Lex Fridman Podcast

#240 – Neal Stephenson: Sci-Fi, Space, Aliens, AI, VR & the Future of Humanity

11.11.2021 - By Lex FridmanPlay

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Neal Stephenson is a sci-fi writer (Snow Crash, Cryptonomicon, and new book Termination Shock), former Chief Futurist at Magic Leap and first employee of Blue Origin. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:

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EPISODE LINKS:

Neal's Twitter: https://twitter.com/nealstephenson

Neal's Website: https://www.nealstephenson.com/

Termination Shock (book): https://amzn.to/3HhmDKi

Snow Crash (book): https://amzn.to/3H7yFFW

Cryptonomicon (book): https://amzn.to/3C01HDF

The Diamond Age (book): https://amzn.to/3wxUF83

Seveneves (book): https://amzn.to/3kkhveg

The Baroque Cycle, Vol. 1 (book): https://amzn.to/3koMW7n

Innovation Starvation (article): https://bit.ly/3mYLSJ2

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OUTLINE:

Here's the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.

(00:00) - Introduction

(08:34) - WWII and human nature

(17:20) - Search engine morality

(21:58) - Space exploration

(38:59) - Aliens and UFOs

(47:21) - SpaceX and Blue Origin

(54:43) - Social media

(59:11) - Climate change

(1:11:00) - Consequences of big ideas

(1:15:42) - Virtual reality

(1:38:50) - Artificial intelligence

(1:53:49) - Cryptocurrency

(2:06:26) - Writing, storytelling, and books

(2:29:05) - Martial arts

(2:38:23) - Final thoughts

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