Best Kelsey Piper Podcasts (2024)

1
Reporting on tech with Kelsey Piper 1:06:40

6h ago1:06:40

1:06:40

Patrick McKenzie (aka @Patio11) is joined by Kelsey Piper, a journalist for Vox’s Future Perfect. Kelsey recently reported on equity irregularities at OpenAI in May of 2024, leading to an improvement of their policies in this area. We discuss the social function of equity in the technology industry, why the tech industry and reporters have had a fr…

1
#9: Kelsey Piper on the OpenAI Exit Documents Incident 52:59

8d ago52:59

52:59

Kelsey Piper, Senior Writer at Vox, joined the podcast to discuss OpenAI's recent incident involving exit documents, the extent to which OpenAI's actions were unreasonable, and the broader significance of this story. Our music is by Micah Rubin (Producer) and John Lisi (Composer). For a transcript and relevant links, visit the Center for AI Policy …

1
Betting on the future via prediction markets, with Stephen Grugett of Manifold 51:57

3h ago51:57

51:57

In this episode, Patrick McKenzie (patio11) is joined by Stephen Grugett, a co-founder of Manifold, to discuss prediction markets. They cover how prediction markets work, their efficiency in aggregating information, and why they serve as a minority report against prevailing narratives. They cover past controversies, potential risks, and the philoso…

1
Writing the first draft of financial history with Byrne Hobart 50:45

8d ago50:45

50:45

Patrick McKenzie (patio11) is joined by Byrne Hobart to discuss Byrne’s vantage point as writer of The Diff, a tech and finance newsletter. Byrne explains the toxicity of the 30-year mortgage, the dynamics of the finance newsletter ecosystem, how rationalist epistemics can be applied to hedge funds, and the joy of learning about an industry from sc…

1
How the Smart Money teaches trading with Ricki Heicklen 1:40:15

14d ago1:40:15

1:40:15

Patrick McKenzie (patio11) and Ricki Heicklen discuss Ricki’s innovative approaches to teaching trading. Trading is traditionally taught only by practitioners, to practitioners. The curricula that trading firms use are not published externally, to avoid empowering competitors. Ricki explains how she teaches trade mechanics, how markets and traders …

1
#8: Tamay Besiroglu on the Trends Driving Past and Future AI Progress 1:43:07

30d ago1:43:07

1:43:07

Tamay Besiroglu, Associate Director of Epoch AI, joined the podcast to provide a comprehensive overview of the factors shaping AI progress, from algorithmic advances and hardware scaling to data availability and economic incentives, and to analyze the potential trajectories of AI development over the coming years. Our music is by Micah Rubin (Produ…

1
#7: Katja Grace on the Future of AI and Insights From AI Researchers 49:03

2M ago49:03

49:03

Katja Grace, Lead Researcher and Co-Founder of AI Impacts, joined the podcast to discuss where AI is heading and what AI researchers think about it, including analysis of likely the largest-ever survey of AI researchers. Our music is by Micah Rubin (Producer) and John Lisi (Composer). For a transcript, highlights, and relevant links, visit the Cent…

1
Jason Green-Lowe on Legal Liability for AI Harms 44:29

3M ago44:29

44:29

Jason Green-Lowe, Executive Director of the Center for AI Policy, joins the podcast to discuss who is held legally accountable when AI causes harm, how they're held accountable, and potential policies to improve or clarify liability law regarding AI. Our music is by Micah Rubin (Producer) and John Lisi (Composer).…

1
Jeffrey Ladish on Cybersecurity, Cyberoffense, and AI 45:02

4M ago45:02

45:02

Jeffrey Ladish, Executive Director of Palisade Research, joins the podcast to discuss threats of AI-powered cyberattacks, security of model weights, and what lies ahead. Our music is by Micah Rubin (Producer) and John Lisi (Composer).By Center for AI Policy

1
Sam Hammond on Modernizing Government for the AI Era 44:06

4M ago44:06

44:06

Sam Hammond, Senior Economist at the Foundation for American Innovation, joins the podcast to discuss how AI creates a need for government modernization, and what that modernization should look like. Our music is by Micah Rubin (Producer) and John Lisi (Composer).By Center for AI Policy

1
Daniel Colson on the American Public's Perception of AI 32:38

4M ago32:38

32:38

Daniel Colson, Co-Founder and CEO of the AI Policy Institute, joins the podcast to discuss US public opinion on AI, based on polling data from the AI Policy Institute. Our music is by Micah Rubin (Producer) and John Lisi (Composer).By Center for AI Policy

1
Mark Beall on AI and US National Security 33:27

5M ago33:27

33:27

NOTE: Since recording this podcast, Mark Beall has left his role at Gladstone to focus fully on AI safety and security policy advocacy. You can reach him at mark@bealldigital.com for more information. Mark Beall, co-founder and CEO of Gladstone AI, joins the podcast to discuss the state of AI, its implications for US national security, and next ste…

1
Thomas Larsen on AI Measurement and Evaluation 36:58

5M ago36:58

36:58

Thomas Larsen, Director of Strategy at the Center for AI Policy, joins the podcast to discuss capability evaluations, safety evaluations, preparedness frameworks, and why they're important. Our music is by Micah Rubin (Producer) and John Lisi (Composer).By Center for AI Policy

1
Scale, schlep, and systems 9:24

10M ago9:24

9:24

This startlingly fast progress in LLMs was driven both by scaling up LLMs and doing schlep to make usable systems out of them. We think scale and schlep will both improve rapidly: planned-obsolescence.org/scale-schlep-and-systemsBy Ajeya Cotra, Kelsey Piper

1
Language models surprised us 8:36

11M ago8:36

8:36

Most experts were surprised by progress in language models in 2022 and 2023. There may be more surprises ahead, so experts should register their forecasts now about 2024 and 2025: https://planned-obsolescence.org/language-models-surprised-usBy Ajeya Cotra, Kelsey Piper

1
Could AI accelerate economic growth? 4:59

1y ago4:59

4:59

Most new technologies don’t accelerate the pace of economic growth. But advanced AI might do this by massively increasing the research effort going into developing new technologies.By Ajeya Cotra, Kelsey Piper

1
The costs of caution 4:20

1y ago4:20

4:20

Both AI fears and AI hopes rest on the belief that it may be possible to build alien minds that can do everything we can do and much more. AI-driven technological progress could save countless lives and make everyone massively healthier and wealthier: https://planned-obsolescence.org/the-costs-of-caution…

1
Continuous doesn't mean slow 3:53

1+ y ago3:53

3:53

Once a lab trains AI that can fully replace its human employees, it will be able to multiply its workforce 100,000x. If these AIs do AI research, they could develop vastly superhuman systems in under a year: https://planned-obsolescence.org/continuous-doesnt-mean-slowBy Ajeya Cotra, Kelsey Piper

1
AIs accelerating AI research 5:05

1+ y ago5:05

5:05

Researchers could potentially design the next generation of ML models more quickly by delegating some work to existing models, creating a feedback loop of ever-accelerating progress. https://planned-obsolescence.org/ais-accelerating-ai-researchBy Ajeya Cotra, Kelsey Piper

1
Is it time for a pause? 6:36

1+ y ago6:36

6:36

The single most important thing we can do is to pause when the next model we train would be powerful enough to obsolete humans entirely. If it were up to me, I would slow down AI development starting now — and then later slow down even more: https://www.planned-obsolescence.org/is-it-time-for-a-pause/…

1
The ethics of AI red-teaming 2:27

1+ y ago2:27

2:27

If we’ve decided we’re collectively fine with unleashing millions of spam bots, then the least we can do is actually study what they can – and can’t – do: https://www.planned-obsolescence.org/ethics-of-red-teaming/By Ajeya Cotra

1
Alignment researchers disagree a lot 3:23

1+ y ago3:23

3:23

Many fellow alignment researchers may be operating under radically different assumptions from you: https://www.planned-obsolescence.org/disagreement-in-alignment/By Ajeya Cotra

1
Training AIs to help us align AIs 4:20

1+ y ago4:20

4:20

If we can accurately recognize good performance on alignment, we could elicit lots of useful alignment work from our models, even if they're playing the training game: https://www.planned-obsolescence.org/training-ais-to-help-us-align-ais/By Ajeya Cotra

1
Playing the training game 7:53

1+ y ago7:53

7:53

We're creating incentives for AI systems to make their behavior look as desirable as possible, while intentionally disregarding human intent when that conflicts with maximizing reward: https://www.planned-obsolescence.org/the-training-game/By Ajeya Cotra

1
Situational awareness 7:31

1+ y ago7:31

7:31

AI systems that have a precise understanding of how they’ll be evaluated and what behavior we want them to display will earn more reward than AI systems that don’t: https://www.planned-obsolescence.org/situational-awareness/By Ajeya Cotra

1
"Aligned" shouldn't be a synonym for "good" 6:14

1+ y ago6:14

6:14

Perfect alignment just means that AI systems won’t want to deliberately disregard their designers' intent; it's not enough to ensure AI is good for the world: https://www.planned-obsolescence.org/aligned-vs-good/By Ajeya Cotra

1
What we're doing here 4:01

1+ y ago4:01

4:01

We’re trying to think ahead to a possible future in which AI is making all the most important decisions: https://www.planned-obsolescence.org/what-were-doing-here/By Ajeya Cotra

1
Is cash the best way to help the poor? (Michael Faye) 52:13

2+ y ago52:13

52:13

The idea of giving poor people cash, no strings attached, is "very unappealing" for most donors, admits economist Michael Faye -- but it's still one of the best ways to help the poor. Michael and Julia discuss the philosophy behind his organization (GiveDirectly), the evidence we have so far about cash transfers as an anti-poverty intervention, and…

1
Humanity on the precipice (Toby Ord) 1:08:54

2+ y ago1:08:54

1:08:54

Humanity could thrive for millions of years -- unless our future is cut short by an existential catastrophe. Oxford philosopher Toby Ord explains the possible existential risks we face, including climate change, pandemics, and artificial intelligence. Toby and Julia discuss what led him to take existential risk more seriously, which risks he consid…

1
Dangerous biological research - is it worth it? (Kevin Esvelt) 1:07:57

2+ y ago1:07:57

1:07:57

Kevin Esvelt, a scientist at MIT, argues that research intended to prevent pandemics is actually putting us in a lot more danger. Also discussed: Kevin's own research on engineering wild animal species. Are the risks worth the benefits?By Rationally Speaking

1
Why we're polarized (Ezra Klein) 1:18:57

2+ y ago1:18:57

1:18:57

Ezra Klein explains how Republican and Democrats in the US became so different from each other, ideologically and demographically, and why that trend + our institutions = political gridlock. Questions covered include: Is polarization necessarily bad? Has the left polarized more than the right? And what should we make of polls that seem to show Repu…

1
The genetic lottery (Kathryn Paige Harden) 1:04:12

3y ago1:04:12

1:04:12

Kathryn Paige Harden, author of “The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality” explains what scientists have learned about how our genes affect our educational success. Why is this research so controversial? And is it worth doing anyway?By Rationally Speaking

1
How to reason about COVID, and other hard things (Kelsey Piper) 1:17:55

3y ago1:17:55

1:17:55

Journalist Kelsey Piper (Future Perfect / Vox) discusses lessons learned from covering COVID: What has she been wrong about, and why? How much can we trust the CDC's advice? What does the evidence look like for different drugs like Fluvoxamine and Ivermectin? And should regular people really try to evaluate the evidence themselves instead of deferr…

1
"Price gouging" in emergencies 52:08

3y ago52:08

52:08

Every time there’s an emergency, the prices of certain goods skyrocket -- like masks and hand sanitizer during COVID -- and the public gets angry about price gouging. In this episode, two economists (Raymond Niles and Amihai Glazer) make the case for why “price gouging” is actually a good thing, and Julia raises potential counterarguments.…

1
How to be a data detective (Tim Harford) 1:02:45

3y ago1:02:45

1:02:45

When you see a statistic reported in the news, like "10% of University of California Berkeley students were homeless this year," how do you evaluate it? You shouldn't blindly accept every statistic you read. But neither should you reject everything that sounds surprising. Tim Harford, economist and author of The Data Detective: Ten Easy Rules to Ma…

1
Are Uber and Lyft drivers being exploited? 1:01:51

3+ y ago1:01:51

1:01:51

How much do Uber and Lyft drivers really earn, after expenses? Are they getting a raw deal by being classified as 'independent contractors' instead of employees? I explore the debate over these questions with three guests: Louis Hyman (Cornell), Veena Dubal (UC Hastings College of the Law), and Harry Campbell (The Rideshare Guy).…

1
Unfair laws / Why judges should be originalists (William Baude) 1:03:17

3+ y ago1:03:17

1:03:17

Is there any justification for seemingly unjust laws like "qualified immunity," which allows cops to get away with bad behavior? William Baude, a leading scholar of constitutional law, explores how these laws came to be and why they're so hard to change. Also, Baude makes the case for originalism, the view that judges should base their rulings on t…

1
Intellectual honesty, cryptocurrency, & more (Vitalik Buterin) 1:16:40

3+ y ago1:16:40

1:16:40

Julia and guest Vitalik Buterin (creator of the open-source blockchain platform Ethereum) explore a wide range of topics, including: Vitalik's intellectually honest approach to leadership, why prediction markets appear to be biased in favor of Trump, whether it was rational to invest in Bitcoin ten years ago, Vitalik's defense of life extension res…

1
Understanding moral disagreements (Jonathan Haidt) 1:06:04

3+ y ago1:06:04

1:06:04

Julia and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt (The Righteous Mind) discuss his moral foundations theory and argue about whether liberals should “expand their moral horizons” by learning to think like conservatives. Julia solicits Jon’s help in understanding her disagreement with philosopher Michael Sandel, in episode 247, over the morality of consen…

1
The case for one billion Americans, & more (Matt Yglesias) 1:40:49

3+ y ago1:40:49

1:40:49

Matt Yglesias talks about One Billion Americans, his book arguing that it’s in the United States’ national interest to dramatically boost its population, by expanding immigration and having more babies. Matt and Julia also discuss arguments for and against the “YIMBY” movement, which pushes for building more housing; what they’ve both learned from …

1
What’s wrong with tech companies banning people? (Julian Sanchez) 56:48

3+ y ago56:48

56:48

Companies like Twitter and Facebook are increasingly willing to ban users -- and even if you agree with their decisions, is it worrying that a few companies have so much power? Julia discusses with Julian Sanchez, expert on tech and civil liberties.By Rationally Speaking

1
The case for racial colorblindness (Coleman Hughes) 1:10:26

3+ y ago1:10:26

1:10:26

Coleman Hughes explains why he favors a "colorblind" ideal and why the "race-conscious" camp disagrees with him. Coleman and Julia also discuss whether reparations are just, and what counts as racism.By Rationally Speaking

1
Are Democrats being irrational? (David Shor) 1:21:34

3+ y ago1:21:34

1:21:34

Data scientist David Shor discusses some of the bad choices made by Democratic political campaigns. What's the cause of the errors? Is it irrationality, coordination problems, or something else?

1
The moral limits of markets / The problem with meritocracy (Michael Sandel) 59:10

3+ y ago59:10

59:10

Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel argues with Julia about human dignity, consensual cannibalism, and the case in his new book, The Tyranny of Merit, that meritocracy is to blame for recent populist backlashes in the U.S.By Rationally Speaking

1
Deaths of despair / Effective altruism (Angus Deaton) 1:04:07

3+ y ago1:04:07

1:04:07

Economist and Nobel Laureate Angus Deaton discusses the rise in “deaths of despair” in the U.S. – deaths from drugs, alcohol or suicide. What's causing it, and how do we know? Also, Julia and Angus debate whether effective altruism can help the poor.By Rationally Speaking

1
Are Boomers to blame for Millennials' struggles? 59:52

3+ y ago59:52

59:52

Rationally Speaking returns from hiatus with a look at a clash between two generations: Millennials, and their parents' generation, the Baby Boomers. Faced with stagnant wages and rising costs of education, rent, and health care, Millennials have a tougher path to economic security than Boomers did. And a growing number of millennial writers argue …

1
Rationally Speaking #244 - Stephanie Lepp and Buster Benson on "Seeing other perspectives, with compassion" 42:15

4+ y ago42:15

42:15

This episode features a pair of interviews on a similar topic: First, Stephanie Lepp (host of the Reckonings podcast) discusses what she's learned from interviewing people who had a serious change of heart, or "reckoning," including a former Neo-nazi and a former sex offender. What causes a reckoning? Second, Buster Benson (author of Why Are We Yel…

1
Rationally Speaking #243 - Bryan Caplan on "The Case for Open Borders" 49:21

4+ y ago49:21

49:21

The idea of open borders -- letting people move freely between countries, taking a job wherever they can find a job they want -- is still a pretty fringe position, politically speaking. But economist Bryan Caplan makes a compelling case for it in his new graphic nonfiction book, "Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration," illustrated by …

1
Rationally Speaking #242 - Keith Frankish on "Why consciousness is an illusion" 43:27

5y ago43:27

43:27

Philosopher of mind Keith Frankish is one of the leading proponents of "illusionism," the theory that argues that your subjective experience -- i.e., the "what it is like" to be you -- is a trick of the mind. It's a counterintuitive theory, but Keith makes the case for it in this episode, while explaining the other leading theories of consciousness…

1
Rationally Speaking #241 - Thibault Le Texier on "Debunking the Stanford Prison Experiment" 54:59

5y ago54:59

54:59

The Stanford Prison Experiment is one of the most famous psychology experiments in history. For decades, we've been told that it proves how regular people easily turn sadistic when they are asked to role play as prison guards. But the story now appears to be mostly fraudulent. Thibault Le Texier is a researcher who dug into the Stanford archives an…

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Kelsey Piper Podcasts

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