An AI... Utopia? (Nick Bostrom, Oxford)

We tend to explain success by looking at what people did right, while overlooking everyone who made the same choices and failed. Philosopher Duncan Pritchard joins Michael Shermer to discuss his book, Tempting Fate: A Philosophical Guide to Risk, Luck, and a Meaningful Life, and ...  Show more

Why does being alive feel like something? Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio argues that the answer begins with the body's need to stay alive. Hunger, thirst, pain, and pleasure tell us how we're doing and push us to act. These basic feelings, he says, are the foundation of conscious ...  Show more

Nick Bostrom is a philosopher known for his work on existential risk, the anthropic principle, human enhancement ethics, whole brain emulation, and superintelligence risks. His recent book, Deep Utopia, explores what might happen ...

Sam Harris speaks with Nick Bostrom about the problem of existential risk. They discuss public goods, moral illusions, the asymmetry between happiness and suffering, utilitarianism, “the vulnerable world hypothesis,” the history of nuclear deterrence, the possible need for “turnk ...  Show more

Nick Bostrom is a philosopher, professor at the University of Oxford and an author For generations, the future of humanity was envisioned as a sleek, vibrant utopia filled with remarkable technological advancements where machines and humans would thrive together. As we stand on t ...  Show more