
AI Safety, The China Problem, LLMs & Job Displacement - Dwarkesh Patel - #979
Modern Wisdom
08/11/25
•165m
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Dwarkesh Patel is a writer, researcher & podcaster.
The rise of AI marks the next great technological revolution, one that could reshape every aspect of our lives in just a few years. But how close are we to its golden age? And what warnings does the global AI race hold about the double-edged nature of progress?
Expect to learn what Dwarkesh has realised about human learning and human intelligence from architecting AI learning, if AGI is right around the corner and how far away it might be, if most Job Displacement Predictions right or wrong, why recent studies show that tools such as ChatGPT make our brains less active and our writing less original, what Dwarkesh’s favourite answer to AI’s creativity question, what he biggest things about America/West that China doesn’t understand, the best bull case for AI growth ahead and much more...
Timestamps:
(0:00) Has AI Accelerated Our Understanding of Human Intelligence?
(6:59) Where Do We Draw the Line with Plagiarism in AI?
(12:13) Does AI Have a Limit?
(17:29) Is AGI Imminent?
(21:26) Are LLMs the Blueprint for AGI?
(30:15) Retraining AI Based on User Feedback
(34:57) What Will the World Be Like with trueAGI?
(39:32) Are Big World Issues Linked to the Rise in AI?
(46:06) Is AI Homogenising Our Thoughts?
(51:10) How Should We Be Using AI?
(56:17) Should We Be Prioritising AI Risk and Safety?
(01:01:14) Why are We So Trusting of AI?
(01:11:09) The Importance of AI Researchers
(01:12:09) Where Does China's AI Progression Currently Stand?
(01:26:26) What Does China Think About the West?
(01:37:34) The Pace of AI is Overwhelming
(01:42:42) What is Ignored by the Media But Will Be Studied by Historians?
(01:50:41) Growing for Success
(02:06:40) Dwarkesh’s Learning Process
(02:09:28) Follow Your Instincts
(02:22:29) Digital-First Elections
(02:28:02) Becoming Respected by Those You Respect
(02:45:29) Find Out More About Dwarkesh
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Episodes You Might Enjoy:
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#712 - Dr Jordan Peterson - How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs: lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson
#700 - Dr Andrew Huberman - The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain: lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman
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Previous Episode

How Much Does IQ Matter? - Spencer Greenberg - #978
August 9, 2025
•88m
Spencer Greenberg is a mathematician, founder, CEO & creator of ClearerThinking.org
How much does IQ really matter? Most of us have met people on both ends of the spectrum and wondered where we stand and what that means for our future. But is IQ truly fixed, or can it be shaped in some very surprising ways?
Expect to learn how much IQ matters in all areas of your life, what the pubic misunderstands about IQ, if we should be treating intelligence more like a skill than an inherent trait, why the obsession with IQ might just be a form of intellectual status-signaling, why imposter syndrome is shockingly common and some counterintuitive benefits to imposter syndrome, if traits like narcissism or sociopathy can ever be adaptive or useful, the most common misinterpretations of the Dunning-Kruger effect, and much more...
Timestamps:
(0:00) The Intelligence Test
(3:25) What is IQ?
(7:19) The Main Claims Around IQ
(12:35) How Important is IQ?
(17:50) More Claims Around IQ
(19:52) Can a High IQ Be a Disadvantage?
(22:25) Are IQ and Happiness Correlated?
(35:20) What Does the Future of IQ Research Look Like?
(36:31) - Deep Dive into Imposter Syndrome
(55:07) Re-examining the Dunning-Kruger Effect
(01:02:22) Deciding Your Own Attractiveness Level
(01:06:14) Misunderstandings About Personality Disorders
(01:16:56) The Differences Between Sociopaths and Psychopaths
(01:17:56) Are Narcissism and Sociopathy Adaptive Traits?
(01:23:27) Are We Over-Pathologizing Unpleasant People?
(01:25:02) Find Out More About Spencer
Sponsors:
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Extra Stuff:
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Episodes You Might Enjoy:
#577 - David Goggins - This Is How To Master Your Life: lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins
#712 - Dr Jordan Peterson - How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs: lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson
#700 - Dr Andrew Huberman - The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain: lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman
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Get In Touch:
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Next Episode

This is Your Brain on Bullsh*t - David Pinsof - #980
August 14, 2025
•72m
David Pinsof is a research scientist at UCLA, co-creator of Cards Against Humanity, and an author.
Everything is bullshit. Your opinions, your arguments, even your thoughts. Most of it’s manufactured, borrowed, or absorbed without question. So if all that’s fake, what’s real? And if we can’t trust our own minds, or anyone else’s, what can we trust?
Expect to learn how we can use incentives more efficiently and how to look at incentives more accurately, if other-thinking and worrying is complete bullshit, why we have opinions, and if our preferences are just even more bullshit, why arguing is bullshit, why most arguments are actually pseudo arguments, why so much advice mostly bullshit and why we take it and why we give it, and much more...
Timestamps:
(0:00) Is Happiness Bulls**t?
(7:48) Incentives are Key to Human Behaviour
(12:33) Why Do We Have Opinions?
(19:36) Exposing the Status Game
(35:08) Are Opinions a Way to Test Loyalty?
(40:50) How Does Arguing Relate to Opinions?
(46:44) What’s the Difference Between an Argument and a Pseudo-Argument?
(52:43) What is a Deepity?
(01:01:14) The Differences Between Vague Bulls**t and Deep Bulls**t
(01:08:18) Find Out More About David
Sponsors:
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Extra Stuff:
Get my free reading list of 100 books to read before you die: https://chriswillx.com/books
Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic: https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom
Episodes You Might Enjoy:
#577 - David Goggins - This Is How To Master Your Life: lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins
#712 - Dr Jordan Peterson - How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs: lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson
#700 - Dr Andrew Huberman - The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain: lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman
-
Get In Touch:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast
Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact
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