Best Nathan Labenz Podcasts (2025)

1
Facing Superintelligence (with Ben Goertzel) 1:32:33

2h ago1:32:33

1:32:33

On this episode, Ben Goertzel joins me to discuss what distinguishes the current AI boom from previous ones, important but overlooked AI research, simplicity versus complexity in the first AGI, the feasibility of alignment, benchmarks and economic impact, potential bottlenecks to superintelligence, and what humanity should do moving forward. Timest…

1
The Perfect Substrate for AGI, with Replit CEO Amjad Masad 1:01:16

1d ago1:01:16

1:01:16

In this episode of The Cognitive Revolution, Amjad Masad , founder and CEO of Replit, discusses the fast-paced growth of Replit, the concept of 'vibe coding', and the challenges and opportunities in the rapidly evolving AI-assisted coding space. He shares insights into Replit's competitive advantages, known as 'moats', and how they maintain their l…

1
How To Navigate the AI Wave: CEO Eric Vaughan Launches MyPersonas & Eloquens AI | E107 53:47

2h ago53:47

53:47

In this conversation, Chris Madden and Eric Vaughan discuss the transformative impact of AI on businesses, emphasizing the importance of adopting AI technologies like MyPersonas and Eloquens AI. They discuss managing AI advancements, addressing fears, and the impact on company culture and efficiency. Eric shares insights on onboarding processes for…

1
The RAISE Act: Minimum Standards for Frontier AI Development, with NY Assembly Member Alex Bores 1:43:36

4d ago1:43:36

1:43:36

In this episode, New York State Assembly Member Alex Bores discusses the RAISE Act, a proposed bill aimed at regulating frontier AI models with basic safety protocols. He explains his background in technology, his motivations for the bill, and the legislative process. He emphasizes the importance of having clear safety protocols, third-party audits…

1
Gemini Robotics – AI for the Physical World, with Keerthana Gopalakrishnan and Ted Xiao of Google DeepMind 1:47:38

6d ago1:47:38

1:47:38

In this engaging episode of the Cognitive Revolution, host Nathan Labenz welcomes guests Keerthana Gopalakrishnan and Ted Xiao to revisit significant advancements in robotics over the past year. Key themes discussed include the proliferation of new robotics companies, the emergence of humanoid robots, and the development of sophisticated foundation…

1
Will Future AIs Be Conscious? (with Jeff Sebo) 1:34:27

3d ago1:34:27

1:34:27

On this episode, Jeff Sebo joins me to discuss artificial consciousness, substrate-independence, possible tensions between AI risk and AI consciousness, the relationship between consciousness and cognitive complexity, and how intuitive versus intellectual approaches guide our understanding of these topics. We also discuss AI companions, AI rights, …

1
Titans: Neural Long-Term Memory for LLMs, with author Ali Behrouz 2:11:25

8d ago2:11:25

2:11:25

In this episode of The Cognitive Revolution, Ali Behrouz, a PhD student at Cornell University, delves into his research on enhancing memory mechanisms in large language models through his latest paper titled Titans. Behrouz discusses the limitations of current models in maintaining long-term coherence and introduces the concept of a neural network …

1
E141: The Bronze Age Collapse and History's Selective Memory 1:03:08

9d ago1:03:08

1:03:08

Today on Upstream, we’re sharing Erik Torenberg conversation with Samo Burja where they discuss the Bronze Age collapse, technological advancements in ancient civilizations, and the nuanced history of the Roman Empire, along with a detailed analysis of contemporary geopolitical dynamics, particularly focusing on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and i…

1
#20 Frances Lorenz on the emotional side of AI x-risk, being a woman in a male-dominated online space & more 51:42

5d ago51:42

51:42

In this episode, I chatted with Frances Lorenz, events associate at the Centre for Effective Altruism. We covered our respective paths into AI safety, the emotional impact of learning about x-risk, what it's like to be female in a male-dominated community and more! Follow Frances on Twitter Subscribe to her Substack Apply for EAG London!…

1
Luma Labs' Diffusion Revolution: from Dream Machine to Multimodal Worldsim - Amit Jain, Jiaming Song 1:19:32

12d ago1:19:32

1:19:32

In this episode of the Cognitive Revolution podcast, the host Nathan Labenz welcomes Amit Jain, CEO and Jiaming Song, Chief Scientist at Luma Labs, alongside co-host Stephen Parker. The conversation delves into the latest advancements and products from Luma Labs, makers of the Dream Machine, including cutting-edge models and features like camera mo…

1
E140: Why Industrial Revolutions Stall 45:59

14d ago45:59

45:59

Today on Upstream, we’re sharing Erik Torenberg conversation with Samo Burja on this week’s Live Players. They discuss the potential industrial revolutions in history, particularly in the Roman Empire and Song Dynasty China, their technological advancements, economic factors, and the reasons these revolutions didn't reach full fruition. — 📰 Be noti…

1
Understanding AI Agents: Time Horizons, Sycophancy, and Future Risks (with Zvi Mowshowitz) 1:35:09

10d ago1:35:09

1:35:09

On this episode, Zvi Mowshowitz joins me to discuss sycophantic AIs, bottlenecks limiting autonomous AI agents, and the true utility of benchmarks in measuring progress. We then turn to time horizons of AI agents, the impact of automating scientific research, and constraints on scaling inference compute. Zvi also addresses humanity’s uncertain AI-d…

1
OpenAI's Identity Crisis: History, Culture & Non-Profit Control with ex-employee Steven Adler 2:03:13

15d ago2:03:13

2:03:13

In this episode, former OpenAI research scientist Steven Adler discusses his insights on OpenAI's transition through various phases, including its growth, internal culture shifts, and the contentious move from nonprofit to for-profit. The conversation delves into the initial days of OpenAI's development of GPT-3 and GPT-4, the cultural and ethical …

1
E139: America’s Tech Strategy w/ Qasar Younis, Sen. Jack Reed, and Josh Wolfe 29:38

16d ago29:38

29:38

This week, we’re featuring a panel discussion from the 2025 Hill and Valley Forum with Josh Wolfe (Lux Capital), Senator Jack Reed (RI), and Qasar Younis, Founder and CEO, Applied Intuition They address talent attraction and retention, China's espionage and surveillance state, immigration policies, dual-use technologies, and the challenges and stra…

1
This AI Chatbot Closes Deals While You Sleep – ChatSimple Founder Reveals How 43:15

13d ago43:15

43:15

In this episode of the Imagine AI Live podcast, host Chris Madden chats with Hao Sheng, the founder of ChatSimple. They dive into how AI chatbots are revolutionizing customer acquisition by giving businesses 24/7 sales reps that never sleep. Hao shares how ChatSimple can instantly qualify leads, answer complex questions, and even book meetings—with…

1
AI Control: Using Untrusted Systems Safely with Buck Shlegeris of Redwood Research, from the 80,000 Hours Podcast 2:29:21

19d ago2:29:21

2:29:21

In this episode, we share a fascinating conversation from the 80,000 Hours Podcast between Rob Wiblin and Buck Shlegeris, CEO of Redwood Research. Buck dives deep into the emerging field of AI Control strategies for safely working with powerful AIs even if they’re not fully aligned. They explore innovative techniques like always-on auditing, honeyp…

1
Blueprint for AI Armageddon: Josh Clymer Imagines AI Takeover, from the Audio Tokens Podcast 2:02:05

22d ago2:02:05

2:02:05

In this episode of the Cognitive Revolution, an AI-narrated version of Joshua Clymer's story on how AI might take over in two years is presented. The episode is based on Josh's appearance on the Audio Tokens podcast with Lukas Peterson. Joshua Clymer, a technical AI safety researcher at Redwood Research, shares a fictional yet plausible AI scenario…

1
This AI Replaces Your Social Media Team – Here’s How | Socialite Founder Sean Rich | E105 29:04

23d ago29:04

29:04

In this episode of the Imagine AI Live podcast, host Chris Madden speaks with Sean Rich, the founder of Socialite, an AI-driven social media management tool. They discuss the challenges businesses face in keeping up with the fast-paced world of social media and how Socialite aims to alleviate these pressures by automating content creation and sched…

1
Co-Founder of Centre For British Progress, Julia Willemyns | The Human Podcast 44:26

22d ago44:26

44:26

WATCH EPISODE HERE: https://youtu.be/w8OkYrWKBqM In this episode, I speak to Julia Willemyns, a co-founder of The Centre for British Progress, a new non-partisan think tank researching and producing concrete ideas for an era of British growth and progress. Julia is an entrepreneur and studied at the University of Oxford and LSE. The Human Podcast e…

1
Fiverr Goes All-In on AI: Empowering Creators, Not Replacing Them, with Micha Kaufman, CEO of Fiverr 1:43:05

27d ago1:43:05

1:43:05

In this episode of The Cognitive Revolution, host Nathan Labenz speaks with Micha Kaufman, founder and CEO of Fiverr, about the company's new AI suite called Fiverr Go. Kaufman shares his unique values-based approach to AI implementation, which aims to empower human creators rather than replace them in the freelance marketplace. The conversation ex…

1
E138: Palantir CEO Alex Karp & Rep. Ritchie Torres on Innovation & The West | Hill and Valley Forum 2024 30:28

28d ago30:28

30:28

Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir Technologies, and Congressman Richie Torres discuss higher education, Palantir's fearless culture, and the importance of contrarianism in driving innovation at the 2024 Hill and Valley Forum. — 📰 Be notified early when Turpentine's drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccess — RECOMMENDED PODCASTS: 🎙️…

1
Inside China's AI Strategy: Innovation, Diffusion, and US Relations (with Jeffrey Ding) 1:02:32

25d ago1:02:32

1:02:32

On this episode, Jeffrey Ding joins me to discuss diffusion of AI versus AI innovation, how US-China dynamics shape AI’s global trajectory, and whether there is an AI arms race between the two powers. We explore Chinese attitudes toward AI safety, the level of concentration of AI development, and lessons from historical technology diffusion. Jeffre…

1
E137: AI Safety vs Speed: Helen Toner Discusses OpenAI Board Experience, Regulatory Approaches, and Military AI [The Cognitive Revolution] 1:20:01

30d ago1:20:01

1:20:01

This week on Upstream, we’re releasing an episode of The Cognitive Revolution. Nathan Labenz interviews Helen Toner, director at CSET, about her experiences with OpenAI, the concept of adaptation buffers for AI integration, and AI's role in military decision-making. They discuss the implications of AI development, the need for regulatory policies, …

1
Securing Superintelligence: National Security, Espionage & AI Control with Jeremie & Edouard Harris 2:09:51

1M ago2:09:51

2:09:51

In this thought-provoking episode of The Cognitive Revolution, host Nathan Labenz speaks with Jeremy and Edouard Harris, founders of Gladstone AI and authors of "America's Superintelligence Project." The conversation explores a critical dilemma facing US policymakers: balancing the race to develop advanced AI ahead of China against the risks of los…

1
Nathan Labenz: AI's Cognitive Revolution, Waymark's Pivot & The Future We Face | Imagine AI Live 104 50:10

1M ago50:10

50:10

In this conversation, Chris Madden and Nathan Labenz explore the transformative impact of AI on society, marketing, and content creation. They discuss Waymark’s evolution into an AI-driven platform, the broader cognitive revolution, and the opportunities and risks of advanced AI—ranging from content saturation to ethical concerns and job displaceme…

1
Is OpenAI's o3 AGI? Zvi Mowshowitz on Early AI Takeoff, the Mechanize launch, Live Players, & Why p(doom) is Rising 3:08:19

1M ago3:08:19

3:08:19

In this episode of the Cognitive Revolution podcast, the host Nathan Labenz is joined for the record 9th time by Zvi Mowshowitz to discuss the state of AI advancements, focusing on recent developments such as OpenAI's O3 model and its implications for AGI and recursive self-improvement. They delve into the capabilities and limitations of current AI…

1
E136: Trump V2: Tariffs, American Dynamism, Higher Ed | Byrne Hobart 1:02:03

1M ago1:02:03

1:02:03

In this episode, Erik Torenberg and Byrne Hobart discuss the economic consequences of Trump's tariffs, OpenAI's recent innovations, and their implications for white collar work. They also explore the potential market shifts, the resilience of the US dollar as a reserve currency, and the state of elite higher education institutions like Harvard in t…

1
AI News Crossover: A Candid Chat with Liron Shapira of Doom Debates 2:29:35

1M ago2:29:35

2:29:35

In this crossover episode of The Cognitive Revolution, Nathan Labenz joins Liron Shapira of Doom Debates, for a wide-ranging news and analysis discussion about recent AI developments. The conversation covers significant topics including GPT-4o image generation's implications for designers and businesses like Waymark, debates around learning to code…

1
E135: The Problem With Reserve Currencies and Switching to Crypto w/ Lyn Alden [From the Archives] 57:45

1M ago57:45

57:45

This week on Upstream, we’re sharing Erik Torenberg’s 2024 interview with Lyn Alden. Lyn discusses her book 'Broken Money', the impact of the global reserve currency, inflation, interest rates, and provides advice for navigating an uncertain economic future. — 📰 Be notified early when Turpentine's drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/ex…

1
Helen Toner: OpenAI Reflections, Adaptation Buffers, and AI in Warfare 1:29:35

1M ago1:29:35

1:29:35

In this thought-provoking conversation, Helen Toner, Director of Strategy at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), discusses her perspectives on AI development, regulation, and international competition. Toner shares insights from her time on OpenAI's board, clarifying that reports about a "Q*" breakthrough influencing the board's…

1
How AI Voice Agents Are Transforming Business Call Centers w/ CEO Richard Lin of Anyreach AI | E103 35:15

1M ago35:15

35:15

In this episode of the Imagine AI Live podcast, host Chris Madden interviews Richard Lin, CEO and Co-Founder of Anyreach AI. Richard shares his journey from tech entrepreneur to building human-like AI voice agents. The conversation covers Anyreach’s mission, real-world use cases, and the data infrastructure challenges of scaling AI. Richard also di…

1
Conjecture Co-Founder & ControlAI Advisor, Gabe Alfour | AI SAFETY SERIES #4 44:14

1M ago44:14

44:14

WELCOME TO THE AI SAFETY SERIES, FEATURING FILMED INTERVIEWS WITH INDIVIDUALS WORKING IN THE AI SAFETY FIELD, ABOUT THEIR LIVES & WORK. In this episode, I speak to Gabe Alfour, a co-founder and the CTO of Conjecture, and an advisor to ControlAI. Conjecture is an AI Safety organisation, based in London. ControlAI is a non-profit organisation that wo…

1
Is a US-China Thucydides Trap Unavoidable? With David C. Kang from the ChinaTalk Podcast 1:39:16

1M ago1:39:16

1:39:16

In this crossover episode from the China Talk podcast, Nathan Labenz shares a thought-provoking conversation between Jordan Schneider, Ilari Michaela, and Professor David C. Kang that challenges conventional Western perspectives on East Asian international relations. Professor Kang argues that studying East Asian history on its own terms reveals a …

1
#19 Gabe Alfour on why AI alignment is hard, what it would mean to solve it & what ordinary people can do about existential risk 1:36:40

1M ago1:36:40

1:36:40

Gabe Alfour is a co-founder of Conjecture and an advisor to Control AI, both organisations working to reduce risks from advanced AI. We discussed why AI poses an existential risk to humanity, what makes this problem very hard to solve, why Gabe believes we need to prevent the development of superintelligence for at least the next two decades, and m…

1
E134: Atheism’s Decline, Consciousness, and The New Right w/ Ross Douthat 57:08

1M ago57:08

57:08

Today on Upstream, Ross Douthat joins Erik Torenberg to discuss his new book 'Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious,' exploring the decline of new atheism, the intellectual defense of institutional religion, and the intersection between traditional Christianity, Silicon Valley, and modern materialism. This episode originally aired on Moment of …

1
How Will We Cooperate with AIs? (with Allison Duettmann) 1:36:02

1M ago1:36:02

1:36:02

On this episode, Allison Duettmann joins me to discuss centralized versus decentralized AI, how international governance could shape AI’s trajectory, how we might cooperate with future AIs, and the role of AI in improving human decision-making. We also explore which lessons from history apply to AI, the future of space law and property rights, whet…

1
E133: China’s Energy Problem w/ Samo Burja 57:09

1M ago57:09

57:09

Today on Upstream, we’re releasing a 2024 conversation between Erik Torenberg and Samo Burja. They discuss China's approach to energy security, exploring why China isn't pursuing energy independence despite significant oil production capability and the potential for further development. — 📰 Be notified early when Turpentine's drops new publication:…

1
New in Nature: Google Agents Beat Human Doctors, Make Scientific Discoveries – With Vivek Natarajan and Anil Palepu 1:27:57

1M ago1:27:57

1:27:57

In this episode, Nathan Labenz speaks with Vivek Natarajan and Anil Palepu from Google DeepMind about their groundbreaking work on AMIE (Articulate Medical Intelligence Explorer) and Co-Scientist. The conversation reveals how these AI systems are already outperforming human physicians in diagnostic accuracy and treatment recommendations, with AMIE …

1
Exploring Limitless AI: The Wearable That Remembers Everything with CEO Dan Siroker | E102 24:52

2M ago24:52

24:52

In this episode of Imagine AI Live, host Chris Madden talks with Dan about the creation of the Limitless pendant—an AI-powered device that helps users remember and reflect by capturing real-world conversations and interactions. They dive into how this technology works, its practical use cases in business and healthcare, and the ethical implications…

1
Scaling "Thinking": Gemini 2.5 Tech Lead Jack Rae on Reasoning, Long Context, & the Path to AGI 1:16:28

2M ago1:16:28

1:16:28

In this illuminating episode of The Cognitive Revolution, host Nathan Labenz speaks with Jack Rae, principal research scientist at Google DeepMind and technical lead on Google's thinking and inference time scaling work. They explore the technical breakthroughs behind Google's Gemini 2.5 Pro model, discussing why reasoning techniques are suddenly wo…

1
E132: AI Managers, US vs China Analysis, and AI Art w/ Byrne Hobart 51:38

2M ago51:38

51:38

Today on Upstream, we’re sharing an episode of The Riff (originally aired on April 1, 2025). Erik Torenberg and Byrne Hobart explore the shifting dynamics of global trade between China and the US, the potential for AI to replace senior rather than junior roles in the workplace, and the economic structure of live entertainment markets like StubHub. …

1
Brain-like AGI and why it's Dangerous (with Steven Byrnes) 1:13:13

2M ago1:13:13

1:13:13

On this episode, Steven Byrnes joins me to discuss brain-like AGI safety. We discuss learning versus steering systems in the brain, the distinction between controlled AGI and social-instinct AGI, why brain-inspired approaches might be our most plausible route to AGI, and honesty in AI models. We also talk about how people can contribute to brain-li…

1
E131: Abundance Agenda, The New Right, and 2008 Retrospective w/ Noah Smith 1:08:17

2M ago1:08:17

1:08:17

Today on Upstream, Erik Torenberg and Noah Smith discuss the Abundance Agenda by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, the impact of the 2008 recession, Obama's presidency, and shifts in political ideology, focusing on the 'New Right' and its cultural and economic implications, while also touching upon the economic recovery strategies post-2008. This epis…

1
Reward Hacking by Reasoning Models & Loss of Control Scenarios w/ Jeffrey Ladish of Palisade Research, from FLI Podcast 1:32:17

2M ago1:32:17

1:32:17

On this cross-post episode, Jeffrey Ladish discusses the rapid pace of AI progress and the risks of losing control over powerful systems. We explore why AIs can be both smart and dumb, the challenges of creating honest AIs, and scenarios where AI could turn against us. Additionally, we delve into Palisade's new study on how reasoning models can che…

1
How Mimica AI is Revolutionizing Enterprise Automation with AI Agents | Imagine AI Live 29:33

2M ago29:33

29:33

Tuhin Chakraborty is the Co-founder and CEO of Mimica AI, a company dedicated to automating repetitive processes through AI-powered task mining and process simulation. With expertise in AI-driven enterprise automation, Tuhin helps organizations enhance efficiency by identifying and streamlining their workflows.In this episode of Imagine AI Live, ho…

1
Shortwave Rides the Tidal Wave: Inbox Agents, Hyper-Growth & Hiring AI Managers, with CEO Andrew Lee 1:51:39

2M ago1:51:39

1:51:39

In this episode of the Cognitive Revolution podcast, Andrew Lee, founder and CEO of Shortwave, returns to discuss the rapid advancements in AI over the past year and how they have significantly improved Shortwave, an AI email assistant. Andrew shares insights into the exponential growth of Shortwave's revenue and the enhanced capabilities of their …

1
E130: Elon Musk’s Network Effects and Checking in on Chinese AI w/ Byrne Hobart 59:31

2M ago59:31

59:31

This week on Upstream, we're releasing an episode of The Riff (originally aired on March 25, 2025) where Erik Torenberg and Byrne Hobart discuss Don Jr.'s leveraging of the Trump brand, Dustin Moskovitz's departure to address AI risks, economic impacts of various policies, and geopolitical considerations with a focus on AI and China's tech ambition…

1
How Close Are We to AGI? Inside Epoch's GATE Model (with Ege Erdil) 1:34:33

2M ago1:34:33

1:34:33

On this episode, Ege Erdil from Epoch AI joins me to discuss their new GATE model of AI development, what evolution and brain efficiency tell us about AGI requirements, how AI might impact wages and labor markets, and what it takes to train models with long-term planning. Toward the end, we dig into Moravec’s Paradox, which jobs are most at risk of…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Nathan Labenz Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen