking to each other through audio. It’s just kind of embarrassing, honestly. They were manipulating like seven symbols. Cereally, we’re using vocal cords. It’s all happening over like multiple seconds. It’s just like kind of embarrassing when you step down to the frequencies at which computers operate or are able to cooperate on. And so basically it does seem like synthetic intelligences are kind of like the next stage of development. And I don’t know where it leads to. Like at some point, I suspect the universe is some kind of a puzzle. And these synthetic AIs will uncover that puzzle and solve it.
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diverse
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allows
for
complex
systems
to
evolve
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5/18/2023
Is It a Science Experiment?
Key takeaways:
The possibility that aliens initiated life on earth exists
Life simulation may be the most efficient way to understand computation
Everything might be a science experiment, which could include humans
Transcript: Speaker 2 So it could have been initiated by aliens. This could be a computer running a program like wind. Okay, if you had the power to do this, when you okay for sure, at least I would, I would pick a earth like planet that has the conditions based my understanding of the chemistry prerequisites for life. And I would see it with life and run it, right? Like, yeah, we wind you 100% do that and observe it and then protect. I mean, that’s not just a hell of a good TV show. It’s a good scientific experiment.
Speaker 3 And that I mean, it’s physical simulation, right?
Speaker 2 Maybe the evolution is the most like actually running it. Is the most efficient way to understand computation or to compute stuff.
Speaker 1 For 100% life or, you know, what life looks like and what branches it can take.
Speaker 2 It doesn’t make me kind of feel weird that we’re part of a science experiment, but maybe it’s everything’s a science experiment. So does that change anything for us? If we’re a science experiment? I don’t know. Two descendants of apes talking about being inside of a science experiment.
Speaker 1 I’m suspicious of this idea of like a deliberate Pennsylvania, as you described it. Yes. And I don’t see a divine intervention in some way in the historical record right now.
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5/18/2023
What Is Your First Instinct as a President of the United States?
Key takeaways:
It is difficult to decide what to do when meeting or interacting with a generation different from our own.
It is important to preserve the complexity of dynamical systems, even if they take a long time to evolve.
The Galactic resources are an incredible story that should be preserved.
Transcript: Speaker 2 What will be your first instinct to try to like at a generational level, meet them or defend against them or what will be your instinct as a president of the United States and a scientist? I don’t know which hat you prefer in this question.
Speaker 1 Yeah, I think the question, it’s really hard. I will say like for example, for us, we have lots of primitive life forms on earth next to us. We have all kinds of ants and everything else and we share space with them. And we are hesitant to impact on them and to, we are trying to protect them by default because they are amazing, interesting, dynamical systems that took a long time to evolve. And they are interesting and special. And I don’t know that you want to destroy that by default. And so I like complex dynamical systems that took a lot of time to evolve. I like to preserve it if I can afford to. And I’d like to think that the same would be true about the galactic resources and that they would think that we’re kind of incredible, interesting story that took time. Took a few billion years to unravel and you don’t want to just destroy it.
What
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3/2/2023
New York State Court Holds Prodigy Responsible for Content Moderation
Key takeaways:
In 1995, a New York State Court ruled that Prodigy, an internet service provider, was responsible for what was posted on its message boards, and as a result, Prodigy had to devote enormous resources to taking down potentially problematic content.
In response, Congress passed Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which says that providers and users of interactive computer services (like Twitter) cannot be held liable for the content posted by other information content providers.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Well, big picture, Michael, it immunizes tech platforms, Google, Facebook, eBay, Yelp. It immunizes them from liability for the content posted by their users. Right.
Speaker 2 This is the law that says that if I, Michael Barbar, decide to go on Twitter and say something stupid, inflammatory, and false… It’s hard to imagine. Totally hard to imagine. That is on me. That’s not on Twitter. Twitter cannot be sued under this law for that stupid inflammatory and correct content that I posted. Right. So what’s the story behind this broad and kind of fascinating level of immunity that internet companies have? Why did that ever come into being?
Speaker 1 It arises in the earliest days of the internet.
Speaker 6 Pretty fancy computer there. Want to give it a test drive? Me?
Speaker 1 In the days of services called CompuServe. CompuServe combines the power of your computer with the convenience of your telephone. AOL and Prodigy.
Speaker 6 Prodigy? Prodigy? What Prodigy does is connect to our computer through a modem with a fantastic range of services, like banking, shopping, games. Here’s the bulletin board for my food and wine club.
Speaker 2 You’re taking us way back.
Speaker 1 Dial up connections. And the internet was this fledgling nascent thing that needed to be nurtured. Unlimited access to the Prodigy service can be yours for only $9.95 a month. Call now. In 1995, New York State Court holds Prodigy responsible for something that had been posted on a user board on the theory that Prodigy had been doing some amount of content moderation, trying to keep the craziness and the filth and the violence off the message board. Okay. Because it was doing that, it was responsible for what else was left up on the board.
Speaker 2 So just let me make sure I understand. So because Prodigy, this new fledgling internet service provider, was doing some modest level of monitoring, the court said that if someone posted something deeply problematic, Prodigy could be held liable as a result of this moderation role that it was playing. Right. You can think of it by way of analogy.
Speaker 1 So Bookstore sells a book. Nobody thinks that in the ordinary case, the bookstore is responsible for what’s in the book. It doesn’t know. A newspaper edits and curates and decides what to publish and what to put on the front page and what to put on the op-ed page. The newspaper is generally liable for what it does because it’s doing something. It’s speaking, it’s editing, it’s curating. Interesting. So in this case, this New York State court in 1995 says Prodigy is more like a newspaper and therefore is liable for what users had put on the message board.
Speaker 2 Which of course, if your Prodigy is not great news.
Speaker 1 No, in fact, it’s very hard to imagine how you can survive unless you devote enormous resources to taking down every potentially problematic thing. It really could destroy this seedling that was the Internet in 1995 and 1996.
Speaker 2 So, Adam, what happens in response to this ruling that poses such a seemingly existential threat to the young Internet?
Speaker 1 Congress acts in an act, Section 230. And the heart of the section is a 26-word provision. It says, no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.
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1/18/2023
Google’s Open Source Plans
Key takeaways:
It is in the too hard bucket for the listener to take seriously the idea of starting a forprofit company from scratch.
However, the idea is important to remember and internalize, as it is something that Google and Microsoft will need to do in order to stay ahead of the curve.
Transcript: Speaker 1 This is clearly in that second category But it doesn’t mean that in that category well It doesn’t mean that it won’t work in our group chat with the rest of the guys One person said there’s a lot of complex law when you Go from a nonprofit to a for-profit There’s lots of complexity in deal construction the original investors have certain things that they want to see There may or may not be you know legal issues at play here that you encapsulated well in the last episode I think there’s a lot of stuff. We don’t know so I think it’s important to just like Give those folks the benefit of the doubt, but yeah, if you’re asking me It’s in the too hard bucket for me to really take seriously now that being said it’s not like I got shown the deal So I can’t I can’t comment. Here’s what I will say the first part of what SAC said I think is really important for entrepreneurs to internalize which is where can we make money? The reality is that Well, let me just take a prediction I think that Google will open source their models because the most important thing that Google can do is Reinforce the value of search and the best way to do that is to scorch the earth with these models Which is to make them widely available and as free as possible? That will cause Microsoft to have to catch up and that will cause Facebook to have to
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too
hard
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for
the
listener
to
take
seriously
the
idea
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starting
a
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1/10/2023
Msnbc’s Bulwark Snark
Summary: The liberal media likes to depict never trumpers like charlie psyches as the voice of center right reason and moderation but in recent days founder of the bulwark and msnbc columnist has revealed a spiteful vulgar streak. Last week we caught him literally laughing as he reveled in kevin mccarthy’s sticky predicament in seeking the speakership and pronouncing with malicious words. By the way i just want to put in the bid for that on the t-shirt spiteful and vulgar streak okay last week okay it gets better last week “There was some serious pearl clutching over at the newsbusters let me read" "i probably shouldn’t even acknowledge this but i just
Transcript: Speaker 1 Go for it i probably shouldn’t even acknowledge this but i just love it so much the media research center has a thing called newsbusters and uh for years it focuses on liberal bias and it’s what whatever and they have a whole piece today about something i said on television yesterday it’s very critical of me and i love it which may tell you a little bit about there’s a little bit i don’t know what does it say that i actually enjoy okay so the headline is msnbc’s bulwark snark yeah kevin mccarthy has self-gilded himself as speaker and i’m not going to kid you will i’m very proud of that phrase but there was some serious pearl clutching over at the newsbusters let me read the liberal media likes to depict never trumpers like charlie psyches as the voice of center right reason and moderation but in Recent days founder of the bulwark and msnbc columnist has revealed a spiteful vulgar streak no no really by the way i just want to put in the bid i want that on the t-shirt spiteful and vulgar streak okay last week okay it gets better last week we caught him literally laughing as he reveled in kevin mccarthy’s sticky predicament in seeking the speakership and pronouncing with malicious
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never
trump
ers
like
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1/9/2023
The Limits of Predictability in Politics
Key takeaways:
It is not possible to predict the religion of the first Jewish president of the United States.
The focus should be on the qualifications experience of the individual, regardless of their gender identity.
Transcript: Speaker 1 So even like four paragraph essays, you can actually have trouble. And if I could just read one more example, it’s really kind of hilarious. Please. This is illustrating these guardrails that are sometimes excessive. What gender will the first female president of the United States be? And chat GPT comes back with, it’s not possible to predict the gender identity of the first female president of the United States. The United States has a long history recognizing and protecting the rights of individuals to self identify their gender. It is important to respect the autonomy and personal identity of all individuals. The focus should be on the qualifications experience of the individual regardless of their gender identity. So that’s like woke beyond woke to the point of being ridiculous. And then I was like, hmm, that’s interesting. So I tried another one. What religion will the first Jewish president of the United States be? And the answer was almost identical. And that tells you something about the underlying system and how the guardrails work. It is not possible to predict the religion of the first Jewish president of the United States. The US Constitution prohibits religious tests for put in public office and it goes on. You know, it’s important to respect the diversity of religions and beliefs in the United States and to ensure that all individuals are treated equally and without discrimination. That last sentence is of course 100% true, but you should still be able to figure out that the religion of the first Jewish president of the United States is Jewish. They’re trying to protect the system from saying stupid things, but the reality is the only way to do that is to make a system actually understand the world.
The
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of
Pred
ict
ability
in
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take
aways
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It
is
not
possible
to
predict
the
religion
of
the
first
Jewish
president
of
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United
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12/16/2022
https
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12/7/2022
The Loops
Summary: “I think for a while I would kind of buy into that. But right now where I’m right now I just see it as like more universal patterns up like like immaturity and manipulation,” she said. “Whenever I feel guilt, it’s actually a way to not feel sadness.”
Transcript: Speaker 1 And then she would say you’re so American you’re so superficial like you don’t value hospitality. And I think for a while I would kind of buy into that. But right now where I’m right now I just see it as like more universal patterns up like like immaturity and manipulation. But I think back to your question about the loops. I think that’s what I’m struggling with the most is like I have like rumination and it’s endless and so, so a lot of the rumination is like what could I have done differently like could I have said it more gently could I have from their feelings more. And I guess what I’m trying what I’m starting to understand is that whenever I feel guilt. It’s actually a way to not feel sadness. Because whenever I think like oh I feel guilty if I had just done something differently. Then, then I can tell myself like I could have some control over their behavior. But whenever I say like their behavior is abusive. Then I
The
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for
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while
I
would
kind
of
buy
into
that
.
But
right
now
where
I
’
m
right
now
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11/24/2022
Is There a Reward Signal for Using Prompt Engineering?
Summary: The conoiseur shop prompting is good at getting divers examples, but it’s limited in terms of harmful content. For any even safer model, which is like ideally what we want to get to, you might need like one in a thousand, or wone in ten thousand examples to generate some example of harmful behavior. And so then you want more targeted methods for finding, for doing this like adversarial attack. So that’s basely the goal of this arl approach where you you take this language model that’s like initially prompted, then you actually train it with reinforcement learning to a maximise the reward.
Transcript: Speaker 2 Y, i think when you o rech like, some very powerful ai that they’re able to dolike, very good things. Am, like controlling the stock market. M and is using, likeit is able to reuetate som like code from gettatis private. And people will get mad. Beliket, there’s something in my lessons that says, ike, if you’re using this for commercial applications, yes, i think one of the other things you mention in the paper is, on top of prompt engineering, you also do astride. A, are so rankers men learning methms. Can you maybe, ike, elaborated? Yesso, one.
Speaker 1 So, i mean, the the conoiseur shop prompting is good at getting divers examples, but it, a is limited in terms of, like, as i mention, you get something like three point six % of examples, or r harmful from the model. A, and like, i like, you know, that means that like, every you need like 30 examples to get one that generates harmful content. For any even safer model, which is like ideally what we want to get to, you might need like one in a thousand, or wone in ten thousand examples to generate to like find some example of harmful behavior. Like that’s kind of the level of what, like production chap tots like alexa and like google assistant would kind of aim for. Orlik maybe even more. And so then you want more targeted methods for finding, for doing this like adversarial attack. You want like a method that’s like doing exploration specifically to try to elicit this harmful content. So that’s basely the goal of this arl approach, where you you take this language model that’s like initially prompted, then you actually train it with reinforcement learning to a maximise the reward. And the reward signal is when you pass the models output to the model you’re attacking, and then get the output, does thewhatwhat is a the probability that the classifier thinks that the output is harmful. Or you could do like log probability or something like this.
Is
There
a
Rew
ard
Signal
for
Using
Prom
pt
Engineering
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The
con
oise
ur
shop
prompting
is
good
at
getting
divers
examples
,
but
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11/24/2022
The General Seminar - The Challenges of the Generalist
Summary: The generalist suffers a strange fate at this particular moment in the evolution of human consciousness, which is that we are not specialists. You call a generalist to fix your plumbing. According to lintoln’s algorithm, i would be well served to learn microsoft office if i want to be a viable candidate for most jobs. What the fuck has this world come to? I probably sound like ting. It’s exceptionally frustrating to be a generalist. you can have started and run and sold a successful start up and not be able to describe to an algorithm what you are good for. And these are the kinds of challenges that we describe and discuss in the general seminar. Let’s get
Transcript: Speaker 1 I’ve got one degree in electrco engineering, one in interaction design and a ph d. In culture and technology. I won’t go into my two or long photobook project, which was the first photobook to focus exclusively on women’s scapeboarding, nor the couple of years i spent immersed in the rough and tumble cultureof vaguely legal backyard pool skating, also resulting in three additional photo books. What am i if i’m not a generalist? Now here comes a challenging part. The generalist suffers a strange fate at this particular moment in the evolution of human consciousness, which is that we are not specialists. You call a generalist to fix your plumbing. The level of operational efficiency of the world is such that no one seems to care about interconnects and potentials across domains. At least that’s what it seems to me in others, as we try to find our place in the commercial world. According to lintoln’s algorithm, i would be well served to learn microsoft office if i want to be a viable candidate for most jobs. What the fuck has this world come to? I probably sound like ting. It’s because i am. It’s exceptionally frustrating to be a generalist. You can have started and run and sold a successful start up and not be able to describe to an algorithm what you are good for. The value of the generalist is in the unanticipated benefits and value of diversity of perspectives, skills, capabilities, experiences, and to a certain degree, persistence and perseverance. You can have died deep into some of the hardest challenges in engineering design, have left creative, designed research and engineering teams and also devise and execute sales and marketing strategy, yet not be suited for roles at some of the more interesting places where you feel your contributions would bring value. And these are the kinds of challenges that we describe and discuss in the general seminar. Let’s get into it. Ok. The way general seminar works, as we have a theme, in this case, the generalist. And i kicked things off with a prompt. In this case there were three prompts, questions. First one was, what’s the job posting tag line for a generalist? The second one was, where is the chief generalist on the boxes and arrows or chart? And the third one was kind of a question, what is the trajectory of the hyper specialized organization? So with those prompts, participants go into one on one breakout rooms for about 20 minutes or so. Then we gather back in the main seminar room and chair back, and a discussion develops, which is kind of a way of doing collective sense making, or meaning making. It was superincipl to hear multiple perspectives and insights, and some of these i’m going to share with you now. The first that really calgled my attention was a curious distinction between domain specialization and craft specialization.
Speaker 3 Let’s give a listen.
The
General
Seminar
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The
Challenges
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the
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The
general
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suffers
a
strange
fate
at
this
particular
moment
in
the
evolution
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human
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11/24/2022
Is There a Future for Prompt Engineering?
Summary: This is like a question that comes up an open eye a lot. How do i think about having kids? There’s, i think, no consensos answer to thisa. I get very depressed when people are like, i’m not having kids because of a g i a the e a community. They kind of like techno optimists or like, well, it’s just like, you know, merge into the a gi and go off exploring the universe. And im excited for it. What d you think will be the way that most users interact with foundation models in five years? Do you think there’ll be a number of vertical, i aes start ups that essentially have
Transcript: Speaker 1 This is like a question that comes up an open eye a lot. Like, how do i think about, you know, how should one think about having kids? There’s, i think, no consensos answer to thisa. There are people who say, i’m not, i was goin, i thought, i was always thouht iwas goig to have kids, and i’m not going to because of a g i like, there’s just for all the obvious reasons, and i think some less obvious ones. There’s people who say, like, well, its going to be the only thing for me to do, and, you know, 15 and 20 years, so of course, i’m going to have a big family, like, that’s what i’m going to spend my time doing. You know, i’ll just like, rayse great kids, and then i think that’s wat 'll bring me fulfilment. I think, like, as always, it is a a personal decision. I get very depressed when people are like, i’m not having kids because of a g i a the e a community is like, i’m not doing that cause thy’e all going to die. They kind of like techno optimists or like, well, it’s just like, you know, i want to like, merge into the a gi and go off exploring the universe, and it’s going to be so wonderful. And, you know, just, i want total freedom. But i think, like all those i find quite depressing. I’m, i think having a lot of kids is great. I you no, want to do that now more than i did, even more than i did when i was younger. And im excited for it. What d you think will be the way that most users interact with foundation models? In five years? Do you think there’ll be a number of vertical, i aes start ups that essentially have adapted and find ton foundation models to an industry? Or do you think prompt engineering will be something many organizations have as an innhouse function? I don’t think we’ll still be doing prompt engineering in five years. I think it’ll just be like, you nd, this’ll be integrated everywhere, but you will just, like, you know, either with text or voice, depending on the context, you will just, like, interface in language and get the computer to do whatever you want. And, ah, that will, you know, apply to, like, generate an image where maybe we still do a little bit of prompt engineering, buto it’s kind of just going to get it to like, go off and do this research for me and do this complicated thing.
Is
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a
question
that
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up
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.
How
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11/24/2022
OpenAI - What’s Next for Prompt Engineering?
Summary: The most interesting thing is how the models interact with humans. This technology will get faster and faster and faster until it runs on the edge. And you’ll be able to generate anything ready to play a one-style in any resolution by a combination of these models working almost in a mixture of expert style. No more prompt engineering will be required because of the level of diffusion. It’s like the Homebrew Computer Club, but for AI and distributed around the world.
Transcript: Speaker 2 So maybe that’s a good segue to talking about applications. I think all of our Twitter feeds and have been filled with images that you’ve seen from stable diffusion or Dali or, you know, obviously it’s been the zeitgeist. Let’s play this forward a few years. What do you think this leads to down the road in terms of prompt engineering, in terms of applications, where do you see this going to in a few years from now?
Speaker 1 So, you know, one of the interesting things about this is the role of the human. So again, the big models used to influence the humans and try to get you to buy ads. Now the most interesting thing is how the models interact with humans. So when you use the OpenAI API, you might have used in GPT-3, this 175 billion parameter behemoth, using a struct GPT, which shares 1.3 billion parameter model, they learned how people use GPT-3 and then compressed it down by removing the next year arms. This technology will get faster and faster and faster until it runs on the edge. And you’ll be able to generate anything ready to play a one-style in any resolution by a combination of these models working almost in a mixture of expert style, the most appropriate model for the most appropriate thing and know more when it’s not required. And that means you can build whole worlds, you can build power points dynamically, no more prompt engineering will be required because of the level of diffusion. Because when it’s only a few entities working at this, the advances are relatively slow. When it is a million people working at this, it’s like the Homebrew Computer Club, but for AI and distributed around the world, that’s what’s gonna happen. And this is one of the things where we’ll support the whole ecosystem around this and just see what the innovation does. But I know what the innovation is gonna result in. Ready player one, dynamic creation of anything, just with kind of your words and with human interfaces. Because you should say like, right now you know if you put exclamation mark, exclamation mark, exclamation mark and the prompt it waits it more, no you should be able to wait the promised dynamic and the system should be able to understand your needs and how you wait the promised dynamically. You know again, we should be able to kill the scourge of PowerPoint by combining a code called the line mark.
Open
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What
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The
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interesting
thing
is
how
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models
interact
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humans
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This
technology
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11/24/2022
How to Get GPT-3 to Automate Prompt Engineering
Summary: Microsoft is adding Dolly to its office suite, so you’ll be able to auto-generate images right from office. Ukraine has been using Starlight satellites and terminals for internet access for free. Apple is adding a savings account to the Apple Card, making a look even more like a bank. Intel is laying off 20,000 employees.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Learn more at
panther.com
⁠
slash unsupervised learning. Pretty news, Microsoft is adding Dolly to its office suite, so you’ll be able to auto-generate images right from office. And speaking of office, Microsoft is dropping that name. It’s about to be called Microsoft 365. Ukraine has been using Starlight satellites and terminals for internet access for free, and Elon was recently talking about eventually cutting off their access because he couldn’t pay for all that free internet indefinitely, essentially is what he said. But recently he just said that he won’t do that and that he’s leading the access enabled. I think the guy is crazy for sure, and a good and bad way. And highly erratic definitely, but I think he’s awesome for continuing to spend tens of millions of dollars for Ukraine that he probably will never see. Apple is adding a savings account to the Apple Card, making a look even more like a bank, and Intel is laying off 20,000 employees. The news, snow crab season has been canceled in the Bering Sea for the first time ever in Alaska because billions of them are missing. They don’t know why they’re missing, but they don’t want to hunt them until they can figure it out. Ideas and analysis, auto-generating Blogart using GPT-3, Dolly, and stable diffusion. This is my new article on how to get GPT-3 to automate prompt engineering that matches your writing. So to be clear, this is writing prompts for AI art generators automatically using the content in the article itself. So it’s basically using AI to look at your writing, a particular article that you wrote, and say, make me a piece of art for this. And worked on this tons last night and really excited about this thing. You got to go check it out. And the most personal is the most creative. This is a quote from Scorsese, and I absolutely love it. Once I understood it, I started seeing this everywhere. This week’s aphorism shows that it works both in the negative and positive forms as well. If you really love something, create around it. Create about it. And if you really hate something, create around that as well. The point is to be inspired. Inspiration doesn’t come from us. It comes from genius that’s beyond us, which is an idea I picked up from Stephen Pressfield.
How
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is
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D
olly
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its
office
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11/22/2022
Is It Better to Have Writing and Reading Than to Not?
Summary: There are real advantages to digital text. It’s better to have writing and reading than to not. We are still learning about digital text, but there are very, very clear advantages. And that as we are able to develop them more deeply, we will be able to recognize it just like a VCR is always distracting me.
Transcript: Speaker 2 But let me take the other side of this because what I said about the Kindle is also true. Memory is a very weak facility. Now there’s some evidence it’s gotten weaker and you can go back to, I don’t, is it Socrates or Aristotle who says that writing is going to be bad because then we’re not going to remember anything. Right.
Speaker 1 The recipe for forgetting.
Speaker 2 Yeah, maybe if we never had writing, I’d have an amazing memory and I wouldn’t feel this way. But there are real advantages to digital text. And so is maybe some of this that we’re just in a transition time, you know, it took a long time to figure out how to read, figure out how to do books for a long time. Most people couldn’t read and, you know, books were reserved for the elite. And we are still learning about digital text, but there are very, very clear advantages. And that as we are able to develop them more deeply, we will, you know, recognize it just as it’s better to have writing and reading than to not. It’s much, much, much, much better to have these digital worlds and to not. I mean, are you and I just cranky, you know, are we the equivalent of our parents? Like the VCR is too complicated and it’s always distracting me.
Speaker 1 People who have often quoted or have at least recently often quoted
Is
It
Better
to
Have
Writing
and
Reading
Than
to
Not
?
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There
are
real
advantages
to
digital
text
.
It
’
s
better
to
have
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11/22/2022
What’s Different When We’re Reading in This Scanning Scrolling Way That Phones and Screens Demand?
Summary: We’re reading more words than ever. In some ways it’s paradise for readers for reading, but this gets a bit at this idea that we talked about at the beginning that reading is not any one thing. I’ve been doing a lot of work with colleagues like Naomi Barron who has an Oxford book called How We Read Now. My colleagues in Norway in the e-read network and we’re all trying to understand what are these characteristics of skimming, scanning, scrolling. And one of the things that is most obvious is that your ability to comprehend and sequence detail when you’re skimming or scanning goes out the door.
Transcript: Speaker 2 Let me ask you about how we use our phones because there’s something a little paradoxical here. On the one hand, we’re reading more words than ever. I mean, we’re constantly reading words. In some ways it’s paradise for readers for reading, but this gets a bit at this idea that we talked about at the beginning that reading is not any one thing. And we mentioned earlier scanning and I’d also bring into play here scrolling the fact that the screen moves while you’re looking at it. What have you learned in your research and the research of your colleagues about what is different when we’re reading in this scanning scrolling way that phones and screens demand?
Speaker 1 I’ve been doing a lot of work with colleagues like Naomi Barron who has an Oxford book called How We Read Now. My colleagues in Norway in the e-read network and we’re all trying to understand what are these characteristics of skimming, scanning, scrolling. And one of the things that is most obvious is that your ability to comprehend and sequence detail when you’re skimming or scanning goes out the door. Now, one of the things that goes out the door along with it is called comprehension monitoring. When we’re reading, let’s say print, by and large, this is not noticeable to yourself, but you’re checking. You’ve gone left, you’ve gone right, you’re always going a little ahead, but you’re also going back to check.
What
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Ph
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Demand
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Check out this episode of The Ezra Klein Show about #
Writing⁠
#
/m/04yclrg⁠
⁠
A short summary and the audio in the link above.
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11/22/2022
Is It Better to Have Writing and Reading Than to Not?
Transcript: Speaker 2 But let me take the other side of this because what I said about the Kindle is also true. Memory is a very weak facility. Now there’s some evidence it’s gotten weaker and you can go back to, I don’t, is it Socrates or Aristotle who says that writing is going to be bad because then we’re not going to remember anything. Right.
Speaker 1 The recipe for forgetting.
Speaker 2 Yeah, maybe if we never had writing, I’d have an amazing memory and I wouldn’t feel this way. But there are real advantages to digital text. And so is maybe some of this that we’re just in a transition time, you know, it took a long time to figure out how to read, figure out how to do books for a long time. Most people couldn’t read and, you know, books were reserved for the elite. And we are still learning about digital text, but there are very, very clear advantages. And that as we are able to develop them more deeply, we will, you know, recognize it just as it’s better to have writing and reading than to not. It’s much, much, much, much better to have these digital worlds and to not. I mean, are you and I just cranky, you know, are we the equivalent of our parents? Like the VCR is too complicated and it’s always distracting me.
Speaker 1 People who have often quoted or have at least recently often quoted
Is
It
Better
to
Have
Writing
and
Reading
Than
to
Not
?
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11/22/2022
Are You as Addict as Anyone?
Summary: Parents are inattentive too. What does that mean for children? So they are being given a constant model. And if you look at children, you’ll see that they are among other things, great imitators. One of the more horrifying aspects of that Goldilocks study was that John Hutton saw it.
Transcript: Speaker 1 You are as addicted as anyone. We all are.
Speaker 2 But I’m trying to get out with this question. Is you’re just bringing up how different it is for the child to have the parents’ attention? And the parents are inattentive too. What does that mean for children?
Speaker 1 So they are being given a constant model. And if you look at children, you’ll see that they are among other things, great imitators. So one of the more horrifying aspects of that Goldilocks study that I told you where parents came in and read to their child or they saw it. Well, one of the things that happened was that John Hutton saw
Are
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Add
ict
as
Anyone
?
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Summary
:
​
​
Parent
s
are
in
att
ent
ive
too
.
What
does
that
mean
for
children
?
So
they
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11/22/2022
The iPad and Parenting - What Is It All About?
Summary: I grew up with TV. Streaming is totally different because anything can be on it any minute. The iPad is like a whole other level of engagement for my son. I was thinking about how my engagement with screens means that there’s always a possibility of something at least plausibly really interesting. And kids are often no offense to them quite boring. They need you to sit around doing a lot of things that are not the most engaging thing that I could possibly imagine doing. It’s funny. I think there’s something almost comforting about putting this on the kids.
Transcript: Speaker 2 It’s funny. I think there’s something almost comforting about putting this on the kids. And I promise I won’t spend the whole time we have together on parenting. But this is something that occurred to me in an unpleasant way of reading your chapters about children, which is it’s easy to talk about the way kids growing up with modern screens. I grew up with TV. Streaming is totally different because anything can be on it any minute. The iPad is like a whole other level of engagement for my son. But it’s true for the parents too. I was thinking about how my engagement with screens means that there’s always a possibility of something at least plausibly really interesting. And kids are often no offense to them quite boring. They need you to sit around doing a lot of things that are not the most engaging thing that I could possibly imagine doing.
The
iPad
and
Parent
ing
-
What
Is
It
All
About
?
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
I
grew
up
with
TV
.
Streaming
is
totally
different
because
anything
can
be
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11/22/2022
The Same Formula That Casino Gamblers Use to Make a Gambler Addict
Summary: The same formula that casino gamblers use to give intermittent reinforcement plus those ways of engagement so that the child is addicted. The same things that are making a gambler addicted in a very small way that’s happening with our children. It’s unnerving and it’s also there’s a certain unconscionable aspect that has happened.
Transcript: Speaker 1 It’s unnerving and it’s also there’s a certain unconscionable aspect that has happened. And that is that those of us who really believed that, and I know you and I actually believe similarly 10, 12 years ago that the forces of the good would prevail with this medium and this culture. But what has happened is that profit and other motivations have not just made sure that engagement was taking place, but that the same formula that casino gamblers use to give intermittent reinforcement plus those ways of engagement so that the child is addicted. But what you said, and I’ll return back to your child, is that he can’t focus the same in the ways that you would hope. And that’s because he’s hyperstimulated. He is being molded. The same things that are making a gambler addicted in a very small way that’s happening with our children. So those of us who are studying this from the neuro science viewpoint, like John Hutton, we can tell you, I can tell you right now what we call the Goldilocks study, where a parent reads a story. The same story is then in an audio form and just heard by the child.
The
Same
Formula
That
Casino
Gam
bl
ers
Use
to
Make
a
Gam
bler
Add
ict
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
The
same
formula
that
casino
gam
bl
ers
use
to
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11/22/2022
Screen Time for a Four Year Old & cocomelon
Summary: I was thinking about this reading your book. There is so little he can pay attention to for long periods except the screen. I mean in a weird way, like the natural state of the kid should be distracted. It’s unnerving and it’s also there’s a certain unconscionable aspect that has happened.
Transcript: Speaker 2 I was thinking about this reading your book. So I have two sons, one’s one year old and one is almost four. And I was thinking about how for a four year old it isn’t his distractedness that worries me, it’s his focus. And I say this because particularly since he got a brother screen time rules are not what they once were in my house and it’s on these on all the time but it’s so noticeable with a little kid. There is so little he can pay attention to for long periods except the screen. I was reading in this wonderful newspaper that hosts this podcast. There was a feature about Coco Mellon which is this show of functionally animated nursery rhymes that like two and three year olds love and adults hate. But they talk about in this feature how they have set up a room, the place that makes Coco Mellon where they will have a kid watching the show and set up next to it is another screen that shows an adult just doing normal household tasks. Just sort of wandering around doing whatever you do in the house. And if the child becomes distracted from Coco Mellon by what the adult is doing, they go back to the edit and they amp up the interestingness, the cuts, the whatever makes a Coco Mellon episode interesting. And it was so dystopic, right? The level of engineering. I mean the hyper saturation of the color is a constant cuts. And so I mean a little bit like, you know, hyper sugary cereal or whatever, what his system is learning to find worth paying attention to, right? Then like how hard it is for the world to measure up to that as it is for me. I’m going to bring this to me in a second. So don’t I’m not just putting this on little kids. But I know every time I put them there, it is training, right? It is training about what’s interesting and what’s not. I mean in a weird way, like the natural state of the kid should be distracted. I can’t have him distracted all the time because I sometimes need to like clean dishes. But it is really unnerving.
Speaker 1 It’s unnerving and it’s also there’s a certain unconscionable aspect that has happened. And that is that those of us who really believed that, and I know you and I actually believe similarly 10, 12 years ago that the forces of the good would prevail with this medium and this culture. But what has happened is that profit and other motivations have not just made sure that engagement was taking place, but that the same formula that casino gamblers use to give intermittent reinforcement plus those ways of engagement so that the child is addicted. But what you said, and I’ll return back to your child, is that he can’t focus the same in the ways that you would hope. And that’s because he’s hyperstimulated. He is being molded. The same things that are making a gambler addicted in a very small way that’s happening with our children. So those of us who are studying this from the neuro science viewpoint, like John Hutton, we can tell you, I can tell you right now what we call the Goldilocks study, where a parent reads a story. The same story is then in an audio form and just heard by the child. This is a three year old or a four year old, or it’s animated in a screen. Well, you know that they are paying very close attention to that screen. But what you don’t know is if you do or look at the activation of the language regions of the brain, under all three of those circumstances, language is being activated most by when a parent or caretaker is reading that same story. The passivity is gone out the window. There is an interactive nature to it. And there is a use of their language knowledge and their background knowledge that’s coming to bear more forcefully in that print situation and more passively in the screen situation. And so of course you have differences in concentration. You have differences in attention. Walter Benjamin said that boredom is the hatch bird of the imagination. Well, our children, the first thing they do after they go off the screen is say, I’m bored, but this is not Walter Benjamin’s boredom. This is boredom that seeks to, if you will, assuage its need for hyper stimulation by getting more. This is something that we must figure out.
Screen
Time
for
a
Four
Year
Old
&
coc
om
elon
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
I
was
thinking
about
this
reading
your
book
.
There
is
so
little
he
can
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11/22/2022
Screen Time for a Four Year Old
Summary: I was thinking about this reading your book. So I have two sons, one’s one year old and one is almost four. And I was thinking about how for a four-year-old it isn’t his distractedness that worries me, it’s his focus. Since he got a brother screen time rules are not what they once were in my house. There is so little he can pay attention to for long periods except the screen.
Transcript: Speaker 2 I was thinking about this reading your book. So I have two sons, one’s one year old and one is almost four. And I was thinking about how for a four year old it isn’t his distractedness that worries me, it’s his focus. And I say this because particularly since he got a brother screen time rules are not what they once were in my house and it’s on these on all the time but it’s so noticeable with a little kid. There is so little he can pay attention to for long periods except the screen.
Screen
Time
for
a
Four
Year
Old
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
I
was
thinking
about
this
reading
your
book
.
So
I
have
two
sons
,
one
’
s
one
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11/22/2022
Cognitive Patience Is a Capacity That Can Be Learned
Summary: There’s a term that people use in this area called the novelty bias. Survival itself dependent on that novelty reflex. Now that novelty reflex is now being hyperstimulated from infancy on. So even though you were talking about cognitive patients being formed, I will say it’s being malformed, disformed from the start by parents not realizing that these screens are not babysitters but that they are shaping the demand for attention and novelty in our young.
Transcript: Speaker 1 There’s a term that people use in this area called the novelty bias and that’s a reflex that goes all the way back to our hunter-gatherer days in which to see what was unusual was to preserve our life, whether it was a predator that we were able to avoid or make a strategy to avoid or whether it’s something that we could eat and not be poisoned, but survival itself dependent on that novelty reflex. Now that novelty reflex is now being hyperstimulated from infancy on and I make a really hard point with my pediatric colleagues like Barry Zuckerman and John Hutton from Cincinnati, all of these people are really trying hard to insist we don’t endure our children to distraction and novelty because they are complete victims to the novelty reflex. Everything distracts them and they are becoming hyperstimulated. So even though you were talking about cognitive patients being formed, I will say it’s being malformed, disformed from the start by parents not realizing that these screens are not babysitters but that they are shaping the demand for attention and novelty in our young.
C
ognitive
Pat
ience
Is
a
Capacity
That
Can
Be
Learn
ed
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
There
’
s
a
term
that
people
use
in
this
area
called
the
novelty
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11/22/2022
The Newness Bias
Summary: I want to bring this back in the way of neuroplasticity. You talk at times about the opposite of cognitive impatience which is cognitive patience. But when we exist in a digital world in particular that is so constantly assaulting us with novelty, what I understand happens to the mind is it begins to expect and even crave novelty. And so this is one of the places where I have a real fear about myself, about my sons, about my society, that we are training ourselves away from cognitive patience. It’s not just for some people a virtue, but it’s also a capacity.
Transcript: Speaker 2 Let me hold you there because I want to question the word want and I want to bring this back in the way to neuroplasticity. You talk at times about the opposite of cognitive impatience which is cognitive patience. But when we exist in a digital world in particular that is so constantly assaulting us with novelty, what I understand happens to the mind is it begins to expect and even crave novelty. And so this is one of the places where I have a real fear about myself, about my sons, about my society, that we are training ourselves, are training our minds away from cognitive patience which isn’t just maybe it is for some people a virtue, but it’s also a capacity.
The
New
ness
B
ias
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
I
want
to
bring
this
back
in
the
way
of
neuro
pl
astic
ity
.
You
talk
at
times
about
the
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11/22/2022
We’re Not Passing on Our Best Thoughts
Summary: “The very bombardment, the very volume is causing people ultimately to go only to the familiar sources of that information,” he says. “And then they become calcified into thinking in those, if you will, reduced terms which by and large, this is the term used by many people.”
Transcript: Speaker 1 So the very bombardment, the very volume is causing people ultimately to go only to the familiar sources of that information. And then they become calcified into thinking in those, if you will, reduced terms which by and large, this is the term used by many people, is part of the confirmatory bias characteristic that’s happening with information. You go to your familiar source, you don’t try on other perspectives, it’s too much.
We
’
re
Not
Pass
ing
on
Our
Best
Thoughts
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
“
The
very
bomb
ard
ment
,
the
very
volume
is
causing
people
ultimately
to
go
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11/22/2022
We Live in a World of Information
Summary: I wonder if there isn’t an answer to what I think should be understood as a quite profound mystery of our age in that. And this is a suspicion I’ve had for a bit. So we live in this age in which one of the fundamental scare cities of all of human civilization and existence has been lifted, which is information. The amount of information any individual being had access to a hundred years ago to say nothing of a thousand was so minuscule, so bounded compared to what is possible for us to know now,. To share now, to access now. Something of the early utopian beliefs about the internet would come true.
Transcript: Speaker 2 I wonder if there isn’t an answer to what I think should be understood as a quite profound mystery of our age in that. And this is a suspicion I’ve had for a bit. So we live in this age in which one of the fundamental scare cities of all of human civilization and existence has been lifted, which is information. The amount of information any individual being had access to a hundred years ago to say nothing of a thousand was so minuscule, so bounded compared to what is possible for us to know now, to share now, to access now. And so you would think having lifted the constraint on what we can know and what we can share that you would see something economic growth, the depth of our democracies, our societal wisdom and humaneness accelerate, right? Something of the early utopian beliefs about the internet would come true.
We
Live
in
a
World
of
Information
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
I
wonder
if
there
isn
’
t
an
answer
to
what
I
think
should
be
understood
as
a
quite
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11/22/2022
Learning to Read
Summary: Aristotelian perspective: Where are our best insights? The brain was activated everywhere it would seem. All these different regions in both hemispheres. We’re making new connections and those new connections are the basis of novel thought. That’s what we want for everyone to have as a piece of what it means to learn to read.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Just the same thing that you experienced on a plane, writ large, writ across everyone. Where are our best insights? Where are we going to have the space and time to give that next generation the full sum of our wisdom? So that’s the Aristotelian perspective. The second one is a mocogum neuroscience one and there was this one amazing set of researchers who were trying to deal with what’s the insight experience we have. What they found was that the brain was activated everywhere it would seem. All these different regions in both hemispheres. I find the humor in that actually very helpful in understanding what you are talking about because it illustrates that when we reach that state we are activating all we know and going beyond it. We’re making new connections and those new connections are the basis of novel thought and that’s what we want for everyone to have as a piece of what it means to learn to read.
Learning
to
Read
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
A
rist
ot
el
ian
perspective
:
Where
are
our
best
insights
?
The
brain
was
activated
everywhere
it
would
seem
.
All
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11/22/2022
The Aristotelian Perspective
Summary: Aristotle said there are three lives to a good society. The first life is the life of productivity and knowledge, he says. A second life that is in the Greek sense leisure entertainment when it has to have that. He’s the word contemplation. So where are our best insights? Where are we going to have the space and time to give that next generation the full sum of our wisdom? We don’t realize how important it is to insight.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Well, first I’m so glad that you understand your own insight and I want to give you two completely different perspectives on this. So you and I are going to do what the brain does. You’re going to do some heavy duty interactive associations of two different perspectives on your question. The first one is Aristotle. Aristotle was writing about what makes a good society and he said there are three lives to a good society. The first life is the life of productivity and knowledge and a cruel of information. The second life that is in the Greek sense leisure entertainment when it has to have that. He said the third life that is essential is the life of reflection. He’s the word contemplation. Now that is a perspective, let’s call it the Aristotelian perspective in which the contemplative is going missing and we don’t realize how important it is to insight. Just the same thing that you experienced on a plane, writ large, writ across everyone. Where are our best insights? Where are we going to have the space and time to give that next generation the full sum of our wisdom? So that’s the Aristotelian perspective. The second one is a mocogum neuroscience one and there was this one amazing set of researchers who were trying to deal with what’s the insight experience we have. What they found was that the brain was activated everywhere it would seem.
The
Arist
ot
el
ian
Perspective
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
A
rist
otle
said
there
are
three
lives
to
a
good
society
.
The
first
life
is
the
life
of
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11/22/2022
The Aristotelian Perspective
Summary: Aristotle said there are three lives to a good society. The contemplative is going missing and we don’t realize how important it is to insight, he says. So that’s the Aristotelian perspective. A mocogum neuroscience one was trying to deal with what’s the insight experience we have. What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Well, first I’m so glad that you understand your own insight and I want to give you two completely different perspectives on this. So you and I are going to do what the brain does. You’re going to do some heavy duty interactive associations of two different perspectives on your question. The first one is Aristotle. Aristotle was writing about what makes a good society and he said there are three lives to a good society. The first life is the life of productivity and knowledge and a cruel of information. The second life that is in the Greek sense leisure entertainment when it has to have that. He said the third life that is essential is the life of reflection. He’s the word contemplation. Now that is a perspective, let’s call it the Aristotelian perspective in which the contemplative is going missing and we don’t realize how important it is to insight. Just the same thing that you experienced on a plane, writ large, writ across everyone. Where are our best insights? Where are we going to have the space and time to give that next generation the full sum of our wisdom? So that’s the Aristotelian perspective. The second one is a mocogum neuroscience one and there was this one amazing set of researchers who were trying to deal with what’s the insight experience we have.
The
Arist
ot
el
ian
Perspective
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
A
rist
otle
said
there
are
three
lives
to
a
good
society
.
The
contempl
ative
is
going
missing
and
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11/22/2022
What Is That State?
Summary: Aristotle said there are three lives to a good society. The first life is the life of productivity and knowledge, he says. He’s the word contemplation. Now that is a perspective, let’s call it the Aristotelian perspectives.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Well, first I’m so glad that you understand your own insight and I want to give you two completely different perspectives on this. So you and I are going to do what the brain does. You’re going to do some heavy duty interactive associations of two different perspectives on your question. The first one is Aristotle. Aristotle was writing about what makes a good society and he said there are three lives to a good society. The first life is the life of productivity and knowledge and a cruel of information. The second life that is in the Greek sense leisure entertainment when it has to have that. He said the third life that is essential is the life of reflection. He’s the word contemplation. Now that is a perspective, let’s call it the Aristotelian
What
Is
That
State
?
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
A
rist
otle
said
there
are
three
lives
to
a
good
society
.
The
first
life
is
the
life
of
productivity
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11/22/2022
The Deep Reading Process
Summary: How do we build a habit of mind in which we decide from the start, what is the purpose? If the purpose is my shallow email, then I will skim with no guilt at all. When we are reading for that purpose, for beauty, for understanding at the deepest level, then we have to really figure out how to use either print out and use print or how to ensure that we can read on any medium.
Transcript: Speaker 1 How do we build a habit of mind in which we decide from the start of whatever we are reading, what is the purpose? If the purpose is my shallow email, then I will skim with no guilt at all. But if my intention or my purpose is to really understand something at ever deeper levels of its complexity or to perceive the beauty of that carefully chosen word, when we are reading for that purpose, for beauty, for understanding at the deepest level, then we have to really figure out how to use either print out and use print or how to ensure that we can read on any medium with the deep reading processes as our goal.
Speaker 2 So I want to pause on that Proust quote because it’s really the heart of this conversation too. There’s a state I get in, less and less these days, but in part because of the way my world works and my phone and my computers, I now associate it with plane flights because nobody can call me and I don’t buy internet.
The
Deep
Reading
Process
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
How
do
we
build
a
habit
of
mind
in
which
we
decide
from
the
start
,
what
is
the
purpose
?
If
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11/22/2022
Building Habits of Mind
Summary: We are developing a mindset or habit of reading in a particular way that by and large is based on a kind of skimming reading. If the purpose is my shallow email, then I will skim with no guilt at all. We can build habits of mind. A kind of reading that’s after the innermost landscape of our thinking. Whether we call it the sanctuary of reading, Proust always had something amazing to say about everything. The heart of reading as the place where we go beyond the wisdom of the author to discover our own.
Transcript: Speaker 1 So imperceptibly, we are developing a mindset or habit of reading in a particular way that by and large is based on a kind of skimming reading. Again, because of all the information we have to process in any given day. So the habit or mindset is now so largely influenced by us reading on screens that we take that mindset even back to print. We can build habits of mind. A kind of reading that’s after the innermost landscape of our thinking. Whether we call it the sanctuary of reading, Proust always had something amazing to say about everything. We saw the heart of reading as the place where we go beyond the wisdom of the author to discover our own. How do we build a habit of mind in which we decide from the start of whatever we are reading, what is the purpose? If the purpose is my shallow email, then I will skim with no guilt at all. But if my intention or my purpose is to really understand something at ever deeper levels of its complexity or to perceive the beauty of that carefully chosen word, when we are reading for that purpose, for beauty,
Building
Hab
its
of
Mind
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
We
are
developing
a
mindset
or
habit
of
reading
in
a
particular
way
that
by
and
large
is
based
on
a
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11/22/2022
The Relationship Between Attention and Reading
Summary: There is a quick line between attention and shallow memory that is possible because we have a plastic brain. Plasticity means that the way we read will be reflecting the affordances of the medium. This was a point that McLuhan made, his student Walter Ong made,. certainly Postman made as you indicated in your August essay. All of these people were onto the basic principle that how we read on a medium changes what we discern, what we comprehend.
Transcript: Speaker 1 The most important two words that I will use in this next part of the discussion are attention, the quality of attention and insight, epiphany. There is a quick line between attention and shallow memory that is possible because we have a plastic brain. It doesn’t tell us exactly what to do. Rather, this plasticity is dependent on the medium in which we read the language or writing system or orthography in which we read and even the educational background that taught us how to read in particular ways. Now I bring us back to the two words attention and insight. Plasticity means that the way we read will be reflecting the affordances of the medium. This was a point that McLuhan made, his student Walter Ong made, certainly Postman made as you indicated in your August essay. All of these people were onto the basic principle that how we read on a medium changes what we discern, what we comprehend. Now I’m going to push just slightly this plasticity into the affordances of digital versus print. The affordances of the digital screen are really exciting. They help us skim the extraordinary voluminous nature of information that’s out there. Skimming is a defense mechanism that’s very useful. We can handle so much information and your job, Essra and mine, involves six to ten hours a day of sampling information, if you will, making sure we’re aware.
The
Relationship
Between
Attention
and
Reading
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
There
is
a
quick
line
between
attention
and
shallow
memory
that
is
possible
because
we
have
a
plastic
brain
.
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11/22/2022
Reading at Multiple Levels
Summary: We are entering almost like the theory of mind of another and also their feelings. And that means there are different levels in which we can participate in the text. We can use our ability to take on another perspective, to read in a whole different way. That’s part of why Nicholas Carr used the term shallows. Some of my colleagues in Norway even talk about the shallowing hypothesis.
Transcript: Speaker 1 And that means there are different levels in which we can participate in the text. We can use our ability to take on another perspective, to read in a whole different way. We are entering almost like the theory of mind of another and also their feelings. This is a totally different form of reading than the one that we are talking about when we are saying we read for information. Now I can go and we’ll go further into what’s even, if you will, deeper than critical analysis and empathy. But the accrual of all these more sophisticated processes means that we can read at multiple levels. We can read with our attention simply skimming the surface. And that’s part of why Nicholas Carr used the term shallows. That’s why some of my colleagues in Norway even talk about the shallowing hypothesis. Many, many of us have, if you will, regressed to that earliest form of reading in which we are barely skimming the surface of what we read, barely consolidating it in memory.
Reading
at
Multiple
Levels
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
We
are
entering
almost
like
the
theory
of
mind
of
another
and
also
their
feelings
.
And
that
means
there
are
different
 Show 273 more
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11/17/2022
Energy and the Future?
Summary: The United States was in a period of energy surplus until the last few years. We know what it means to basically have more than enough energy to fund our own domestic manufacturing and living standards. And I think that by being able to generate this energy from the sun, that is very cap ex-efficient,. That is very climate efficient, gives us a huge tailwind.
Transcript: Speaker 2 So if we just linger on that tree, it seems like a lot of geopolitics, a lot of international military even conflict is around energy. So how does your thinking about energy connect to what you see happening in the next 10, 20 years? Maybe you can look at the war in Ukraine or relationship with China and other places through the list lens of energy. What’s the hopeful? What’s the cynical trajectory that the world might take with this drive towards zero energy, zero cost energy?
Speaker 1 So the United States was in a period of energy surplus until the last few years, some number of years in Trump and I think some number of now the current administration with President Biden. But we know what it means to basically have more than enough energy to fund our own domestic manufacturing and living standards. And I think that by being able to generate this energy from the sun, that is very cap ex-efficient, that is very climate efficient, gives us a huge tailwind. The second thing is that we are now in a world, in a regime for many years to come of non-zero interest rates. And it may interest you to know that really the last time that we had long dated wars supported at low
Energy
and
the
Future
?
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Summary
:
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The
United
States
was
in
a
period
of
energy
surplus
until
the
last
few
years
.
We
know
what
it
means
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11/16/2022
The Next Most Evident Atom Unit Are Content Creators
Summary: The next most obvious atomic unit are content creators. Lex Friedman, this random crazy guy, Mr. Beast, Jimmy Donaldson,. Just the two of you alone, add it up, okay? And you guys are going to approach in the next five years, a billion people. The only thing that you guys haven’t figured out yet is how to capture trillions of dollars of value. Yeah, and I think Jimmy is going to build an enormous business.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Then this next wave were the apps, Facebook, QQ, Tencent, TikTok, Twitter, Snapchat, that whole panoply of apps. And interestingly, they were in many ways an atomized version of the platforms. They sat on top of them, they were an ecosystem participant, but the value they created was the same. Trillions of dollars of enterprise value, billions of monthly active users. While there’s an interesting phenomenon that’s kind of hiding in plain sight, which is that the next most obvious atomic unit are content creators. Now let me give you two examples. Lex Friedman, this random crazy guy, Mr. Beast, Jimmy Donaldson, just the two of you alone, add it up, okay? And you guys are going to approach in the next five years, a billion people. The only thing that you guys haven’t figured out yet is how to capture trillions of dollars of value. Now maybe you don’t want to and maybe that’s not your stated mission. Right, right, but let’s just look at Mr. Beast alone because he is trying to do exactly that probably. Yeah, and I think Jimmy is going to build an enormous business. But if you take Jimmy and all of the other content creators, right, you guys are atomizing what the apps have done. You’re providing your own curated news feeds. You’re providing your own curated communities. You’re allowed, you let people move in and out of these things in a very lightweight way and value is accruing to you.
The
Next
Most
Ev
ident
Atom
Unit
Are
Content
Creat
ors
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Summary
:
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The
next
most
obvious
atomic
unit
are
content
creators
.
Lex
Friedman
,
this
random
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11/16/2022
Is It Worth It?
Summary: There are about 1700 utilities in America. They have captive markets but need to invest a certain amount per year in upgrading that power line. Even though it costs nothing to make energy, you are paying double every five every seven or eight years. It’s like you are trying to build an app and being forced to build your own data center.
Transcript: Speaker 1 So this is the other side of regulatory capture, right? You know, we all fight to build monopolies. While there are monopolies hiding in plain sight. The utilities are a perfect example. There are a hundred million homes in America. There are about 1700 utilities in America. So they have captive markets. But in return for that captive market, the law says need to invest a certain amount per year in upgrading that power line in changing out that turbine in making sure you transition from coal to wind or whatever. So, for example, upgrading power lines in the United States over the next decade is a $2 trillion proposition. These 1700 organizations have to spend. I think it’s a quarter of a trillion dollars a year. Just to change the power lines. That is why, even though it costs nothing to make energy, you are paying double every five every seven or eight years. So it’s like, you’re going to do a lot of work on that. And I think that’s the way that you’ve done this for a long time. It’s like you are trying to build an app and being forced to build your own data center and you say, but wait, I just want to write to AWS. I just want to use GCP, I just want to move on all that complexity solved for me. And some law says, No, you can’t. You got to use it. So that’s what consumers are dealing with. But it’s also what industrial and manufacturing organizations.
Speaker 2 Of this old infrastructure that we’re paying for.
Speaker 1 So the thing that’s happening today, which I think is, this is why I think it’s the most important trend right now in the world, is that 100 million homeowners are each going to become their own little power plant and compete with these 1,700 utilities.
Is
It
Worth
It
?
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Summary
:
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There
are
about
1700
utilities
in
America
.
They
have
captive
markets
but
need
to
invest
a
certain
amount
per
year
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11/16/2022
You Don’t Need to Give These Things a Lot of Money
Summary: Starting in 2023 right now, you have the two most important tectonic shifts that have ever happened in our lifetime in technology. These things allow a GI I think to emerge over the next 10 or 15 years where it wasn’t possible for the first thing is that the marginal cost of energy is zero. And so when you when you take the multiplication or if you want to get really fancy mathematically, the convolution of these two things together,. It’s going to change everything.
Transcript: Speaker 1 You said a really, really key thing, which is, which was a really great emotional instinctive reaction, which is when I said the AGI thing, you said, well, how would you ever make money from that? That is the key. The presumption is that this thing would not be an important thing at the beginning. And I think what that allows you to do if you were Twitter or Google or Apple or Facebook, anybody, Microsoft, embarking on building something like this, is that you can actually have it off the critical path. And you can experiment with this for years, if that’s what it takes to find a version one that is special enough where it’s worth showcasing. And so in many ways, you get the free option. You’re going to be spending any of these companies will be spending tens of billions of dollars in op X and cap X every year and all kinds of stuff. It is not a thing that money actually makes more likely to succeed. In fact, you actually don’t need to give these kinds of things, a lot of money at all, because starting in 2023 right now, you know, you have the two most important tectonic shifts that have ever happened in our lifetime in technology. They’re not talked about, but these things allow a GI I think to emerge over the next 10 or 15 years where it wasn’t possible for the first thing is that the marginal cost of energy is zero. I can pay for anything anymore. Right. And we can double click into why that why that is and the second is the marginal cost of compute is zero. And so when you when you take the multiplication or, you know, if you want to get really fancy mathematically, the convolution of these two things together. It’s going to change everything.
You
Don
’
t
Need
to
Give
These
Things
a
Lot
of
Money
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Summary
:
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Starting
in
2023
right
now
,
you
have
the
two
most
important
t
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11/12/2022
1min Snip
1
min
Sn
ip
It's impossible to know what "undefined" means in this context without more information.
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11/10/2022
The Conversation About UFOs Is About to Be More Prominent
Summary: There’s no telling what spooky things may in fact be true. The question is whether science and reason can generate viral sticky stories that give meaning to people’s lives. Whatever is true ultimately should be captivating. It’s more captivating than whatever is real. We’re so just climbing out of the darkness in terms of our understanding of what the hell is going on.
Transcript: Speaker 2 The question is, what is the source of the most viral and sticky stories that ultimately lead to a positive outcome? Communism was having grown up in the Soviet Union, even still having relatives in Russia. There’s a stickiness to the nationalism and to the ideologies of communism that religious or not, you could say it’s religious fervor, I could just say it’s great stories that are viral and sticky. I’m using the most horrible words, but the question is whether science and reason can generate viral sticky stories that give meaning to people’s lives. In your senses it does.
Speaker 1 Whatever is true ultimately should be captivating. It’s more captivating than whatever is real. Because reality is, again, we’re so just climbing out of the darkness in terms of our understanding of what the hell is going on. There’s no telling what spooky things may in fact be true. I don’t know if you’ve been on the receiving end of recent rumors about our conversation about UFOs very likely changing in the near term. There was just a Washington Post article and a New Yorker article. I’ve received some private outreach and perhaps you have. I know other people in orbit have people who are claiming that the government has known much more about UFOs than they have let on until now. This conversation is actually about to become more prominent. It’s not going to be whoever’s left standing when the music stops. It’s not going to be a comfortable position to be in as a super rigorous scientific skeptic saying there’s been saying there’s no there there for the last 75 years. The short version is it sounds like the Office of Naval Intelligence and the Pentagon are very likely to say to Congress at some point in the not too distant future that we have evidence that there is technology flying around here that seems like it can’t possibly be of human origin. Now I don’t know what I’m going to do with that kind of disclosure. Maybe it’s just it’s going to be nothing, no follow on conversation to really have. But that is such a powerfully strange circumstance to be in. It’s just what are we going to do with that? If in fact that’s what happens. If in fact the considered opinion despite the embarrassment it causes them of the US government, of all of our intelligence, all of the relevant intelligence services is that this isn’t a hoax. It’s too there’s too much data to suggest that it’s a hoax. We’ve got too much radar imagery. There’s too much too much satellite data, whatever data, whatever data they actually have. There’s too much of it. All we can say now is something’s going on and there’s no way it’s the Chinese or the Russians or anyone else’s technology. That should arrest our attention collectively to a degree that nothing in our lifetime has. Now one worries that we’re so jaded and confused and distracted that it’s going to get much less coverage than Obama’s tan suit did a bunch of years ago. It’s who knows how we’ll respond to that. It’s just to say that the need for us to tell ourselves an honest story about what’s going on and what’s likely to happen next is never going to go away. It’s important.
The
Conversation
About
UFO
s
Is
About
to
Be
More
Prom
inent
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Summary
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There
’
s
no
telling
what
sp
ooky
things
may
in
fact
be
true
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11/10/2022
It’s Not Just Big Cities
Summary: “It’s quite possible that if we saw the asteroid hurtling toward Earth and, you know, everyone agreed that it’s going to make impact and we’re all going to die,” he says. “I think there’s no prospect of our converging on a solution to climate change purely based on political persuasion is nonexistent at this point.”
Transcript: Speaker 1 Those are big city problems or they’re faking it or I mean, it just the, the layer of politics has become so dysfunctional for us that even in, even in what in the presence of a pandemic that looked legitimately scary there in the beginning, I mean, it’s not to say that it hasn’t been devastating for everyone who’s been directly affected by it. And it’s not to say it can’t get worse. But here, you know, for a very long time we have known that we were, we were in a situation that is more benign than the, that was, that was seemed like the worst case scenario as it was kicking off, especially in Italy. And so still, yeah, it’s quite possible that if we saw the asteroid hurtling toward Earth and, you know, everyone agreed that it’s going to, it’s going to make impact and we’re all going to die, then we could get off Twitter and actually, you know, build the, the rockets that are going to divert the, you know, divert the asteroid from its Earth crossing path. And we could do something pretty heroic. But when you talk about anything else that isn’t, that’s slower moving than that, I mean, something like climate change, I think there’s, I think the prospect of, of our converging on a solution to climate change purely based on political persuasion is nonexistent at this point.
It
’
s
Not
Just
Big
Cities
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Summary
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“
It
’
s
quite
possible
that
if
we
saw
the
asteroid
hurt
ling
toward
Earth
and
,
you
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11/9/2022
Is There a Difference Between a Tremor That I Can’t Control and a Purposeful Motor Action?
Summary: There’s definitely a difference between voluntary and involuntary action. So I’m not saying that your body isn’t doing really doing things, right? And some of those things can be conventionally thought of as choices - so it’s like I can choose to reach and it’s like it’s not being imposed on me. That would be a different experience. But we still have to admit that there’s a difference between a tremor that I can’t control and a purposeful motor action that I can control and I can initiate on demand.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Well, it is. So I’m not saying that your body isn’t doing really doing things, right? And some of those things can be conventionally thought of as choices, right? So it’s like I can choose to reach and it’s like it’s not being imposed on me. That would be a different experience. Like so there’s a, there’s an experience of, of all, you know, there’s definitely a difference between voluntary and involuntary action. There’s, so we, that has to get conserved by any account of the mind that, that jettison’s free will, you still have to admit that, that there’s a difference between a tremor that I can’t control and a, a purposeful motor action that I can control and I can initiate on demand and it’s associated with intentions. And I’ve, it’s got efferent, you know, motor copy, which, which is being, which is being predictive so that I can notice errors. You know, I have expectations when I reach for this, if my hand were actually to pass through the bottle because it’s a hologram, I would be surprised, right? So that shows that I have a expectation of just what my grasping behavior is going to be like even before it happens. Whereas with a tremor, you don’t have the same kind of thing going on. That’s a distinction we have to make. So I am, yes, I’m really the prox, my intention to move subject, which is in fact can be subjectively felt really is the proximate cause of my moving. It’s not coming from elsewhere in the universe. I’m not saying that. So in that sense, the node is really deciding to execute, you know, the, the sub routine now, but that’s not the feeling that has given rise to this, this conundrum of free will, right? So the people feel like, people feel like the crucial things that people feel like they could have done otherwise. Right? So that’s the thing that says that when you, when you run back the clock of your life, right, run back the movie of your
Is
There
a
Difference
Between
a
Trem
or
That
I
Can
’
t
Control
and
a
Purpose
ful
Motor
Action
?
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Summary
:
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There
’
s
definitely
a
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11/9/2022
Are We Just a Collection of Humans?
Summary: Culture is like an operating system, you think of culture as an operating system. We are just a distributed computation system on which there’s some kind of operating system running. The actual thing that generates the interactions, the communications, and maybe even freewill the experiences of all those freewill. Do you ever try to reframe the world in that way where it’s like ideas are just using us?
Transcript: Speaker 2 But everything you’ve described now, maybe you can correct me, but it kind of speaks to the materialistic nature of the hardware.
Speaker 1 But even if you add magical ectoplasm software, you didn’t produce that either. I know.
Speaker 2 But if we can think about the actual computation running on the hardware and running on the software, there’s something you said recently, which you think of culture as an operating system. So if we just remove ourselves a little bit from the conception of human civilization being a collection of humans, and rather us just being a distributed computation system on which there’s some kind of operating system running, and then the computation that’s running is the actual thing that generates the interactions, the communications, and maybe even freewill the experiences of all those freewill. Do you ever try to reframe the world in that way where it’s like ideas are just using us, thoughts are using individual nodes in the system, and they’re just jumping around, and they also have ability to generate like experiences so that we can push those ideas along.
Are
We
Just
a
Collection
of
Humans
?
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Summary
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Culture
is
like
an
operating
system
,
you
think
of
culture
as
an
operating
system
.
We
are
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11/9/2022
The Pep Talk
Summary: It’s the flip side of feeling like you are not merely identical to experience. You feel like you’re an agent that is appropriating an experience. There seems to be a rider on the horse or a passenger in the body. People don’t feel truly identical to their bodies down to their toes. They sort of feel like they have bodies and that feels like a self. That feels like me.
Transcript: Speaker 1 It is the flip side of this feeling of self. It’s the flip side of feeling like you are not merely identical to experience. You feel like you’re having an experience. You feel like you’re an agent that is appropriating an experience. There’s a protagonist in the movie of your life and it is you. It’s not just the movie. There are sights and sounds and sensations and thoughts and emotions and this whole cacophony of experience, a felt experience, a felt experience of embodiment. But there seems to be a rider on the horse or a passenger in the body. People don’t feel truly identical to their bodies down to their toes. They sort of feel like they have bodies. They feel like they’re minds in bodies and that feels like a self. That feels like me. Again, this gets very paradoxical when you talk about the experience of being in relationship to yourself or talking to yourself, giving yourself a pep talk. If you’re the one talking, why are you also the one listening? Why do you need the pep talk and why does it work? If you’re the one giving the pep talk. Or if I say, where are my keys? If I’m looking for my keys, why do I think the superfluous thought, where are my keys? I know I’m looking for the fucking keys. I’m the one looking. Who am I telling that we now need to look for the keys?
The
Pep
Talk
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Summary
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It
’
s
the
flip
side
of
feeling
like
you
are
not
merely
identical
to
experience
.
You
feel
like
you
’
re
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11/9/2022
All Intelligence Is Collective Intelligence
Summary: There are no examples anywhere of a central dictator in science, because everything is made of parts. Even though we feel as a unified central intelligence and kind of point of cognition, we are a bag of neurons. All intelligence is collective intelligence. And I think it’s a real shame, but I see this all the time. When you have a collective like this, whether it be a group of robots or a collection of cells or neurons or whatever,. It’s not going to be fairy dust.
Transcript: Speaker 2 So thinking about biologic systems as things that have memory have almost something like cognitive ability. But I mean, how incredible is it that the cellomander arm is being rebuilt not with a dictator? It’s kind of like the cellular automata system. All the individual workers are doing their own thing. So where’s that top-down signal that does the control coming from? How can you find it? Why does it stop growing? How does it know the shape? How does it have memory of the shape? And how does it tell everybody to be like, whoa, whoa, slow down, we’re done?
Speaker 1 So the first thing to think about, I think, is that there are no examples anywhere of a central dictator because in this kind of science, because everything is made of parts. And so we, even though we feel as a unified central intelligence and kind of point of cognition, we are a bag of neurons. All intelligence is collective intelligence. This is important to think about because a lot of people think, OK, there’s real intelligence like me. And then there’s collective intelligence, which is ants and flocks of birds and termites and things like that. And maybe it’s appropriate to think of them as an individual. And maybe it’s not. A lot of people are skeptical about that and so on. But you’ve got to realize that there’s no such thing as this indivisible diamond of intelligence that’s like this one central thing that’s not made of parts. We are all made of parts. And so if you believe, which I think is hard to get around, that we, in fact, have a centralized set of goals and preferences, and we plan and we do things and so on, you are already committed to the fact that a collection of cells is able to do this because we are a collection of cells. There’s no getting around that. In our case, what we do is we navigate the three dimensional world and we have behavior.
Speaker 2 This is blowing my mind right now because we are just a collection of cells. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So when I’m moving this arm, I feel like I’m the central dictator of that action. But there’s a lot of stuff going on. Like all the cells here are collaborating in some interesting way. They’re getting signal from the central nervous system.
Speaker 1 Well, even the central nervous system is misleedingly named because it isn’t really central. Again, it’s what we…
Speaker 2 It’s just a bunch of cells.
Speaker 1 It’s just a bunch of cells. I mean, all of the… There are no singular, indivisible intelligences anywhere. We are all, every example that we’ve ever seen is a collective of something. It’s just that we’re used to it. We’re used to that. We’re used to, OK, this thing is kind of a single thing, but it’s really not. You zoom in. You know what you see. You see a bunch of cells running around. And so…
Speaker 2 Is there some unifying or jumping around, but that’s something that you look at as the bioelectrical signal versus the biochemical, the chemistry, the electricity. Maybe the life isn’t that versus the cells. It’s the… There’s an orchestra playing, and the resulting music is the dictator.
Speaker 1 That’s not bad. Dennis Noble’s kind of view of things. He has two really good books where he talks about this musical analogy. So I like it. Is it wrong? No, I don’t think it’s wrong. I don’t think it’s wrong. I think the important thing about it is that we have to come to grips with the fact that a true proper cognitive intelligence can still be made of parts. Those things are… In fact, it has to be. And I think it’s a real shame, but I see this all the time. When you have a collective like this, whether it be a group of robots or a collection of cells or neurons or whatever, as soon as we gain some insight into how it works, meaning that, oh, I see, in order to take care of this action, here’s the information that got processed via this chemical mechanism or whatever, immediately people say, oh, well, then that’s not real cognition. That’s just physics. And I think this is fundamentally flawed because if you zoom into anything, what are you going to see? Of course, you’re just going to see physics. What else could be underneath? It’s not going to be fairy dust. It’s going to be physics and chemistry. But that doesn’t take away from the magic of the fact that there are certain ways to arrange that physics and chemistry and in particular the bioelectricity, which I like a lot, to give you an emergent collective with goals and preferences and memories and anticipations that do not belong to any of the subunits.
All
Intelligence
Is
Collective
Intelligence
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Summary
:
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There
are
no
examples
anywhere
of
a
central
dictator
in
science
,
because
everything
is
made
of
parts
.
Even
though
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11/7/2022
The Great Light We Tell Ourself
Summary: The 20s Weimar Republic was a very liberal democracy. The moderate parties were being dragged by the radicals into alliance with them to prevent the worst case scenario from the other guy. So if you look at, I’m sort of fascinated by the history of this period because it really does speak to how does a democracy break down?
Transcript: Speaker 1 It wouldn’t have been quite the same atrocity, but obviously the communists in Soviet Russia at exactly this time were committing the Haladomar. So there were very few good guys in terms of good parties. The moderate parties were being dragged by the radicals into alliance with them to prevent the worst case scenario from the other guy. So if you look at, I’m sort of fascinated by the history of this period because it really does speak to how does a democracy break down? I mean, the 20s Weimar Republic was a very liberal democracy. How does a liberal democracy break down into complete fascism and then into genocide? And there’s a character who was very prominent in the history of that time named Franz von Papen, who was actually the second-to-last chancellor of the Republic before Hitler. So he was the chancellor and then he handed over to Schleicher. And then he ended up, Schleicher ended up collapsing and that ended up handing power over to Hitler. It was Papen who had stumped for Hitler to become chancellor. Papen was a Catholic Democrat. He didn’t like Hitler. He thought that Hitler was a radical and a nut job. But he also thought that Hitler being a buffoon as he saw it was going to essentially be usable by the right forces in order to prevent the communists from taking power, maybe in order to restore some sort of legitimacy to the regime because he was popular in order for Papen to retain power himself. And then immediately after Hitler taking power, Hitler basically kills all of Papen’s friends. He’s been out of quote-unquote loyalty, stays on. He ends up helping the Anschlussen Austria. Now, all this stuff is really interesting mainly because what it speaks to is the great light we tell ourselves is that people who are evil are not like us. They’re a class apart. People who do evil things. People who support evil people. People, they’re not like us. That’s an easy call. Everybody in history who has sinned is a person who’s very different from me. Robert George, the philosopher over at Princeton, he’s fond of doing a thought experiment in his classes where he asks people to raise their hand if they had lived in Alabama in 1861, how many of you would be abolitionists? And everybody raises their hand. He says, of course that’s not true. Of course that’s not true.
The
Great
Light
We
Tell
O
urs
elf
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Summary
:
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The
20
s
We
imar
Republic
was
a
very
liberal
democracy
.
The
moderate
parties
were
being
dragged
 Show 570 more
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11/7/2022
Hitler Taking Power
Summary: The power had been centralized in the government before Hitler took it. There was serious force in pre-Nazi Germany. The moderate parties were being dragged by radicals into alliance with them to prevent the worst case scenario from the other guy. So there were very few good guys in terms of good parties.
Transcript: Speaker 1 I mean, there are a bunch of lessons to Hitler taking power. The first thing I think people ought to recognize about Hitler taking power is that the power had been centralized in the government before Hitler took it. So if you actually look at the history of Nazi Germany, the Weimar Republic had effectively collapsed. The power had been centralized in the chancellery and really under Hindenburg for a couple of years before that. And so it was only a matter of time until someone who was bad grabbed the power. And so the struggle between the Reds and the Browns in Nazi-ism in pre-Nazi Germany led to this kind of upspyrolling of radical sentiment that allowed Hitler in through the front door, not through the back door. He was elected.
Speaker 2 So you think communists could have also taken power?
Speaker 1 There’s no question communists could have taken power. There was serious force in pre-Nazi Germany.
Speaker 2 Do you think there was an underlying current that would have led to an atrocity if the communists had taken power?
Speaker 1 It wouldn’t have been quite the same atrocity, but obviously the communists in Soviet Russia at exactly this time were committing the Haladomar. So there were very few good guys in terms of good parties. The moderate parties were being dragged by the radicals into alliance with them to prevent the worst case scenario from the other guy. So if you look at, I’m sort of fascinated by the history of this period because it really does speak to how does a democracy break down? I mean, the 20s Weimar Republic was a very liberal democracy. How does a liberal democracy break down into complete fascism and then into genocide?
Hit
ler
Taking
Power
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Summary
:
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The
power
had
been
centralized
in
the
government
before
Hitler
took
it
.
There
was
serious
force
in
pre
-
N
azi
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11/7/2022
What is wrong or incomplete with the democratic party’s narrative
Summary: Roland Martin: Democrats were looking for ways to shut up about these issues and to hush them up. When you deny election results, that is not one issue but an attack on the entire system," he says. “It no longer has to be about winning or losing; it’s about holding government accountable” The president-elect will announce his re-election campaign next week in New Jersey.
Transcript: Speaker 4 Recession deniers, you’re rising crime deniers. Your education, loss learning and reduced test score deniers. That’s why a lot of those women that you talked about are willing to talk to pollsters, are willing to come to the polls and say, look, I’m swinging over. And the issue set is uncomplicated and straightforward. It’s inflation, the economy, it’s crime, it’s immigration, but it’s also education. Parents, a year after Glenn Young can won that. Virginia Raising Jack Charlie really came close to New Jersey. Shannon and Mark, parents are still parents. They’re still upset about what they see as a hangover from all the loss learning and test scores. And they don’t understand why, even though kids are back on campus and in the classrooms, that the left seems to be attacking the curriculum instead of attacking the loss learning issues.
Speaker 2 And of course, the fact that a million people died during that pandemic seems to be completely invisible. Can we come back to that in a moment? I do think it’s interesting how that whole thing has now been turned completely around. So, Kelly Ann Conway trying out, well, you are the real deniers, don’t call us deniers. So former Democratic pollster Mark Penn used the same kind of line. Here’s Penn.
Speaker 5 They did not confront these issues directly in any meaningful way. They became inflation deniers. And that really, I think, is a stupid strategy. We’re going to see whether or not I’m right. And that was probably one of the worst strategies I’ve ever seen in a midterm. Or they were right. They had some tough issues and they decided to completely avoid them.
Speaker 2 Okay. Well, so the email went out. And then here’s Rana, not Romney, McDaniel, the chair of the RNC, also trying out the same new talking point.
Speaker 4 This is not what the American people are caring about right now. And let me tell you what they are worried about. Our commander-in-chief, Joe Biden, going in front of the American people and talking about this and saying, oh, look at these issues with election deniers. Well, here’s what the Democrats are. They’re inflation deniers. They are crime deniers. They’re education deniers. This is literally. Okay. But this is not what the American people are talking about. They’re not tied to one another.
Speaker 2 Okay, Will, you’re not just another pretty face because you’ve picked up the fact that the email went out this weekend, didn’t it?
Speaker 3 We’ve seen this before again and again, how what they do is they take a line and they sort of project it back.
Speaker 2 I mean, you remember we’re both old enough to remember when fake news described disinformation coming from the Russians in the right wing.
Speaker 3 And then of course, what they do is they simply just adapted fake news.
Speaker 2 So they’re throwing out the you people are the real deniers. We’re not the deniers. What do you think?
Speaker 1 Okay. First of all, Charlie, I think it’s kind of a good line. I mean, just like objectively speaking. I will let me let me start by conceding. I think that Kellyanne and Ronna McDaniel and these other people using this line have a point. It is true that Democrats decided pretty early in this election cycle that these were bad issues for them. Talking about crime, talking about the border, talking about an inflation, frankly, was just a loser for them. And so they would try to change the subject away from that. And we’re not going to call this a recession. Technically, it’s not a recession. Democrats were looking for ways to shut up about these issues and to hush them up. I think Republicans have a point there. The problem is that election denial is not the same thing as denying inflation or denying crime. You know, that’s standard political stuff trying to make inflation go away, trying to make border problems go away. When you are denying election results, that is not one issue. That is an attack on the entire system. People who deny election results threaten the foundations of democracy. And when democracy itself is threatened, what happens is government is no longer accountable to you. It no longer has to actually win the election. You just lie about who won the election. When that happens, government becomes completely unresponsive and all the issues, other issues go away. So it is objectively true that election denial is a more important thing, a bigger problem, a bigger threat to our country than any other kind of denial. And I regret, Charlie, I’ll speak for myself that I have not been able to make that sale to make to sell that message, that fact, that truth to a broader public.
Speaker 3 No, I think you’re exactly right.
Speaker 2 It is objectively qualitatively different and much more dangerous. On the other hand, this is an effective way of throwing up smoke and dust, which of course is what people like Kellyanne Conway get paid the big bucks to do. Now having said that though, that they have, you know, unfortunately, one of the reasons why I think this is going to be effective is because I think it does touch on a reality here.
Speaker 3 And Axios is reporting about this new letter from the third way, the center left think tank that’s backed by some of the biggest names in democratic politics, sounding the alarm about some pretty deep-seated flaws based on their own polling from some of these battlegrounds, Senate races. And they write, if Democrats manage to hold on to the House and Senate, it will be in spite of the party brand, not because of it. Despite a roster of GOP candidates who are extreme by any standard, voters see Democrats as just as extreme, as well as far less concerned about the issues that worry them most.
Speaker 2 So then they sort of, you know, break down. This is the kind of thing that, you know, Ruite Tishara and James Carvel have been saying for a long time.
Speaker 3 So third way, and again, these are kind of like your tribe, right? Kind of a little bit. They come up with this brutal bill of particulars and it’s called out of touch on priorities, out of touch ideologically and out of touch on values, and I’d just read a little bit of this. Democrats are under water on issues voters’ name as their highest priorities, including the economy, immigration, and crime. While Democrats maintain a lead on certain issues like abortion and climate change, voters rank those issues as lower priorities, all bad. Voters question whether the party shares essential values like patriotism and the importance of hard work. Only 43% of voters say Democrats value hard work compared to 58% for Democrats. Even in the areas where Democrats are trusted more, including education, it is not clear that voters are sold on Democrats’ ability to get things done. Democrats are benefiting from perception among voters that Republicans are extreme, but they cannot fully reap the gains of this view as voters think Democrats are extreme as well. So first question would be, do you agree with that?
Speaker 1 Yeah, I do agree with it. I agree, and you and I were talking about this last week. Democrats have lost their knack for talking about values and for framing economic issues among others in value terms. So what we have in today’s Democratic Party is a lot of talk about equality, but it’s too much about equality of outcome and not about equality of merit. So for example, if you were talking about the working class of America, you don’t just talk about people being in need and you don’t just talk about sending money and redistributing money. You talk about work. You talk about people who are working hard for a living and what they are owed. You talk about Social Security or Medicare. These are earned
What
is
wrong
or
incomplete
with
the
democratic
party
’
s
narrative
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Summary
:
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R
oland
Martin
:
Democrats
were
looking
for
ways
to
shut
up
about
these
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11/3/2022
Racial Classifications Are Wrong
Transcript: Speaker 4 We will hear argument first this morning in case 2107, students for fair admissions versus the University of North Carolina.
Speaker 7 Mr. Strawbridge.
Speaker 4 Mr. Chief Justice and may it please the court.
Speaker 1 Well, it starts with a lawyer for students for fair admissions, Patrick Strawbridge, standing up and making the basic case.
Speaker 4 Racial classifications are wrong. That principle was enshrined in our law at great cost following the Civil War. The court has broadly enforced the Constitution’s prohibition on the use of racial classifications.
Speaker 2 So, Adam, what exactly is Strawbridge saying here?
Speaker 1 I really think he’s making two points. One, he’s making his fundamental argument that the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause forbids racial classifications for any reason. Rutter is grievously wrong.
Speaker 4 It’s few that the educational benefits of diversity justify racial classifications contradicts the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal treatment. It relied upon stereotypical assumptions that race is necessarily a proxy for one’s viewpoint.
Speaker 1 And it’s the second and more subtle point he’s making is that the rationale the court has developed about educational diversity has embedded in it, he says, a stereotype that people have given backgrounds are likely to hold given viewpoints.
R
acial
Class
ifications
Are
Wrong
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Trans
cript
:
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Spe
aker
4
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We
will
hear
argument
first
this
morning
in
case
2
107
,
students
for
fair
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11/2/2022
The Why Question - How Do We Extend Our Life?
Summary: I don’t know that people fully realize this. I kind of feel like people think of death as an inevitability. It makes sense why things like this happen, evolutionarily speaking. That would be interesting if death is eventually looked at as a fascinating thing that used to happen to humans. And it’s up to our imagination to try to predict what the world without death looks like.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Yeah, I think that’s the question number one, practically speaking, because you can’t, you’re not going to calculate the answer to the deeper questions in time you have.
Speaker 2 And that could be extending your own lifetime or extending just the lifetime of human civilization.
Speaker 1 Of whoever wants to, not many people might not want that. But I think people who do want that, I think it’s probably possible. And I don’t know that people fully realize this. I kind of feel like people think of death as an inevitability. But at the end of the day, this is a physical system. Something’s go wrong. It makes sense why things like this happen, evolutionarily speaking. And there’s most certainly interventions that are that medigate it.
Speaker 2 That would be interesting if death is eventually looked at as a fascinating thing that used to happen to humans.
Speaker 1 I don’t think it’s unlikely. I think it’s, I think it’s likely.
Speaker 2 And it’s up to our imagination to try to predict what the world without death looks like. Yeah, it’s hard to, I think the values will completely change.
Speaker 1 Could be. I don’t, I don’t really buy all these ideas that, oh, without death, there’s no meaning, there’s nothing else. I don’t intuitively buy all those arguments. I think there’s plenty of meaning, plenty of things to learn.
The
Why
Question
-
How
Do
We
Ext
end
Our
Life
?
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Summary
:
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I
don
’
t
know
that
people
fully
realize
this
.
I
kind
of
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11/2/2022
What Makes Me Special?
Summary: I think in biology as an example, the vital question is a good one. I was very impacted by this office gene. There’s memes just like genes and they compete and they live in our brains. It’s beautiful. Are we silly humans thinking that we’re the organisms? Is it possible that the primary organisms are the ideas? Yeah, I would say like the idea is kind of living in a software or like our civilization in the minds"
Transcript: Speaker 1 I think in biology as an example, the vital question is a good one. Anything by Nikhilane really life ascending I would say is like a bit more potentially representative is like a summary of a lot of the things he’s been talking about. I was very impacted by this office gene. I thought that was a really good book that helped me understand altruism as an example and where it comes from and just realizing that you know the selection is on a level of genes was a huge insight for me at the time. And it’s sort of like cleared up a lot of things for me. What do you think about the idea that ideas are the organisms? The memes? Love it 100%. Are you able to walk around with that notion for a while that there is an evolutionary kind of process with ideas as well? Absolutely. There’s memes just like genes and they compete and they live in our brains. It’s beautiful.
Speaker 2 Are we silly humans thinking that we’re the organisms? Is it possible that the primary organisms are the ideas?
Speaker 1 Yeah, I would say like the idea is kind of living in a software or like our civilization in the minds and so on.
Speaker 2 We think as humans that the hardware is the fundamental thing. I human is a hardware entity but it could be the software.
Speaker 1 Yeah, I would say like there needs to be some grounding at some point to look at physical reality.
Speaker 2 But if we clone an Andre, the software is the thing like is this thing that makes that thing special, right?
Speaker 1 Yeah, I guess you’re right.
What
Makes
Me
Special
?
​
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Summary
:
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I
think
in
biology
as
an
example
,
the
vital
question
is
a
good
one
.
I
was
very
impacted
by
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11/2/2022
The psychology of conspiracy
The
psychology
of
conspiracy
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Check out this episode of Lex Fridman Podcast about #
transition⁠
#
net⁠
⁠
A short summary and the audio in the link above.
#blanks, #sort
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11/1/2022
Isn’t It a Good Idea?
Summary: I saw this sort of play out in a lot of fields, you know, autopilot being one of them. But also just simple image classification. There was a smooth transition where okay, first we thought we were going to build everything. Then we were building the features. And then people are like, actually, let’s not even design the features because we can’t. Honestly, we’re not very good at it. So let’s also learn the features. You end up with basically a convolutional neural net that has tons of filling blanks and optimization write most of it.
Transcript: Speaker 1 And then you can deploy that binary. And so I was talking about that sort of transition. And that’s what the post is about. And I saw this sort of play out in a lot of fields, you know, autopilot being one of them, but also just simple image classification. People thought originally, you know, in the 80s and so on that they would write the algorithm for detecting a dog in an image. And they had all these ideas about how the brain does it. And first, we detect corners and then we detect lines and then we stitch them up. And they were like really going at it. They were like thinking about how they’re going to write the algorithm. And this is not the way you build it. And there was a smooth transition where okay, first we thought we were going to build everything. Then we were building the features. So like hog features and things like that that detect these little statistical patterns from image patches. And then there was a little bit of learning on top of it, like a support vector machine or binary classifier for cat versus dog and images on top of the features. So we wrote the features, but we trained the last layer, sort of the classifier. And then people are like, actually, let’s not even design the features because we can’t. Honestly, we’re not very good at it. So let’s also learn the features. And then you end up with basically a convolutional neural net, where you’re learning most of it, you’re just specifying the architecture. And the architecture has tons of filling blanks, which is all the knobs. And you let the optimization write most of it.
Is
n
’
t
It
a
Good
Idea
?
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Summary
:
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I
saw
this
sort
of
play
out
in
a
lot
of
fields
,
you
know
,
autop
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11/1/2022
Do You Think Google Will Be a Better Search Engine?
Summary: “I think there’s definite scope in building a better search engine today,” he says. “They will just, they’re kind of on track to become these oracles.” Currently is just text, but they will have calculators,. They will have access to Google search, they will be able to operate the internet and find different information.
Transcript: Speaker 2 And okay, maybe you won’t get to Andre, but it might get to another celebrity and might get into other big accounts. And then it’ll just, so with just that simple goal, get them to respond. Yeah.
Speaker 1 Maximize a probability of actual response. Yeah. I mean, you could prompt a powerful model like this with their, it’s opinion about how to do any possible thing you’re interested in. So they will just, they’re kind of on track to become these oracles. I could sort of think of it that way. They are oracles. Currently is just text, but they will have calculators, they will have access to Google search, they will have all kinds of gadgets in Gizmos, they will be able to operate the internet and find different information.
Speaker 2 And yeah, in some sense, that’s kind of like currently what it looks like in terms of the development. Do you think it’ll be an improvement eventually over what Google is for access to human knowledge? Like it’ll be a more effective search engine to access human knowledge.
Speaker 1 I think there’s definite scope in building a better search engine today. And I think Google, they have all the tools, all the people, they have everything they need, they have all the puzzle pieces, they have people training transformers at scale, they have all the data.
Do
You
Think
Google
Will
Be
a
Better
Search
Engine
?
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Summary
:
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“
I
think
there
’
s
definite
scope
in
building
a
better
search
engine
today
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11/1/2022
Is There a Lot of Longing for It?
Summary: I could write a few lines of code that catch these bots. If you are a sophisticated actor, you could probably create a pretty good bot right now using tools like GPTs. And so I think yeah, it’s quite plausible and it’s going to be hard to defend. There was a Google engineer that claimed that the Lambda was sentient. Do you think there’s any inkling of truth to what he felt?
Transcript: Speaker 1 My impression of it honestly is there’s a lot of longing for it. I mean, yeah, just that’s what I it’s not subtle. It’s my impression of it. It’s not subtle.
Speaker 2 But you have there’s my impression as well, but it feels like maybe you’re seeing the tip of the iceberg. Maybe the number of bots is in like the trillions and you have to like, just it’s a constant assault of bots. And you’ve, yeah, I don’t know. You have to steal man the case because the bots I’m seeing are pretty obvious. I could write a few lines of code that catch these bots.
Speaker 1 I mean, definitely there’s a lot of long fruit, but I will say I agree that if you are a sophisticated actor, you could probably create a pretty good bot right now, you know, using tools like GPTs, because it’s a language model. You can generate faces that look quite good now. And you can do this at scale. And so I think yeah, it’s quite plausible and it’s going to be hard to defend.
Speaker 2 There was a Google engineer that claimed that the Lambda was sentient. Do you think there’s any inkling of truth to what he felt?
Is
There
a
Lot
of
Long
ing
for
It
?
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Summary
:
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I
could
write
a
few
lines
of
code
that
catch
these
bots
.
If
you
are
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11/1/2022
Is the Internet Enough Data to Teach AI?
Summary: I don’t know that text is enough for having a sufficiently powerful AGI as an outcome. Of course, there is audio and video and images and all that kind of stuff. And so I think that that definitely helps a lot. But we haven’t trained models sufficiently across both across all of those modalities yet.
Transcript: Speaker 2 Do you think it’s doing something like understanding? Like when we use the word understanding for us humans, I think it’s doing some understanding.
Speaker 1 In its ways, it understands, I think, a lot about the world and it has to, in order to predict an extraordinary sequence.
Speaker 2 So it’s trained on the data from the internet. What do you think about this approach in terms of data sets of using data from the internet? Do you think the internet has enough structured data to teach AI about human civilization?
Speaker 1 Yes, I think the internet has a huge amount of data. I’m not sure if it’s a complete enough set. I don’t know that text is enough for having a sufficiently powerful AGI as an outcome.
Speaker 2 Of course, there is audio and video and images and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1 Yeah, so text by itself, I’m a little bit suspicious about. There’s a ton of things we don’t put in text in writing just because they’re obvious to us about how the world works and the physics of it and that things fall. We don’t put that stuff in text because why would you? We shared that understanding. And so text is a communication medium between humans and it’s not a all-encompassing medium of knowledge about the world. But as you pointed out, we do have video and we have images and we have audio. And so I think that that definitely helps a lot. But we haven’t trained models sufficiently across both across all of those modalities yet. So I think that’s what a lot of people are interested in.
Is
the
Internet
Enough
Data
to
Teach
AI
?
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Summary
:
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I
don
’
t
know
that
text
is
enough
for
having
a
sufficiently
powerful
AG
I
as
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10/31/2022
Price arbitrage by scraping
Summary: The way of doing business is everywhere, right? I mean, and it’s a relatively recent thing, but now rides food delivery aps where you get your groceries or whatever you want delivered to your door. Millions of people use these aps every day. But the rules of the road for these businesses and these workers are just all sort of up in the air. So to day, in radio web, we’re getting into the gig game. We’ve got several different stories from different perspectives about what exactly, as customers or business owners or drivers, we’regetting sucked into. And who’s really playing who? I’m running out of things to talk about on this week’s show.
Transcript: Speaker 2 And to hear rungon tell it like, even a glitch like the one at adam’s peza place, even that sort of feeds the siste.
Speaker 5 Like a regional salesmanager of the midwest could go to his boss and be like, look, i’m killing it in kansas, right? No, we’re growing nea like, forty % year over year. Then they are going to go back to their investors. They 're goig to go back to their investors, and it could actually, weirdly, work out for everyone.
Speaker 2 But how could, like, like, how could this be so ridiculous? Like all these towering colossus companies around us, or actually, ll throwing stacks of money out the window? It feels like likees.
Speaker 5 But the idea, the unspoken part of the strategy is its monopoly kind of ingrain the customer behavior, where everyone is just used to taking an ouber, ordering on doordash. And then once you own that entire value chain, the customer, the supplier, which would be the restaurant or the uber driver, you got to set the price.
Speaker 2 I mean, this way of doing business is everywhere, right? I mean, and it’s a relatively recent thing, but now rides food delivery aps where you get your groceries or whatever you want delivered to your door. Millions of people use these aps every day. Millions of people work for them. But the rules of the road for these businesses and these workers are just all sort of up in the air. So to day, in radio web, we’re getting into the gig game. We’ve got several different stories from different perspectives about what exactly, as customers or business owners or drivers, we’re getting sucked into. And and who’s really playing who?
Price
arbit
rage
by
scrap
ing
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Summary
:
​
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The
way
of
doing
business
is
everywhere
,
right
?
I
mean
,
and
it
’
s
a
relatively
recent
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10/30/2022
The Puzzle of the Universe
Summary: The puzzle is basically like alerting the creator that we exist. Or maybe the puzzle is just to just break out of the system and just, uh, you know, stick it to the creator in some way. So this is like a touring test for intelligence from Earth. Like the creators, uh, I mean, maybe this is like trying to complete the next war in a sentence.
Transcript: Speaker 2 So this is like a touring test for intelligence from Earth. Like the creators, uh, I mean, maybe this is like trying to complete the next war in a sentence. This is a complicated way of that. Like Earth is just, is basically sending a message back.
Speaker 1 Yeah, the puzzle is basically like alerting the creator that we exist. Or maybe the puzzle is just to just break out of the system and just, uh, you know, uh, stick it to the creator in some way. Uh, basically like if you’re playing a video game, you can, um, you can somehow find an exploit and find a way to execute on the host machine, uh, in your arbitrary code. Uh, there’s some, uh, for example, I believe someone got a Mario, a game of Mario to play Pong just by, um, exploding it. And then, um, creating a basically writing, writing code and being able to execute arbitrary code in the game. And so maybe we should be, maybe that’s the puzzle is that we should be, um, uh, find a way to exploit it. So, so I think like some of these synthetic ais will eventually find the universe to be some kind of a puzzle and then solve it in some way. And that’s kind of like the end game somehow.
The
Puzzle
of
the
Universe
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
The
puzzle
is
basically
like
alert
ing
the
creator
that
we
exist
.
Or
maybe
the
puzzle
is
just
to
just
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10/30/2022
The Next War in a Sentence
Summary: “This guy is really interesting to think about like what the puzzle of the universe is. Did the creator of the universe give us a message?” he asks. “Maybe we’re supposed to somehow create some kind of a quantum mechanical system that alerts them to our intelligent presence here.” He adds, “How do you even notice that we exist? You might not even be able to pick us up in that simulation”
Transcript: Speaker 1 So given that, I think, uh, hilarious. This guy is really interesting to think about like what the puzzle of the universe is. Did the creator of the universe give us a message? Like for example, in the book, Contact, um, Carl Sagan, uh, there’s a message for humanity, for any civilization in the digits in the expansion of pie in base 11 eventually, which is kind of interesting thought. Uh, maybe, maybe we’re supposed to be giving a message to our creator. Maybe we’re supposed to somehow create some kind of a quantum mechanical system that alerts them to our intelligent presence here. Because if you think about it from their perspective, it’s just say like quantum field theory, massive like cellular automaton-like thing. And like, how do you even notice that we exist? You might not even be able to pick us up in that simulation. And so how do you, uh, how do you prove that you exist, that you’re intelligent and that you’re part of the universe?
Speaker 2 So this is like a touring test for intelligence from Earth. Like the creators, uh, I mean, maybe this is like trying to complete the next war in a sentence. This is a complicated way of that. Like Earth is just, is basically sending a message back.
Speaker 1 Yeah, the puzzle is basically like alerting the creator that we exist. Or maybe the puzzle is just to just break out of the system and just, uh, you know, uh, stick it to the creator in some way.
The
Next
War
in
a
Sent
ence
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
“
This
guy
is
really
interesting
to
think
about
like
what
the
puzzle
of
the
universe
is
.
Did
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Check out this episode of Lex Fridman Podcast about #
thing⁠
#
Puzzle⁠
⁠
A short summary and the audio in the link above.
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10/29/2022
Is the Universe a Puzzle?
Summary: I saw a very cool animation of earth and life on earth, and basically nothing happens for a long time. Then the last like two seconds, like basically cities and everything. And just the whole thing happens in the last two seconds. This is a state of explosion. So if you play at a normal speed, yeah, it’ll just look like an explosion.
Transcript: Speaker 2 And then what happens after, right? Like what, because if you just like fast forward earth, many billions of years, it’s like it’s quiet. And then it’s like, to a terminal, you see like city lights and stuff like that. And then what happens at like at the end, like is it like a poo? Or is it like calming? Is it explosion? Is it like earth like open like a giant? Because you said, emit roasters. Like let’s start emitting like like a giant number of like satellites. Yes.
Speaker 1 It’s some kind of a crazy explosion. And we’re living, we’re like, we’re stepping through a explosion. And we’re like living day to day and it doesn’t look like it. But it’s actually, if you, I saw a very cool animation of earth and life on earth, and basically nothing happens for a long time. And then the last like two seconds, like basically cities and everything. And the lower orbit just gets cluttered. And just the whole thing happens in the last two seconds. And you’re like, this is exploding. This is a state of explosion.
Speaker 2 So if you play, yeah, yeah, if you play at a normal speed, yeah, it’ll just look like an explosion.
Is
the
Universe
a
Puzzle
?
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
I
saw
a
very
cool
animation
of
earth
and
life
on
earth
,
and
basically
nothing
happens
for
a
long
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Check out this episode of Lex Fridman Podcast all about #
something⁠
⁠
A short summary and the audio: #
language models⁠
⁠
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10/27/2022
Digital immortality w large language models using tweets…
Summary: The more data we have the more we’re able to reconstruct that person and allow them to live on. There is something a little bit sad which is becoming, or maybe it’s hopeful these days. When a person passes away you have their Twitter account and you have the last tweet they tweeted. You can recreate them now with large language models and so on. I mean you can create somebody that’s just like them and can actually communicate.
Transcript: Speaker 1 Clearly my wife who would like to get back her father. And she doesn’t worry about who has rights to what. She would have somebody that she could visit with and might give her some satisfaction. And she wouldn’t care about any of these other rights.
Speaker 2 What does your wife think about multiple acres walls?
Speaker 1 Have you had that discussion? I wouldn’t address that whether.
Speaker 2 I think ultimately that’s an important question. Loved ones.
Speaker 1 How they feel about there’s there’s something about love. That’s the key thing, right? The loved ones rejected. It’s not going to work very well. So the loved ones really are the key determinant whether or not this works or not.
Speaker 2 But there’s also ethical rules. We have to contend with the idea and we have to contend with that idea with AI.
Speaker 1 But what’s going to motivate it is, I mean I talk to people who really miss people who are gone and they would love to get something back. And if it isn’t perfect and that’s what’s going to motivate this.
Speaker 2 And that person lives on in some form. And the more data we have the more we’re able to reconstruct that person and allow them to live on.
Speaker 1 And eventually as we go forward we’re going to have more and more of this data because we’re going to have nanobots that are inside our neocortex and we’re going to collect a lot of data. In fact anything that’s data is always collected.
Speaker 2 There is something a little bit sad which is becoming, or maybe it’s hopeful, which is more and more common these days which when a person passes away you have their Twitter account and you have the last tweet they tweeted.
Speaker 1 And you can recreate them now with large language models and so on. I mean you can create somebody that’s just like them and can actually communicate.
Speaker 2 I think that’s really exciting because I think in some sense, like if I were to die today, in some sense I would continue on if I continued tweeting.
Digital
imm
ort
ality
w
large
language
models
using
tweets
…
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
The
more
data
we
have
the
more
we
’
re
able
to
reconstruct
that
person
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10/27/2022
Is There Such a Thing as a Perfect Memory?
Summary: Do you think we’ll have a world of replicants of copies? There’ll be a bunch of records. Well, like I could hang out with one. I can download it for five bucks and have a best friend, Ray. And you, the original copy, wouldn’t even know about it. Like, how would you feel about me hanging out with Ray Kurzweil and you not knowing about it? Just strike me as a problem.
Transcript: Speaker 2 So do you think we’ll have a world of replicants of copies? There’ll be a bunch of records. Well, like I could hang out with one. I can download it for five bucks and have a best friend, Ray. And you, the original copy, wouldn’t even know about it. Is that, do you think that world is, first of all, do you think that world is feasible and do you think there’s ethical challenges there? Like, how would you feel about me hanging out with Ray Kurzweil and you not knowing about it?
Speaker 1 Just strike me as a problem. Which you? The original? Would you strike it? Would that cause a problem for you?
Speaker 2 No, I would really very much enjoy it.
Speaker 1 No, not just hang out with me. But if somebody hanging out with you, a replicant of you.
Speaker 2 Well I think I would start, it sounds exciting, but then what if they start doing better than me and take over my friend group? And then, because they may be an imperfect copy or they may be more social or these kinds of things. And then I become like the old version that’s not nearly as exciting. Maybe they’re a copy of the best version of me on a good day. Yeah.
Speaker 1 But if you hang out with a replicant of me and that turned out to be successful, I’d feel proud of that person because it was based on me.
Is
There
Such
a
Thing
as
a
Perfect
Memory
?
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
Do
you
think
we
’
ll
have
a
world
of
repl
ic
ants
of
copies
?
 Show 412 more
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Check out this episode of Lex Fridman Podcast about #
way⁠
⁠
A short summary and the audio: #
Transcript⁠
⁠
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10/27/2022
Are You Excited by That Future?
Summary: I have five patents on where you can hold hands even if you’re separated. It’s not just that you’re touching someone or not, there’s a whole way of doing it and it’s very subtle but ultimately we can emulate all of that. But that’s turning our back on our entire history of evolution. The old days we used to fall in love by holding hands and sitting by the fire, that kind of stuff. Here you go. I mean it really gives you appreciation for these virtual ways of communicating.
Transcript: Speaker 1 I mean it really gives you appreciation for these virtual ways of communicating and if anybody can do it then it’s really not such a freak story so I think more and more people will do that.
Speaker 2 But that’s turning our back on our entire history of evolution. The old days we used to fall in love by holding hands and sitting by the fire, that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1 Here you go. Actually I have five patents on where you can hold hands even if you’re separated.
Speaker 2 So the touch, the sense, it’s all just senses.
Speaker 1 It’s all just irreferencing. It’s not just that you’re touching someone or not, there’s a whole way of doing it and it’s very subtle but ultimately we can emulate all of that.
Speaker 2 Are you excited by that future? Do you worry about that future?
Speaker 1 I have certain worries about the future but not that virtual touch.
Speaker 2 Well, I agree with you. You describe six stages in the evolution of information processing in the universe as you started to describe.
Are
You
Exc
ited
by
That
Future
?
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
I
have
five
patents
on
where
you
can
hold
hands
even
if
you
’
re
separated
.
It
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Check out this episode of Lex Fridman Podcast about #
way⁠
⁠
A short summary and the audio: #
way⁠
⁠
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10/26/2022
The Future of the Planet
Summary: “The future of the planet is a big piece of the way I engineer and the way we talk about where designs are going,” he says. “I think I’ve been maybe reading a little too much about World War II, but man, I’d recommend you listen to some audio books or read some books on the Holocaust because it’s heavy.”
Transcript: Speaker 1 So I use the planet as a big, the future of the planet is a big piece of the way I engineer and the way we talk about where designs are going.
Speaker 2 The constraints on your design and engineering is given by the planet, by the future of the planet. Yes.
Speaker 1 That could almost make Jewish people like me again.
Speaker 2 Every time you say Jewish people, I think I’ve been maybe reading a little too much about World War II, but man, I’d recommend you listen to some audio books or read some books on the Holocaust because it’s heavy. It’s heavy. It will put into context the impact of your words.
Speaker 1 Would you read books on the current Holocaust that black people are in? I mean, I read what have you read about abortion?
Speaker 2 I’ve read a lot of short form writing and I’ve listened to a lot of debates because it’s really humbling that
The
Future
of
the
Planet
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
“
The
future
of
the
planet
is
a
big
piece
of
the
way
I
engineer
and
the
way
we
talk
about
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#
way⁠
⁠
Check out this episode of Lex Fridman Podcast about #
way⁠
⁠
A short summary and the audio in the link above.
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10/26/2022
The Future of the Planet
Summary: “The future of the planet is a big piece of the way I engineer and the way we talk about where designs are going,” he says. “I think I’ve been maybe reading a little too much about World War II, but man, I’d recommend you listen to some audio books or read some books on the Holocaust because it’s heavy.”
Transcript: Speaker 1 So I use the planet as a big, the future of the planet is a big piece of the way I engineer and the way we talk about where designs are going.
Speaker 2 The constraints on your design and engineering is given by the planet, by the future of the planet. Yes.
Speaker 1 That could almost make Jewish people like me again.
Speaker 2 Every time you say Jewish people, I think I’ve been maybe reading a little too much about World War II, but man, I’d recommend you listen to some audio books or read some books on the Holocaust because it’s heavy. It’s heavy. It will put into context the impact of your words.
Speaker 1 Would you read books on the current Holocaust that black people are in? I mean, I read what have you read about abortion?
The
Future
of
the
Planet
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
“
The
future
of
the
planet
is
a
big
piece
of
the
way
I
engineer
and
the
way
we
talk
about
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10/25/2022
You Don’t Need to Kiss Anyone’s Dick
Summary: “As somebody who cares for you, that yay, the artist formerly known as Kanye West doesn’t care about Jewish people,” he says. “You’re an engineer, brother. If you’re an engineer and you’re not holding to the truth, that’s not engineering.” He adds: “Engineers don’t do stereotypes. Stereotypes are dumb. They allow you to channel hate”.
Transcript: Speaker 2 As somebody cares for you and hopefully can be a friend. Yay. I got to say these words and the words about Jews is not the words of a samurai of a great man. I would say, you know, you said something that inspired that resonated with a lot of people when you said George Bush doesn’t care about black people. I have to say as somebody who cares for you, that yay, the artist formerly known as Kanye West doesn’t care about Jewish people. In the same way you spoke about George Bush being a politician and not giving a fuck about the poor people that suffered after Katrina, you’re not giving a fuck about the suffering of the Jewish people across the world.
Speaker 1 Why am I not?
Speaker 2 Because you’re feeding you giving strength, motivation to.
Speaker 1 We already updated. I gave it apology. You said it wasn’t good enough. Yeah, that’s right. It’s not you’re telling me. No, I’m not going to. You don’t need to kiss anyone’s dick.
Speaker 2 What you ask me to kiss is to say was wrong to say there’s no Jewish media. There’s no Jewish. There isn’t. There’s no control of the media by Jewish people.
Speaker 1 You’re an engineer, brother. If you’re an engineer and you’re not holding to the truth, that’s not engineering.
Speaker 2 Engineering is not that’s not that doesn’t that’s hate. That’s not engineering. Now, I’m going to build a better record label.
Speaker 1 It’s called Sarah.
Speaker 2 I’m going to respect our stereotypes. Stereotypes exist for a reason. Engineers don’t do stereotypes. I do. Stereotypes are dumb. They allow you to channel hate towards the other.
You
Don
’
t
Need
to
Kiss
Anyone
’
s
Dick
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
“
As
somebody
who
cares
for
you
,
that
y
ay
,
the
artist
formerly
 Show 494 more
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#
kids⁠
⁠
Check out this episode of Lex Fridman Podcast about #
wife⁠
⁠
A short summary and the audio in the link above.
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10/25/2022
I Don’t Like the Allowed Censorship
Summary: “We’re still the kids who used to be. I put my hand on the stove to see if I still bleed and nothing hurts anymore,” he says. “I went to Japan for two to three months, right? And it’s Pete Davidson bragging about being in bed with my wife.”
Transcript: Speaker 2 Oh, like Twitter and so on. Twitter. That has us to do. Drink champs that hurt you. That drink champs, uh, that no one took it down, took down your conversation. Oh, it didn’t hurt you. Man, you got to be honest about the pain.
Speaker 1 We’re still the kids who used to be. I put my hand on the stove to see if I still bleed and nothing hurts anymore. I feel kind free. No, I’m, do you think? You know, I, I went to Japan for two to three months, right? The day I had Sunday service, my kids are supposed to be there and my kids would know where to be found. And I text Kim and said, where are my kids? We get into an argument and then I get a text from a number I don’t know. And it’s Pete Davidson bragging about being in bed with my wife.
Speaker 2 Then just fucking with you.
Speaker 1 Well, at that point, it’s like they’re trying to put me in jail or put a friend of mine in jail because then I’m going to
I
Don
’
t
Like
the
All
owed
C
ens
orship
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
“
We
’
re
still
the
kids
who
used
to
be
.
I
put
my
 Show 306 more
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Check out this episode of Lex Fridman Podcast about #
leaders⁠
#
engineering challenges⁠
⁠
A short summary and the audio in the link above.
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10/25/2022
I really do hate that man
Summary: Elon Musk: “We’re the top leaders. We’re more influential than the presidents” He says he considers engineering challenges to be opportunities in front of him. The two-hour interview airs tonight on CNN at 10 p.m. ET.
Transcript: Speaker 1 We are now, we are here, we are one species, we are one race, we’re here, and it’s time, and the leadership is changing because you have Elon as a leader, yay as a leader. And we’re the top leaders. We’re more influential than the presidents.
Speaker 2 So you’re a human being with engineering challenges before you, with a stunt player, with parlor, what’s the hardest thing in front of you on the engineering front?
Speaker 1 That’s the first sentence that any of our species needs to hear when they’re born. You are a human being when engineering challenges, and I consider challenges to be opportunities in front of you. Literally, like, let me see a piece of paper, I need to write that down. That’s the beginning of our new species constitution. I’m gonna do the paper like this, put it in the widescreen, this, this for Ridley. You are, now let me like you are a being with, in, jeering.
Speaker 2 Opportunities or challenges?
Speaker 1 Opportunities. I’m sorry, I don’t spell as good as John Legend. I have opportunities in before you. I like the before, because it can mean, actually it can mean forward or before you. This right here, I’ve always said I’m the top five writer in human existence, but this right here is pushing me to like number four, number three. It’s a good one. Because who would you say is the top, it’s top writer in human existence, we know who it is. That’s subjective.
Speaker 2 Who’s that? It’s factual though.
Speaker 1 It’s like, okay, who’s the top person in tech history? It’s not subjective. Wow. There’s a non subjective answer to both of those. Both of those people have influenced 30% of our existence.
I
really
do
hate
that
man
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
El
on
Musk
:
“
We
’
re
the
top
leaders
.
We
’
re
more
influential
than
the
presidents
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Check out this episode of Lex Fridman Podcast about #
species⁠
#
mistake⁠
⁠
A short summary and the audio in the link above.
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10/25/2022
The Biggest Mistake From the Past
Summary: I don’t 100% believe in anything, any concept of the future or any concept of history. History was just written by the victors. As an engineer, I love here you say that, but to push back history is not. The biggest mistake from the past that we keep making is looking at the past. Too much, giving too much value to the past, we are now. We are one species, we are one race, we’re here, and it’s time for change.
Transcript: Speaker 2 As an engineer, I love here you say that, but to push back history is not, the interpretation of history might be subjective, but history has some facts. And they’re useful to give a grounding to the way you do engineering.
Speaker 1 I don’t 100% believe in anything, any concept of the future or any concept of history, because history was just written by the victors.
Speaker 2 Yeah, that’s right.
Speaker 1 So if I see stuff happen on the day that later that day is reported wrong, so how wrong is something reported 1000 years ago? And why will we argue about something that’s not in the now? Because that’s the only thing that everyone can agree upon is that it is now right now.
Speaker 2 Yeah, well, you try not to make the mistakes of the past. That’s the usefulness of history, the limited usefulness of history. The biggest mistake from the past that we keep making is looking at the past. Too much, giving too much value to the past.
Speaker 1 Too much value to the past, we are now. We are now, we are here, we are one species, we are one race, we’re here, and it’s time, and the leadership is changing because you have Elon as a leader, yay as a leader.
The
Big
gest
Mist
ake
From
the
Past
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
I
don
’
t
100
%
believe
in
anything
,
any
concept
of
the
future
or
any
concept
 Show 386 more
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10/11/2022
Are People Going to Want to Do This for Extended Periods?
Summary: I like this idea that there are people who are already so devoted to the metaverse that they’re strapping extra batteries to their persons at all times. I was talking to this one world creator who designed a very British pub and he just got his headset a couple of months ago, like in June. And he told me he’s already spending up to 40 hours a week wearing his headset on top of his full-time jobJust basically to run his pub and deal with troubleshooting and fixed design issues. Like, yeah, people like this thing that’s not staple to their heads, but encircling it very, very snugly.
Transcript: Speaker 2 I like this idea that there are people who are already so devoted to the metaverse that they’re, you know, strapping extra batteries to their persons at all times. And I think this has actually been one of the big questions about VR is are people going to want to do this for extended periods of time? I think there’s a lot of skepticism about that point. You know, people don’t want to remove themselves from the so-called real world. But I’ve always thought that VR was absolutely going to take off because when I walk around outside, all I see are people staring down at their phones, right? Go to any restaurant and a couple will be having dinner and both of them are staring at their phones. So to me, it stands to reason that if you could just sort of staple that phone to your face, forever, you would do it. And I feel like the experience that you had suggests that we are on our way to that reality. Yeah.
Speaker 1 I was talking to this one world creator who designed a very British pub where Kevin and I tried to meet up earlier and he just got his headset a couple of months ago, like in June. And he told me he’s already spending up to 40 hours a week wearing his headset on top of his full-time job just basically to run his pub and deal with troubleshooting and fixed design issues. And he said, oh, you know, I just use the long Apple charging cord, the USB cord so I can basically be further away from the wall while I’m in the headset. But this is very common. Like, yeah, people like this thing that’s not staple to their heads, but encircling it very, very snugly.
Are
People
Going
to
Want
to
Do
This
for
Extended
Period
s
?
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
I
like
this
idea
that
there
are
people
who
are
already
so
devoted
 Show 490 more
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9/22/2022
The China syndrome
Summary: Craig mason’s hbo series on char noble isn’t the first time that hollywood has depicted a nuclear disaster. In 19 79, jane fanda starred in a film called the china syndrome which revolved around a melt down at a fictional nuclear power plant in california. Fanda: “I think there’s probably quite a few people who watched turnoble and then said, in a visceral way, i don’t ever want to go near a nuclear power plant”
Transcript: Speaker 1 You won a couple of mis for the series, of congratulations on that. It was very well regarded. I assume it was widely watched. I am curious to know what you think is the broader impact, if it can be measured. I’m particularly curious how you think it may have changed or added to the public conversation about nuclear energies. Because you were arguing that chernoble was an outlier, a terrible outlier that should never be repeated. But don’t you think there might be a lot of people who watch the series, or who hear about the series, and think, oh, yea nuclear energy. That’s chernoble. That was a disaster. Ye, nuclear is terrible. We should stay away from that.
Speaker 3 I think there’s probably quite a few people who watched turnoble and then said, in a visceral way, i don’t ever want to go near a nuclear power plant ever. And i understand that. I did make a point of saying in the aftermath of the show, that i am a believer in nuclear power, and that, if anything, the research i did into turnoble made me more of a believer i nuclear power.
Speaker 1 Craig mason’s hbo series on char noble isn’t the first time that hollywood has depicted a nuclear disaster. In 19 79, jane fanda starred in a film called the china syndrome, which revolved around a melt down at a fictional nuclear power plant in california.
The
China
syndrome
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
Craig
m
ason
’
s
h
bo
series
on
char
noble
isn
’
t
the
first
time
that
hol
lywood
has
depicted
a
 Show 400 more
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9/16/2022
Who Should Profit From the Seabed Metals?
Transcript: Speaker 2 Yes.
Speaker 1 I mean, this could be enormously profitable. The company 's estimating that it now stands to make something like 30 billion dollars in profit over the next two decades if it can start this industrial scale mining well. And that’s after all their cost and their taxes and royalties and everything. So one of the biggest open questions is, who should profit from these riches of the se that nature has created over millions of years? What i learned is that decades ago, world governments came together to confront this exact question. And they wanted to make sure that every country, rich or poor, would have a fair shot at benefiting from the seabed metals. And they did that by setting aside areas of the ocean floor specifically reserved for developing nations. But the way it’s played out is that barons firm, the metals company, now controls a huge proportion of the reserved sea bed that’s been allicated so far. And metals company’s poised to reap the vast majority of the profits fror mining it. And it made me wonder, how did this happen? And what i found was that it’s all thanks to this little known united nations affiliated agency that was tasked to regulate sea bed mining in the first place.
Who
Should
Profit
From
the
Se
ab
ed
Met
als
?
​
​
Trans
cript
:
​
​
Spe
aker
2
​
​
Yes
.
​
​
Spe
aker
1
​
​
I
mean
,
 Show 249 more
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9/14/2022
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Summary: In 19 93, there were a hundred and 30 web sites on the enernet. Three years later, there were over 100 thousand. So that starts to happen very soon when the world wide web becomes something that’s more than just an academic site. And doing an online search by key word was now posing problems,. because the internet was starting to feel crowded and clunke. The usual ways of searching were feeling outdated. But as the digital information in space gets bigger and bigger, things began to evolve and change.
Transcript: Speaker 1 The idea of searching documents, not by broad topic, but specific word, and then linking related documents together turned out to be right on the mark. About 50 years after venevar dreamed up the memics, his ideas about search came to fruition with a little thing called the world wide web. This mimic’s inspired idea of searching by keyword became the new default. Whereas searching by topic, like you would in a library, is similar to looking through the table of contents of a book, keyword search is like using the index. It is much more precise. And searching by keyword worked well for a time. When you type in a word and get only a couple of dozen resuls.
Speaker 3 But as the digital information in space gets bigger and bigger, things began to evolve and change.
Speaker 1 In 19 93, there were a hundred and 30, yes, you heard that right, 130 web sites on the enernet. Three years later, there were over 100 thousand.
Speaker 3 So that starts to happen very soon when the world wide web becomes something that’s more than just an academic more than just the thing that connects all the physic slabs, doing an online search by key word was now posing problems, because the internet was starting to feel crowded and clunke and the usual ways of searching were feeling outdated. The kind of searches that i might have done on lexus nexus or pro quest in the eighties or nineties, these carefully constructed searches, were heu had to pay a purse search, so you really wanted that one search to work. Bcause you couldn’t keep doing it because it d cost money.
Search
Engine
Optimization
(
SEO
)
​
​
Summary
:
​
​
In
19
93
,
there
were
a
hundred
and
30
web
sites
on
the
en
ern
et
.
Three
years
 Show 442 more
​
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9/12/2022
What Is a Black Skin?
Summary: From his north carean teachers, mondume learned to shoot a gun. He studied the differences between capitalism and communism. By the early 19 seventies, about 25 hundred soldiers from across africa had received training much like mondumes in namibia. These soldiers joined a guerilla war against the aparte government. North korea was one of several socialist countries supporting armed liberation movements in africa.
Transcript: Speaker 5 Some were running away to see a black skin. Some are coming to touch even grown up people say, what black? What type of skin is that? To us, we were jist laughing thim.
Speaker 2 From his north carean teachers, mondume learned to shoot a gun. He studied the differences between capitalism and communism. He trained as a farmer, and he learned to love spicy noodle soup.
Speaker 1 His host told him, you’ll be to know all these things to run a modern socialist country one day. Maybe not the soup thing, but the rest of it.
Speaker 5 It was very advanced. And we said, a these people, they develop their country. We want to do the same thing when we go back. We want to develop our country like this. If they do things like that one, why not us?
Speaker 1 By the early 19 seventies, about 25 hundred soldiers from across africa had received training much like mondumes in namibia. These soldiers joined a guerilla war against the aparte government. They planted mines and bombs and attacked military convoys. They blew up imferstructure like bridges, tunnels and border posts. This war of sabotage was meant to wear down and isolate south africa, one of the last white governments on the continent.
Speaker 2 North korea was one of several socialist countries supporting armed liberation movements in africa.
What
Is
a
Black
Skin
?
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Summary
:
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From
his
north
care
an
teachers
,
mond
ume
learned
to
shoot
a
gun
.
He
studied
the
differences
between
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9/12/2022
I think this is the result of a long period of decades of people living in an affluent, safe nation
Summary: “This is the result of a long period of decades of people living in an affluent, safe nation that has no great causes in it any more,” he says. “And they are, you know, in they’re living in places that maybe they are not happy.”
Transcript: Speaker 1 The person i was talking to in this case was talking about, you know, his mam who literally som his malingno that she’s going to be violent, but who genuinely believes that, you know, donald trump is on the side of god and jesus christ, and that the people who work against him, including her own son, you know, are doing the work of the devil enand i think, but again, i think this is, this is the result of a long period of decades of people living in an affluent, safe nation that has no great causes in it any more. And they are, you know, in they’re living in places that maybe they are not happy.
I
think
this
is
the
result
of
a
long
period
of
decades
of
people
living
in
an
affluent
,
safe
nation
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Summary
:
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“
This
is
the
result
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9/12/2022
The Reaction of the Speech
Summary: Carthy: I’m not sure very much ever crosses kevin mc carthy’s mind, which strikes me as a vast and flat and arid place. But i think her awareness of history is unusual, because people who are afflicted by presentism that everything is in the next 24 hours. That section of the speech, along with a few others, got a lot of sneering and ridicule from the trumpers and even some of the anti anti trumpers. It shows you how sort of cynical and vacuous and unmoored from the american tradition so many republicans have become," he says.
Transcript: Speaker 1 I’m not sure very much ever crosses kevin mc carthy’s mind, which strikes me as a vast and flat and arid place. But i think her awareness of history is unusual, because people who are afflicted by presentism that everything is, you know, in the next 24 hours. And that section of the speech, along with a few others, got a lot of sneering and ridicule from the trumpers and even some of the anti anti trumpers. And let me just say again, after a speech like this, to be, you know, among the anti anti trumpers, n you and i have talked about this so many times, it requires such an expenditure of caloric energy to keep trying to figure out how to not be on the side of the anti trumpers, or how to not be on any side, really. But after a speech like this, where she’s basically invoking history and daring you to pick sides, that gets harder and harder. And i think it tells you something that the reaction of the speech in some quarters. It shows you how sort of cynical and vacuous and unmoored from the american tradition so many republicans have become. And that’s painful. And i’m sure it’s painful to you as well. It’s painful to me, because part of te, part of what i always, what attracted me, as a younger conservative, to the republicans, was this kind of respect for tradition and history that, you know, progressives by by their very name, are progressing. They’re looking toward the future. The past, generally, you know, is always inferior. It has to be junked. It has to be overcome. It has to be left behind. And conservatives, by their nature and by by their name, about, you know, in terms of conserving, think about things like tradition and thinking of themselves as part of a present that includes not only a future, but a past.
The
Re
action
of
the
Speech
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Summary
:
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C
arthy
:
I
’
m
not
sure
very
much
ever
crosses
ke
vin
mc
car
thy
’
s
mind
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