Ep. 377: The Case Against Superintelligence

Deep Questions with Cal Newport

Techno-philosopher Eliezer Yudkowsky recently went on Ezra Klein’s podcast to argue that if we continue on our path toward superintelligent AI, these machines will destroy humanity. In this episode, Cal responds to Yudkowsky’s argument point by point, concluding with a more general claim that these general styles of discussions suffer from what he calls “the philosopher’s fallacy,” and are distracting us from real problems with AI that are actually afflicting us right now. He then answers listener questions about AI, responds to listener comments from an earlier AI episode, and ends by discussing Alpha schools, which claim to use AI to 2x the speed of education.

Below are the questions covered in today’s episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvo

Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia

Deep Dive: The Case Against Superintelligence [0.01]

How should students think about “AI Literacy”? [1:06:35]
Did AI blackmail an engineer to not turn it off? [1:09:06]
Can I use AI to mask my laziness? [1:12:31]

COMMENTS: Cal reads LM comments [1:16:58]

CALL: Clarification on Lincoln Protocol [1:21:36]

CAL REACTS: Are AI-Powered Schools the Future? [1:24:46]

Links:

Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at calnewport.com/slow
Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/
Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?
youtube.com/watch?v=2Nn0-kAE5c0
alpha.school/the-program/
astralcodexten.com/i/166959786/part-three-how-alpha-works-part

Thanks to our Sponsors:

byloftie.com (Use code “DEEP20”)
expressvpn.com/deep
shopify.com/deep
vanta.com/deepquestions

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

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Ep. 377: The Case Against Superintelligence

Download my FREE Deep Life Guide HERE: https://bit.ly/3QBIcug

Link to submit questions: https://bit.ly/3U3sTvo

Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia

Below are the questions covered in today’s episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast.

DEEP DIVE:

– The Case Against Superintelligence [0.30]

QUESTIONS:

– How should students think about “AI Literacy”? [1:06:36]
– Did AI blackmail an engineer to not turn it off? [1:09:07]
– Can I use AI to mask my laziness? [1:12:34]

COMMENTS:

– Cal reads LM comments [1:17:00]

CALL:

– Clarification on Lincoln Protocol [1:22:00]

CAL REACTS:

– Are AI-Powered Schools the Future? [1:24:51]

YOUTUBE TITLE

– The Case Against Superintelligence | Cal Newport

LINKS:

Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow
Order a signed copy of “Slow Productivity” here: https://peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/
Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Nn0-kAE5c0
https://alpha.school/the-program/
https://www.astralcodexten.com/i/166959786/part-three-how-alpha-works-part

Thanks to our Sponsors:
https://www.byloftie.com (Use code “DEEP20”)
https://www.expressvpn.com/deep
https://www.shopify.com/deep
https://www.vanta.com/deepquestions

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, Kieron Rees for episode music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

DEEP QUESTIONS