#153 If Anyone Builds It, EVERYONE Dies - AI Expert on Superintelligence

#153 If Anyone Builds It, EVERYONE Dies - AI Expert on Superintelligence

From Within Reason by Alex J O'Connor

April 26, 2026 · 1h 35m

About this episode

Nate Soares discusses the existential risks posed by superintelligent AI and the challenges of AI alignment.

Get all sides of every story and be better informed at https://ground.news/AlexOC - subscribe for 40% off unlimited access.For early, ad-free access to videos, and to support the channel, subscribe to my Substack . - Nate Soares is an American artificial intelligence author and researcher known for his work on existential risk from AI. In 2014, Soares co-authored a paper that introduced the term AI alignment, the challenge of making increasingly capable AI’s behave as intended. Nate is the president of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, a research nonprofit based in Berkeley, California. Get the book, If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All . - TIMESTAMPS00:00 - Is This an Exaggeration?04:31 - What Is Unique About the Threat of AI?11:28 - What is Superintelligence?21:25 - From Chess Computers to Murderous Machines27:52 - What Really Drives AI Systems?44:29 - Evidence AI Is Already Turning Against Us56:03 - How We Are Helping AI Take Over01:01:21 - Why Would AI Seek Power or Control?01:07:42 - Some Worst-Case AI Scenarios01:18:38 - What Do We Do About This Now?01:32:53 - How Has AI Changed in the Last Six Months? - CONNECTMy Website…

People in this episode

Host: Alex J O'Connor

Guest: Nate Soares

Topics covered

  • AI alignment
  • existential risk
  • superintelligence
  • AI threats
  • machine intelligence
  • AI control

Keywords

  • AI
  • superintelligence
  • existential risk
  • Nate Soares
  • AI alignment
  • machine intelligence
  • AI threats

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Machine Intelligence Research Institute

Products: If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All

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