80k After Hours

Neuroscientist Anil Seth explains how much we can learn about consciousness by studying the brain in these highlights from our full interview — including:

• Luisa’s intro (00:00:00)
• How our brain interprets reality (00:00:15)
• How our brain experiences our organs (00:04:04)
• What psychedelics teach us about consciousness (00:07:37)
• The physical footprint of consciousness in the brain (00:12:10)
• How to study the neural correlates of consciousness (00:15:37)

This is a selection of highlights from episode #206 of The 80,000 Hours Podcast: Anil Seth on the predictive brain and how to study consciousness. These aren't necessarily the most important, or even most entertaining parts of the interview — so if you enjoy this, we strongly recommend checking out the full episode!

And if you're finding these highlights episodes valuable, please let us know by emailing [email protected].

Highlights put together by Simon Monsour, Milo McGuire, and Dominic Armstrong

Science writer and video blogger Sébastien Moro blows our minds with the latest research on fish consciousness, intelligence, and potential sentience.

This is a selection of highlights from episode #205 of The 80,000 Hours Podcast: Sébastien Moro on the most insane things fish can do. These aren't necessarily the most important, or even most entertaining parts of the interview — so if you enjoy this, we strongly recommend checking out the full episode.

And if you're finding these highlights episodes valuable, please let us know by emailing [email protected].

Highlights:

• Luisa’s intro (00:00:00)
• The ingenious innovations of Atlantic cod (00:00:19)
• The mirror test triumph of cleaner wrasses (00:05:46)
• The astounding accuracy of archerfish (00:10:30)
• The magnificent memory of gobies (00:14:25)
• The tactical teamwork of the grouper and moray eel (00:17:42)
• The remarkable relationships of wild guppies (00:22:01)
• Sébastien's take on fish consciousness (00:26:48)

Highlights put together by Simon Monsour, Milo McGuire, and Dominic Armstrong

Election forecaster Nate Silver gives his takes on: how effective altruism could be better, the stark tradeoffs we faced with COVID, whether the 13 Keys to the White House is "junk science," how to tell whose election predictions are better, and if venture capitalists really take risks.

This is a selection of highlights from episode #204 of The 80,000 Hours Podcast: Nate Silver on making sense of SBF, and his biggest critiques of effective altruism. These aren't necessarily the most important, or even most entertaining parts of the interview — so if you enjoy this, we strongly recommend checking out the full episode.

And if you're finding these highlights episodes valuable, please let us know by emailing [email protected].

Highlights:

• Rob’s intro (00:00:00)
• Is anyone doing better at "doing good better"? (00:00:29)
• Is effective altruism too big to succeed? (00:02:19)
• The stark tradeoffs we faced with COVID (00:06:02)
• The 13 Keys to the White House (00:07:53)
• Can we tell whose election predictions are better? (00:11:40)
• Do venture capitalists really take risks? (00:16:29)

Highlights put together by Simon Monsour, Milo McGuire, and Dominic Armstrong

This is a selection of highlights from our April 2023 episode with host Luisa Rodriguez and producer Keiran Harris on 80k After Hours. These aren't necessarily the most important, or even most entertaining parts of the interview — and if you enjoy this, we strongly recommend checking out the full episode:

Luisa and Keiran on free will, and the consequences of never feeling enduring guilt or shame

And if you're finding these highlights episodes valuable, please let us know by emailing [email protected].

Highlights:

• Keiran’s intro (00:00:00)
• Jerk Syndrome (00:00:53)
• The basic case for free will being an illusion (00:05:10)
• Feeling bad about not being a different person (00:08:29)
• Implications for the criminal justice system (00:10:57)

Highlights put together by Simon Monsour, Milo McGuire, and Dominic Armstrong

This is a selection of highlights from episode #203 of The 80,000 Hours Podcast. These aren't necessarily the most important, or even most entertaining parts of the interview — and if you enjoy this, we strongly recommend checking out the full episode:

Peter Godfrey-Smith on interfering with wild nature, accepting death, and the origin of complex civilisation

And if you're finding these highlights episodes valuable, please let us know by emailing [email protected].

Highlights:

• Luisa’s intro (00:00:00)
• Thinking about death (00:00:24)
• Uploads of ourselves (00:05:32)
• Against intervening in wild nature (00:12:36)
• Eliminating the worst experiences in wild nature (00:16:15)
• To be human or wild animal? (00:21:46)
• Challenges for water-based animals (00:27:38)

Highlights put together by Simon Monsour, Milo McGuire, and Dominic Armstrong

Watch this episode on YouTube! https://youtu.be/yncw2T77OAc

Matt, Bella, and Huon sit down with Conor Barnes to discuss unlikely journeys, EA criticism, discipline, timeless decision theory, and how to do the most good with a degree in classics. 

Check out:

• Conor’s 100 Tips for a Better Life: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/7hFeMWC6Y5eaSixbD/100-tips-for-a-better-life
• Conor’s writing: https://parhelia.conorbarnes.com/
• Zvi on timeless decision theory: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/scwoBEju75C45W5n3/how-i-lost-100-pounds-using-tdt

This is a selection of highlights from episode #202 of The 80,000 Hours Podcast. These aren't necessarily the most important, or even most entertaining parts of the interview — and if you enjoy this, we strongly recommend checking out the full episode:

Venki Ramakrishnan on the cutting edge of anti-ageing science

And if you're finding these highlights episodes valuable, please let us know by emailing [email protected].

Highlights:

• Luisa’s intro (00:00:00)
• Is death an inevitable consequence of evolution? (00:00:15)
• How much additional healthspan will the next 20 to 30 years of ageing research buy us? (00:03:10)
• The social impacts of radical life extension (00:05:46)
• Could increased longevity increase inequality? (00:10:06)
• Does injecting an old body with young blood slow ageing? (00:14:23)
• Freezing cells, organs, and bodies (00:18:35)

Highlights put together by Simon Monsour, Milo McGuire, and Dominic Armstrong

This is a selection of highlights from episode #201 of The 80,000 Hours Podcast. These aren't necessarily the most important, or even most entertaining parts of the interview — and if you enjoy this, we strongly recommend checking out the full episode:

Ken Goldberg on why your robot butler isn’t here yet

And if you're finding these highlights episodes valuable, please let us know by emailing [email protected].

Highlights:

• Luisa’s intro (00:00:00)
• Moravec's paradox (00:00:22)
• Successes in robotics to date (00:03:51)
• Why perception is a big challenge for robotics (00:07:02)
• Why low fault tolerance makes some skills extra hard to automate (00:12:29)
• How might robot labour affect the job market? (00:17:19)

Highlights put together by Simon Monsour, Milo McGuire, and Dominic Armstrong

This is a selection of highlights from episode #200 of The 80,000 Hours Podcast. These aren't necessarily the most important, or even most entertaining parts of the interview — and if you enjoy this, we strongly recommend checking out the full episode:

Ezra Karger on what superforecasters and experts think about existential risks

And if you're finding these highlights episodes valuable, please let us know by emailing [email protected].

Highlights:

• Luisa’s intro (00:00:00)
• Why we need forecasts about existential risks (00:00:26)
• Headline estimates of existential and catastrophic risks (00:02:43)
• What explains disagreements about AI risks? (00:06:18)
• Learning more doesn't resolve disagreements about AI risks (00:08:59)
• A lot of disagreement about AI risks is about when AI will pose risks (00:11:31)
• Cruxes about AI risks (00:15:17)
• Is forecasting actually useful in the real world? (00:18:24)

Highlights put together by Simon Monsour, Milo McGuire, and Dominic Armstrong

This is a selection of highlights from episode #199 of The 80,000 Hours Podcast. These aren't necessarily the most important, or even most entertaining parts of the interview — and if you enjoy this, we strongly recommend checking out the full episode:

Nathan Calvin on California’s AI bill SB 1047 and its potential to shape US AI policy

And if you're finding these highlights episodes valuable, please let us know by emailing [email protected].

Highlights:

• Luisa’s intro (00:00:00)
• Why we can't count on AI companies to self-regulate (00:00:21)
• SB 1047's impact on open source models (00:04:24)
• Why it's not "too early" for AI policies (00:07:54)
• Why working on state-level policy could have an outsized impact (00:11:47)

Highlights put together by Simon Monsour, Milo McGuire, and Dominic Armstrong