John Robb: "Networked Tribalism, AI, and Asteroids"
The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens
Nate Hagens
4.8 • 553 Ratings
🗓️ 21 February 2024
⏱️ 112 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On this episode, Nate is joined by author and technology analyst John Robb to discuss how geopolitics, information warfare, and technology are shaping how we understand the world and interact with each other. With the recent rise in global tensions and violence, plus an escalating threat of catastrophic scenarios, more and more people sense that the system is unstable. Coupled with accelerating developments in artificial intelligence, we live in an environment where interpretation and sensemaking - especially at an individual level - are more difficult than ever. What do these trends and challenges mean for governments and corporations trying to control the flow of information and data? How will near-term technological advancements affect the trajectories of politics, science, and journalism - and is it possible for individuals to be aware of and mitigate their influence? During a time where communication and collective problem solving is more important than ever, will it be possible to navigate between tribes and ideological groups amidst increasing polarization and fractured information systems?
About John Robb
John Robb currently publishes the Global Guerrillas Report, which covers the intersection of War, Politics, and Technology. He served as a tier one special ops, after which he went on to be a popular internet analyst, entrepreneur, the COO of a software company that open sourced the current RSS standard, and much more. He also published the book Brave New War on the subject of the future of warfare.
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/b2n_Jk37cLE
Show notes, and more info: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/110-john-robb
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're listening to the Great Simplification. |
| 0:05.5 | I'm Nate Higgins. |
| 0:06.7 | On this show, we describe how energy, the economy, the environment, and human behavior all fit together and what it might mean for our future. |
| 0:15.7 | By sharing insights from global thinkers, we hope to inform and inspire more humans to play emergent roles |
| 0:22.5 | in the coming great simplification. |
| 0:28.4 | Today's guest is John Robb, who currently publishes the Global Gorillas Report, which covers |
| 0:35.1 | the intersection of war, politics, and technology. |
| 0:39.1 | John served as a Tier 1 special ops in the military, after which he became a popular |
| 0:44.9 | internet analyst, entrepreneur, and the COO of a software company that open-sourced the current |
| 0:51.4 | RSS standard. |
| 0:53.3 | John also published the book Brave New War, which was |
| 0:57.0 | on the subject of the future of warfare. This may appear to be an oddball episode on the Great |
| 1:03.9 | Simplification, but I've followed John for a long time now and many in my inner circle make an effort to pay attention to what he says. |
| 1:14.2 | This was a wide-raging conversation. We discussed AI, augmented reality, information and sense-making, |
| 1:21.3 | tribal warfare, fictive kinship, and even asteroid mining, which you might guess I am incredibly skeptical of, |
| 1:30.0 | but I was also skeptical of things he said 20 years ago, which are our current reality. |
| 1:35.7 | In any case, I do not think you will be bored. |
| 1:38.5 | Please welcome John Robb. |
| 1:54.3 | Music Rob. John Rob, great to see you. |
| 1:56.8 | Hi, Knight. |
| 1:57.9 | How's it going today? |
| 1:59.2 | It's going pretty good. |
... |
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