Within Reason

#133 Hank Green on God, Science, and Consciousness

Hank Green (@hankschannel [https://www.youtube.com/@hankschannel]) is one of YouTube's most beloved creators. One half of vlogbrothers [https://www.youtube.com/@vlogbrothers], he is also the co-creator and host of SciShow [https://www.youtube.com/@SciShow] and Crash Course [https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCX6b17PVsYBQ0ip5gyeme-Q]. Timestamps: 0:00 - Where Are All the Aliens? 8:08 - What Makes Humans So Special? 17:22 - Has the US Lost its Cultural Identity? 29:34 - Martin Luther Wrong About God? 36:30 - Is the World an Illusion? 46:54 - Should We Believe Our Illusions? 53:58 - How Objective is Science? 59:41 - Does Science Explain Anything? 01:11:10 - Could We Explain Cold to an Alien? 1:22:03 - The Hard Problem of Consciousness 01:27:44 - Will Computers Ever Become Conscious? 01:35:58 - Do You Have Two Brains? 01:42:30 - Should We Be Worried About TikTok? 1:49:08 - Hank’s Video Ideas 01:59:39 - What’s it Like Meeting Your Old Heroes? 2:05:51 - Being a YouTuber

#132 Vsauce - Does Anything Exist?

Michael Stevens is the creator of Vsauce [https://www.youtube.com/@Vsauce], one of YouTube's most popular channels. Alongside Hannah Fry he hosts the newly-launched podcast The Rest is Science [https://linktr.ee/therestisscience]. Timestamps: 0:00 - Does Anything Really Exist? 10:32 - Is Michael a Mereological Nihilist? 19:42 - Are Philosophers Overcomplicating Function Behaviour? 25:24 - Do “You” Really Exist? 41:57 - Free Will and the Bicameral Mind Theory 50:09 - Why the Future Isn’t Changing Like It Used To 59:11 - The Scientific Mystery of Torque? 01:17:46 - Consciousness

#131 Toby Ord - Will AI Destroy Humanity?

Timestamps 0:00 - What Existential Risks Does AI Pose?8:57 - How AI Systems Lie to Us26:04 - Why We Should Be Worried About AI33:28 - What Does It Mean for AI System to “Want” Something?43:41 - AI Weapons and Nuclear Warfare48:57 - Where Should We Focus Our Resources?53:35 - What Policies Should We Enact?

#130 Philip Goff - Why I'm a Heretical Christian

Philip Goff is a British author, panpsychist philosopher, and professor at Durham University whose research focuses on philosophy of mind and consciousness. Specifically, how consciousness can be part of the scientific worldview. Buy Philip's books here [https://amzn.to/4o2VM91]. - Timestamps 0:00 - Why Philip Became Religious 07:13 - Panpsychism and the Fine-Tuning Argument 18:46 - Why God’s Power is Limited 30:10 - The Problem of Suffering 42:53 - Non-Western Religious Positions 48:34 - What is the Role of Jesus in This? 57:35 - “Why Aren’t You Just a Hindu?” 01:02:23 - What is the Point in the Crucifixion? 01:09:41 - The Beautiful Uncertainty of Religion

#129 Will MacAskill - We're Not Ready for Artificial General Intelligence

Get Huel today with this exclusive offer for New Customers of 15% OFF with code alexoconnor at https://huel.com/alexoconnor (Minimum $75 purchase). William MacAskill is a Scottish philosopher and author, as well as one of the originators of the effective altruism movement. Get his book. What We Owe the Future, here [https://amzn.to/4oU7u6s]. 0:00 – The World Isn’t Ready for AGI 9:12 – What Does AGI Doomsday Look Like? 16:13 – Alignment is Not Enough 19:28 – How AGI Could Cause Government Coups 27:14 – Why Isn’t There More Widespread Panic? 33:55 – What Can We Do? 40:11 – If We Stop, China Won’t 47:43 – What is Currently Being Done to Regulate AGI Growth 51:03 – The Problem of “Value Lock-in” 01:05:03 – Is Inaction a Form of Action? 01:08:47 – Should Effective Altruists Focus on AGI?