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Tara Isabella Burton

👤 Person
261 total appearances

Appearances Over Time

Podcast Appearances

It's Been a Minute
The "priest of AI" & tech's pursuit of eternal life

And particularly the X risk, the existential risk that someone might accidentally create an artificial intelligence that is hostile to humans and wipes us out. How do you address that fear? One answer is to stop AI development. One is to ensure that whatever AI you are creating wants to work with humans or is going to be friendly to humans.

It's Been a Minute
The "priest of AI" & tech's pursuit of eternal life

And particularly the X risk, the existential risk that someone might accidentally create an artificial intelligence that is hostile to humans and wipes us out. How do you address that fear? One answer is to stop AI development. One is to ensure that whatever AI you are creating wants to work with humans or is going to be friendly to humans.

It's Been a Minute
The "priest of AI" & tech's pursuit of eternal life

So I'm torn on this. Is this for the clout, whether or not it's for financial gain? But at the same time, I think it's also true that there is a long historical tradition of people living lives that are incredibly physically unpleasant or characterized by deprivation because they have chosen to do so in order to focus their attention and love on the ultimate reality. Historically, these have been

It's Been a Minute
The "priest of AI" & tech's pursuit of eternal life

So I'm torn on this. Is this for the clout, whether or not it's for financial gain? But at the same time, I think it's also true that there is a long historical tradition of people living lives that are incredibly physically unpleasant or characterized by deprivation because they have chosen to do so in order to focus their attention and love on the ultimate reality. Historically, these have been

It's Been a Minute
The "priest of AI" & tech's pursuit of eternal life

So I'm torn on this. Is this for the clout, whether or not it's for financial gain? But at the same time, I think it's also true that there is a long historical tradition of people living lives that are incredibly physically unpleasant or characterized by deprivation because they have chosen to do so in order to focus their attention and love on the ultimate reality. Historically, these have been

It's Been a Minute
The "priest of AI" & tech's pursuit of eternal life

religious people. These have been hermits or mystics or monks who have willingly taken on a particular kind of life in order to focus on the hereafter. And what interests me, if let's assume Brian Johnson is in good faith here, is that the

It's Been a Minute
The "priest of AI" & tech's pursuit of eternal life

religious people. These have been hermits or mystics or monks who have willingly taken on a particular kind of life in order to focus on the hereafter. And what interests me, if let's assume Brian Johnson is in good faith here, is that the

It's Been a Minute
The "priest of AI" & tech's pursuit of eternal life

religious people. These have been hermits or mystics or monks who have willingly taken on a particular kind of life in order to focus on the hereafter. And what interests me, if let's assume Brian Johnson is in good faith here, is that the

It's Been a Minute
The "priest of AI" & tech's pursuit of eternal life

What does it look like to want to have a life that is focused on the ultimate form of transcendence, a life that is focused on, you know, what you believe to be God, if you don't believe in a transcendent higher power? And I think what Brian Johnson is doing or claims to be doing is kind of serving as a model for what it might look like to basically be a priest in the religion of AI.

It's Been a Minute
The "priest of AI" & tech's pursuit of eternal life

What does it look like to want to have a life that is focused on the ultimate form of transcendence, a life that is focused on, you know, what you believe to be God, if you don't believe in a transcendent higher power? And I think what Brian Johnson is doing or claims to be doing is kind of serving as a model for what it might look like to basically be a priest in the religion of AI.

It's Been a Minute
The "priest of AI" & tech's pursuit of eternal life

What does it look like to want to have a life that is focused on the ultimate form of transcendence, a life that is focused on, you know, what you believe to be God, if you don't believe in a transcendent higher power? And I think what Brian Johnson is doing or claims to be doing is kind of serving as a model for what it might look like to basically be a priest in the religion of AI.

It's Been a Minute
The "priest of AI" & tech's pursuit of eternal life

the kinds of high-level interventions Brian Johnson is doing are not really accessible to most people. But I think I don't necessarily see a strong distinction between what he's doing and two different subcultures, one of which is the wellness subculture, which is usually more sort of traditionally female-coded, I'd say, and life optimization or life hacking, which is often coded as masculine.

It's Been a Minute
The "priest of AI" & tech's pursuit of eternal life

the kinds of high-level interventions Brian Johnson is doing are not really accessible to most people. But I think I don't necessarily see a strong distinction between what he's doing and two different subcultures, one of which is the wellness subculture, which is usually more sort of traditionally female-coded, I'd say, and life optimization or life hacking, which is often coded as masculine.

It's Been a Minute
The "priest of AI" & tech's pursuit of eternal life

the kinds of high-level interventions Brian Johnson is doing are not really accessible to most people. But I think I don't necessarily see a strong distinction between what he's doing and two different subcultures, one of which is the wellness subculture, which is usually more sort of traditionally female-coded, I'd say, and life optimization or life hacking, which is often coded as masculine.

It's Been a Minute
The "priest of AI" & tech's pursuit of eternal life

I think we're seeing... this proliferation of the idea that we owe it to ourselves to be our best selves, not necessarily morally, but in terms of how much work you put into self-improvement. You are earning your worth or proving your worth by constantly working on yourself.

It's Been a Minute
The "priest of AI" & tech's pursuit of eternal life

I think we're seeing... this proliferation of the idea that we owe it to ourselves to be our best selves, not necessarily morally, but in terms of how much work you put into self-improvement. You are earning your worth or proving your worth by constantly working on yourself.

It's Been a Minute
The "priest of AI" & tech's pursuit of eternal life

I think we're seeing... this proliferation of the idea that we owe it to ourselves to be our best selves, not necessarily morally, but in terms of how much work you put into self-improvement. You are earning your worth or proving your worth by constantly working on yourself.

It's Been a Minute
The "priest of AI" & tech's pursuit of eternal life

Thank you for having us. Thank you.

It's Been a Minute
The "priest of AI" & tech's pursuit of eternal life

Thank you for having us. Thank you.

It's Been a Minute
The "priest of AI" & tech's pursuit of eternal life

Thank you for having us. Thank you.