The Last Invention

Ezra Klein on the Uncertain Politics of A.I.

Ezra Klein – New York Times opinion columnist and an influential voice on the American left – joins us at a hinge moment in the A.I. revolution. As artificial intelligence accelerates, Klein examines what’s at stake politically, socially, and morally: the role that government should play in shaping this technology, the disruptions he believes matter most, and how to think clearly when the landscape is shifting so rapidly. LINKS: Ezra Klein’s book Abundance [https://www.amazon.com/Abundance-Progress-Takes-Ezra-Klein/dp/1668023482] The Ezra Klein Show [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ezra-klein-show/id1548604447] This Changes Everything [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/12/opinion/chatbots-artificial-intelligence-future-weirdness.html] CREDITS: This episode of The Last Invention was reported and produced by Andy Mills, Megan Phelps-Roper, Matthew Boll, Seth Temple Andrews, and Ethan Mannello. Music for this episode was composed by ⁠Scott Devendorf⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/distantstation/?utm_source=qr], ⁠Ben Lanz⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/lanzprojects/], ⁠Cobey Bienert⁠ [https://open.spotify.com/artist/1cHhFEJWNq6SVKlIqoTy5o?si=hlUwSUyHSMKe4cOHMpzgeA], and Matthew Boll The Last Invention artwork by ⁠Jacob Boll⁠ [https://www.jacobboll.com/] To become a Longview subscriber you can visit us ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.longviewinvestigations.com/#membership] Thank you to our sponsors Ground News ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠GROUND NEWS⁠:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://groundnews.com/invent] Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠groundnews.com/invent⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://groundnews.com/invent] to get 40% off unlimited access to global coverage of the stories shaping our world. This is a paid sponsorship link

EP 8: The Accelerationists

Meet the accelerationists: a rising movement that believes expediting AI development is not only inevitable but morally necessary – humanity’s best chance at transcending its limits. What happens when the world’s most powerful technologists treat AI progress as a duty rather than a danger? THIS EPISODE FEATURES: Olivier Oullier, Guido de Croon, Alex Williams, Reid Hoffman, Guillaume Verdon/“Beff Jezos” LINKS: Beff Jezos/Guillaume Verdon’s Twitter [https://x.com/beffjezos%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0https://x.com/GillVerd%E2%81%A0] David Sinclair’s website [https://davidasinclair.com/%E2%81%A0] Olivier Oullier’s Company [https://solve.mit.edu/solutions/39720%E2%81%A0] Alex Williamss is a contributor here [https://fixingthefuture.info/%E2%81%A0] Reid Hoffman’s Personal Website [https://www.reidhoffman.org/%E2%81%A0] 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 [https://www.instagram.com/distantstation/?utm_source=qr], Ben Lanz [https://www.instagram.com/lanzprojects/], Cobey Bienert [https://open.spotify.com/artist/1cHhFEJWNq6SVKlIqoTy5o?si=hlUwSUyHSMKe4cOHMpzgeA], and Matthew Boll Listen to the soundtrack Music From The Last Invention by Devendorf Lanz [https://lanz.bandcamp.com/album/music-from-the-last-invention] The Last Invention artwork by Jacob Boll [https://www.jacobboll.com/] To become a Longview subscriber you can visit us ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.longviewinvestigations.com/#membership] Thank you to our sponsors Ground News and FIRE ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠GROUND NEWS⁠:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://groundnews.com/invent] Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠groundnews.com/invent⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://groundnews.com/invent] to get 40% off unlimited access to global coverage of the stories shaping our world. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FIRE⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://thefire.org/thelastinvention] This is a paid sponsorship link

EP 7: The Scouts

A decade ago, the leading minds in AI gathered to make sure this technology would benefit everyone. Today, those hopes are colliding with the reality of an AI arms race. Today, game theorist Liv Boeree and philosopher William MacAskill lay out what they see as the “narrow path” between a future of limitless potential and one of irreversible loss. THIS EPISODE FEATURES: Max Tegmark, Nick Bostrom, Liv Boeree, William MacAskill LINKS: Max Tegmark’s book “Life 3.0, Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” [https://futureoflife.org/resource/life-3-0-being-human-in-the-age-of-artificial-intelligence/%E2%81%A0] Nick Bostrom's book "Superintelligence" [https://global.oup.com/academic/product/superintelligence-9780198739838%E2%81%A0] Liv Boeree’s Website [https://www.livboeree.com/%E2%81%A0] Liv Boeree’s Podcast [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC09fp6hZ2RHiUYwY8hNCirA%E2%81%A0] William MacAskill’s book “What We Owe the Future” [https://whatweowethefuture.com/%E2%81%A0] 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 [https://www.instagram.com/distantstation/?utm_source=qr], ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ben Lanz⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/lanzprojects/], ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Cobey Bienert⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://open.spotify.com/artist/1cHhFEJWNq6SVKlIqoTy5o?si=hlUwSUyHSMKe4cOHMpzgeA], and Matthew Boll The Last Invention artwork by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jacob Boll⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.jacobboll.com/] To become a Longview subscriber you can visit us ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.longviewinvestigations.com/#membership] Thank you to our sponsors Ground News and FIRE ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠GROUND NEWS⁠:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://groundnews.com/invent] Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠groundnews.com/invent⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://groundnews.com/invent] to get 40% off unlimited access to global coverage of the stories shaping our world. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FIRE⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://thefire.org/thelastinvention] This is a paid sponsorship link

EP 6: The AI Doomers

What happens when some of the most idealistic techno-optimists come to believe that superintelligence poses a threat to humanity's survival? Today, the best case for the worst case scenario. We sit down with Nate Soares and Connor Leahy and ask them to make their case for why we need to stop ASI, before it’s too late. THIS EPISODE FEATURES: Connor Leahy, Natasha Vita-More, Max More, Keach Hagey, Nate Soares LINKS: Nate Soares’s book (with Eliezer Yudkowsky) If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies [https://ifanyonebuildsit.com/%E2%81%A0%C2%A0] Connor Leahy’s AI safety startup Conjecture [https://www.conjecture.dev%E2%81%A0] Natasha Vita-More’s books [https://www.natashavita-more.com/publications%E2%81%A0] 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 [https://www.instagram.com/distantstation/?utm_source=qr], ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ben Lanz⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/lanzprojects/], ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Cobey Bienert⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://open.spotify.com/artist/1cHhFEJWNq6SVKlIqoTy5o?si=hlUwSUyHSMKe4cOHMpzgeA], and Matthew Boll The Last Invention artwork by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jacob Boll⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.jacobboll.com/] To become a Longview subscriber you can visit us ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.longviewinvestigations.com/#membership] Thank you to our sponsors Ground News and FIRE ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠GROUND NEWS⁠:⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://groundnews.com/invent] Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠groundnews.com/invent⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://groundnews.com/invent] to get 40% off unlimited access to global coverage of the stories shaping our world. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FIRE⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://thefire.org/thelastinvention] This is a paid sponsorship link

EP 5: Contact

In the strange months after ChatGPT’s release, the world made contact with something new. A tech CEO begged to be regulated, a chatbot seemed to fall in love, and the godfathers of AI became frightened by the implications of what they’d spent their lives building. THIS EPISODE FEATURES: Keach Hagey, Kevin Roose, Yoshua Bengio, Geoffrey Hinton LINKS: Keach Hagey’s book The Optimist [https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324075967/about-the-book/description%E2%81%A0] Sam Altman testifies at Senate artificial intelligence hearing, May 16, 2023 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TO0J2Yw7usM%E2%81%A0] Sam Altman testifies at Senate hearing on artificial intelligence, May 8, 2025 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxGE41V04fs%E2%81%A0] Kevin Roose’s article on Sydney [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/16/technology/bing-chatbot-microsoft-chatgpt.html] Kevin’s podcast: Hard Fork [https://www.nytimes.com/column/hard-fork] 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 [https://www.instagram.com/distantstation/?utm_source=qr], ⁠⁠⁠⁠Ben Lanz⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/lanzprojects/], ⁠⁠⁠⁠Cobey Bienert⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://open.spotify.com/artist/1cHhFEJWNq6SVKlIqoTy5o?si=hlUwSUyHSMKe4cOHMpzgeA], and Matthew Boll The Last Invention artwork by ⁠⁠⁠⁠Jacob Boll⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.jacobboll.com/] To become a Longview subscriber you can visit us ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.longviewinvestigations.com/#membership] Thank you to our sponsors Ground News and FIRE ⁠⁠⁠⁠GROUND NEWS⁠:⁠⁠⁠ [https://groundnews.com/invent] Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠groundnews.com/invent⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://groundnews.com/invent] to get 40% off unlimited access to global coverage of the stories shaping our world. ⁠⁠⁠⁠FIRE⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ [https://thefire.org/thelastinvention] This is a paid sponsorship link