Future of Life Institute Podcast

Tom Cozens is a filmmaker and writer. He joins the podcast to discuss his short film Moloch and the dynamics of competitive races in artificial intelligence.

Watch the film here.

We explore the philosophical and theological themes behind the film and the challenge of depicting near-future AI agents on screen. Tom also discusses the role of cinema in communicating existential dread, definitions of human flourishing, and the need to coordinate against destructive systemic incentives. 


LINKS:


CHAPTERS:
(00:00) Episode Preview
(00:59) The concept of Moloch
(03:28) Visualizing Moloch on screen
(15:21) Parable of cosmic horror
(22:37) Theological and philosophical themes
(35:10) Depicting near-future AI agents
(50:15) Inspiration from Metropolis
(01:04:58) Sound design and score
(01:13:16) AI industry incentive structures
(01:18:27) Defining human flourishing
(01:28:59) Embodiment versus digital minds
(01:34:33) Challenging systemic presuppositions


PRODUCED BY:
https://aipodcast.ing


SOCIAL LINKS:
Website: https://podcast.futureoflife.org
Twitter (FLI): https://x.com/FLI_org
Twitter (Gus): https://x.com/gusdocker
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/future-of-life-institute/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-rCCy3FQ-GItDimSR9lhzw/
Apple: https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1170991978
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2Op1WO3gwVwCrYHg4eoGyP


What is Future of Life Institute Podcast?

The Future of Life Institute (FLI) is a nonprofit working to reduce global catastrophic and existential risk from powerful technologies. In particular, FLI focuses on risks from artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, nuclear weapons and climate change. The Institute's work is made up of three main strands: grantmaking for risk reduction, educational outreach, and advocacy within the United Nations, US government and European Union institutions. FLI has become one of the world's leading voices on the governance of AI having created one of the earliest and most influential sets of governance principles: the Asilomar AI Principles.