Thinking Machines: AI & Philosophy

Thinking Machines: AI & Philosophy Trailer Bonus Episode null Season 1

Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned (with Joel Lehman)

00:00
Former OpenAI Research Scientist Joel Lehman joins to discuss the non-linear nature of technological progress and the present day implications of his book, Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned.

Joel co-authored the book with Kenneth Stanley back in 2015. The two did ML research at OpenAI, Uber, and the University of Central Florida and wrote the book based on insights from their work.

We discuss:
  • AI time horizons, and the Implications for investors, researchers, and entrepreneurs
  • Exploration vs exploitation for AI startups and researchers, and where to fit in differential bets to avoid direct competition
  • The stepping stones that will be crucial for AGI
  • Whether startups should be training models or focusing on the AI application layer
  • Whether to focus on scaling out transformers or to take alternative bets
  • Is venture money going to the wrong place?

Creators & Guests

Host
Daniel Reid Cahn
Founder @ Slingshot - AI for all, not just Goliath

What is Thinking Machines: AI & Philosophy?

“Thinking Machines,” hosted by Daniel Reid Cahn, bridges the worlds of artificial intelligence and philosophy - aimed at technical audiences. Episodes explore how AI challenges our understanding of topics like consciousness, free will, and morality, featuring interviews with leading thinkers, AI leaders, founders, machine learning engineers, and philosophers. Daniel guides listeners through the complex landscape of artificial intelligence, questioning its impact on human knowledge, ethics, and the future.

We talk through the big questions that are bubbling through the AI community, covering topics like "Can AI be Creative?" and "Is the Turing Test outdated?", introduce new concepts to our vocabulary like "human washing," and only occasionally agree with each other.

Daniel is a machine learning engineer who misses his time as a philosopher at King's College London. Daniel is the cofounder and CEO of Slingshot AI, building the foundation model for psychology.