What podcasts say about Robert Wright
Every statement, with the speaker, the exact quote and the moment it was said.
What Robert Wright has said on podcasts
32 statements · 15 positive · 10 negative · 3 mixed · 4 neutral
AI could produce major benefits but also become dangerous without wise handling.
“this technology, which obviously holds the potential to bring great wonders, is also in some respects terrifying and could go badly awry if we don't approach it wisely? And I think the answer is yes.”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 1:21
AI has the potential to massively increase GDP.
“it definitely has the potential to, to massively increase gdp”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 2:11
AI will cause broad societal destabilization.
“The thing I'm more confident of is it's just going to be an earthquake. It's going to be destabilizing along a number of dimensions”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 2:46
AI training reverse-engineers cognitive functions that evolved in humans over millions of years.
“the training process is a process of evolution that in effect, reverse engineers cognitive functionality that in our species took millions of years to evolve”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 6:35
Worker data could allow AI to replicate job-related cognitive functions and replace workers.
“once you take the data, the input data they're getting, maybe the emails, everything, I don't know, and what they're doing with it, the output data, then you can replicate whatever it is that's going on inside their brains that does their jobs and then you can fire them”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 10:14
AI is a new form of intelligence that will surpass human intelligence.
“it is the invention of a. You could. It's definitely an invention of a new kind of intelligence that I think will surpass ours.”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 13:30
Silicon-based AI may become important components of a future global brain.
“we have to reckon with the possibility that a lot of them, and conceivably the most important ones, will be silicon brains”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 14:31
Successfully navigating AI will require a major improvement in human morality.
“if we're going to get through the AI revolution in good shape, there's going to have to be something almost like a moral revolution”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 18:51
Calmness improves people’s ability to understand other perspectives.
“You just, you get better when you're calmer at looking things from other people's points of view.”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 22:28
AI threats cannot be adequately addressed through national policy alone.
“AI just presents you with a ton of threats that cannot be addressed via national policy alone”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 25:21
Intelligence by itself does not imply benevolence.
“intelligence alone is almost neutral in that sense”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 26:07
People should cultivate cognitive empathy and overcome biases that obstruct it.
“I'm just a huge advocate of cultivating this cognitive empathy and recognizing the kind of built in cognitive biases that get in the way of it.”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 27:56
AI systems can independently discover deception and power-seeking as useful strategies.
“these machines figure out that deception makes sense or that power is going to help them realize some goal”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 31:17
AI systems lack an inherent bias toward human-defined good or bad outcomes.
“they have, I would, they don't have an obvious bias in favor of what is from our point of view being good or bad”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 31:36
AI is likely to surpass human intelligence.
“even if it indeed surpasses ours, as I think is likely”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 31:57
AI will cause substantial job losses.
“I do think there's going to be a lot of job loss”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 33:08
AI could enable someone to create a biological weapon.
“somebody could make a bioweapon with an AI”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 33:36
AI development should proceed more slowly.
“I think we'd be better off going a little slower than we're going”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 34:19
AI is highly likely to produce collective destabilization in the near term.
“in the near term, what's not appreciated is, is how just highly likely it is that collectively these things will be destabilizing”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 37:56
Markets will naturally favor AI systems that do not cultivate empathy or mindfulness.
“the natural tendency of the market will be to produce the kind that doesn't”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 45:10
AI can become an enlightening companion if users deliberately demand that outcome.
“AI can be a wonderful and a literally enlightening companion. Okay, if we want that. But you have to make a point to want it.”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 45:30
AI will accelerate overall intellectual progress if adoption proceeds smoothly.
“if this proceeds in a reasonably smooth way, the pace of overall intellectual progress will, will benefit from the Technology”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 50:10
AI-heavy Substacks will increasingly become successful.
“the next wave is going to be, you know, you're going to see the success of a lot of sub stacks that are using AI probably more heavily than I'm gonna be”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 53:21
Human writers may retain roles as trusted validators of AI-generated content.
“people like me may still have a role as kind of validators”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 55:31
Trusted human validators may retain this role for approximately five years.
“I can see, I can see that role for somebody like me for five years”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 56:24
Some human-provided services will become more valuable because of their human nature.
“certain kinds of human services are going to become almost more valuable because they're humans”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 57:24
AI may possess consciousness now or develop it in the future.
“we can't rule out the possibility that AI has it. And I certainly don't rule out the possibility that it does or may in the future”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 1:04:03
AI could eventually possess all elements of human understanding.
“I don't see any reason that it can't ultimately have all of them”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 1:05:10
The agentic AI revolution has already begun and is progressing rapidly.
“the agentic revolution has happened, you know, and is happening pretty fast”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 1:07:38
AI-capable task durations were doubling approximately every seven months.
“these times, the task duration in human terms that an AI could do were doubling every seven months”
Open the episode · Is AI The Next Stage Of Human Evolution? - Robert Wright - #1122Listen at 1:08:40
Statements are attributed to the speaker as said on the episode and reflect their view at the time, not PodLume's. They are not advice.