EP 3: Playing the Wrong Game

What if the path to a true thinking machine was found not just in a lab… but in a game? For decades, AI’s greatest triumphs came from games: checkers, chess, Jeopardy. But no matter how many trophies it took from humans, it still couldn’t think. In this episode, we follow the contrarian scientists who refused to give up on a radical idea, one that would ultimately change how machines learn. But their breakthrough came with a cost: incredible performance, at the expense of understanding how it actually works. THIS EPISODE FEATURES: Yoshua Bengio, Liv Boeree, Geoffrey Hinton, Karen Hao, Keach Hagey, Jasmine Sun LINKS: ⁠Karen Hao’s book: Empire of AI Keach Hagey's book: The Optimist Liv Boeree's podcast: Win Win CREDITS: This episode of The Last Invention was reported and produced by Andy Mills, Gregory Warner, Andrew Parsons, Megan Phelps-Roper, Matthew Boll, Seth Temple Andrews, and Ethan Mannello. It is hosted by Gregory Warner Music for this episode was composed by ⁠⁠Scott Devendorf⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Ben Lanz⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Cobey Bienert⁠⁠, and Matthew Boll The Last Invention artwork by ⁠⁠Jacob Boll⁠⁠ To become a Longview subscriber you can visit us ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ Thank you to our sponsors Ground News and FIRE ⁠⁠GROUND NEWS⁠ :⁠ Go to ⁠⁠groundnews.com/invent⁠⁠ to get 40% off unlimited access to global coverage of the stories shaping our world. ⁠⁠FIRE⁠ ⁠ This is a paid sponsorship link.

In 1951, Alan Turing predicted machines might one day surpass human intelligence and 'take control.' He created a test to alert us when we were getting close. But seventy years of science fiction later, the real threat feels like just another movie plot. THIS EPISODE FEATURES: Connor Leahy, Max Tegmark, Robin Hanson, Karen Hao, Nick Bostrom, Sam Harris, and Justin Murphy LINKS: Karen Hao’s book “Empire of AI” Nick Bostrom's book "Superintelligence" CREDITS: This episode of The Last Invention was reported and produced by Andy Mills, Gregory Warner, Andrew Parsons, Megan Phelps-Roper, Matthew Boll, Seth Temple Andrews, and Ethan Mannello. It is hosted by Gregory Warner Music for this episode was composed by ⁠Scott Devendorf⁠, ⁠Ben Lanz⁠, ⁠Cobey Bienert⁠, and Matthew Boll The Last Invention artwork by ⁠Jacob Boll⁠ To become a Longview subscriber you can visit us ⁠here⁠ Thank you to our sponsors Ground News and FIRE ⁠GROUND NEWS⁠ : Go to ⁠groundnews.com/invent⁠ to get 40% off unlimited access to global coverage of the stories shaping our world. ⁠FIRE⁠  This is a paid sponsorship link.

A tip alleging a Silicon Valley conspiracy leads to a much bigger story: the race to build artificial general intelligence — within the next few years — and the factions vying to accelerate it, to stop it, or to prepare for its arrival. FEATURING: Mike Brock, Kevin Roose, Geoffrey Hinton, Connor Leahy, William MacAskill, Liv Boeree, Sam Harris, and Yoshua Bengio LINKS: Sam Harris 2016 TED Talk, Can We Build AI Without Losing Control Over It Nick Bostrom's book Superintelligence Sam Harris' Making Sense podcast Center for AI Safety Hard Fork podcast Geoffrey Hinton’s resignation coverage:  Why the “godfather of AI” left Google to warn about existential risk William MacAskill's book What We Owe the Future Eliezer Yudkowsky's book If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies CREDITS: This episode of The Last Invention was reported and produced by Andy Mills, Gregory Warner, Andrew Parsons, Megan Phelps-Roper, Matthew Boll, Seth Temple Andrews, and Ethan Mannello. It is hosted by Gregory Warner Music for this episode was composed by Scott Devendorf, Ben Lanz, Cobey Bienert, and Matthew Boll The Last Invention artwork by Jacob Boll To become a Longview subscriber you can visit us here Thank you to our sponsors Ground News and FIRE GROUND NEWS : Go to groundnews.com/invent to get 40% off unlimited access to global coverage of the stories shaping our world. FIRE  This is a paid sponsorship link.

For over seventy years, technologists have dreamed of building a true “thinking machine.” An artificial intelligence so powerful it would reshape every aspect of human life. Would it unlock unimaginable abundance? Or bring about our destruction? Today, many of the people closest to the latest A.I. breakthroughs believe that moment has arrived. Some are walking away from their jobs to sound the alarm. Others argue it can’t be stopped, and the only choice is to unite as a society and try to get ready. Still others dismiss the fears, convinced we’re entering a thrilling new chapter of human history. Who’s right? Why are some of the most informed minds so sharply divided? And how, exactly, did we get here? Episode one drops soon. Stay tuned.