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Sam Alman is back as the CEO of open AI
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following that Whirlwind of chaos last
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week which I think we did a very good
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job covering it um open ai's board is
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getting a major rehaul with nearly all
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of its members replaced not all of them
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though the initial board includes Brett
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Taylor's chairman former treasury
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secretary Larry Summers where did he
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come from and Adam D'Angelo the only
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current board member remaining I
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understand he was quite stubborn about
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that uh Sam appears to be ready to head
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back to work posting on X with the new
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board and with sacha's support I'm
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looking forward to returning to Ai and
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building on our strong partnership with
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Microsoft it was interesting that was
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his first tweet um what how do you look
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at back looking back at it who's the
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winners losers Etc I hate to use that
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reductive a term but it really there
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really a lot was happening here I think
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in the fullness of time that the thing
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that happened here or what I've been
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thinking a lot about is that if you
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think about the initial mission of open
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AI I don't even think it was supposed to
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be a company I think they initially saw
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it as a research institute or a think
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tank that would help that would would
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study and analyze and make
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recommendations around the possibilities
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and more importantly the dangers of AI
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and then they discovered we're really
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good at this and then all of a sudden it
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was a company that became worth $90
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billion so if you look at the
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shareholder side of this and the
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products and the value the economic
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value they create call that capital and
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then you look at the structure and a big
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component of the structure and a big
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part of their mission was to think about
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Humanity or AI in the context of
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humanity so at a very reductive analysis
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you have capital versus humanity and I
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would argue that Capital literally
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literally smothered Humanity in its
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sleep whether you think it was a good
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decision or a bad decision but when
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there was 90 billion in an amazing
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product and the leader in the most
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exciting new technology emerged all that
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fun nice stuff important stuff about
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humanity and the fears of AI that
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got smothered in its sleep I'm not sure
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it got smothered Scott I think it got
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let's put this over and I get it I get
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it I get it it's like let's put this
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over here on the Shelf it'll just be
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very interesting to see how this moment
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ages because if and and it all comes
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back to the same thing for me and that
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is for profit companies are so amazing
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at generating profits they shouldn't be
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trusted to anything else they shouldn't
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be trusted to do anything else Fair what
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are they called social purpose um compan
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companes no private benefit social
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benefit companies ESG investing I think
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it's the ultimate Cheryl San bergian
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move where we're going to pretend that
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capitalism and the market can work
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things out on their own that when people
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buy Patagonia or they buy dolphin
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friendly tuna or they learn about
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transparency or some fake organization
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says that Southwest Airlines is an ESG
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investment it dilutes the need for
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Democratic institutions to regulate
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these organiz organizations I I you
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picked one company who I do think Rous
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convoluted Patagonia I think and I
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think people who buy there buy there I
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think that's a success successful
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version of that but go ahead and so does
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Ben and Jerry's I would argue that
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constitutes less than 0.1% of the market
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yes I would agree the majority of
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research shows around ESG or social
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mining companies they're tiebreakers the
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consumers aren't willing to pay for them
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but they will if they're the exact same
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product at the exact same price they'll
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go with the one that more that doesn't
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you know that lets Dolphins out of its
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Nets or whatever but this is and I I
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think it's a time we come to grips with
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the fact that a lot of this you know
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social benefit organization or ESG jazz
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hands is just that to that point there
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should be an FDA that says when your mom
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rewrites an opinion on a failed drug and
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then takes it public with a spack and
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you sell all of your to run to to
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get a billion dollars maybe there should
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be more government over side I look I I
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worry that I worry that at the end of
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the day we need to democratic
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institutions need to regulate these
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companies and that all these Byzantine
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structures and virtue signaling are
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nothing but a San bergian move to serve
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as a a ma a weapon of mass distraction
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from the fact that for-profit companies
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are this amazing part of capitalism they
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grow they innovate they're full body
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contact so let's get the government in
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there in other words and then let's
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let's tax them at a fair rate and not
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let them take their IP offshore so they
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can avoid taxes and then let's use those
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taxes to hire outstanding people who try
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to prevent a tragedy to the commons and
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regulate these companies yep I agree let
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me ask you a different question though
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is this board structure obviously
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Microsoft is getting a board seat uh sa
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Adella posted about a board changes uh
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noting we believe this is the first
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essential step the path to more stable
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well-informed effective governance he
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kind of that was the shot across the bow
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uh for him and like we're going to be
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watching like we we get I I think a lot
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of people were surprised they didn't
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have a seat uh at all or have even an
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obser observer status I think that was
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he really pulled a pulled the iron out
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of the fire as they say here for of his
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investment in terms of getting this back
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in Sam's hands but he definitely if that
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had not turned out that way it would
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have been very bad for Microsoft as you
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saw on Friday after he was fired that
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they did not have their hands around
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this in the way they needed to um you
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know it'll be interesting to see they
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get a board seat the other women that
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were floated at one point was Lorraine
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poell jobs Marissa mayor cona rice all
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these some of these were rejected
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because they were too close to Sam um
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it'll be interesting to see who they
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bring to the board I sent I put a list
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up to up many many people um there's
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lots of you know I'd put f f Lee on the
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board why not like she's neither a
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Doomer nor a nor a techno Optimist you
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know someone like that who has sort of a
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middle ground sort of like the Supreme
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Court you want something that's a little
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more
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I don't know who is anyone you would
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think should be on the board Larry
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Summers is I don't know where he popped
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out of but sure so who would you bring
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on the board give me some names I I
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haven't thought about there's a lot of
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talented people I would want to bring I
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would absolutely want to bring someone
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who really understands Ai and
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disinformation I think those are the
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biggest threats also Cara that and
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you've said this you said something that
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always really that's really resonated
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with me and that is the people that
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design these Technologies don't put in
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place the protections because they've
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never been victims themselves and again
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we're setting up another technology
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that's being designed by Rich white guys
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who don't understand what it's like to
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be the subject of revenge porn or to
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have your family attacked or feel
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physically physically threatened I think
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it's interesting I think that they you
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know someone who they should have on the
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board a media person to under you know
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like I Barry Diller is too old but the
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lawsuits are on copyright they need a
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media they need a media Barry Diller
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would be great on the board I'd love to
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see a you know I'd love to see a guy
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like Jonathan hey on the board I think
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he just has such a clear blue flame they
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need tech people though too they need
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people understand the technology um they
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can't just have like I I I thought Lisa
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Sue but she's obviously competitor in
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terms of the chips anyway they have to
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be creative here and come up with names
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we have not heard of and I would say
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young and old too right I anyway one of
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the things that's very clear is the
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effective altruism movement something uh
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that the former open AA board members
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were vocal about a loser here they've
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been attacking me all weekend all the
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effective alterist they're not very nice
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people these altruists really what have
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they been saying I don't know any of
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them oh just like you don't understand
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I'm like I I am so not a techno I am so
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not a techno Optimist it's like crazy
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like are are you literally know who
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you're talking to um they think
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obviously AI could destroy mankind they
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favor safety over speed obviously we
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favor safety um it doesn't mean you have
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to be slow but fav safety um uh as I as
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I wrote one of the former board members
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was particularly apocalyptic about AI I
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had heard that from many people um by
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the way Sam bankman freed was also one
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of the big Believers and backers of
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effective altruism someone called
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someone wants to call it ineffective
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altruism it's really gotten a black eye
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a lot of people have written about that
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it's reheated ESG isn't it I guess I
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don't no I think it's a little more
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complex but it's another one of those
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things that pops out of Silicon Valley
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and you're like oh just go take
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psychedelics yeah that we don't need to
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be regulated that we have moved to a
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different era of
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philosophical uh Grandeur where we can
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all still get rich and government
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shouldn't get in the way or am I being
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too reductive well I'm not sure there
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it's that we know what's best it's a
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small group of people who knows what's
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best for the rest of humanity I is
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that's when I whenever I'm with any of
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them I'm like so you're the one that's
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going to decide this I feel like I'd
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rather have the dirty Mass do it right
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like the mass the mob the I I prefer the
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mob over this group and any day of the
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week right like and I don't like the mob
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that much I don't know one of these
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things pops up in Silicon Valley all the
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time I find you know some of some of the
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ideas are good but making it into a
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movement a cult feels really weird
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anyway we'll see what happens we'll see
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maybe you'll get on the board of of or
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I'll get on the board unlikely Cara
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that's just unlikely but thank you
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someone was like Cara should be on the
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board I'm like I would be the go
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candidate before I would get on the
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board of open AI you check a lot of
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boxes I do I would do it you check a lot
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of boxes I do I'd be irritating to them
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they don't know what I'm going to do
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that's the issue I'm not
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controllable
