In an age of ubiquitous AI, how do we maintain control of our lives and successfully plot our own destinies? In this episode, Reid’s in the hotseat alongside writer Greg Beato, discussing this and more in the context of their new book, Superagency. Greg is a seasoned journalist whose work has appeared in publications such as the New York Times, Wired, The Washington Post, Reason, Spin, and Slate, to name a few. He and Reid talk about what could possibly go right with our AI future; the cognitive industrial revolution; and the difference between AI Doomers, Bloomers, Zoomers, and Gloomers.
Plus, Reid’s AI avatar makes a cameo to join for a few rounds of the game “Overrated/Underrated,” inspired by economist and author Tyler Cowen.
For more info on Superagency, check out Superagency.AI.
For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/
Topics:
0:00 - Hellos and intros
0:02 - What made Reid choose Greg as a co-author?
0:58 - Greg’s journey from journalist to co-author of Superagency
3:15 - How AI reshapes human agency and empowers decision-making
6:18 - Lessons from past technological revolutions and why AI is different
11:34 - The democratization of AI through ChatGPT and its transformative impact
14:58 - The four camps of AI discourse: doomers, gloomers, zoomers, and bloomers
20:18 - Building and benefitting from agency in the AI age
23:48 - How AI has already been integrated into daily lives and how OpenAI changed that paradigm
36:08 - Why speed in AI innovation is critical to safety and global competition
40:29 - Rapid-fire questions
Possible is an award-winning podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Tune in for grounded and speculative takes on how technology—and, in particular, AI—is inspiring change and transforming the future. Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with an ambitious builder or deep thinker on a topic, from art to geopolitics and from healthcare to education. These conversations also showcase another kind of guest: AI. Whether it's Inflection’s Pi, OpenAI’s ChatGPT or other AI tools, each episode will use AI to enhance and advance our discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.