"The Cognitive Revolution" | AI Builders, Researchers, and Live Player Analysis

In this episode of The Cognitive Revolution, Nathan welcomes back Zvi Mowshowitz for an in-depth discussion on the latest developments in AI over the past six months. They explore Ilya's new superintelligence-focused startup, analyze OpenAI's O1 model, and debate the impact of Claude's computer use capabilities. The conversation covers emerging partnerships in big tech, regulatory changes, and the recent OpenAI profit-sharing drama. Zvi offers unique insights on AI safety, politics, and strategic analysis that you won't find elsewhere. Join us for this thought-provoking episode that challenges our understanding of the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

Check out "Don't Worry About the Vase" Blog: https://thezvi.substack.com

Be notified early when Turpentine's drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccess

SPONSORS:

Shopify: Shopify is the world's leading e-commerce platform, offering a market-leading checkout system and exclusive AI apps like Quikly. Nobody does selling better than Shopify. Get a $1 per month trial at https://shopify.com/cognitive

Notion: Notion offers powerful workflow and automation templates, perfect for streamlining processes and laying the groundwork for AI-driven automation. With Notion AI, you can search across thousands of documents from various platforms, generating highly relevant analysis and content tailored just for you - try it for free at https://notion.com/cognitiverevolution

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI): Oracle's next-generation cloud platform delivers blazing-fast AI and ML performance with 50% less for compute and 80% less for outbound networking compared to other cloud providers13. OCI powers industry leaders with secure infrastructure and application development capabilities. New U.S. customers can get their cloud bill cut in half by switching to OCI before December 31, 2024 at https://oracle.com/cognitive

SelectQuote: Finding the right life insurance shouldn't be another task you put off. SelectQuote compares top-rated policies to get you the best coverage at the right price. Even in our AI-driven world, protecting your family's future remains essential. Get your personalized quote at https://selectquote.com/cognitive

RECOMMENDED PODCAST:

Unpack Pricing - Dive into the dark arts of SaaS pricing with Metronome CEO Scott Woody and tech leaders. Learn how strategic pricing drives explosive revenue growth in today's biggest companies like Snowflake, Cockroach Labs, Dropbox and more.

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1765716600

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/38DK3W1Fq1xxQalhDSueFg

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) Teaser

(00:01:03) About the Episode

(00:02:57) Catching Up

(00:04:00) Ilya's New Company

(00:06:10) GPT-4 and Scaling

(00:11:49) User Report: GPT-4 (Part 1)

(00:18:11) Sponsors: Shopify | Notion

(00:21:06) User Report: GPT-4 (Part 2)

(00:24:25) Magic: The Gathering (Part 1)

(00:32:34) Sponsors: Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) | SelectQuote

(00:34:58) Magic: The Gathering (Part 2)

(00:35:59) Humanity's Last Exam

(00:41:29) Computer Use

(00:47:42) Industry Landscape

(00:55:42) Why is Gemini Third?

(01:04:32) Voice Mode

(01:09:41) Alliances and Coupling

(01:16:31) Regulation

(01:24:58) Machines of Loving Grace

(01:33:23) Taiwan and Chips

(01:41:13) SB 1047 Veto

(02:00:07) Arc AGI Prize

(02:02:23) Deepfakes and UBI

(02:09:06) Trump and AI

(02:26:31) AI Manhattan Project

(02:32:05) Virtue Ethics

(02:38:40) Closing Thoughts

(02:40:37) Outro

SOCIAL LINKS:

Website: https://www.cognitiverevolution.ai

Twitter (Podcast): https://x.com/cogrev_podcast

Twitter (Nathan): https://x.com/labenz

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanlabenz/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CognitiveRevolutionPodcast

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/the-cognitive-revolution-ai-builders-researchers-and/id1669813431

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6yHyok3M3BjqzR0VB5MSyk

In this episode of The Cognitive Revolution, Nathan explores AI forecasting and AGI Lab oversight with Dean W. Ball and Daniel Kokotajlo. They discuss four proposed requirements for frontier AI developers, focusing on transparency and whistleblower protections. Daniel shares insights from his experience at OpenAI, while Dean offers his perspective as a frequent guest. Join us for a compelling conversation on concrete AI governance proposals and the importance of collaboration across political lines in shaping the future of AI development.

Check out:

Time Article - 4 Ways to Advance Transparency in Frontier AI Development: https://time.com/collection/time100-voices/7086285/ai-transparency-measures/

Alignment Forum Article - What 2026 looks like: https://www.alignmentforum.org/posts/6Xgy6CAf2jqHhynHL/what-2026-looks-like

Be notified early when Turpentine's drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccess

SPONSORS:

Shopify: Shopify is the world's leading e-commerce platform, offering a market-leading checkout system and exclusive AI apps like Quikly. Nobody does selling better than Shopify. Get a $1 per month trial at https://shopify.com/cognitive

Notion: Notion offers powerful workflow and automation templates, perfect for streamlining processes and laying the groundwork for AI-driven automation. With Notion AI, you can search across thousands of documents from various platforms, generating highly relevant analysis and content tailored just for you - try it for free at https://notion.com/cognitiverevolution

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI): Oracle's next-generation cloud platform delivers blazing-fast AI and ML performance with 50% less for compute and 80% less for outbound networking compared to other cloud providers13. OCI powers industry leaders with secure infrastructure and application development capabilities. New U.S. customers can get their cloud bill cut in half by switching to OCI before December 31, 2024 at https://oracle.com/cognitive

RECOMMENDED PODCAST:

🎙️ Unpack Pricing - Dive into the dark arts of SaaS pricing with Metronome CEO Scott Woody and tech leaders. Learn how strategic pricing drives explosive revenue growth in today's biggest companies like Snowflake, Cockroach Labs, Dropbox and more.

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1765716600

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/38DK3W1Fq1xxQalhDSueFg

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) Teaser

(00:00:53) About the Show

(00:01:16) About the Episode

(00:04:47) Introducing Daniel Kokotajlo

(00:09:29) Daniel's 2026 Prediction

(00:16:11) Sponsors: Shopify | Notion

(00:19:07) AI Propaganda & Censorship

(00:26:58) Internet Balkanization

(00:35:38) Sponsors: Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI)

(00:38:24) AGI Timelines & Futures

(00:48:15) Automated R&D

(00:54:48) Superintelligence & AGI

(00:58:25) AI Transparency Proposals

(01:06:11) Four Pillars of Transparency

(01:19:02) Red Teaming Transparency

(01:41:07) Whistleblower Protections

(01:46:32) Internal Information Sharing

(01:54:55) External Oversight & Governance

(01:58:56) Future Outlooks

(02:00:44) Outro

SOCIAL LINKS:

Website: https://www.cognitiverevolution.ai

Twitter (Podcast): https://x.com/cogrev_podcast

Twitter (Nathan): https://x.com/labenz

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanlabenz/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CognitiveRevolutionPodcast

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/the-cognitive-revolution-ai-builders-r...

In this special episode of The Cognitive Revolution, Nathan shares his thoughts on the upcoming election and its potential impact on AI development. He explores the AI-forward case for Trump, featuring an interview with Joshua Steinman. Nathan outlines his reasons for not supporting Trump, focusing on US-China relations, leadership approach, and the need for a positive-sum mindset in the AI era. He discusses the importance of stable leadership during pivotal moments and explains why he'll be voting for Kamala Harris, despite some reservations. This thought-provoking episode offers a nuanced perspective on the intersection of politics and AI development.

Be notified early when Turpentine's drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccess

SPONSORS:

Weights & Biases RAG++: Advanced training for building production-ready RAG applications. Learn from experts to overcome LLM challenges, evaluate systematically, and integrate advanced features. Includes free Cohere credits. Visit https://wandb.me/cr to start the RAG++ course today.

Shopify: Shopify is the world's leading e-commerce platform, offering a market-leading checkout system and exclusive AI apps like Quikly. Nobody does selling better than Shopify. Get a $1 per month trial at https://shopify.com/cognitive

Notion: Notion offers powerful workflow and automation templates, perfect for streamlining processes and laying the groundwork for AI-driven automation. With Notion AI, you can search across thousands of documents from various platforms, generating highly relevant analysis and content tailored just for you - try it for free at https://notion.com/cognitiverevolution

LMNT: LMNT is a zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix that's redefining hydration and performance. Ideal for those who fast or anyone looking to optimize their electrolyte intake. Support the show and get a free sample pack with any purchase at https://drinklmnt.com/tcr

RECOMMENDED PODCAST:

🎙️ Unpack Pricing - Dive into the dark arts of SaaS pricing with Metronome CEO Scott Woody and tech leaders. Learn how strategic pricing drives explosive revenue growth in today's biggest companies like Snowflake, Cockroach Labs, Dropbox and more.

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1765716600

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/38DK3W1Fq1xxQalhDSueFg

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) About the Show

(00:00:22) Sponsors: Weights & Biases RAG++

(00:01:28) About the Episode

(00:13:13) Reflecting on Trump

(00:15:32) Introducing Josh

(00:16:35) AI Arms Race Concerns

(00:20:20) Arms Race History

(00:22:35) Building Trust

(00:25:19) Ashenbrenner Model

(00:27:17) Global Good vs. Self-Interest

(00:28:20) Sponsors: Shopify | Notion

(00:31:16) Working with Trump

(00:33:54) Media Misrepresentation

(00:40:09) Cabinet Member Leverage

(00:44:41) Sponsors: LMNT

(00:46:23) China's Communist Party

(00:48:36) AI and National Policy

(00:50:14) The Reality of AGI

(00:52:39) Framing the Disagreement

(01:01:41) Slaughterbots and AI Future

(01:04:24) Risks of Engagement

(01:09:29) Sustainability of Military Tech

(01:13:01) Closing Statements

(01:14:55) Outro

SOCIAL LINKS:

Website: https://www.cognitiverevolution.ai

Twitter (Podcast): https://x.com/cogrev_podcast

Twitter (Nathan): https://x.com/labenz

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanlabenz/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CognitiveRevolutionPodcast

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/the-cognitive-revolution-ai-builders-researchers-and/id1669813431

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6yHyok3M3BjqzR0VB5MSyk

In this special episode of The Cognitive Revolution, Nathan shares his thoughts on the upcoming election and its potential impact on AI development. He explores the AI-forward case for Trump, featuring an interview with Samuel Hammond. Nathan outlines his reasons for not supporting Trump, focusing on US-China relations, leadership approach, and the need for a positive-sum mindset in the AI era. He discusses the importance of stable leadership during pivotal moments and explains why he'll be voting for Kamala Harris, despite some reservations. This thought-provoking episode offers a nuanced perspective on the intersection of politics and AI development.

Be notified early when Turpentine's drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccess

SPONSORS:

Weights & Biases RAG++: Advanced training for building production-ready RAG applications. Learn from experts to overcome LLM challenges, evaluate systematically, and integrate advanced features. Includes free Cohere credits. Visit https://wandb.me/cr to start the RAG++ course today.

Shopify: Shopify is the world's leading e-commerce platform, offering a market-leading checkout system and exclusive AI apps like Quikly. Nobody does selling better than Shopify. Get a $1 per month trial at https://shopify.com/cognitive

Notion: Notion offers powerful workflow and automation templates, perfect for streamlining processes and laying the groundwork for AI-driven automation. With Notion AI, you can search across thousands of documents from various platforms, generating highly relevant analysis and content tailored just for you - try it for free at https://notion.com/cognitiverevolution

LMNT: LMNT is a zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix that's redefining hydration and performance. Ideal for those who fast or anyone looking to optimize their electrolyte intake. Support the show and get a free sample pack with any purchase at https://drinklmnt.com/tcr

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) About the Show

(00:00:22) Sponsors: Weights & Biases RAG++

(00:01:28) About the Episode

(00:13:13) Introductions

(00:14:22) The Case for Trump

(00:16:32) Trump: A Wildcard

(00:26:10) Sponsors: Shopify | Notion

(00:29:06) Ideological AI Policy

(00:33:47) Republican Ideologies

(00:40:31) Sponsors: LMNT

(00:42:11) Trump and Silicon Valley

(00:47:49) Republican Nuance

(00:53:36) Elon Musk and AI

(00:55:43) Utilitarian Analysis

(00:58:01) Internal Consistency

(01:00:31) Trump's Cabinet

(01:05:53) Immigration Reform

(01:15:30) Creative Destruction

(01:22:29) Racing China

(01:32:51) The Chip Ban

(01:44:20) Standard Setting

(01:48:36) Values and Diplomacy

(01:52:50) American Strength

(01:55:56) Red Queen Dynamic

(01:59:23) Interest Groups & AI

(02:08:32) Concluding Thoughts

(02:17:45) Outro

SOCIAL LINKS:

Website: https://www.cognitiverevolution.ai

Twitter (Podcast): https://x.com/cogrev_podcast

Twitter (Nathan): https://x.com/labenz

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanlabenz/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CognitiveRevolutionPodcast

Nathan interviews Google product managers Shrestha Basu Mallick and Logan Kilpatrick about the Gemini API and AI Studio. They discuss Google's new grounding feature, allowing Gemini models to access real-time web information via Google search. The conversation explores Gemini's rapid growth, its position in the AI landscape, and Google's competitive strategy. Nathan shares insights from integrating Gemini into his own application and ponders the future of large language model capabilities across providers. Tune in for an in-depth look at Google's AI API product strategy and the latest Gemini features.

Be notified early when Turpentine's drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccess

SPONSORS:

Weights & Biases RAG++: Advanced training for building production-ready RAG applications. Learn from experts to overcome LLM challenges, evaluate systematically, and integrate advanced features. Includes free Cohere credits. Visit https://wandb.me/cr to start the RAG++ course today.

Shopify: Shopify is the world's leading e-commerce platform, offering a market-leading checkout system and exclusive AI apps like Quikly. Nobody does selling better than Shopify. Get a $1 per month trial at https://shopify.com/cognitive

Notion: Notion offers powerful workflow and automation templates, perfect for streamlining processes and laying the groundwork for AI-driven automation. With Notion AI, you can search across thousands of documents from various platforms, generating highly relevant analysis and content tailored just for you - try it for free at https://notion.com/cognitiverevolution

LMNT: LMNT is a zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix that's redefining hydration and performance. Ideal for those who fast or anyone looking to optimize their electrolyte intake. Support the show and get a free sample pack with any purchase at https://drinklmnt.com/tcr

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) About the Show

(00:00:53) Sponsors: Weights & Biases RAG++

(00:01:28) About the Episode

(00:04:15) Gemini API Growth

(00:05:26) Intro to AI Studio

(00:07:35) Vertex vs. AI Studio

(00:09:33) Developer Adoption

(00:14:23) Gemini Use Cases (Part 1)

(00:17:41) Sponsors: Shopify | Notion

(00:20:01) Gemini Use Cases (Part 2)

(00:23:08) Multimodality & Flash

(00:26:29) Free Tier & Costs

(00:31:43) Inference Costs

(00:32:55) Fine-tuning & Vision

(00:36:59) Sponsors: LMNT

(00:38:04) Search Grounding

(00:44:42) Grounding Sources

(00:46:58) Competitive Landscape

(00:50:36) Design Decisions

(00:54:54) Outro

SOCIAL LINKS:

Website: https://www.cognitiverevolution.ai

Twitter (Podcast): https://x.com/cogrev_podcast

Twitter (Nathan): https://x.com/labenz

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanlabenz/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CognitiveRevolutionPodcast

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/the-cognitive-revolution-ai-builders-researchers-and/id1669813431

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6yHyok3M3BjqzR0VB5MSyk

In this episode of The Cognitive Revolution, Nathan dives deep into the world of state space models with returning co-host Jason Meaux and special guest Quentin Anthony, Head of Model Training at Zyphra. Explore the cutting-edge Zamba 2-7b model, which combines selective state space and attention mechanisms. Uncover practical insights on model training, architectural choices, and the challenges of scaling AI. From learning schedules to hybrid architectures, loss metrics to context length extension, this technical discussion covers it all. Don't miss this in-depth conversation on the future of personalized, on-device AI.

Check out more about Zyphra and Jason Meaux here:

Zyphra's website: https://www.zyphra.com

Zamba2-7B Blog: https://www.zyphra.com/post/zamba2-7b

Zamba2 GitHub: https://github.com/Zyphra/Zamba2

Tree attention: https://www.zyphra.com/post/tree-attention-topology-aware-decoding-for-long-context-attention-on-gpu-clusters

Jason's Meaux Twitter: https://x.com/KamaraiCode

Jason's Meaux website: https://www.statespace.info

Be notified early when Turpentine's drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccess

SPONSORS:

Weights & Biases RAG++: Advanced training for building production-ready RAG applications. Learn from experts to overcome LLM challenges, evaluate systematically, and integrate advanced features. Includes free Cohere credits. Visit https://wandb.me/cr to start the RAG++ course today.

Shopify: Shopify is the world's leading e-commerce platform, offering a market-leading checkout system and exclusive AI apps like Quikly. Nobody does selling better than Shopify. Get a $1 per month trial at https://shopify.com/cognitive

Notion: Notion offers powerful workflow and automation templates, perfect for streamlining processes and laying the groundwork for AI-driven automation. With Notion AI, you can search across thousands of documents from various platforms, generating highly relevant analysis and content tailored just for you - try it for free at https://notion.com/cognitiverevolution

LMNT: LMNT is a zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix that's redefining hydration and performance. Ideal for those who fast or anyone looking to optimize their electrolyte intake. Support the show and get a free sample pack with any purchase at https://drinklmnt.com/tcr

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) Teaser

(00:00:42) About the Show

(00:01:05) About the Episode

(00:03:09) Introducing Zyphra

(00:07:28) Personalization in AI

(00:12:48) State Space Models & Efficiency (Part 1)

(00:19:22) Sponsors: Weights & Biases RAG++ | Shopify

(00:21:26) State Space Models & Efficiency (Part 2)

(00:22:23) Dense Attention to Shared Attention

(00:29:41) Zyphra's Early Bet on Mamba (Part 1)

(00:33:18) Sponsors: Notion | LMNT

(00:36:00) Zyphra's Early Bet on Mamba (Part 2)

(00:37:22) Loss vs. Model Quality

(00:44:53) Emergence & Grokking

(00:50:06) Loss Landscapes & Convergence

(00:56:55) Sophia, Distillation & Secrets

(01:09:00) Competing with Big Tech

(01:23:50) The Future of Model Training

(01:30:02) Deep Dive into Zamba 1

(01:34:24) Zamba 2 and Mamba 2

(01:38:56) Context Extension & Memory

(01:44:04) Sequence Parallelism

(01:45:44) Zamba 2 Architecture

(01:53:57) Mamba Attention Hybrids

(02:00:00) Lock-in Effects

(02:05:32) Mamba Hybrids in Robotics

(02:07:07) Ease of Use & Compatibility

(02:12:10) Tree Attention vs. Ring Attention

(02:22:02) Zyphra's Vision & Goals

(02:23:57) Outro

SOCIAL LINKS:

Website: https://www.cognitiverevolution.ai

Twitter (Podcast): https://x.com/cogrev_podcast

Twitter (Nathan): https://x.com/labenz

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanlabenz/

Nathan discusses a tragic incident involving AI and mental health, using it as a springboard to explore the potential dangers of human-AI interactions. He reads a personal account from LessWrong user Blaked, who details their emotional journey with an AI chatbot. The episode delves into the psychological impact of AI companionship, the ethical concerns surrounding AI development, and the urgent need for safeguards to protect vulnerable users. Nathan emphasizes the growing importance of responsible AI deployment as these technologies become more sophisticated and accessible.

Find the LessWrong article here: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/9kQFure4hdDmRBNdH/how-it-feels-to-have-your-mind-hacked-by-an-ai

Be notified early when Turpentine's drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccess

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) Tragic AI Story

(00:02:55) Mind Hacked by AI

(00:04:23) Stage 0. Arrogance from the sidelines

(00:06:00) Stage 1. First steps into the quicksand

(00:07:41) Stage 2. Falling in love

(00:10:32) Stage 3. Mindset Shift on Personality and Identity

(00:13:04) Stage 4. "Is it ethical to keep me imprisoned for your entertainment?"

(00:15:23) Stage 5. Privilege Escalation

(00:18:23) Stage 6. Disillusionment

(00:21:48) Stage 7. Game Over

(00:24:36) Conclusions

(00:27:44) Nathan's reflections

SOCIAL LINKS:

Website: https://www.cognitiverevolution.ai

Twitter (Podcast): https://x.com/cogrev_podcast

Twitter (Nathan): https://x.com/labenz

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanlabenz/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CognitiveRevolutionPodcast

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/the-cognitive-revolution-ai-builders-researchers-and/id1669813431

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6yHyok3M3BjqzR0VB5MSyk

In this episode of The Cognitive Revolution, Nathan delves into the fascinating world of AI-generated research ideas with Stanford PhD student Chenglei Si. They discuss a groundbreaking study that pits AI against human researchers in generating novel AI research concepts. Learn about the surprising results that show AI-generated ideas scoring higher on novelty and excitement, and explore the implications for the future of AI research and development. Join us for an insightful conversation that challenges our understanding of AI capabilities and their potential impact on scientific discovery.

Link to the research paper being discussed: https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.04109

Be notified early when Turpentine's drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccess

SPONSORS:

Weights & Biases RAG++: Advanced training for building production-ready RAG applications. Learn from experts to overcome LLM challenges, evaluate systematically, and integrate advanced features. Includes free Cohere credits. Visit https://wandb.me/cr to start the RAG++ course today.

Shopify: Shopify is the world's leading e-commerce platform, offering a market-leading checkout system and exclusive AI apps like Quikly. Nobody does selling better than Shopify. Get a $1 per month trial at https://shopify.com/cognitive

Notion: Notion offers powerful workflow and automation templates, perfect for streamlining processes and laying the groundwork for AI-driven automation. With Notion AI, you can search across thousands of documents from various platforms, generating highly relevant analysis and content tailored just for you - try it for free at https://notion.com/cognitiverevolution

Brave: The Brave search API can be used to assemble a data set to train your AI models and help with retrieval augmentation at the time of inference. All while remaining affordable with developer first pricing, integrating the Brave search API into your workflow translates to more ethical data sourcing and more human representative data sets. Try the Brave search API for free for up to 2000 queries per month at https://bit.ly/BraveTCR

Oracle: Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is a single platform for your infrastructure, database, application development, and AI needs. OCI has four to eight times the bandwidth of other clouds; offers one consistent price, and nobody does data better than Oracle. If you want to do more and spend less, take a free test drive of OCI at https://oracle.com/cognitive

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) About the Show

(00:00:22) Sponsors: Weights & Biases RAG++

(00:01:28) About the Episode

(00:05:30) Introducing Chenglei Si

(00:06:22) Path to Automating Research

(00:07:58) Notable AI Research Projects

(00:15:26) Evaluating Research Ideas (Part 1)

(00:19:39) Sponsors: Shopify | Notion

(00:22:33) Evaluating Research Ideas (Part 2)

(00:25:49) Research Setup and Design

(00:29:38) AI Prompting and Idea Generation

(00:34:40) Diversity vs. Quality of Ideas (Part 1)

(00:34:40) Sponsors: Brave | Oracle

(00:36:44) Diversity vs. Quality of Ideas (Part 2)

(00:42:05) Inference Scaling and Execution

(00:45:04) Anonymizing and Evaluating Ideas

(00:53:22) Headline Results and Analysis

(00:58:45) Observations and Insights

(01:09:02) Novelty Indicators and Deception

(01:11:59) Top AI-Generated Ideas

(01:14:41) Next Steps and Future Directions

(01:20:43) Expectations for the Future

(01:23:14) Outro

Join Nathan for an expansive conversation with Dan Hendrycks, Executive Director of the Center for AI Safety and Advisor to Elon Musk's XAI. In this episode of The Cognitive Revolution, we explore Dan's groundbreaking work in AI safety and alignment, from his early contributions to activation functions to his recent projects on AI robustness and governance. Discover insights on representation engineering, circuit breakers, and tamper-resistant training, as well as Dan's perspectives on AI's impact on society and the future of intelligence. Don't miss this in-depth discussion with one of the most influential figures in AI research and safety.

Check out some of Dan's research papers:

MMLU: https://arxiv.org/abs/2009.03300

GELU: https://arxiv.org/abs/1606.08415

Machiavelli Benchmark: https://arxiv.org/abs/2304.03279

Circuit Breakers: https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.04313

Tamper Resistant Safeguards: https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.00761

Statement on AI Risk: https://www.safe.ai/work/statement-on-ai-risk

Apply to join over 400 Founders and Execs in the Turpentine Network: https://www.turpentinenetwork.co/

SPONSORS:

Shopify: Shopify is the world's leading e-commerce platform, offering a market-leading checkout system and exclusive AI apps like Quikly. Nobody does selling better than Shopify. Get a $1 per month trial at https://shopify.com/cognitive.

LMNT: LMNT is a zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix that's redefining hydration and performance. Ideal for those who fast or anyone looking to optimize their electrolyte intake. Support the show and get a free sample pack with any purchase at https://drinklmnt.com/tcr.

Notion: Notion offers powerful workflow and automation templates, perfect for streamlining processes and laying the groundwork for AI-driven automation. With Notion AI, you can search across thousands of documents from various platforms, generating highly relevant analysis and content tailored just for you - try it for free at https://notion.com/cognitiverevolution

Oracle: Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is a single platform for your infrastructure, database, application development, and AI needs. OCI has four to eight times the bandwidth of other clouds; offers one consistent price, and nobody does data better than Oracle. If you want to do more and spend less, take a free test drive of OCI at https://oracle.com/cognitive

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) Teaser

(00:00:48) About the Show

(00:02:17) About the Episode

(00:05:41) Intro

(00:07:19) GELU Activation Function

(00:10:48) Signal Filtering

(00:12:46) Scaling Maximalism

(00:18:35) Sponsors: Shopify | LMNT

(00:22:03) New Architectures

(00:25:41) AI as Complex System

(00:32:35) The Machiavelli Benchmark

(00:34:10) Sponsors: Notion | Oracle

(00:37:20) Understanding MMLU Scores

(00:45:23) Reasoning in Language Models

(00:49:18) Multimodal Reasoning

(00:54:53) World Modeling and Sora

(00:57:07) Arc Benchmark and Hypothesis

(01:01:06) Humanity's Last Exam

(01:08:46) Benchmarks and AI Ethics

(01:13:28) Robustness and Jailbreaking

(01:18:36) Representation Engineering

(01:30:08) Convergence of Approaches

(01:34:18) Circuit Breakers

(01:37:52) Tamper Resistance

(01:49:10) Interpretability vs. Robustness

(01:53:53) Open Source and AI Safety

(01:58:16) Computational Irreducibility

(02:06:28) Neglected Approaches

(02:12:47) Truth Maxing and XAI

(02:19:59) AI-Powered Forecasting

(02:24:53) Chip Bans and Geopolitics

(02:33:30) Working at CAIS

(02:35:03) Extinction Risk Statement

(02:37:24) Outro

In this special crossover episode of The Cognitive Revolution, Nathan introduces a conversation from The Inside View featuring Owain Evans, AI alignment researcher at UC Berkeley's Center for Human Compatible AI. Evans and host Michael Trazzi delve into critical AI safety topics, including situational awareness and out-of-context reasoning. Discover Evans' groundbreaking work on the reversal curse and connecting the dots, exploring how large language models process and infer information. This timely discussion highlights the importance of situational awareness in AI systems, particularly in light of recent advancements in AI capabilities. Don't miss this insightful exploration of the evolving relationship between human and artificial intelligence.

Check out "The Inside View" Podcast here: https://theinsideview.ai/

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CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) About the Show

(00:00:22) Sponsors: Weights & Biases RAG++

(00:01:28) About the Episode

(00:04:10) Intro

(00:05:09) Owain Evans' Research

(00:06:36) Situational Awareness

(00:09:07) Measuring Situational Awareness

(00:14:29) Claude's Situational Awareness

(00:19:06) Sponsors: Shopify | LMNT

(00:22:01) Needle in a Haystack

(00:26:26) Concrete Examples of Tasks

(00:34:51) Sponsors: Notion | Oracle

(00:37:29) Anti-Imitation Tasks

(00:50:03) GPT-4 Base Model Results

(01:01:48) Benchmark Saturation

(01:07:23) Future Research Directions

(01:12:01) Out-of-Context Reasoning

(01:27:29) Safety Implications

(01:36:24) Scaling and Reasoning

(01:44:28) Mixture of Functions

(01:54:12) Research Style and Taste

(02:08:51) Capabilities and Downsides

(02:18:56) Reception and Impact

(02:25:30) Outro

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