We Created AI. Why Don't We Understand It? (with Samir Varma) episode artwork

EPISODE · Mar 6, 2025 · 1H 16M

We Created AI. Why Don't We Understand It? (with Samir Varma)

from Future of Life Institute Podcast · host Gus Docker

On this episode, physicist and hedge fund manager Samir Varma joins me to discuss whether AIs could have free will (and what that means), the emerging field of AI psychology, and which concepts they might rely on. We discuss whether collaboration and trade with AIs are possible, the role of AI in finance and biology, and the extent to which automation already dominates trading. Finally, we examine the risks of skill atrophy, the limitations of scientific explanations for AI, and whether AIs could develop emotions or consciousness.  You can find out more about Samir's work here: https://samirvarma.com   Timestamps:  00:00 AIs with free will? 08:00 Can we predict AI behavior?  11:38 AI psychology 16:24 Which concepts will AIs use?  20:19 Will we collaborate with AIs?  26:16 Will we trade with AIs?  31:40 Training data for robots  34:00 AI in finance  39:55 How much of trading is automated?  49:00 AI in biology and complex systems 59:31 Will our skills atrophy?  01:02:55 Levels of scientific explanation  01:06:12 AIs with emotions and consciousness?  01:12:12 Why can't we predict recessions?

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Mar 6, 2025

Embed this episode

NOW PLAYING

We Created AI. Why Don't We Understand It? (with Samir Varma)

0:00 1:16:16

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Future of Life Institute Podcast?

This episode is 1 hour and 16 minutes long.

When was this Future of Life Institute Podcast episode published?

This episode was published on March 6, 2025.

Can I download this Future of Life Institute Podcast episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!