Person
Eliezer Yudkowsky's book recommendations
Key facts
- Eliezer Yudkowsky has recommended or discussed 9 books on podcasts, as of October 25, 2025.
- Eliezer Yudkowsky has talked about books on 4 podcasts, as of October 25, 2025.
- Those books came up in 4 episodes, as of October 25, 2025.
- The 3 books Eliezer Yudkowsky has mentioned in the most episodes, as of October 25, 2025: Nanomedicine, Adaptation and Natural selection..
- The latest episode with a book mention from Eliezer Yudkowsky aired on October 25, 2025.
Updated
Across 4 podcasts. Every show Eliezer Yudkowsky appears on, in one place — not just one.
Eliezer Yudkowsky’s most mentioned books
- Nanomedicine by Robert A. Freitas
- Adaptation by Michael R. Rose
- Natural selection. by Peter Robinson
- Adaptation and Natural Selection by George Christopher Williams
- Engines of Creation by K. Eric Drexler
- Great mambo chicken and the transhuman condition by Ed Regis
- Mind children by Hans Moravec
- Natural Selection by George Christopher Williams
- The transhuman condition by Keith Ansell-Pearson
Eliezer Yudkowsky is an American artificial intelligence researcher and writer on decision theory and ethics, known for popularizing ideas related to friendly artificial intelligence. He is the founder of and a research fellow at the Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI), a private research nonprofit based in Berkeley, California. During podcast appearances, Yudkowsky has discussed and recommended several influential books across evolutionary biology, nanotechnology, and transhumanism. On the Lex Fridman Podcast, he recommended George Christopher Williams's adaptation and natural selection as a foundational text in evolutionary biology, using it to illustrate how alien optimization processes work. In the same conversation, he mentioned reading Ed Regis's Great Mambo Chicken and the Transhuman Condition at around age twelve, describing his early exposure to transhumanist ideas and his perspective on mortality. Discussing molecular nanotechnology on EconTalk and the Modern Wisdom podcast, he referenced Robert A. Freitas's Nanomedicine to explain advanced technical capabilities and basic concepts. Additionally, on the Dwarkesh Podcast, he brought up George Williams's book to demonstrate that optimization criteria do not always yield aesthetically lovely results. Through these recommendations and discussions, Yudkowsky highlights literature that shaped his understanding of science, evolutionary theory, and the theoretical dangers of artificial intelligence.
Books Eliezer Yudkowsky recommended or discussed
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Nanomedicine
Discussed“Robert Fritus Jr., Nan Medicine, Volume One, Basic Capabilities.”
Where to get it
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Adaptation
Recommended“in particular like a a nice book if you've got the time to read it is adaptation and natural selection which is one of the founding books”
Where to get it
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Natural selection.
Recommended“in particular like a a nice book if you've got the time to read it is adaptation and natural selection which is one of the founding books”
Where to get it
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Adaptation and Natural Selection
Discussed“And the Williams Revolution as is sometimes called, is when George Williams wrote Adaptation and Natural Selection, a very influential book. Saying like that is not what this optimization criterion gives you.”
Where to get it
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Engines of Creation
Discussed“I grew up reading books like great Mambo chicken in the transhuman condition and later on engines of creation and mine children um you know like age age 12 or thereabouts”
Where to get it
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Great mambo chicken and the transhuman condition
Discussed“I grew up reading books like great Mambo chicken in the transhuman condition and later on engines of creation and mine children um you know like age age 12 or thereabouts”
Where to get it
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Mind children
Discussed“I grew up reading books like great Mambo chicken in the transhuman condition and later on engines of creation and mine children um you know like age age 12 or thereabouts”
Where to get it
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Natural Selection
Discussed“And the Williams Revolution as is sometimes called, is when George Williams wrote Adaptation and Natural Selection, a very influential book. Saying like that is not what this optimization criterion gives you.”
Where to get it
-
The transhuman condition
Discussed“I grew up reading books like great Mambo chicken in the transhuman condition and later on engines of creation and mine children um you know like age age 12 or thereabouts”
Where to get it
Books by Eliezer Yudkowsky
Appearances
Other mentions (1: passing, ad reads, own books)
“And the whole reason why Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality is popular is because people read it and picked up the rhythm seen in a character’s thoughts of a thing that was not in their schooling system”