About this episode

Michael Shermer interviews Robert Wright about the implications of AI and superintelligence as discussed in Wright's new book.

Robert Wright joins Michael Shermer to discuss his new book, The God Test: Artificial Intelligence and Our Coming Cosmic Reckoning , and why he thinks the AI revolution may be moving much faster than most people realize. Wright argues that deep learning is not just a new way of programming computers. In an important sense, it resembles evolution: neural networks discover solutions for themselves, sometimes recreating cognitive functions that natural selection built into human brains. That helps explain why AI capabilities have advanced so quickly, and why increasingly autonomous systems and recursive self-improvement could accelerate the process even further. Shermer presses Wright on what all of this actually means. Does an AI understand what it says? Could it be conscious? Why would a superintelligence ever seek power? Is human extinction a realistic possibility, or science-fiction doomerism? They discuss AI deception and theory of mind, John Searle's Chinese Room, bioweapons and cyberattacks, the risk of a U.S.-China AI arms race, regulation, surveillance, and the growing concentration of power in governments and tech companies. The conversation ends with Wright's larger…

People in this episode

Host: Michael Shermer

Guest: Robert Wright

Topics covered

• Artificial Intelligence
• Superintelligence
• Philosophy
• Cognitive Science
• Technology and Society
• Existential Risk

Keywords

• AI
• superintelligence
• neural networks
• human extinction
• cognitive functions
• evolution
• regulation
• U.S.-China AI arms race

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The God Test: Artificial Intelligence and Our Coming Cosmic Reckoning, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, The Moral Animal

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