Episode 7: Does Winning the AI Race Make Us Less Safe? Robert Wright on Global Cooperation and Humanity’s Test
About this Episode
How did “the godfather of AI” Geoffrey Hinton become a doomer? Why are the people building AI also terrified of it? Can the US and China cooperate on AI safety while competing to lead the technology?
Journalist and bestselling author Robert Wright joins Valley101 to discuss the future of AI as it becomes more powerful than humanity, alignment and AI safety, and what the world governments can do.
In his latest book, The God Test: Artificial Intelligence and Our Coming Cosmic Reckoning, Wright examines AI through the lens of evolution and human psychology. He asks whether humanity can develop the judgment and cooperation needed to manage increasingly powerful intelligence.
CHAPTERS
01:46 The God Test: What is the Test and Who’s being Tested?
04:06 Can the US and China cooperate on AI safety?
06:12 How Americans and Chinese see AI differently
07:16 Public concern, AI risks & regulation
10:25 Can AI companies agree to slow down?
12:51 Effective altruism & the fears of AI’s builders
17:56 What international AI oversight could look like
20:03 Open-source AI: Benefits and dangers
22:59 Who should control powerful AI?
30:41 Understanding AI through evolution
38:30 Interviewing Geoffrey Hinton in 1983
41:50 What changed Wright’s mind about AI?
51:07 Why AI alignment alone may not be enough
53:08 Why Geoffrey Hinton became worried
57:14 Why safety-minded researchers keep building
1:00:59 Short-term risks beyond superintelligence
1:04:14 Western Enlightenment meets Buddhist mindfulness
1:09:33 What a silent meditation retreat changed
BOOK & GUEST LINKS
The God Test: https://thegodtest.net
Nonzero newsletter and podcast: https://www.nonzero.org
Robert Wright on X: https://x.com/robertwrighter
Watch the video edition of this episode on our YouTube channel Silicon Valley 101.
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