SECRET WAR to Control AGI | AI Doomer $755M War Chest | Vitalik Buterin, X-risk & Techno Optimism

Summary

The transcript discusses the firing of OpenAI researchers疑似 due to leaked information related to AI safety and reasoning. It delves into the concept of effective altruism (EA), questioning its secretive nature and potential links to a global governance movement. The video highlights concerns about the influence of EA in AI research and the push for regulations that could lead to widespread surveillance and control. It contrasts this with the views of those who advocate for technology and AI advancement, sparking a debate on the balance between safety and progress in AI development.

Takeaways

• 🔍 The video discusses a controversy involving the firing of researchers at OpenAI, allegedly linked to information leaks about an unspecified project named 'QAR'.
• 🌐 It explores the concept of Effective Altruism (EA), originally founded to use evidence and reason to maximize human well-being, but suggests it may have evolved into something more secretive and potentially manipulative.
• 📉 The script touches on the connections between EA and high-profile tech figures and companies, including references to Elon Musk and the FTX scandal involving Sam Bankman-Fried.
• 🔥 It raises concerns about the potential for a shadowy, global governing body as envisioned by EA proponents, capable of overriding national sovereignties to address perceived existential risks.
• 🔬 The narrative questions the transparency and true intentions behind EA, contrasting public mission statements with secretive or potentially harmful actions.
• 💾 Discusses the regulatory impact on technology, specifically AI, suggesting that stringent regulations might hinder technological progress and innovation.
• ⚖️ There's a detailed critique of proposed AI safety measures which include banning high-capacity GPUs and extensive surveillance of software development.
• 🚨 Highlights the significant influence and financial movements within the EA community, linking large donations and their use in controversial or opaque ways.
• 🌍 Calls attention to the broader implications of AI governance, warning that excessive control could lead to a dystopian oversight of technological advancements.
• 🤖 Expresses a balanced view on technology's potential, advocating for cautious yet progressive development to avoid both stagnation and unchecked risks.

Q & A

What was the primary reason behind the firing of Sam Altman from OpenAI?

Sam Altman was fired during a controversy in November, which involved leaks from OpenAI. The script suggests there were internal conflicts and potential misuse of information, but specific details about the cause of his firing were not explicitly stated.

What are the core principles of Effective Altruism as described in the script?

Effective Altruism (EA) is described as an approach that uses evidence and reason to determine the most effective ways to benefit others and then takes action based on those findings. It began with the mission of figuring out how to assist humanity optimally using a rational and scientific method.

What controversy is associated with Effective Altruism according to the script?

The script mentions that Effective Altruism has been linked to secretive operations and potentially having different underlying agendas than stated, as evidenced by its involvement in the OpenAI controversies and connections with individuals like Sam Bankman-Fried, who faced legal issues related to financial fraud.

What concerns are raised about AI safety and global governance in the script?

The script raises concerns about proposals from figures within the Effective Altruism community advocating for a global government to manage existential risks, including AI. This includes potential overreach such as making certain technologies illegal and imposing pervasive surveillance to control AI development.

How did the Future of Life Institute reportedly use funds received from Vitalik Buterin according to the script?

The Future of Life Institute used funds from Vitalik Buterin, which came from liquidating Shiba Inu cryptocurrency tokens, to create the Vitalik Buterin Fellowship in AI Existential Safety. This was part of their broader goal to promote AI safety.

What legal implications are mentioned in the script regarding the development and regulation of AI?

The script discusses new regulatory frameworks that could grant significant power to administrators, including making certain hardware illegal, conducting raids, compelling testimony, and potentially shutting down sectors of the AI industry temporarily.

What are the stated goals of the Future of Life Institute as described in the script?

The Future of Life Institute aims to mitigate existential risks through regulatory and policy interventions. They focus on creating mechanisms and institutions that can govern AI development globally to ensure safety and prevent misuse.

What skepticism does the character Larry David represent in the script's narrative on technological optimism?

Larry David's character in the script symbolizes skepticism towards major technological advancements and investments, specifically highlighting the potential risks and downsides that often accompany new innovations, as illustrated by his dismissal of FTX in a commercial.

According to the script, how does the author view the duality of technology's potential for both benefit and harm?

The author of the script acknowledges that while technology, including AI, offers tremendous potential benefits like enhanced drug discovery and renewable energy, it also poses significant risks if not managed properly, highlighting the need for balanced and cautious advancement.

What is the significance of the debate between 'accelerationists' and 'anti-technology' perspectives as discussed in the script?

The script contrasts 'accelerationists', who believe in advancing technology rapidly to achieve a utopian future, with 'anti-technology' advocates, who argue for slowing down technological progress due to safety concerns. This debate is central to discussions on how society should handle emerging technologies like AI.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 Investigating Leaks and Effective Altruism Controversies

The paragraph starts by discussing the firing of certain OpenAI researchers, including Leopold Ashenbrenner and Pavl Ismo, for leaking confidential information. The scenario ties back to a previous incident involving the dismissal of Sam Altman from OpenAI and alludes to mysterious leaks related to something called 'QAR'. The discussion then shifts to effective altruism (EA), introducing it as a movement started by Peter Singer and others, aiming to use evidence and reason to maximize benefits to others. However, the narrative suggests that the movement may have secretive and possibly sinister aspects, particularly in relation to AI safety and hidden agendas, emphasizing a lack of transparency in their operations.

05:03

🎭 Turmoil and Secrecy Within AI Leadership

This paragraph highlights the turmoil within AI organizations, particularly focusing on the secretive nature of the board members of OpenAI during a significant crisis involving the firing and later rehiring of Sam Altman. It details the uncommunicative and obscure handling of the crisis by board members like Ilia Sutskever and Helen Toner, who were possibly influenced by their affiliations with the effective altruism movement. Additionally, it discusses the continuous secretive stance of the organization even after external inquiries, suggesting a possible deeper agenda or conflict within the AI community.

10:05

🌐 Ideological Divides and Global AI Governance

The third paragraph examines various influential figures and their connection to the effective altruism movement and their controversial views on AI and global governance. It mentions Vitalik Buterin and Max Tegmark, highlighting significant donations to AI safety and existential risk initiatives. The text critically assesses the push for regulations that may lead to a global surveillance state, hinting at the motivations behind these moves as potentially controlling and authoritarian, rather than purely altruistic or safety-driven.

15:06

🤖 Skepticism and Criticism of AI Safety Narratives

This paragraph discusses the marketing of AI safety and effective acceleration as protective measures against existential risks, yet it hints at underlying motives of control and power within these narratives. It includes a satirical take on a Super Bowl commercial by FTX featuring Larry David, which inadvertently underscores the need for skepticism towards too-good-to-be-true offers. The narrative questions the integrity of the effective altruism movement and its leaders, suggesting that their proposed solutions might actually cloak ambitions of global dominance under the guise of humanitarian aid.

20:06

🌍 Navigating the Future of AI and Humanity

The final paragraph focuses on Vitalik Buterin's nuanced perspective on technology and AI, introducing the concept of techno-optimism, which advocates for technological progress as a force for good. It discusses different ideological views regarding the future of AI—ranging from dystopian fears to utopian hopes—and emphasizes the importance of cautious yet forward-thinking approaches to AI development. The discussion underscores the complex and polarized debates surrounding AI, urging a balanced understanding and careful consideration of how AI policies are shaped and implemented.

Keywords

💡Effective Altruism

Effective Altruism (EA) is a philosophical and social movement that uses evidence and careful analysis to determine the most effective ways to benefit others. In the script, EA is discussed extensively as it morphed from an altruistic beginning to a secretive and possibly controlling movement. Critics argue that while EA started with noble intentions to maximize global good, it has been entwined with controversies such as those involving AI safety and the influence of prominent tech figures like Sam Bankman-Freed, linking EA to potentially overreaching global governance ideas.

💡AI Safety

AI Safety refers to the field of study concerned with ensuring that artificial intelligence systems are safe and beneficial for humanity. The script addresses AI safety multiple times, particularly in the context of controversies surrounding Effective Altruism and the actions of figures like Sam Bankman-Freed. It describes how EA's support for AI safety might mask more intrusive aims like stringent global regulations and surveillance, suggesting a conflict between stated benevolent goals and potential hidden agendas.

💡Global Governance

Global Governance in the script refers to the idea of creating overarching legal and political frameworks at a global level to manage or regulate issues affecting multiple countries or the entire planet, such as AI risks. It's presented as a controversial proposal by members of the EA community, potentially leading to a powerful, centralized control over technological advancements and individual state actions, raising concerns about overreach and loss of sovereignty.

💡Extinction Risk

Extinction Risk is discussed in terms of the potentially catastrophic risks that could lead to the extinction of humanity, often mentioned in the context of uncontrolled AI development. The script explores the notion that influential groups may use the fear of extinction risks to justify strict global governance measures, including prohibitions and punitive actions against perceived threats, which could be abused for power consolidation.

💡Techno-Optimism

Techno-Optimism is a belief system that sees technology as a key driver of future progress and solutions to current problems, including medical advancements, energy solutions, and more. In the script, this viewpoint contrasts sharply with the more restrictive views presented by AI regulation proponents, advocating for fewer restrictions on technological development to foster innovation and address global challenges effectively.

💡Regulatory Overreach

Regulatory Overreach refers to the excessive imposition of regulations that exceed their intended purpose, often stifling innovation and infringing on freedoms. In the context of the video, this concept is tied to the proposed AI regulations discussed, which are seen as potentially enabling unprecedented surveillance and control over technological development, under the guise of protecting humanity.

💡AI Doomer

AI Doomer refers to individuals or groups that believe AI developments will inevitably lead to catastrophic outcomes for humanity. The script mentions this perspective as part of a broader debate on AI's future impact, positioning it against more optimistic views that advocate for the benefits of AI in solving complex problems.

💡Surveillance

Surveillance in the video is linked to discussions on global governance and AI safety, where it is portrayed as a potential tool for monitoring and controlling technology development excessively. The script raises concerns about the intrusive nature of proposed surveillance measures and their implications for personal and corporate freedom.

💡Crypto Fraud

Crypto Fraud is discussed through the lens of the FTX scandal involving Sam Bankman-Freed, a prominent figure in the Effective Altruism movement. The script uses this incident to illustrate broader concerns about the trustworthiness of leaders within the EA and tech communities, suggesting that their public benevolent intentions might mask deeper issues of fraud and deception.

💡OpenAI

OpenAI is mentioned in relation to its internal controversies and its significant role in AI development and policy discussion. The script delves into the turmoil within OpenAI, including leadership changes and secrecy, to highlight broader themes of accountability and transparency in tech organizations, especially those operating in influential sectors like artificial intelligence.

Highlights

OpenAI researchers were fired for leaking information, including Ally of Ilia and Leopold Ashen brener.

The leaks were related to AI safety and reasoning, and the researchers seem to have ties to the effective altruism movement.

Effective Altruism (EA) is a movement that started in 2011 with the aim of using evidence and reason to benefit others as much as possible.

EA has been supported by tech figures like Sam Bankman-Fried and Elon Musk, but has also been criticized for pushing a dangerous brand of AI safety.

The OpenAI board, including Adam D'Angelo and Ilia Suk, was fired in November 2023, and Sam Altman returned to run OpenAI.

Helen Toner, who was part of the effective altruism community, was behind a paper criticizing OpenAI's handling of information releases.

Asen Brener, who was fired from OpenAI, had previously worked at the Future Fund, which was started by Sam Bankman-Fried.

Vitalik Buterin, the creator of Ethereum, has shown support for EA and has donated significant amounts to the Future of Life Institute.

The Future of Life Institute has been involved in AI safety discussions and has proposed regulations for AI systems.

There are concerns about the potential for EA to create a unified global government with absolute power to enforce its views on existential risks.

The transcript discusses the potential dangers of AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) and the different views on how to approach its development.

The speaker expresses skepticism about the intentions of those who advocate for global governance and surveillance in the name of AI safety.

The concept of 'effective acceleration' is introduced as a nuanced approach to balancing technological advancement with caution and defense.

Vitalik Buterin's blog post outlines his views on the potential dangers and benefits of AI, placing himself in a category of cautious optimism.

The transcript highlights the importance of understanding different perspectives on AI development and the potential impact on society.

The speaker calls for individuals to form their own opinions on AI policies and regulations, rather than having decisions made for them.

The transcript concludes with a call to action for viewers to consider their stance on AI safety versus tech optimism and the implications for the future.

Transcripts

I don't even know where to begin but I

guess let's start here openi researchers

including Ally of Ilia sover fired for

leaking information out of open AI if

you recall that whole November Fiasco

with the firing of Sam Altman the qar

leaks which have been confirmed to be

true by the way we still don't know what

qar is but the leaks were real well

apparently some of the researchers

behind some of the leaks we don't know

specifically which ones they have been

found and fired Leopold Ashen brener and

pavl ismo so we're not sure what they

leaked but it seems like they were

working on AI safety pava was also

working on reasoning as well as AI

safety do you think there's a chance

that these people have links to some

shadowy organization that is really

against AI so the information posted

their pictures here Leopold and Powell

and of course it seems like they have

ties to the effective altruism movement

all right but to really understand

what's Happening Here we have to talk

about effective altruism EA as it's

sometimes referred to what is effective

altruism so couple quick disclaimers

first of all I don't know eff of

altruism as well as I should so I am

relying on some of this information that

I find on the internet some of it may be

inaccurate if I'm off about something

I'll try to post Corrections in the

comments or do a follow-up video but

also at the same time I think it's it's

very difficult to understand exactly

what this thing is because I think while

maybe it started as one thing maybe even

an altruistic thing what it kind of

morphed into I think is very different

and as far as I can tell all of them are

very secretive about what they do what

their goals are it's really difficult to

figure out what it is that they actually

want not their stay mission of quote

unquote help Humanity but their actual

mission that they're trying to do what's

the thing that they're trying to

accomplish so it started in 2011 Peter

Singer Toby or remember Toby or and

William mcll and sort of their stated

mission was using evidence and reason to

figure out how to benefit others as much

as possible and taking action on that

basis so basically they wanted to think

about how to help Humanity in the best

way possible kind of Take the Long of

view and kind of go about it in a

reasonable kind of scientific method

that's as best as I understand it which

explain like that I would say hey yes

this is a good group and I kind of share

those beliefs as well we should try to

help everyone and focus on the long term

and think about how to do so with

evidence and reason again the stated

mission is not the problem here in fact

here's William mcll a moral philosopher

at Oxford right so he has a book what we

owe the future here's Elon Musk saying

worth reading this is a close match to

My Philosophy so Elon Musk a number of

years ago said hey this this sounds like

a good idea right which again on the

surface sounds like a good idea helping

Humanity going about it in an

intelligent way thinking in longterm

versus short-term right here's Stephen

Mark Ryan saying should be a good read

will did a super fascinating podcast

with Tim Ferris close to a decade ago

really got me thinking I just realized I

remember when I was when Tim Ferris

published his first ever podcast I think

he was very nervous about doing a

podcast so he really hit the wine very

very hard during that podcast yeah so it

kind of went off the rails towards the

end there but yeah it was close to a

decade ago actually now it has been a

decade and I feel very very old but the

point I'm trying to make is it's

important to understand that there's

what we say we want and then there's

what we actually do right so I'm sure we

all have a Spam box full of various

emails promising us wonderful things

that at face value yeah maybe we do want

they promise Fortune Fame and at ation

so the headline is good but the final

result is you having to dispute various

credit card charges because you've been

defrauded effective altruism started

with a good headline Let's Help the

world as much as possible how did it end

well it started with Sam bankman freed

the founder of FTX I haven't followed

that too closely but it sounds like he

defrauded the various crypto investors

sounds like they're missing billions of

dollars this is an article from wired

effective altruism is pushing a

dangerous brand of AI safety this

philosophy supported by Tech figures

like Sam bankman freed fuels the AI

research agenda creating a harmful

system in the name of saving Humanity so

Sam Beckman freed is in jail or I guess

federal prison technically he's not

having a good time there his lawyers are

arguing that he should have a reduced

sentence because he's uniquely

vulnerable to the dangers of prison

being autistic he has a hard time

picking up on certain social cues that

are you know very important to survival

in a place like that which by the way

I'm sure is 100% true I do not doubt

that claim however the lawyers are

asking for his sentence to be reduced to

5 years and I really doubt that that's

going to work so this was the opening ey

board in November 2023 when that whole

Fiasco happens so we have Adam D'Angelo

so still on the board as of right now

founder and currently running quora so

if you've been hearing a little bit more

about po their little chatbot that um I

believe is running anthropics technology

now I think they've used both open Ai

and anthropics Claud to run po if I

recall correctly but he's still there

then we have Ilia Suk who has been

strangely silent since the whole thing

we don't really know where he is then

Tasha mcau and Helen toner so we think

Helen toner is the one behind a lot of

this there was a paper that she wrote

criticizing openi how openi handled some

of the releases that might have created

a clash with Sam Alman and that's the

thing that kind of led to this whole

thing and Helen toner is part of the

effective altruism Community during the

whole open AI board cush they refused to

talk about what was happening even

though they were getting calls from the

attorney general in fact the same

attorney general that I think put Sam

bankman freed away called them they had

a two-hour long conversation again this

is based on some of the leaks that we

were seeing from open AI they refused to

expand on what was happening they were

still very secretive they didn't want to

get any information out there and

eventually that board was kicked out Sam

mman came back to run open Ai and to

this day I don't think they ever

explained what they were doing for what

reason they put out a statement that had

some words strung together but didn't

have any actual data they didn't have an

explanation of is just like we regret

the occurrence of the blah blah blah but

it didn't say anything right I think

this is the statement they put out

they're saying opening admissions to

ensure artificial general intelligence

benefits everyone and the board has to

prioritize this Mission accountability

is important it's even more important

for AGI we hope this happens as we told

the investigators deception manipulation

and resistance to thorough oversight

should be unacceptable and yet they

themselves don't seem to be very open in

what their con concerns were what

actually happened so for all their talk

of accountability they're not really

accounting for their own actions it

seems to me like based on what I've seen

I just haven't found anywhere where they

talk about what their motivations are

here's Toby or one of his books he's

again one of the co-founders of this

movement effective acceleration so this

is posted by David Z Morris he's saying

or is an unabashed advocate for unified

Global government who decides what's an

Extinction risk and who the hell decides

exactly how much is necessary Extinction

risk and this is uh from Toby ord's book

another promising Avenue for incremental

change is to explicitly prohibit and

punish the deliberate or Reckless

imposition of unnecessary Extinction

risk international law is the natural

place for this as those who impose such

risk maybe well National governments or

heads of state who could be effectively

immune to Mere national law so it seems

like what these people want to create is

a unified Global government that is able

to punish democratically elected heads

of state of governments if they perceive

what they're doing to be an Extinction

risk whatever that means like how do you

define what's an Extinction risk who

gets to decide right I mean this seems

to me like it would give them Absolute

Power to jail anyone heads of state

people running the country hopefully

elected democratically to just put them

away to remove them from the post or put

them in jail with no explanation other

than you pose an Extinction risk so

going back to Ashen brener and ISM of

Ashen brener graduated from Columbia

University and has previously worked at

the future fund a fund started by the

former FTX Chief Sam bankman freed again

that's the guy that's in jail and has

his team of lawyers actively trying to

reduce that sentence but that fund was

aimed to finance project to improve

Humanity's long-term prospects then year

ago Asen brener joined open AI right and

several of the board members who fired

Alman had also ties to effective

altruism Tasha makali is a board member

of effective Ventures parent

organization of the Center for Effective

altruism and Helen toner previously

worked at the effective altruism focused

open philanthropy project and of course

both left the board when Alman returned

as CEO so this is vitalic butterin so he

is the guy behind ethereum ethereum has

for most of the time been the number two

biggest and most successful

cryptocurrency after Bitcoin I don't

track that stuff too closely nowadays

but it used to be I think it's fair to

say that most of the time it was number

two it probably is now yeah I figured I

checked so yes it's number two and this

is Max tigar future of Life Institute so

another person that seemingly sort of

associated with EA CU future of life and

EA seem linked so in May 2021 metallic

butterin Burns 80% of his ship holding

and uses the remaining 24 long-term

charitable causes so shibba Inu is one

of those crazy doggy cryptocurrency it

doesn't really matter the point is he

gives a lot of money to the future of

Life Institute we're talking to the tune

of

755 million so not quite a billion but

uh still quite a bit future of Life

Institute uses FTX so Sam bankman freed

his company that defrauded investors out

of billions it liquidates the ship

tokens so it sells it basically converts

it into dollars I assume and they use

that money to create the valal butterin

fellowship and AI existential safety

everyone Pats themselves on the back the

future of Life butterin shibba enu

Community sang B freed Alam research

right here's Max tear vitalic then

November 2022 whoops the collapse of bet

sang bankman freed FTX and Alam research

due to fraud allegations boy they got so

lucky that they cashed out sounds like

they were able to get their money out in

time the future of Life Institute uh

posts for the EU in the transparency

register listing musk Foundation as the

top contributor of you know 3 million it

looks like but where's the nearly a

billion dollars from shibba Ino well it

lacks that amount the amount they

liquidated from the 2021 Shiba Inu

donations since the audit is still in

progress and the yearly budget presents

musk Foundation ation donation as The

prominent one right so the 3 and5

million from musk is listed as the top

one not the close to a billion dollars

from shibba Ino then of course we have

that PA AI experiments the open letter

right everyone points to musk as the

person that funded the foundation right

then the update in 2023 the donation

listing the 600,000 minor cryptocurrency

I guess it went down in value since the

donation in 2023 future Life Institute

participates in the UK AI safety Summit

te Mark addresses the US Congress and

the EU AI act this past they've pushed

it through allowing for the regulation

of general purpose AI systems here's an

interview in one of the future of Life

institutes co-founders talking about how

they view protecting the world from AI

basically by making the hardware illegal

and subjecting you know software the

code that people write to pervasive

surveillance on a global scale take a

listen I do think that governments

certainly governments can make things

illegal well you can make Hardware

illegal you can also say that yeah

producing graphics cards above certain

capability level is now illegal and

suddenly you have like much much more

Runway as a civilization do you get into

a territory of having to put

surveillance on what code is running in

a data center yeah I mean regulating

software is much much more harder than

Hardware if you like let the mor law to

continue then like the surveillance has

to be more and more pervasive so my

focus for the foreseeable future will be

on kind of regulatory interventions I'm

kind of like trying to educate lawmakers

and kind of helping and perhaps hiring

lobbyists to try to make the world safer

now the future of Life Institute has a

new grant program for Global governance

mechanism and institutions he wants to

ban the creation agis and have various

surveillance mechanisms and this year

future of Life Institute tells Politico

that its efforts support Common Sense

regulations but what they're talking

about is Banning gpus these Nvidia cards

above a certain capacity those should be

made illegal what software people rights

should be surveilled and if you also add

to that fact the idea that or one of the

co-founders of effective altruism is

talking about having some sort of a

global government that's above heads of

state above government that's able to

jail people for you know creating

existential risks which again is very

vague They Don't Really Define what an

existential risk is they don't really

talk through why they think AI might

kill everyone but it seems that they're

just pushing for regulation for having

political power Global political power

my spam boox is full of very attractive

sounding headlines but in reality what

they want is to rip me off and take my

money same Sam bankman freed and the FTX

thing they wanted to help everyone get

wealthy and help the world but ended up

just ripping everybody off and losing

billions of dollars of investor funds

now these people are saying that they

want to save us from certain Doom

certain Extinction from AGI effective

ACC ation wants to help Humanity right

that's the headline what is the actual

thing that's going to happen there is

this funny commercial that was made by

FTX for the Super Bowl it was funny then

it's hilarious now because it featured

Larry David and Larry David was a

skeptical character he dismissed major

innovations that happened throughout

history like the wheel the fork the

toilet and now he's dismissing the

cryptocurrency exchange FTX the whole

point of the commercial is Don't Be Like

Larry invest with FTX what's funny here

is we should be like Larry and I don't

mean the real person Larry David who

himself sounds like lost a whole bunch

of money on crypto cuz his salary was in

crypto they paid him in crypto can you

believe that I'm talking about be like

Larry this mythical person that can

smell the BS when he sees it your email

spam box full of women that want to meet

you is a good headline but it's fraud

they just want to get your money

companies like FTX that say that they

want to make you rich it's fraud they

just want to take your money the people

that are saying that they want to

protect you from extinction by this

scary software say it with me it's fraud

do you want to install a global

governance mechanism ban and jail anyone

that disagrees with them probably

because they believe that they can

install themselves at the very top and

become the absolute Kings of the world I

hate to break it to you but these aren't

the good guys now I have to say here so

in regards to vitalic butterin I was

kind of surprised that he was caught up

in this he didn't strike me as one of

those people and maybe this is me being

naive maybe this is me being a little

bit too trusting but to me the jury's

still out on this guy and he posted this

image which I thought was excellent I

try to do my best to not go all in on

any specific view I like to be a little

bit more neutral I I have my biases I

have my opinions I have my preferences

but I think now more than ever it's

important to try to understand the

different opinions the different sides

you can have your preference but at

least understand where the other side is

coming from one view is the anti-

technology view it's this idea that

safety is behind and dystopia ahead and

there's quite a number of people that

kind share this view certainly the

people that we've talked about today

seem to see it in this fashion or at

least they say say they do right

dystopia ahead right AI will kill

everyone AI will turn us all into paper

clips some people are saying it won't

just destroy humanity and Earth but our

entire universe will take over and turn

into paper clips or whatever other

scenario they Envision and that safety

is is behind us we have to kind of stop

technological progress decelerate learn

to live with less right less food less

Comfort less air conditioning and and

move backwards into time a lot of these

beliefs kind of also overlap with this

idea of depopulation right this is one

thing that Elon Musk kind of rails

against he's saying no we need more

people more kids we need the Next

Generation and he's kind of fighting

against the forces they saying no we

need less people we need to reduce

Earth's population and by the way if

you're not following some of this these

are real conversations that that some

people are having including people that

wield a lot of political power a lot of

influence a lot of capital but that's

the anti-technology view right Outlaw

gpus and have a global worldwide

surveillance on software because if we

keep going down this path there's Doom

ahead right and there's the

accelerationist view that there's

dangers behind and Utopia ahead so right

now we're seeing a lot of progress with

AI for example doing drug Discovery

there's more and more overlap between

genomics and AI so potentially we could

cure some heart to cure diseases we can

have people live longer we can have more

targeted drugs that that help people

heal without the side effects we're

potentially could be seeing our first

commercially viable fusion power plant

that will make energy very cheap people

are talking going to colonize other

planets kind of removing the risk of

potentially being just on a single

planet as a species or one unlucky

meteor can take everyone out potentially

right so these people view advancing

technology as the right way and slowing

down and letting the crippling

regulations and these World governments

ruled by people that maybe we don't

agree with on everything I think we can

say that maybe those are the dangers the

authoritarian governments worldwide

surveillance Etc and then we have the

third system and that is what vitalic

butterin is saying that's my view that

there's dangers behind and multiple

paths forward ahead some good some bad

and this at least I can kind of agree

with the path forward has wonderful

amazing promises it has some dangers

potentially but I'm going to be 100%

honest and I'll come out and say this

the people with this Viewpoint scare me

the most the people that want to install

a global authoritarian surveillance

regime that is bigger than governments

in order to protect us from something

vague that they can't even fully

describe that scares me because even if

they are sincere and they're good people

and they're super duper nice and they

want the best for people well the next

generation that takes over may not be

and eventually we're going to run into

somebody that's going to use it for

something bad and at that point it will

be too late to do anything about it but

back to italic my techno optimism this

blog post that he wrote it is Big it's

very very very it's huge it's pages and

pages and pages of notes and bullet

points and various uh charts and graphs

and whatever its table of contents is

like a page long his post also mentions

mark andreon as one of the faces behind

techno optimism the people that believe

that technology that AI will help the

world he is by the way one of the main

guys behind a16z and reent Horowitz they

wrote this techno Optimist Manifesto on

the a6z website and they believe that

advancing technology is one of the most

virtuous things that we can do they

believe in ambition aggression

persistence relentlessness strength they

believe in Merit and achievement they

believe in Pride confidence and

self-respect when earned they believe in

free thought free speech and free

inquiry they believe in the actual

scientific method and the enlightenment

values of free discourse and challenging

the authority of experts they believe in

as Richard fan says science is the

belief in the ignorance of experts and I

would rather have questions that can't

be answered than answers that can't be

questioned and they have enemies and I

quote we have enemies our enemies are

not bad people but rather bad ideas

those enemies Go by different names

existential risk degrowth their enemy is

stagnation corruption regulatory capture

their enemy is speech control and

thought control they're saying our enemy

is deceleration degrowth depopulation

the nihilistic wish so trendy among our

Elites for fewer people less energy and

more suffering and death so I might go

back and read the metallic post try to

understand where he's coming from but a

quick AI summary that I did makes it

seem that he is indeed somewhere in

between he is in fact somewhere here he

believes that there are specific dangers

ahead specific very good paths ahead and

of course this bear behind us means that

he believes that technology should

Advance he believes that AI should grow

with humans that we should be integrated

with AI it has some pretty Nuance takes

on these whole ideas of what EA is what

eak is so eak is of course effective

acceleration so in that uh Andre and

Horowitz a16z their patron saints of

techno optimism I mean the first person

on there and I think also the second is

one of the leaders of that effective

acceleration or eak movement so to me I

think vitalica is trying to be very

nuanced in a very polarized world I

think he's somebody that thinks pretty

deeply about this stuff but I just can't

see him as an anti-technology person we

believes that technology is amazing and

there are very high costs to delaying it

there's this interesting chart he posted

so it's kind of like the different

quadrants on the right you have agis

coming soon on the left not very soon

and down you have you know the risk of P

Doom so all feature value likely to be

destroyed by misaligned AGI if you're an

AI Doomer or not basically and towards

the top it's unlikely that AGI will

destroy everybody and uh they're saying

here this is not serious it's just

guesswork where everybody is but you can

see Sam Alman and he's saying AGI is

coming soonish and it's unlikely that

it's going to destroy everybody you have

the founder of Google up there like it's

highly unlikely that it's going to

destroy us right they're very very

positive about it of course at the very

bottom you have a owski probably the

most well-known AI Doomer you know Demi

s habis who is part of Google deep M who

they've placed into you know more of the

you know let's say he's cautious he's a

little bit towards yeah there could be

problems like we have to be careful Yan

Lon is very positive Andrew a very

positive that it's not going to destroy

us interestingly Gary Marcus is highly

on here but he tends to think that AI is

not going to be very effective and again

a lot of this is just guesswork it's not

serious in any way but looks like

metalic placed himself in the category

that egi is not coming anytime soon and

it's unlikely to destroy so he's not

concerned but he thinks that there's a

chance he's maybe a little bit concerned

he places his P Doom so the probability

of something horrible happening

existential risk as

0.1 he's saying you don't have to buy

the story but in my opinion it's worth

worrying about and he's saying his

philosophy is Dak d/ ACC and a podcast

on bankless he talks about Dak what it

stands for so the D is defensive or kind

of accelerating but defensively so

carefully but also kind of stands for

decentralization as in getting away from

one potentially authoritarian government

or some Central system pulling the

strings of everything and everybody so

I'll post a survey down below somewhere

that will allow you to vote to kind of

show where you are on this whole thing

do you think we should accelerate

technology as much as we can accelerate

AI because there's more danger in

slowing down than there is in

accelerating are you more in line with

the whole world government controlling

everything surveilling everything and

just giving them Absolute Power because

only they can protect us from death by

AI I mean I'm sure there are some people

that believe that or do you think that

maybe we do need to accelerate but

defensively cautiously maybe you're

somewhere in between let me know I'm

curious where people fall on that

spectrum because I think these questions

are going to be more and more relevant

as you can see there are well-funded

organizations that are trying to push

through these regulations they've

succeeded in the EU and they're trying

here in the US as well they want to

control all forms of software anything

they could use neural Nets they want to

control search engines or anything that

predicts the demand Supply price cost or

Transportation needs of products or

Services their powers are said to be

very open-ended so not a Ru making

process or a due process just give them

all the power and they will protect you

over and over the legislation has this

oneway ratchet Clause the administrator

has the freedom to make rules stricter

without any evidence but has to prove a

negative to relax any rules so easy to

gain more power but hard to give any of

it up no open- Source software if it

doesn't get a government okay it cannot

be continued if you buy sell gift

receive trade or transport even one

covered chip like an Nvidia card that is

covered under this this act well then

you have committed a crime and this

Frontier artificial intelligence system

administration can straight up compel

testimony and conduct raids for any

investigation or proceeding including

speculative proactive investigations

there's a massive criminal liability

section not just for people you know

doing the math and doing the AI but also

any officials who don't do their jobs

and here's the kicker emergency Powers

the administrator of this organization

that they plan to create can on his own

authority can shut down the frontier AI

industry for 6 months or I'm reading it

here as 60 days unless they are

confirmed by the president or Congress

and then that can extend it to one year

they can take full possession and

control of specified locations or

equipment related to Ai and the

administrator can conscript troops so

you can basically raise an army to fight

the nerds that are putting together

various AI software also of course all

other agency have to consult this agency

if they're doing any AI enforcement

stuff they amend the antitrust law to

give the administrator a near veto on AI

mergers and they can use whatever

funding they can get their hands on

including the fines imposed and

donations so wherever you are in the

world I think you should figure out

where you stand on these policies on AI

safety versus Tech optimism Who are the

the good guys who are the bad guys you

should decide otherwise the decision

will be made for you with that said my

name is Wes R and thank you for watching