Samo Burja: Intellectuals, Culture, and the Technosphere — Manifold #70
Samo Burja founded Bismarck Analysis, a consulting firm that investigates the political and institutional landscape of society. He is a Senior Research Fellow in Political Science at the Foresight Institute where he advises on how institutions can shape the future of technology. Since 2024, he has chaired the editorial board of Palladium Magazine, a non-partisan publication that explores the future of governance and society through international journalism, long-form analysis, and social philosophy. From 2020 to 2023, he was a Research Fellow at the Long Now Foundation where he studied how institutions can endure for centuries and millennia.
(00:00) - Introduction
(01:38) - Meet Samo Burja: Founder of Bismarck Analysis
(03:17) - Palladium Magazine: A West Coast Publication
(06:37) - The Unique Culture of Silicon Valley
(12:53) - Inside Bismarck Analysis: Services and Clients
(21:35) - The Role of Technology in Global Innovation
(32:13) - The Influence of Rationalists and Effective Altruists
(48:07) - European Tech Policies and Global Competition
(49:28) - The Role of Taiwan and China in Tech Manufacturing
(51:12) - Geopolitical Dynamics and Strategic Alliances
(52:49) - China's Provincial Power and Industrial Strategy
(56:02) - Urbanization and Demography, Ancient Society
(59:41) - Intellectual Pursuits and Cultural Dynamics
(01:04:09) - Intellectuals, SF, and Global Influence
(01:13:45) - Fertility Rates, Urbanization, and Forgotten Migration
(01:22:24) - Interest in Cultural Dynamics and Population Rates
(01:26:03) - Daily Life as an Intellectual
Audio-only version and Transcript:
https://www.manifold1.com/episodes/samo-burja-intellectuals-culture-and-the-technosphere-70
Well, really one of the best manifold I've listened to. It was a deep-dish Bismarckian generalist view.
Steve, you should have been more insisting on where all the data came from. Guess you must have a bunch of people who have knowledge about the real data that you can integrate, otherwise you'll easily get astray.
Maybe you present another Manifold with Phil Tetlock, what he has learned about good forecasters?
In case it matters to anyone for quality-control purposes: poor audio on this one.
That said, I'd long wanted to hear this convo. Thanks very much!