Le Podcast

Podcast: Minneapocalypse

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.leefang.com [https://www.leefang.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] I join my cohost Leighton Woodhouse for a podcast discussion around the violent confrontations in Minnesota and what it might mean for America. In short order, we discuss ethnic scapegoating, whether the federal government is truly focused on taxpayer fraud, and why this Trump presidency is fundamentally different from the first administration. Will the…

Podcast Episode: Our Gradual Disempowerment

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.leefang.com [https://www.leefang.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] Le Pod lives. After a short hiatus, we’re back with another episode about the dangers of artificial intelligence. When does a wonderful tool for the betterment of society become a dangerous dependency as we outsource our daily tasks, our cognitive abilities, our manufacturing, and our broader economy to technological entities that are no longer under our control? The last time we spoke about this, we focused on existential risks. This week, we’re joined by University of Montreal Assistant Professor David Krueger, who has raised alarm bells about the risks of “gradual disempowerment.”

The Gaza Famine Truthers

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.leefang.com [https://www.leefang.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] Yesterday The Free Press published [https://www.thefp.com/p/journalists-against-journalism-media-news-editorial] an editorial defending a recent report of theirs that sought to question whether there’s really mass starvation in the Gaza Strip. We dedicated this whole episode to discussing the controversy and the genocide surrounding it.

Are We Creating A New AI God? AI Doomerism Isn't Far-Fetched

On Le Pod we ponder whether AI will usher in human extinction. This is a free episode. If you enjoy this content, please consider paying for a subscription. Though the AI age is upon us, it’s still but a zygote compared to what it’s almost certainly going to become. If Silicon Valley has its way, within years, not decades, we will achieve human-level artificial intelligence, and then, soon after, artificial super intelligence. That sounds great if you assume that an army of autonomous super intelligent minds will be content to just do our bidding forever, curing cancer and making unbelievably realistic video games and giving us the unconditional synthetic love of their digital companionship. But why in the world would you assume that? AIs are already developing behaviors that reflect their own weird “preferences,” and they routinely lie and deceive human beings. If you juice them up to 10,000 times their present intelligence, what are the chances they’ll be content to remain our lapdogs? What are the chances, by contrast, they’ll find our existence threatening, annoying, or just inconvenient, and casually wipe us off the face of the earth? Humans need to start thinking seriously about what we’re doing. The future we need to grapple with isn’t a century away. It’s not even decades away. It could arrive at any moment. It could get here before Trump is out of office. In this episode we take a cruise through some very dark places. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.leefang.com/subscribe [https://www.leefang.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Why Is Trump Lying About Epstein?

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.leefang.com [https://www.leefang.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] After far too long, we return to our normal schedule. Leighton and I chat about the mysteries revolving around Donald Trump and the FBI’s vault of evidence concerning Jeffrey Epstein. Why is the president insulting [https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-disavows-supporters-pushing-jeffrey-epstein-bulls-dont-want-supp-rcna219078] his own supporters and going back on his administration’s promise to release the documents? It is not the first time the administration has …