Episode · Modern Wisdom · 2021-03-06
Books mentioned on What Happens If Robots Automate The World? - John Danaher - #291
John Danaher is an author and a lecturer at the National University of Ireland. Having a job is valorised in modern society.
John Danaher discussed The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt, Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, Seveneves by Neal Stephenson, Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari, Hedonistic Imperative, and The Alignment Problem by Brian Christian. Chris Williamson discussed The Precipice by Toby Ord.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The Happiness Hypothesis
The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt is a popular psychology book that explores ancient wisdom through the lens of modern scientific research.
Discussed“i'm just about to finish the happiness hypothesis by jonathan haye and he finishes the book um by contesting the happiness comes from within uh buddhist claim”
Where to get it
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Snow Crash
Neal Stephenson's groundbreaking cyberpunk novel Snow Crash immerses readers in a chaotic future America defined by corporate franchising, hyper-inflation, and a virtual reality network known as the Metaverse.
Discussed“this was my favorite example is the neil stevenson book snow crash and if anyone's ever read that about the metaverse i've tried”
Where to get it
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Seveneves
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson is an epic science fiction novel that begins with the cataclysmic destruction of the moon and follows humanity's desperate efforts to preserve civilization in space.
Discussed“did you um did you try seven eaves i did so that that's probably i'm at a similar point with 70s”
Where to get it
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Sapiens
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari is a sweeping exploration of how Homo sapiens evolved, dominated the planet, and constructed complex imaginary orders like religion, money, and nations.
Discussed“that he actually made it in a very short op-ed in the guardian a few years ago but it's a it's a major theme of both of his first two books sapiens and homodes that what is distinctive about human civilization is that we use our imaginations”
Where to get it
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Homo Deus
Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari explores the future of humankind, charting how societies might evolve and addressing the rise of artificial intelligence and transhumanism.
Discussed“that he actually made it in a very short op-ed in the guardian a few years ago but it's a it's a major theme of both of his first two books sapiens and homodes that what is distinctive about human civilization is that we use our imaginations”
Where to get it
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Hedonistic Imperative
Discussed“his book the hedonistic imperative which i believe you can access the entire text of it online it was written back in the 90s i believe”
Where to get it
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The Alignment Problem
The Alignment Problem by Brian Christian explores the complex challenges of ensuring that artificial intelligence systems act in accordance with human values and intentions.
Discussed“the alignment problem um book yeah yeah i just i just purchased that i haven't read it yet”
Where to get it
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The Precipice
The Precipice by Toby Ord is an influential examination of existential risks and the long-term future of humanity written by a researcher at Oxford's Future of Humanity Institute.
Discussed“i mean dude i got i thought i knew existential risk and i read uh toby odds the precipice last year and that that book made me fully [ __ ] myself”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (5) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“before we get started there is a very famous brazilian jiu jitsu teacher who shares your name”
“So we're going to talk about this book that i wrote a couple years ago on automation and utopia which is kind of a very you know abstract philosophical look at the meaning of life in a post-work world”
“so we're going to talk about this book that i wrote a couple years ago on automation and utopia which is kind of a very you know abstract philosophical look at the meaning of life in a post-work world”
“i know i've been talking about the previous book that i did but i actually i'm a co-author on a a new book which looks at a lot of these themes it's called um i actually have it here”
“i actually i'm a co-author on a a new book which looks at a lot of these themes... called the a citizen's guide to artificial intelligence which looks like that out now”