Richard Dawkins: Evolution, Intelligence, Simulation, and Memes | Lex Fridman Podcast #87

Richard Dawkins is an evolutionary biologist, and author of The Selfish Gene, The Blind Watchmaker, The God Delusion, The Magic of Reality, The Greatest Show on Earth, and his latest Outgrowing God. He is the originator and popularizer of a lot of fascinating ideas in evolutionary biology and science in general, including funny enough the introduction of the word meme in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene, which in the context of a gene-centered view of evolution is an exceptionally powerful idea. He is outspoken, bold, and often fearless in his defense of science and reason, and in this way, is one of the most influential thinkers of our time. PS: There is some occasional noise in the audio, which I tried to clean up in the edit. Support this podcast by signing up with these sponsors: - Cash App - use code "LexPodcast" and download: - Cash App (App Store): https://apple.co/2sPrUHe - Cash App (Google Play): https://bit.ly/2MlvP5w EPISODE LINKS: Richard's Website: https://www.richarddawkins.net/ Richard's Twitter: https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins Richard's Books: - Selfish Gene: https://amzn.to/34tpHQy - The Magic of Reality: https://amzn.to/3c0aqZQ - The Blind Watchmaker: https://amzn.to/2RqV5tH - The God Delusion: https://amzn.to/2JPrxlc - Outgrowing God: https://amzn.to/3ebFess - The Greatest Show on Earth: https://amzn.to/2Rp2j1h PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ Full episodes playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 Clips playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOeciFP3CBCIEElOJeitOr41 OUTLINE: 0:00 - Introduction 2:31 - Intelligent life in the universe 5:03 - Engineering intelligence (are there shortcuts?) 7:06 - Is the evolutionary process efficient? 10:39 - Human brain and AGI 15:31 - Memes 26:37 - Does society need religion? 33:10 - Conspiracy theories 39:10 - Where do morals come from in humans? 46:10 - AI began with the ancient wish to forge the gods 49:18 - Simulation 56:58 - Books that influenced you 1:02:53 - Meaning of life CONNECT: - Subscribe to this YouTube channel - Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LexFridmanPage - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman - Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman - Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman