logo
episode-header-image
May 2023
1 h

Tyler Cowen on the Risks and Impact of A...

RUSS ROBERTS
About this episode

Economist Tyler Cowen of George Mason University talks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about the benefits and dangers of artificial intelligence. Cowen argues that the worriers--those who think that artificial intelligence will destroy mankind--need to make a more convincing case for their concerns. He also believes that the worriers are too willing to reduce freedom and empower the state in the name of reducing a risk that is far from certain. Along the way, Cowen and Roberts discuss how AI might change various parts of the economy and the job market.

Up next
Jul 7
What Is Capitalism? (with Mike Munger)
What is capitalism, really? Drawing on Adam Smith, Douglass North, and his own experience as a teacher and economist, economist Michael Munger of Duke University discusses three stages of economic development with EconTalk's Russ Roberts: voluntary exchange, markets, and capitali ... Show More
1h 19m
Jun 30
The Deceptive Power of Maps (with Paulina Rowinska)
How can the state of Colorado have nearly 700 sides? Why is a country's coastline as long as you want it to be? And how is it that your UPS driver has more routes to choose from than there are stars in the universe? Listen as mathematician Paulina Rowinska talks with EconTalk's R ... Show More
1h 9m
Jun 23
How to Be a Super Ager (with Eric Topol)
What if we could delay--or even prevent--Alzheimer's, cancer, and heart disease? What if much of what you know about aging is wrong? Listen as cardiologist and author Eric Topol of the Scripps Research Institute talks about his new book Super Agers with EconTalk's Russ Roberts. T ... Show More
1h 1m
Recommended Episodes
Jun 12
The Narrow Path: Sam Hammond on AI, Institutions, and the Fragile Future
The race to develop ever-more-powerful AI is creating an unstable dynamic. It could lead us toward either dystopian centralized control or uncontrollable chaos. But there's a third option: a narrow path where technological power is matched with responsibility at every step.Sam Ha ... Show More
47m 55s
Sep 2024
Daron Acemoglu on Artificial Intelligence
Listening to the ongoing debate about artificial intelligence, one could be forgiven for assuming that the technology is either a bogeyman or a savior, with little ground in between. But that’s not the stance of economist Daron Acemoglu, professor at the Massachusetts Institute o ... Show More
27m 33s
Jun 16
Godfather of AI: I Tried to Warn Them, But We’ve Already Lost Control! Geoffrey Hinton
He pioneered AI, now he’s warning the world. Godfather of AI Geoffrey Hinton breaks his silence on the deadly dangers of AI no one is prepared for. Geoffrey Hinton is a leading computer scientist and cognitive psychologist, widely recognised as the ‘Godfather of AI’ for his pione ... Show More
1h 30m
Dec 2024
#32 - Scott Aaronson - The Race to AGI and Quantum Supremacy
How fast is the AI race really going? What is the current state of Quantum Computing? What actually *is* the P vs NP problem? - former OpenAI researcher and theoretical computer scientist Scott Aaronson joins Liv and Igor to discuss everything quantum, AI and consciousness. We he ... Show More
2h 25m
May 2024
AI Hype and Skepticism: Economist Paul Romer
Paul Romer once considered himself the most optimistic economist. He rightfully predicted that technology would blow up as an economic driver coming out of the inflation of the 1970s but acknowledges he did not foresee the inequality that technology advances would lead to. On thi ... Show More
29m 19s
May 17
OpenAI whistleblower Daniel Kokotajlo on superintelligence and existential risk of AI
How much could our relationship with technology change by 2027? In the last few years, new artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT and DeepSeek have transformed how we think about work, creativity, even intelligence itself. But tech experts are ringing alarm bells that powerfu ... Show More
38m 16s
Jul 2022
Human justice and machine intelligence | Joanna Bryson
Should we be scared of AI?Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesJoanna Bryson discusses how she became interested in the ways different species use intelligence, how the typical tropes in science fiction misunderstand AI and the proble ... Show More
18m 46s
Jan 2022
Ep210 - Mo Gawdat | Scary Smart: The Future of Artificial Intelligence and How You Can Save Our World
This episode we speak with author & entrepreneur Mo Gawdat about his book "Scary Smart." Artificial intelligence is smarter than humans. It can process information at lightning speed and remain focused on specific tasks without distraction. AI can see into the future, predicting ... Show More
1h 4m
Mar 2025
#217 Josh Wolfe: Human Advantage in the World of AI
While Silicon Valley chases unicorns, Josh Wolfe hunts for something far more elusive: scientific breakthroughs that could change civilization. As co-founder and managing partner of Lux Capital, he's looking for the kind of science that turns impossible into inevitable. Josh does ... Show More
2h 2m
May 20
The catastrophic risks of AI — and a safer path | Yoshua Bengio
Yoshua Bengio — the world's most-cited computer scientist and a "godfather" of artificial intelligence — is deadly concerned about the current trajectory of the technology. As AI models race toward full-blown agency, Bengio warns that they've already learned to deceive, cheat, se ... Show More
15m 1s