Imagine you had one neighbor who steered every conversation toward the dangers of omnipotent AI, run amok in the world and eager to exterminate humankind in order to facilitate its takeover of the planet.

Imagine another neighbor who was always going on about an eternal utopia,

in which some as yet elusive technological breakthrough meets every human need

and allows our species to colonize the galaxy by the trillions.

chances are you would time your walks to avoid running into either one of them.

So when the Titans of Silicon Valley shared their visions of the future,

why do we believe they must know what they're talking about?

From KERA in Dallas, this is Think. I'm Chris Boyd.

Even if we aren't all that interested in what tech billionaires imagine the coming years and centuries will bring for humankind, they have a great deal of influence over what is happening right now. And for that reason alone, my guest says, we ought to pay attention to how and what they think and be ready to ask the kinds of critical questions that might poke holes

in their wildest fantasies. Science journalist Adam Becker is a PhD in astrophysics and author of the

book More Everything Forever. AI overlords, space empires, and Silicon Valley's crusade to control

the fate of humanity. Adam, welcome to think.

Oh, thanks for having me.

This is great.

Of the tech leaders who think AI's continued development could pose some literally existential threats,

what specifically are they worried about?

Well, generally what they're worried about

is that an AI will become as smart as a human,

which is already kind of vaguely defined, right?

And then they're worried that it will use its intelligence to get smarter and smarter

by accumulating more and more computing resources,

and then become super intelligent and godlike and then use its godlike powers to destroy the

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