13 Comments

Last week, 60 Minutes had an interview with "the Five Eyes" in Silicon Valley. They were there to address tech leaders specifically on what you are talking about. Namely, the serious security hazards of blindly zooming ahead with technology advances without regard or awareness of the potential dangers. Your thoughts are well founded and should be amplified. (The Five Eyes are security leaders from 5 English speaking countries - US, Canada, England, Australia, and New Zealand.)

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Thanks John, I noticed that meeting too. Addressing those issues with China and broader tech hazards has been a long-time coming. I am glad it is getting a coordinated response.

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...is there a full wizard of oz-zing of concepts hiding around here...steelmanning...strawmanning...tinmanning...lioning...slippering...tornadoing...great article bud...echo chambers sounds fun until you find yourself living inside of them...unless i suppose it is all singing glass doing the echos...or dolphins...echoing dolphins are ok...

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Are dolphins still on your mind? ;)

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“The writing has an outsider, adolescent quality rather than something you’d expect from a 50-something billionaire at the center of Silicon Valley’s power structure.”

I’m still laughing about it. I’ve been laughing about it for two days straight. I’m accelerating!

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You nailed it Jeff. The manifesto felt like a reaction to calls for AI pauses. Feels like the whole issue is polarized into two camps: Luddites vs. Accelerationists. Each side is a caricature and impossible. I think the best form of techno optimism is when you can articulate the risks better than anyone, figure out some nuanced solution to avoid them, and then offer a specific why and how to move forward.

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Thanks Michael - totally agree with this: "the best form of techno optimism is when you can articulate the risks better than anyone, figure out some nuanced solution to avoid them, and then offer a specific why and how to move forward"

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Just an excellent article Jeff all the way around. I especially appreciate being introduced to the concept of Steelmanning. Your point of view represents the kind of leadership I'm interesting in following.

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Thanks, Rick, for the kind words

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A wise person once said, “There are no gurus, only cycles”. Andreessen was mostly right when he penned “Why Software is Eating the World” in 2011 and was at the front end of the cycle. It is difficult (impossible) to continue to be at the front end of every cycle. See also, Cathie Wood.

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So true. Andreessen's software-eating-the-world formulation was prescient and powerful. "It's time to build" was not as on point but still inspiring. Seems like he's been moving deeper into his own echo chamber, though perhaps I'm reading too much into it.

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Steelmanning opens you up and makes you vulnerable to the possibility of being overwhelmed by the ideas of the other person. I don’t like that I should be empathetic to an idea. It’s condescending

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You don't think you should try to understand views different than your own? That's all I mean by intellectual empathy.

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