E13: AI open letter debate, "pausers", and what we're all scared of with AI with Anton Troynikov and Flo Crivello [Moment of Zen]

"The Cognitive Revolution" | AI Builders, Researchers, and Live Player Analysis

Anton Troynikov of Chroma and Flo Crivello of Lindy AI join The Cognitive Revolution cohosts Nathan Labenz and Erik Torenberg to debate the issues raised in the AI open letter, which advocates for a 6-month pause on AI system trainings.

This episode was recorded on March 31st and was first released as a Moment of Zen episode (airing April 1). Subscribe to Moment of Zen for more timely debates like this one!

Also, check out the debut of Erik's new long-form interview podcast Upstream, whose guests in the first two episodes were Balaji Srinivasan and Marc Andreessen. This coming season will feature interviews with Ezra Klein, David Sacks, Katherine Boyle, and more. Subscribe here:

Apple Podcasts: bit.ly/3z8TldL

Spotify: bit.ly/40letd0

We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and more. For a list of JDs, check out: eriktorenberg.com.

RECOMMENDED PODCAST:

The HR industry is at a crossroads. What will it take to construct the next generation of incredible businesses – and where can people leaders have the most business impact? Hosts Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich have been through it all, the highs and the lows – IPOs, layoffs, executive turnover, board meetings, culture changes, and more. With a lineup of industry vets and experts, Nolan and Kelli break down the nitty-gritty details, trade offs, and dynamics of constructing high performing companies. Through unfiltered conversations that can only happen between seasoned practitioners, Kelli and Nolan dive deep into the kind of leadership-level strategy that often happens behind closed doors. Check out the first episode with the architect of Netflix’s culture deck Patty McCord.

https://link.chtbl.com/hrheretics

LINKS REFERENCED IN EPISODE:

Open letter: https://futureoflife.org/open-letter/pause-giant-ai-experiments/

Scott Aronson blog post: https://scottaaronson.blog/

TIMESTAMPS:

(0:00) Preview of debate

(3:10) Introduction from Nathan and explanation of the AI open letter

(8:50) Anton’s skepticism of the open letter

(12:14) Flo’s skepticism of the open letter

(16:35) Nathan’s support for the open letter

(22:52) Sponsor: Omneky

(28:00) Differences between Flo and Anton’s positions

(34:00) GPT4 is still dangerous

(42:30) Luddites/“Pausers” are on the wrong side of history

(47:44) Why not pause for 6 months?

(56:30) Anton and Flo debate robotics

(1:04:30) What we’re all scared of with AI

(1:27:45) Is there an asymmetric risk with pausing or not pausing?

TWITTER:

@CogRev_Podcast

@atroyn (Anton)

@labenz (Nathan)

@eriktorenberg (Erik)

@altimor (Flo)

SPONSORS:

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More show notes and reading material released in our Substack: https://cognitiverevolution.substack.com/

Thank you to Graham Bessellieu for production.