EP 7: The Scouts

The Last Invention

Longview

Documentary, Society & Culture, Technology

4.8 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 13 November 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A decade ago, the leading minds in AI gathered to make sure this technology would benefit everyone. Today, those hopes are colliding with the reality of an AI arms race. Today, game theorist Liv Boeree and philosopher William MacAskill lay out what they see as the “narrow path” between a future of limitless potential and one of irreversible loss. THIS EPISODE FEATURES: Max Tegmark, Nick Bostrom, Liv Boeree, William MacAskill LINKS: Max Tegmark’s book “Life 3.0, Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” Nick Bostrom's book "Superintelligence" Liv Boeree’s Website Liv Boeree’s Podcast William MacAskill’s book “What We Owe the Future” CREDITS: This episode of The Last Invention was reported and produced by Andy Mills, Gregory Warner, Andrew Parsons, Megan Phelps-Roper, Matthew Boll, Seth Temple Andrews, and Ethan Mannello. It is hosted by Gregory Warner Music for this episode was composed by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Scott Devendorf⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ben Lanz⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Cobey Bienert⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and Matthew Boll The Last Invention artwork by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jacob Boll⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ To become a Longview subscriber you can visit us ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Thank you to our sponsors Ground News and FIRE ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠GROUND NEWS⁠:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠groundnews.com/invent⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to get 40% off unlimited access to global coverage of the stories shaping our world. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FIRE⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ This is a paid sponsorship link Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, listeners, this is Matt, co-founder here at Longview. And before we get to the show,
0:08.1	I just wanted to share something you may already know, but may not fully appreciate.
0:12.6	Our whole project only exists because of subscribers.
0:17.4	Advertising, of course, helps, but it isn't enough. Because the reporting that defines this work, the kind that takes time and patience and independence, is funded by people who choose to subscribe.
0:28.9	Your support is what allows us to investigate the stories that we're working on right now, reporting on why the economy feels broken and incomprehensible to many of us, reporting on health and longevity,
0:40.3	reporting on the resurgence of anarchy on the left and what far right actually means in this political moment.
0:46.1	And of course, reporting on AI. It's easy to underestimate the value of your small monthly subscription,
0:52.2	but taken together, your subscriptions are the foundation
0:55.0	of everything we do. So if you're already a subscriber, thank you. You are helping make this work real.
1:02.4	If you'd like to become one of the people who sustain this project, you can visit us at longviewinvestigations.com.
1:09.3	And thanks again. Okay, on to the show.
1:15.1	This is the last invention. I'm Gregory Warner. Today, the case for why we can,
1:20.9	and maybe should, build superintelligence, but how we'll need to come together to make sure we don't destroy humanity in the process.
1:30.4	And there is a good reason to argue that this worldview, this camp, the AI Scouts, as we call them,
1:35.9	was born in the year 2015 with a gathering of true AI believers on the island of Puerto Rico.
1:50.5	Okay, so first up, can you just tell me how you pulled this off?
1:53.1	Like, how did you get all of these different figures in the big AI debate together down in
1:57.9	Puerto Rico?
1:58.8	Yeah, first of all, we scheduled a meeting in Puerto Rico in
2:02.9	January, and the invitation I sent out to everybody had a photo of a guy shoveling his car out from
2:08.7	three feet of snow next to a photo of the beach by the hotel. And it said the date, and so where would
2:15.3	you rather be on this date? Very clever, Max. Very clever. This is Max Tegmark, MIT Professor of Physics, co-founder of the Future
	...

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