Jaan Tallinn: AI Risks, Investments, and AGI — Manifold #59

Jaan Tallinn is a billionaire computer programmer and investor. He was a co-founder of Skype, and has invested in companies like DeepMind and Anthropic.

Tallinn is a leading figure in the field of existential risk, having co-founded both the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) at the University of Cambridge, in the United Kingdom and the Future of Life Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States.

Transcript and Audio-only version Steve and Jaan discuss:00:00 Introduction

00:33 Jaan Tallinn: AI Investor

02:03 Acceleration Toward AGI: Excitement and Anxiety

04:29 AI Capabilities and Future Evolution

05:53 AI Safety, Ethics, and the Call for a Moratorium

07:12 Foundation models: Scaling, Synthetic Data, and Integration

13:08 AI and Cybersecurity: Threats and Precautions

26:52 Policy goals and desired outcomes

36:27 Cultural narratives on AI and how they differ globally

39:19 Closing Thoughts and Future Directions

References:

• Jaan’s top priorities for reducing AI extinction risk: https://jaan.info/priorities/

• Previous episode with Jaan: https://www.manifold1.com/episodes/jaan-tallinn-coronavirus-existential-risk-and-ai-42