Episode · Interesting Times · 2026-10-01
Books mentioned on Silicon Valley’s Favorite Prophet Has a New Warning | Interesting Times
Nick Bostrom rose to prominence for predicting artificial intelligence doom more than a decade ago — garnering support from figures like Elon Musk, Sam Altman and Bill Gates. But now he’s retreating from those warnings, focusing his attention on a more complex question: What if A.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Superintelligence
Superintelligence by Nick Bostrom is a non-fiction exploration of the potential risks and outcomes associated with the emergence of artificial intelligence surpassing human cognitive capabilities.
Discussed“And so back when I started working on the first book, “Superintelligence,” I began writing on that in 2008.”
Where to get it
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Deep Utopia
Deep Utopia by Nick Bostrom is a philosophical exploration of potential positive futures and optimal scenarios for humanity in an advanced technological age characterized by artificial intelligence.
Discussed“A cheerier subject may be you’ve been writing since at least 2024. Your book, deep utopia, is about the scenarios we can hope for the optimal setup.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (1) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
Passing Superintelligence
“He was way ahead of the curve with his book “Superintelligence,” and warning about some of the most catastrophic scenarios that could emerge.”