Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/xOpnvk7XIyE

In this episode, I sit down with Professor Yang Hui-He, a mathematical physicist who is a Fellow at the London Institute for Mathematical Sciences (LIMS) and a lecturer at Merton College, Oxford.

I ask Yang about his work on AI-guided mathematics and whether AI will solve the hardest mathematical problems, the basics of string theory, his career journey, who LIMS are, why he's working in Michael Faraday's apartment, and more!

The Human Podcast explores stories & ideas about being human.

Timestamps

0:00 - Working in Faraday's apartment

3:30 - $1million problems AI could solve

7:38 - Does AI make you sad or excited?

10:54 - What AI can already do

14:57 - What AI struggles with

17:18 - How I became a mathematical physicist

19:57 - AI will replace your calculator

20:40 - What is string theory?

25:33 - Does string theory mess with your mind?

27:24 - Mathematics can literally drive people mad

30:27 - Lecturing at the Royal Institution

33:10 - What is algebraic geometry?

37:20 - What I most love about mathematics

39:47 - Princeton, Cambridge & MIT PhD

42:34 - How I plan years of research

44:14 - Does your work practically matter?

46:19 - One question for a superintelligence

47:53 - What is a good life?

Guest - Yang Hui-He

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/yang-hui-he-22b3ab/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/yanghui.he.9

Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yang-Hui_He

London Institute for Mathematical Sciences (LIMS) - https://lims.ac.uk/

Oxford Physics (Yang) - https://www.physics.ox.ac.uk/our-people/he

LIMS (Yang) - https://lims.ac.uk/yang-hui-he/

Royal Institution Lecture (The Search for a Theory of Everything) - https://youtu.be/llGvkEgXnAQ?si=FYBDjwcd6JsMlYYO

Royal Institution Lecture (How geometry created modern physics) - https://youtu.be/z8jdndd-x7w?si=i_4wdBzUyCawK12j

Royal Institution Lecture (Mathematics: The rise of the machines) - https://youtu.be/oOYcPkBaotg?si=NrAGlzIWitSU9vlo

The Human Podcast

𝕏 - https://twitter.com/heyhumanpodcast

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thehumanpodcastinsta

Support the show - https://buymeacoffee.com/thehumanpodcast

Music License

SyncID - MB01JIHRGHQFBB8

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/MloFCML_Y7E

In this episode, I sit down again with Professor Simon Baron-Cohen of Cambridge University - one of the world's leading psychologists, and author of Zero Degrees of Empathy.

Is evil the best way to explain people who do cruel things? Simon argues that what we call "evil" is actually rooted in low empathy, not some inherent darkness. We explore the science behind empathy, examine the minds of psychopaths, narcissists, and those with borderline personality disorder (BPD), discuss what causes empathy to break down, and explore how we should respond to those behaving badly.

The Human Podcast explores stories & ideas about being human.

Timestamps

0:00 - Do evil people exist?

Watch Previous Episode with Simon: https://youtu.be/fwC1rzgmPtw

Guest - Simon Baron-Cohen

𝕏: https://twitter.com/sbaroncohen

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Baron-Cohen

Zero Degrees of Empathy Book - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zero-Degrees-Empathy-Simon-Baron-Cohen/dp/0141017961

The Science of Evil: On Empathy and the Origins of Cruelty Book - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Science-Evil-Empathy-Origins-Cruelty/dp/0465031420/

Uni of Cambridge Bio - https://www.psychol.cam.ac.uk/people/simon-baron-cohen

Autism Research Centre (ARC) - https://www.autismcentreofexcellence.org

The Human Podcast

𝕏 - https://twitter.com/heyhumanpodcast

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thehumanpodcastinsta

Support the show - https://buymeacoffee.com/thehumanpodcast

Music License

SyncID - MB01JIHRGHQFBB8

WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/qp-41ZOHt94?si=Q9YSFgkrUvqEW4No

Today, I speak to Nick Butter, the first person to ever run a marathon in every single country in the world. I ask about this incredible adventure, what motivates him, another adventure running Britain, his life story, starting a charity, running tips, and more!

The Human Podcast explores the life stories of humans, known and unknown. Subscribe for a new interview every week!

You can donate to Nick's charity, The 196 Foundation, here: https://www.the196foundation.com/

🕒 TIMESTAMPS

0:00 – Intro

0:05 – Running a Marathon in Every Country

5:41 – What I’ve Learned About Myself

8:20 – The Psychological Experience

11:10 – Marathons vs. Countries

12:48 – Next Challenge: 1,000 Marathons

16:26 – Nick’s Top Running Tips

20:40 – Life Story & Background

25:49 – Becoming Obsessed with Running

28:20 – What Is “Suffering”?

30:19 – Are You Addicted?

33:11 – Being Misunderstood

35:02 – Running Britain & The Italian Grand Tour

37:40 – Starting a Charity

41:38 – Hosting My ‘Run Weekends’

43:31 - CLOSING QU: What is a good life?

👤 NICK

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nickbutterrun

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/nickbutterun

Linktree - https://linktr.ee/nickbutterrun

Website - https://www.nickbutter.com/

Book (Running The World) - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Running-World-World-Record-Breaking-Adventure/dp/1787631729

Book (Run Britain) - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Run-Britain-Record-Breaking-Adventure-Coastline-ebook/dp/B0B7W7FP5X?ref_=ast_author_dp

📱 SOCIAL

𝕏 - https://twitter.com/heyhumanpodcast

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thehumanpodcastinsta

Email - [email protected]

☕️ SUPPORT THE SHOW

https://buymeacoffee.com/thehumanpodcast

It's just me working on this, and so any support is hugely helpful and greatly appreciated! ❤️

WATCH EPISODE HERE: https://youtu.be/w8OkYrWKBqM

In this episode, I speak to Julia Willemyns, a co-founder of The Centre for British Progress, a new non-partisan think tank researching and producing concrete ideas for an era of British growth and progress. Julia is an entrepreneur and studied at the University of Oxford and LSE.

The Human Podcast explores the life stories of humans, known and unknown. Subscribe for a new interview every week!

☕️ SUPPORT THE SHOW

https://buymeacoffee.com/thehumanpodcast It's just me (Joe) working on this, and so any support is hugely helpful and greatly appreciated! ❤️

🕒 TIMESTAMPS

0:00 - Intro

0:32 - Overview of the Centre for British Progress

1:17 - What is a (non-partisan) think tank?

2:46 - What progress are you focused on?

4:07 - Turning ideas into real results

6:08 - How do you conduct research?

9:03 - How are politicians influenced?

10:23 - What is movement building?

12:38 - How to encourage ambitious individuals

13:59 - Analysing Britain's progress

19:04 - How are you funded?

19:40 - Story co-founding the think tank

22:01 - Why are you passionate about this?

25:52 - Daily life at work

27:21 - Vice President of Oxford University Debating Society

29:08 - Studying Public Policy at LSE

30:00 - Developing three mobile apps

31:41 - Career highlights so far

34:45 - Value of learning about fundraising

36:08 - What have you learnt about people's ambitions?

37:47 - What do you do to unwind?

38:23 - Proust is an inspiration to me

43:28 - CLOSING QU: What is a good life?

👤 JULIA WILLEMYNS

𝕏 - https://x.com/jujulemons

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-garayo-willemyns-baba111b0

👤 CENTRE FOR BRITISH PROGRESS

𝕏 - https://x.com/britishprogress

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/britishprogress/

Substack - https://britishprogress.substack.com/

Website - https://britishprogress.org/

📱 SOCIAL

𝕏 - https://twitter.com/heyhumanpodcast

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thehumanpodcastinsta

Email - [email protected]

WELCOME TO THE AI SAFETY SERIES, FEATURING FILMED INTERVIEWS WITH INDIVIDUALS WORKING IN THE AI SAFETY FIELD, ABOUT THEIR LIVES & WORK.

In this episode, I speak to Gabe Alfour, a co-founder and the CTO of Conjecture, and an advisor to ControlAI. Conjecture is an AI Safety organisation, based in London. ControlAI is a non-profit organisation that works to reduce the risks to humanity from artificial intelligence.

The Human Podcast explores the lives and ideas of inspiring individuals. Subscribe for new interviews every week.

☕️ BUY ME A COFFEE

https://buymeacoffee.com/thehumanpodcast

It's just me (Joe) working on this so any support is hugely helpful and greatly appreciated! ❤️

🕒 TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 - Intro

0:15 - What are Conjecture & ControlAI?

1:22 - Why are you starting to speak out?

2:45 - Working in crypto

4:23 - GPT-3 caused me to pivot into AI safety

7:30 - What is alignment?

9:45 - What is AI alignment?

12:57 - Story of co-founding Conjecture

14:52 - What has Conjecture worked on?

18:13 - Why run Conjecture as a for-profit?

20:02 - Publishing 'The Compendium'

21:25 - How could AI cause human extinction?

25:21 - What do ControlAI do?

28:09 - Transitioning to policy work from technical

30:04 - Dissecting the 'AI safety community' into 4 groups

32:59 - Personal impact of belief in AI causing extinction

35:01 - Biggest lesson learnt: people are too cynical

39:06 - Believing great change is possible

42:00 - CLOSING QU: What is a good life?

👤 GABE ALFOUR:

X - https://x.com/gabe_cc

Conjecture - https://www.conjecture.dev/about

ControlAI - https://controlai.com/

'The Compendium' - https://www.thecompendium.ai/

'A Narrow Path' - https://www.narrowpath.co/

📱 SOCIAL:

𝕏 - https://twitter.com/heyhumanpodcast

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/heythehumanpodcast/

Email - [email protected]

🎵 MUSIC:

Music by penguinmusic - Better Day from Pixabay

WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/0KmaotctziE

WELCOME TO THE NEW AI SAFETY SERIES, FEATURING FILMED CONVERSATIONS WITH INDIVIDUALS WORKING IN THE AI SAFETY FIELD, ABOUT THEIR LIVES AND WORK.

In this episode, I speak to Liron Shapira,host of the 'Doom Debates' Podcast. Doom Debates' Mission is to raise mainstream awareness of imminent extinction from AGI and build the social infrastructure for high-quality debate.

The Human Podcast explores the lives and ideas of inspiring individuals. Subscribe for new interviews every week.

🕒 TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 - Intro

0:05 - What is 'Doom'?

0:57 - How could AI cause doom?

4:08 - What is P(doom)?

6:02 - How do you determine P(doom)?

8:16 - Hosting the 'Doom Debates' Podcast

10:17 - Most people are worried about AI

11:51 - Journey into AI safety

14:25 - Liron's mind and life

17:55 - Beliefs about AI

20:14 - Best argument against AI doom

22:49 - Who would you like to see debate AI?

25:19 - Why do you believe we're doomed?

28:48 - Other risks such as nuclear & virus doom

31:05 - Rogue AI vs AI misuse risks

31:54 - What can be done to stop AI doom?

37:23 - Don't we need to build AGI because of bad actors?

40:35 - Richard Feynmann painting

41:15 - CLOSING QU: What is a good life?

👤 LIRON SHAPIRA / DOOM DEBATES:

Liron's X - https://x.com/liron

Doom Debates YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@DoomDebates

'Doom Debates' Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4v2mFQwcDa8vQvCnYceCfs

'Doom Debates' Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/doom-debates/id1751366208

'Doom Debates' Substack - https://lironshapira.substack.com/

📱 SOCIAL:

𝕏 - https://twitter.com/heyhumanpodcast

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/heythehumanpodcast/

Email - [email protected]

🎥 EQUIPMENT:

Provided by Kintek, who provide organisations with outstanding technology services - https://kintek.co.uk

🎵 MUSIC:

Music by penguinmusic - Better Day from Pixabay

WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/VTGBHcPnJXo

Meet the world's most fun psychologist & magician, Professor Richard Wiseman, Britain's only Professor in the Public Understanding of Psychology. He's consulted for top magicians like Derren Brown, published a dozen influential books and over 100 papers, amassed an astonishing 800+ million YouTube views and helped shape the Edinburgh Fringe as a board member.

The Human Podcast explores the lives and ideas of unique individuals. Subscribe for new interviews every week.

🕒 TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 - Intro

0:19 - Richard's many achievements

1:09 - How have you achieved so much?

2:24 - Richard's research journey

4:42 - Parapsychology research

7:02 - Practising magic early on

8:39 - Richard's supportive parents

9:58 - Pursuing psychology instead of magic

13:37 - Magic's psychology lessons

15:28 - Edinburgh Fringe: Working on the board

16:24 - World's funniest joke

18:54 - Apollo moon landing research

21:36 - 'in59seconds' YouTube channel

22:36 - 59 second ideas that will change how you think

24:10 - 'Quirkology' YouTube channel

27:14 - Derren Brown: Helping as a creative consultant

28:42 - Luck research: How to I be lucky?

31:44 - Changing my mind at the last minute

32:53 - Has your career been stressful?

34:02 - Watching no TV

35:31 - Taking no holidays as I love my work

36:45 - How has your research impacted your life?

38:24 - How would your friends and family describe you?

39:37 - CLOSING QU: What is a good life?

👤 PROFESSOR RICHARD WISEMAN:

Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Wiseman

Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/author/B001IGSOSK?ingress=0&visitId=5aa7397a-318f-4298-9682-707c19bbd4fc&ref_=ap_rdr

Website - https://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/

X - https://x.com/RichardWiseman

Quirkology - https://www.youtube.com/user/Quirkology

In59seconds - https://www.youtube.com/@In59seconds

📱 SOCIAL:

𝕏 - https://twitter.com/heyhumanpodcast

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/heythehumanpodcast/

Email - [email protected]

🎥 EQUIPMENT:

Provided by Kintek, who provide organisations with outstanding technology services - https://kintek.co.uk

🎵 MUSIC:

Music by penguinmusic - Better Day from Pixabay

WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/1PqGHUSADKE

Welcome to the new quickfire series where I'm asking a wide range of people, from different careers, 10 Questions in 10 Minutes!

Episode 5 is with Peter Adamson - a philosopher at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and King’s College London. He has also been the host of the extremely popular podcast, ‘History of Philosophy without any gaps’ for over 10 years.

Subscribe for new episodes every week! Full series here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdXqMrbQhkyuTGEVeaxGtPXUe_Vcpn_6l

🕒 TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 - Intro

0:07 - Qu 1: Most Interesting Period Of Philosophy?

0:47 - Qu 2: Most Fascinating Philosopher Ever?

1:17 - Qu 3: Best Philosophers To Teach Us How To Live?

2:21 - Qu 4: How Has Philosophy Impacted Your Life?

2:52 - Qu 5: Most Underrated Philosopher?

4:02 - Qu 6: How'd Ancient Philosophers React To The World Today?

5:12 - Qu 7: What Does History of Philosophy Tell Us About History?

6:13 - Qu 8: What Does History of Philosophy Tell Us About Philosophy?

7:11 - Qu 9: Why Did You Start Your Podcast?

7:32 - Qu 10: What Would You Be Doing If You Weren't A Philosopher?

👤 GUEST:

Podcast (History of Philosophy without any Gaps) - https://historyofphilosophy.net

Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Adamson_(philosopher)

Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/histphilosophy.bsky.social

Twitter - https://twitter.com/HistPhilosophy

📱 SOCIAL:

𝕏 - https://twitter.com/heyhumanpodcast

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/heythehumanpodcast/

TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@heythehumanpodcast

Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/heythehumanpodcast.bsky.social

Email - [email protected]

🎥 EQUIPMENT:

Provided by Kintek, who provide organisations with outstanding technology services - https://kintek.co.uk

🎵 MUSIC:

Music by penguinmusic - Better Day from Pixabay

WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/dhww--wcPnk

Welcome to the new quickfire series where I'm asking a wide range of people, from different careers, 10 Questions in 10 Minutes!

Ep .4 is with an 'effective altruist' - Stefan Schubert. 'Effective altruists' aim to find the best ways to help others and put this into practice. Stefan is a researcher in philosophy and psychology at Effective Altruism Sweden.

Subscribe for new episodes every week! Full series here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdXqMrbQhkyuTGEVeaxGtPXUe_Vcpn_6l

🕒 TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 - Intro

00:02 - Qu 1: What Is Effective Altruism?

00:09 - Qu 2: Easiest Way to Improve the World?

01:11 - Qu 3: Are Humans More Altruistic or Selfish?

01:56 - Qu 4: Most Important Problem in the World?

02:39 - Qu 5: Why We're Often Ineffectively Altruistic?

03:49 - Qu 6: Biggest Existential Risk Humanity Faces?

04:52 - Qu 7: What Gives You Hope for the Future?

05:37 - Qu 8: What Does It Mean To Be Rational?

06:54 - Qu 9: What Is Sleepwalk Bias?

08:31 - Qu 10: Who Inspires You?

👤 GUEST:

𝕏 - https://x.com/StefanFSchubert

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefanfschubert/

Substack - https://stefanschubert.substack.com/

Academia - https://lse.academia.edu/StefanSchubert

Effective Altruism - https://www.effectivealtruism.org/people/stefan-schubert

📱 SOCIAL:

𝕏 - https://twitter.com/heyhumanpodcast

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/heythehumanpodcast/

TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@heythehumanpodcast

Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/heythehumanpodcast.bsky.social

Email - [email protected]

🎥 EQUIPMENT:

Provided by Kintek, who provide organisations with outstanding technology services - https://kintek.co.uk

🎵 MUSIC:

Music by penguinmusic - Better Day from Pixabay

WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/ETj4sMNAwgs

This interview is with Professor Jo Fox, a historian of propaganda. She is an expert in psychological warfare in twentieth-century Europe and propaganda in Britain & Germany during WW1 & WW2. Jo is also the Pro Vice-Chancellor of Research and Public Engagement at the University of London.

The Human Podcast explores the lives and ideas of unique individuals. Subscribe for new interviews every week.

🕒 TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 - Research Overview

1:39 - What are misinformation & disinformation

3:12 - What is propaganda?

5:06 - What are rumours?

6:31 - WW2 propaganda

8:11 - Measuring the impact of propaganda

10:23 - Film propaganda (WW1 & WW2)

13:29 - Woman in propaganda

15:34 - Ethics of propaganda (Britain's in WW1/WW2)

19:08 - How to avoid propaganda

24:05 - Decreased trust in the media

26:11 - Institutional corruption

27:51 - AI/Technology & future of propaganda

29:57 - Why the motivation to research propaganda?

31:25 - How's your research influenced your life?

33:28 - Where did interest in propaganda come from?

34:48 - Jo's PhD

35:58 - Benefits of learning history

37:32 - Tech leaders should understand history

39:17 - George Orwell's 1984 Ministry of Truth: Filming location?

42:03 - SHOW ENDING TRADITION: What is a good life?

👤 GUEST:

LinkedIn - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo_Fox

Uni of London Page - https://www.london.ac.uk/about/senior-executive-team/professor-jo-fox

Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Jo-Fox/author/B001JOYKW0

📱 SOCIAL:

𝕏 - https://twitter.com/heyhumanpodcast

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thehumanpodcastinsta

TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@thehumanpodcasttiktok

Email - [email protected]

🎥 EQUIPMENT:

Provided by Kintek, who provide organisations with outstanding technology services - https://kintek.co.uk

🎵 MUSIC:

Music by penguinmusic - Better Day from Pixabay