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Today on Upstream, we’re releasing an episode which originally aired on The Cognitive Revolution, a podcast from the Turpentine Network. Samo Burja and Nathan Labenz discuss AI's impact on geopolitics, scientific progress, and economic strategies, emphasizing the importance of AI science, the risks of weaponizing AI, and the future of industrial and energy policies in the U.S. and China.
This week on Upstream, Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg discuss the potential of AI agents in tech support, economic impacts of passive investing, historical financial strategies of Warren Buffett, and the implications of tariffs and technological developments in national wealth.
Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir, and Jacob Helberg, discuss AI-enabled warfare, the importance of taking clear ethical stances, the evolution of Silicon Valley culture, and the integration of tech innovation into governmental defense systems at the Hill and Valley Forum in Washington, DC.
![E101: Wokeism & Class w/ David Sacks, Trump’s AI Czar [Upstream Archive]](https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/70d9cade-b45c-11ef-9415-074ef91a9991/image/20b1afaf84854e5947cd56751aa8753f.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress "E101: Wokeism & Class w/ David Sacks, Trump’s AI Czar [Upstream Archive]")
In this 2023 conversation between Erik Torenberg and David Sacks, they discuss David’s new role as Donald Trump's AI and crypto czar, the shift towards censorship and wokeness in Silicon Valley, particularly at companies like PayPal and Twitter, and the broader implications for free speech, public debate, and the future of liberalism.
Following Marc Andreessen's great conversation with Joe Rogan that introduced millions to his philosophical and political thinking, we wanted to share our in-depth discussion with Marc on Upstream from late 2022. This interview goes deeper into his intellectual evolution and quest to understand how the world really works, covering everything from how 2016 broke his mental model of politics, to his analysis of how billionaires get captured by elite institutions.
This week on Upstream, Byrne Hobart discusses the potential impacts of the Department of Government Efficiency, insights from leaked OpenAI emails, Trump's and Elon Musk's policies and their economic implications, and the future of prediction markets in organizational decision-making.
This week on Upstream, we’re releasing a conversation between Erik Torenberg and Joe Lonsdale, co-founder of Palantir and founder of the Cicero Institute, discusses his solutions for American healthcare, education, crime, homelessness, and inequality, emphasizing the need for accountability and nonpartisan approaches.
This week we’re releasing an episode from the Cognitive Revolution, Nathan Labenz interviews Professor Michael Levin and Dr. Leo Pio Lopez about their groundbreaking research integrating multiple biological datasets using advanced AI techniques to predict new disease links, and discusses broader implications for AI in biology and future technologies.
Today on Upstream, Rudyard Lynch and Samo Burja discuss the aftermath of the U.S. presidential election, the decline of French influence in Africa, the psychology of modernity, and the potential future of free versus controlled internet.
Emil Michael, formerly the Chief Business Officer of Uber, talked to Erik Torenberg and Jesse Genet about the most intense moments during Uber's meteoric rise. Its been reported that he's on the short list of Trump's picks for US Secretary of Transportation.
This week, we’re featuring discussions with Dario Amodei, Balaji Srinivasan, Marc Andreessen, Michael Levin, and Samo Burja on AGI scaling laws, AI safety, and AI development, exploring themes such as the evolution of AI, economic implications, and philosophical aspects of intelligence.
In this episode of Upstream, Samo Burja and Erik Torenberg discuss how Trump's victory signals a new alliance between right-wing politics and tech industry leaders like Elon Musk while exploring the challenges and opportunities of reforming government institutions through technological innovation.
In this episode, Erik and Yarvin discuss media, power, and what Elon should do with Twitter.
In this episode, Erik sits down with Agnes Callard, a philosopher and essayist who specializes in ancient philosophy, ethics, and Socratic communication.
Richard Hanania joins Erik Torenberg to discuss his upcoming book on elite human capital, the future of American politics, and his evolving views on culture war issues.
Noah Smith and Erik Torenberg tackle the shift in economic research from empirical studies to "big think" theories, critically examine Acemoglu's work on institutions and AI's impact on jobs, and debate the future of economics as a science.
This week on Upstream, Erik Torenberg and Samo Burja explore the global demographic crisis, examining plummeting fertility rates worldwide and their potentially catastrophic implications for humanity's future.
In this episode, Dr. Michael Levin, Distinguished Professor of Biology at Tufts University, joins Nathan Labenz of The Cognitive Revolution Podcast to discuss embodied minds, his research into limb regeneration and collective intelligence, cognitive light cones, and much more.
Bryan Johnson joins Antonio Garcia Martinez and Erik Torenberg to discuss the deeper spiritual beliefs behind the "Don't Die" movement in the face of AI and the inadequacy of human clock speed.
This week on Upstream, we’re releasing a conversation between Patrick McKenzie and Byrne Hobart where they navigate the compelling terrains of in-app purchases and restaurant economics.
In this episode of Upstream, Erik Torenberg sits in with social psychologist Jonathan Haidt to discuss his book, 'The Anxious Generation.'
This week on Upstream, former Netflix HR executive Patty McCord sits down with Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich to dive deep into the creation and impact of Netflix's renowned culture deck, hailed as a pivotal document in Silicon Valley.
This week on Upstream, we revisit a 2023 conversation between Jacob Helberg, Delian Asparouhov, Christian Garrett and Palmer Luckey, founder of Anduril Industries and Oculus VR where they discuss the intersection of Silicon Valley and U.S. defense technology.
In this episode of Upstream, Erik Torenberg is joined by economist and futurist Robin Hanson.