Superintelligence
Episodes about this book
2 episodesElon Musk’s Endgame
Quinn Slobodian cites Superintelligence as the formative influence on Musk's thinking when he co-founded OpenAI in 2015. He notes that the book's central concern — a runaway digital superintelligence that might, in the most famous example, turn everything into paperclips — led Musk at that time to favour slowing down AI and aligning its values with human ones.
9: Dissecting the Extinction Headlines
While discussing the emergence of AI 'super-skilled work' beyond ordinary human capacity, a speaker cites Nick Bostrom's Superintelligence as an early exploration of that inevitability, noting it was published back in 2014. The speaker observes that while the arrival of such capabilities had seemed foreseeable, humanity's response to them—whether for financial gain, security, or broader benefit—has been far less certain.
November 2022
Compiled from Cal Newport’s Deep Questions. Books read, not necessarily recommendations.
Also on The Ezra Klein Show
Every book from the show*Affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
All summaries are AI generated based on the original transcript.