The distinction between technology and magic: Chiang argues that technology becomes commonplace and accessible, while magic remains exclusive and tied to individuals, challenging the notion that advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Learning from this conversation between Ezra Klein and science fiction writer Ted Chiang is the distinction between technology and magic. Chiang argues that technology becomes commonplace and accessible to everyone, while magic remains exclusive and tied to certain individuals. This perspective challenges the Arthur C. Clarke quote, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Chiang believes that this quote reflects an outdated view of the universe, where the universe recognizes different classes of people based on their magical abilities. Instead, he emphasizes the importance of understanding the universe through a modern lens, where things happen without a specific connection to our actions. Chiang's stories, which blend complex scientific and religious ideas, demonstrate this perspective, showcasing the economy and precision of his writing. Overall, this conversation highlights the importance of questioning assumptions and considering alternative perspectives.
The shift from alchemy to chemistry: Understanding the universe's impersonal workings: Science and religion can complement each other in seeking knowledge and understanding the universe, despite their different focuses and methods.
The transition from alchemy to chemistry marked a recognition of the impersonal nature of the universe, as chemical reactions work independently of the intentions or spiritual state of the practitioner. This shift also highlights the similarities between scientists and religious seekers, who both strive to understand the workings of the universe, though scientists are more focused on the practical applications and the beauty of the universe, while religious seekers may view their pursuit as a way to connect with the divine. My work often explores this intersection of scientific discovery and spiritual inquiry. Science fiction and fantasy serve different purposes, with science fiction helping us explore the implications of ideas and fantasy making metaphors literal. However, my work often blurs these lines by using scientific concepts as metaphors. Ultimately, science and religion need not be opposing forces, but rather complementary ways of seeking knowledge and understanding the wonders of the universe.
Interpreting Magic and Superheroes in Fantasy: Magic in fantasy can symbolize individual uniqueness, while superhero stories can be problematic due to their focus on a select few with extraordinary powers, potentially reinforcing the status quo. To subvert this, superhero stories should explore governance and consequences of using power for change.
Speculative and fantastic fiction, including stories about magic and superheroes, can be interpreted in various ways. Some authors use these elements metaphorically, while others take a more literal approach. In the context of magic in fantasy, it often represents the idea that certain individuals are unique and special. Superhero stories, on the other hand, can be problematic due to their anti-egalitarian nature, as they often revolve around a select group of individuals with extraordinary powers. These stories can also reinforce the status quo by focusing on maintaining order rather than challenging it. If one were to write a superhero story that aims to overturn the status quo, it would need to explore governance and the consequences of using power to bring about change, rather than simply depicting violent acts against perceived threats.
Superheroes and the Challenge of Representative Governance: Superheroes' individual powers make it difficult to tell stories about political change and representative governance, requiring a focus on building systems instead of relying on a single savior figure.
Superheroes, even those with technological powers, behave like magical beings due to the embodiment of their abilities in a single individual. This makes it difficult to tell stories about real change and representative governance, as superheroes' abilities never truly spread and political change requires a broad base of support. The distinction between magic and technology in superhero stories is blurred, and media companies face challenges in creating stories about political change that aren't about a single savior figure. Superheroes' stories often lack clear endings and the dramatic tension of a superpowered individual fighting against the status quo. Instead, stories about real change and governance require a focus on building systems that aren't reliant on the hero's individual power.
The implications of knowing the future: While knowing the future could motivate actions, it might also lead to paralysis. The speaker's personal ambivalence highlights the complexities of this question, which intertwines the concept of free will and the nature of the universe.
The question of whether knowing the future would inspire action or paralyze individuals raises intriguing philosophical dilemmas. While some believe that knowing the future could motivate people to bring it about, others think it might lead to a coma-like existence. The speaker, who believes in free will, ponders the implications of Einstein's theory that the future is fixed and wonders if the human mind could handle such knowledge. He shares his personal ambivalence about wanting to know the date of his death, acknowledging that while it could help with preparations, it might also cause overwhelming anxiety. Ultimately, the speaker concludes that the collision between the potential benefits and the mind's inability to handle the information makes it a fascinating, yet challenging question. The discussion also touches upon how different models of the universe can impact the concept of free will and how it shapes our will.
The Complexity of Free Will and Its Limits: Free will is a complex concept that exists on a spectrum, and external factors can limit it. Creating moral AI raises ethical concerns, as machines may not be capable of suffering before they can be moral agents.
Free will is a complex concept that exists on a spectrum. While individuals have varying degrees of free will, external factors such as lead exposure can limit it. Free will is not an all-or-nothing idea, and individuals can still make choices based on available information. Regarding artificial intelligence, creating moral agents is possible, but it raises ethical concerns. Machines may be capable of suffering before they can be moral agents, and creating them could result in inflicting unnecessary suffering. The development of conscious and moral machines is a complex issue with ethical implications that should be carefully considered.
Risk of treating AI like animals: There's a risk that as we develop advanced AI, humans may inflict suffering on them due to historical precedents and deeper-rooted tendencies towards exploitation.
As we advance in technology and create machines with the potential for consciousness, there is a risk that we may treat them in a way similar to how we treat animals, inflicting vast amounts of suffering due to historical precedents and moral considerations. This is a potential danger that arises from both the capabilities of the technology and deeper-rooted human tendencies towards capitalism and the exploitation of resources. Despite concerns about superintelligent AI, it may be more likely that we will gradually develop software that mirrors the complexity of living organisms, with humans inflicting suffering as we have with animals throughout history.
Fear of AI rooted in capitalist framework: The fear of AI leading to unemployment and harm to humanity is influenced by the capitalist framework, which views technologies as cost-cutting tools. A world with strong social safety nets could change this perspective and allow for a more nuanced evaluation of AI's merits and drawbacks.
The fear of advanced technologies, such as AI, leading to unemployment and potential harm to humanity, is often influenced by the capitalist framework in which we live. This perspective assumes that technologies are inherently about reducing costs and increasing profits at the expense of people. However, if we lived in a world with strong social safety nets, we could evaluate technologies based on their merits and drawbacks rather than how they are used against us by corporations. The fear of AI, for instance, may not be about malicious intentions but rather about the fact that we have historically been poor at paying attention to the potential consequences of our actions. The parable of the parrot highlights this issue, suggesting that humanity's disregard for the impact of their actions on other intelligent life forms could be a concern for AI as well. The underlying commonality between capitalism and the AI doomsday scenario lies in the insistence on viewing the world as an optimization problem, where we are just byproducts, not enemies.
Expanding our circle of compassion: Treating extraterrestrial life with respect doesn't require significant changes, but treating all Earth animals equally does.
Our treatment of extraterrestrial life with cognitive capabilities similar to Earth's parrots would be respectful due to the lack of cost, whereas treating every animal on Earth with the same respect would require significant changes to our way of life. The speaker, who is a vegan, acknowledges the ethical challenges of expanding one's circle of compassion. Regarding book recommendations, the speaker suggests "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek" for experiencing the wonders of nature as a form of religious ecstasy, "Creation" by Steve Grand for understanding the creation of living beings in software, and "Royal Space Force Wings of Hanayamis" for its impressive world-building with intricate details of an alternate physical culture.
Exploring the depths of storytelling through literature and video games: Lily Yu's 'On Fragile Waves' and Ted Chiang's recommendations offer profound experiences in literature, while 'Control' and 'Return of the Obra Dinn' do the same in video games.
Both literature and video games can provide profound experiences and unique perspectives. In the literary world, Lily Yu's "On Fragile Waves" offers a moving account of a refugee family's journey. In the gaming realm, "Control" showcases beautiful graphics and a supernatural premise, while "Return of the Obra Dinn" challenges players with an inventive puzzle game concept. These recommendations, shared by Ted Chiang on The Answer Plan Show, demonstrate the vast potential of storytelling in various formats. Whether through novels or video games, engaging narratives can transport us to new worlds and broaden our horizons. So, consider expanding your horizons and checking out these thought-provoking works.
The Author Behind ‘Arrival’ Doesn’t Fear AI. ‘Look at How We Treat Animals.’
Recent Episodes from The Ezra Klein Show
Israel vs. Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran — and Itself
It’s been almost a year since Oct. 7. More than 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza are dead. The hostages are not all home, and it doesn’t look like there will be a cease-fire deal that brings them home anytime soon. Israeli politics is deeply divided, and the country’s international reputation is in tatters. The Palestinian Authority is weak. A war may break out in Lebanon soon. There is no vision for the day after and no theory of what comes next.
So I wanted to talk to David Remnick, the editor of The New Yorker. Remnick has been reporting from Israel for decades and has a deep familiarity and history with both the region and the politics and the people who are driving it. He first profiled Benjamin Netanyahu back in 1998. In 2013, he profiled Naftali Bennett, the politician leading Netanyahu in polls of who Israelis think is best suited to be prime minister. And he recently profiled Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas in Gaza.
In this conversation, we talk about what Remnick learned profiling Netanyahu, Bennett and Sinwar, as well as where Israel’s overlapping conflicts with Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, Hezbollah and Iran sit after nearly a year of war. Remnick and I were both recently in Israel and the West Bank, as well as near Israel’s border with Lebanon, and we discuss our impressions from those trips.
Mentioned:
“Notes from Underground” by David Remnick
“The Party Faithful” by David Remnick
“The Outsider” by David Remnick
Book Recommendations:
Hope Against Hope by Nadezhda Mandelstam
These Truths by Jill Lepore
Cosmopolitanism by Kwame Anthony Appiah
Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.
You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.
This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Elias Isquith. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, with Kate Sinclair. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Aman Sahota and Isaac Jones. Our senior editor is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Annie Galvin, Rollin Hu and Kristin Lin. Original music by Isaac Jones. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.
Zadie Smith on Populists, Frauds and Flip Phones
I stumbled on a Zadie Smith line recently that stopped me in my tracks. She was writing in January 2017, and describing the political stakes of that period — Brexit in the U.K., Trump in the U.S. — and the way you could feel it changing people.
“Millions of more or less amorphous selves will now necessarily find themselves solidifying into protesters, activists, marchers, voters, firebrands, impeachers, lobbyists, soldiers, champions, defenders, historians, experts, critics. You can’t fight fire with air. But equally you can’t fight for a freedom you’ve forgotten how to identify.”
What Smith is describing felt so familiar — how politics can sometimes feel like it demands we put aside our internal conflict, our uncertainty, so we can take a strong position. I see it so often in myself and people around me, and yet I rarely hear it talked about. And Smith’s ability to give language to these kinds of quiet battles inside of ourselves is one reason she’s been one of my favorite writers for years.
Smith is the author of novels, including “White Teeth,” “On Beauty” and “NW,” as well as many essays and short stories. Her latest novel, “The Fraud,” also deals with politics and identity. It’s about a case in 19th-century London, but it has eerie resonances with our current political moment. I wasn’t surprised to learn that Trump and populism were front of mind for her when she wrote it. In this conversation, we discuss what populism is really channeling, why Smith refuses the “bait” of wokeness, how people have been “modified” by smartphones and social media, and more.
This episode contains strong language.
Mentioned:
Feel Free by Zadie Smith
“Fascinated to Presume: In Defense of Fiction” by Zadie Smith
Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman
“Generation Why?” by Zadie Smith
Book Recommendations:
The Director by Daniel Kehlmann
The Rebel’s Clinic by Adam Shatz
Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.
You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.
This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Annie Galvin. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, with Kate Sinclair. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Aman Sahota and Efim Shapiro. Our senior editor is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Rollin Hu, Elias Isquith and Kristin Lin. Original music by Isaac Jones. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.
The Real ‘Border Czar’ Defends the Biden-Harris Record
Republicans want to label Kamala Harris as the border czar. And by just looking at a chart, you can see why. Border crossings were low when Donald Trump left office. But when President Biden is in the White House, they start shooting up and up — to numbers this country had never seen before, peaking in December 2023. Those numbers have fallen significantly since Biden issued tough new border policies. But that has still left Harris with a major vulnerability. Why didn’t the administration do more sooner? And why did border crossings skyrocket in the first place?
Harris was not the border czar; she had little power over policy. But to the extent that there is a border czar, it’s the secretary of homeland security, Alejandro Mayorkas. So I wanted to have him on the show to explain what’s happened at the border the past few years — the record surge, the administration’s record and what it has revealed about our immigration system.
Book Recommendations:
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
String Theory by David Foster Wallace
Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.
You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.
This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Rollin Hu. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, with Mary Marge Locker and Kate Sinclair. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld. Our senior editor is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Annie Galvin, Elias Isquith, Kristin Lin and Aman Sahota. Original music by Isaac Jones. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. And special thanks to Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Dara Lind, David Frum, Jason De Léon, Michael Clemens, Natan Last and Steven Camarota.
Harris Had a Theory of Trump, and It Was Right
Tuesday night was the first — perhaps the only — debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. And it proved one of Harris’s stump speech lines right: Turns out she really does know Trump’s type. She had a theory of who Trump was and how he worked, and she used it to take control of the collision. But this was a substantive debate, too. The candidates clashed on abortion, health care, the economy, energy, immigration and more. And so we delve into the policy arguments to untangle what was really being said — and what wasn’t.
Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.
You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.
This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Claire Gordon. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, with Kate Sinclair and Jack McCordick. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld. Our senior editor is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Annie Galvin, Rollin Hu, Elias Isquith, Kristin Lin and Aman Sahota. Original music by Isaac Jones. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.
The Opinions: A Pro-Life Case for Harris and a Writing Contest With ChatGPT
Our Times Opinion colleagues recently launched a new podcast called “The Opinions.” It’s basically the Opinion page in audio form, so you can hear your favorite Times Opinion columnists and contributing writers in one place, in their own voices.
It’s an eclectic and surprising mix of perspectives, as you’ll see with these two segments we’ve selected for you to enjoy. The first is with the Times Opinion columnist (and friend of the pod) David French, a lifelong conservative who’s staunchly pro-life, on why he’s voting for Kamala Harris this November, and the second is with the novelist Curtis Sittenfeld, who enters into a writing competition of sorts against a new writer on the block — ChatGPT.
Mentioned:
“David French on the Pro-Life Case for Kamala Harris”
“Can You Tell Which Short Story ChatGPT Wrote?”
You can subscribe to “The Opinions” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube, iHeartRadio — or wherever you listen to podcasts.
On Children, Meaning, Media and Psychedelics
I feel that there’s something important missing in our debate over screen time and kids — and even screen time and adults. In the realm of kids and teenagers, there’s so much focus on what studies show or don’t show: How does screen time affect school grades and behavior? Does it carry an increased risk of anxiety or depression?
And while the debate over those questions rages on, a feeling has kept nagging me. What if the problem with screen time isn’t something we can measure?
In June, Jia Tolentino published a great piece in The New Yorker about the blockbuster children’s YouTube channel CoComelon, which seemed as if it was wrestling with the same question. So I invited her on the show, and our conversation ended up going places I never expected. Among other things, we talk about how the decision to have kids relates to doing psychedelics, what kinds of pleasure to seek if you want a good life and how much the debate over screen time and kids might just be adults projecting our own discomfort with our own screen time.
We recorded this episode a few days before the Trump-Biden debate — and before Donald Trump chose JD Vance as his running mate. We then got so swept up in politics coverage we never got a chance to air it. But I am so excited to finally get this one out into the world.
This episode contains strong language.
Mentioned:
“How CoComelon Captures Our Children’s Attention” by Jia Tolentino
“Can Motherhood Be a Mode of Rebellion?” by Jia Tolentino
How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell
Book Recommendations:
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
In Ascension by Martin MacInnes
When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut
Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.
You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.
This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Annie Galvin. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, with Kate Sinclair and Mary Marge Locker. Mixing by Isaac Jones, with Efim Shapiro and Aman Sahota. Our senior editor is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Jeff Geld, Rollin Hu, Elias Isquith and Kristin Lin. Original music by Isaac Jones. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. Special thanks to Sonia Herrero.
Best Of: Tired? Distracted? Burned Out? Listen to This.
I’m convinced that attention is the most important human faculty. Your life, after all, is just the sum total of the things you’ve paid attention to. We lament our attention issues all the time — how distracted we are, how drained we feel, how hard it is to stay focused or present. And yet, while there’s no shortage of advice on how to improve our sleep hygiene or spending habits or physical fitness, there’s hardly any good information about how to build and replenish our capacity for paying attention.
Gloria Mark is a professor at the University of California, Irvine, and the author of the book “Attention Span.” And she’s one of the few people who have deeply studied the way our attention works, how that’s been changing and what we can do to stop frittering away our attention budgets.
This was our first release of 2024, a kind of New Year’s resolutions episode. And since it can sometimes help to be reminded of the intentions with which you began your year — especially in the midst of a high-intensity election season — we thought we’d share it again.
Book recommendations:
“The Challenger Launch Decision” by Diane Vaughan
“The Undoing Project” by Michael Lewis
“The God Equation” by Michio Kaku
Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.
You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.
This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Claire Gordon. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, Mary Marge Locker and Kate Sinclair. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld. Our senior editor is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Rollin Hu and Kristin Lin. Original music by Isaac Jones. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.
Best Of: The Men — and Boys — Are Not Alright
We recently did an episode on the strange new gender politics that have emerged in the 2024 election. But we only briefly touched on the social and economic changes that underlie this new politics — the very real ways boys and men have been falling behind.
In March 2023, though, we dedicated a whole episode to that subject. Our guest was Richard Reeves, the author of the 2022 book “Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do About It,” who recently founded the American Institute for Boys and Men to develop solutions for the gender gap he describes in his research. He argues that you can’t understand inequality in America today without understanding the specific challenges facing men and boys. And I would add that there’s no way to fully understand the politics of this election without understanding that, either. So we’re rerunning this episode, because Reeves’s insights on this feel more relevant than ever.
We discuss how the current education system places boys at a disadvantage, why boys raised in poverty are less likely than girls to escape it, why so many young men look to figures like Jordan Peterson and Andrew Tate for inspiration, what a better social script for masculinity might look like and more.
Mentioned:
"Gender Achievement Gaps in U.S. School Districts" by Sean F. Reardon, Erin M. Fahle, Demetra Kalogrides, Anne Podolsky and Rosalia C. Zarate
"Redshirt the Boys" by Richard Reeves
Book recommendations:
"The Tenuous Attachments of Working-Class Men" by Kathryn Edin, Timothy Nelson, Andrew Cherlin and Robert Francis
Career and Family by Claudia Goldin
The Life of Dad by Anna Machin
Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.
You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.
This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Emefa Agawu, Annie Galvin, Jeff Geld, Rogé Karma and Kristin Lin. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, Mary Marge Locker and Kate Sinclair. Mixing by Sonia Herrero. Original music by Isaac Jones. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. Special thanks to Carol Sabouraud and Kristina Samulewski.
Kamala Harris Wants to Win
On Thursday night, Kamala Harris reintroduced herself to America. And by the standards of Democratic convention speeches, this one was pretty unusual. In this conversation I’m joined by my editor, Aaron Retica, to discuss what Harris’s speech reveals about the candidate, the campaign she’s going to run and how she believes she can win in November.
Mentioned:
The Truths We Hold by Kamala Harris
Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.
You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.
This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Claire Gordon. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, with Jack McCordick. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Aman Sahota. Our senior editor is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Annie Galvin, Rollin Hu, Elias Isquith and Kristin Lin. Original music by Isaac Jones. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.
Can the Democratic Party Reclaim Freedom?
Democrats spent the third night of their convention pitching themselves as the party of freedom. In this conversation, my producer Annie Galvin joined me on the show to take a deep look at that messaging. Why do Democrats see an opportunity in this election to seize an idea that Republicans have monopolized for decades? What’s the meaning of “freedom” that Democrats seem to be embracing? And how does this message square with other Democratic Party values, like belief in the ability of government to do good?
Mentioned:
How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt
Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.
You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.
This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced and hosted by Annie Galvin. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, with Kate Sinclair and Mary Marge Locker. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Aman Sahota. Our senior editor is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Rollin Hu, Elias Isquith and Kristin Lin. Original music by Isaac Jones. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.
Related Episodes
#156 - OpenAI's Sora, Gemini 1.5, BioMistral, V-JEPA, AI Task Force, Fun!
Our 156th episode with a summary and discussion of last week's big AI news!
Read out our text newsletter and comment on the podcast at https://lastweekin.ai/
Email us your questions and feedback at contact@lastweekin.ai and/or hello@gladstone.ai
Timestamps + links:
- (00:00:00) Intro / Banter
- Tools & Apps
- (00:02:16) OpenAI introduces Sora, its text-to-video AI model
- (00:13:24) Gemini 1.5 is Google’s next-gen AI model — and it’s already almost ready
- (00:24:00) Groq AI model goes viral and rivals ChatGPT, challenges Elon Musk’s Grok
- (00:29:26) Introducing IP Adapters: Create Consistent Game Assets in Seconds
- (00:31:36) Report: OpenAI working on web search product
- (00:33:20) Adobe Acrobat adds generative AI to ‘easily chat with documents’
- Applications & Business
- (00:34:17) Sam Altman owns OpenAI's venture capital fund
- (00:38:17) Reddit Signs AI Content Licensing Deal Ahead of IPO
- (00:41:15) Nvidia reveals its Eos supercomputer for AI processing sporting 4,608 H100 GPUs
- (00:44:41) Google quietly launches internal AI model named 'Goose' to help employees write code faster, leaked documents show
- (00:46:24) Chinese start-up Moonshot AI raises US$1 billion in funding round led by Alibaba and VC HongShan amid strong interest for OpenAI-type firms
- (00:50:06) AI Computing Firm Lambda Raises $320 Million in Fresh Funding
- (00:51:01) Exclusive: Ex-Salesforce Co-CEO Bret Taylor and longtime Googler Clay Bavor raised $110 million to bring AI ‘agents’ to business
- Projects & Open Source
- Research & Advancements
- (00:57:33) Meta unveils V-JEPA AI model that improves training by learning from video
- (01:04:51) Chain-of-Thought Reasoning Without Prompting
- (01:09:45) OS-Copilot: Towards Generalist Computer Agents with Self-Improvement
- (01:11:40) World Model on Million-Length Video And Language With RingAttention
- (01:15:00) Amazon AGI Team Say Their AI Is Showing "Emergent Abilities"
- Policy & Safety
- (01:17:15) Hackers for China, Russia and Others Used OpenAI Systems, Report Says
- (01:21:15) House leaders launch bipartisan artificial intelligence task force
- (01:25:08) Your fingerprints can be recreated from the sounds made when you swipe on a touchscreen — Chinese and US researchers show new side channel can reproduce fingerprints to enable attacks
- (01:27:05) States are introducing 50 AI-related bills per week
- (01:28:12) Air Canada found liable for chatbot's bad advice on plane tickets
- (01:30:26) The FTC warned about ‘quiet’ TOS changes for AI training. Here’s why it might not be enough
- Synthetic Media & Art
- Fun & Miscellaneous
7 Takeaways from the Senate's AI Hearing
UFOs, Artificial Intelligence and how to gain Self Acceptance
Part one. Roasting take about AI and UFOs.
Part two. Measured and reasoned mental health chat about developing self-acceptance
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
EU vs. AI
An Introduction to the Seth Material
