
Episode 139: The Rational Doomers
From The Theory of Anything by Bruce Nielson and Peter Johansen
May 9, 2026 · 1h 10m · Season 1 · Episode 139
About this episode
The episode discusses the phenomenon of AI doomers and the rationality behind their apocalyptic beliefs.
This week we talk about doomers, specifically AI doomers. Why has it become such a popular notion, especially amongst those who consider themselves the most rational kinds of people, that this kind of apocalypse, amongst others, is imminent? What assumptions are behind this pessimistic assertion? This episode was actually entirely unplanned. We started recording another episode and got off on to this tangent and thought it was a fun topic. Support us on Patreon
People in this episode
Hosts: Bruce Nielson, Peter Johansen
Topics covered
- AI
- doomers
- apocalypse
- rationality
- pessimism
Keywords
- AI
- doomers
- apocalypse
- rationality
- pessimism
- society
- culture
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