Lex Fridman PodcastSteven Pinker: AI in the Age of Reason | Lex Fridman Podcast #3
Episode Details
EPISODE INFO
- Released
- October 17, 2018
- Duration
- 37m
- Channel
- Lex Fridman Podcast
- Watch on YouTube
- ▶ Open ↗
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
Steven Pinker is a professor at Harvard and before that was a professor at MIT. He is the author of many books, several of which had a big impact on the way I see the world for the better. In particular, The Better Angels of Our Nature and Enlightenment Now have instilled in me a sense of optimism grounded in data, science, and reason. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep3-sb See below for timestamps, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. *CONTACT LEX:* *Feedback* - give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey *AMA* - submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama *Hiring* - join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring *Other* - other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact *PODCAST LINKS:*
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SPEAKERS
Lex Fridman
hostSteven Pinker
guest
EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode of Lex Fridman Podcast, featuring Lex Fridman and Steven Pinker, Steven Pinker: AI in the Age of Reason | Lex Fridman Podcast #3 explores steven Pinker Challenges AI Doomsday Fears With Rational Optimism Steven Pinker and Lex Fridman discuss the meaning of life, human rationality, and the relationship between natural and artificial intelligence. Pinker argues that while humans are neural networks with unique conscious experience, there is no principled reason silicon systems could not match our cognitive abilities, though exact imitation may be unnecessary or impractical. He is strongly skeptical of popular AI doomsday scenarios, distinguishing between genuine engineering risks and what he views as fanciful thought experiments like "paperclip maximizers." Throughout, he emphasizes the culture of engineering safety, the humanitarian benefits of AI (e.g., autonomous vehicles and automation of dangerous jobs), and the need to prioritize real, data-backed existential risks such as pandemics, nuclear war, and climate change over speculative AI catastrophes.
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