Cold Takes Audio

50 Episodes

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What AI companies can do today to help with the most important century

2023-02-2018:27

Major AI companies can increase or reduce global catastrophic risks.https://www.cold-takes.com/what-ai-companies-can-do-today-to-help-with-the-most-important-century/

Jobs that can help with the most important century

2023-02-1030:42

People are far better at their jobs than at anything else. Here are the best ways to help the most important century go well.https://www.cold-takes.com/jobs-that-can-help-with-the-most-important-century/

Spreading messages to help with the most important century

2023-01-2520:09

For people who want to help improve our prospects for navigating transformative AI, and have an audience (even a small one).https://www.cold-takes.com/spreading-messages-to-help-with-the-most-important-century/

How we could stumble into AI catastrophe

2023-01-1328:54

Hypothetical stories where the world tries, but fails, to avert a global disaster.https://www.cold-takes.com/how-we-could-stumble-into-ai-catastrophe

Transformative AI issues (not just misalignment): an overview

2023-01-0525:03

An overview of key potential factors (not just alignment risk) for whether things go well or poorly with transformative AI.https://www.cold-takes.com/transformative-ai-issues-not-just-misalignment-an-overview/

Racing Through a Minefield: the AI Deployment Problem

2022-12-2221:04

Push AI forward too fast, and catastrophe could occur. Too slow, and someone else less cautious could do it. Is there a safe course?https://www.cold-takes.com/racing-through-a-minefield-the-ai-deployment-problem/

High-level hopes for AI aligment

2022-12-1523:49

A few ways we might get very powerful AI systems to be safe.https://www.cold-takes.com/high-level-hopes-for-ai-alignment/

AI safety seems hard to measure

2022-12-0822:22

Four analogies for why "We don't see any misbehavior by this AI" isn't enough.https://www.cold-takes.com/ai-safety-seems-hard-to-measure/

Why Would AI "Aim" To Defeat Humanity?

2022-11-2946:14

Today's AI development methods risk training AIs to be deceptive, manipulative and ambitious. This might not be easy to fix as it comes up.https://www.cold-takes.com/why-would-ai-aim-to-defeat-humanity/

The Track Record of Futurists Seems ... Fine

2022-06-3021:21

We scored mid-20th-century sci-fi writers on nonfiction predictions. They weren't great, but weren't terrible either. Maybe doing futurism works fine.https://www.cold-takes.com/the-track-record-of-futurists-seems-fine/

Nonprofit Boards are Weird

2022-06-2325:27

With great power comes, er, unclear responsibility and zero accountability. https://www.cold-takes.com/nonprofit-boards-are-weird-2/

AI Could Defeat All Of Us Combined

2022-06-0723:56

How big a deal could AI misalignment be? About as big as it gets.https://www.cold-takes.com/ai-could-defeat-all-of-us-combined/

Useful Vices for Wicked Problems

2022-04-1225:19

Investigating important topics with laziness, impatience, hubris and self-preservation.https://www.cold-takes.com/useful-vices-for-wicked-problems/

Ideal governance (for companies, countries and more)

2022-04-0517:331

What kind of governance system should you set up, if you're starting from scratch and can do it however you want?https://www.cold-takes.com/ideal-governance-for-companies-countries-and-more/

Debating myself on whether “extra lives lived” are as good as “deaths prevented”

2022-03-2920:20

Preventing extinction would be good - but "saving 8 billion lives" good or "saving a trillion trillion trillion lives" good?https://www.cold-takes.com/debating-myself-on-whether-extra-lives-lived-are-as-good-as-deaths-prevented/