E251 - Have You Tried Unplugging the AI?

Is AI sending us spiraling towards an apocalypse, or upwards towards utopia? How can such a new technology inspire such diametrically opposing viewpoints? 

To understand the dissonance, Jon sits down with Helen Toner, the Executive Director of Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology–and one of the OpenAI board members who voted to oust Sam Altman in 2023. 

She shares her firsthand experience of what trying to oversee one of these companies actually involves, insights on where the technology is going, and strategies for what we can do to avoid the scariest outcomes.

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