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For a while I’ve been investing in cryptocurrency, without knowing much about what the blockchain is or its underlying mechanics. A week or two ago, I took Roko Mijic’s advice to buy some Dogecoin, and have been rewarded with a 35% return already. After that happened, I thought it was about time I sought out someone to explain to me how this all works, so I invited him on the podcast to discuss.

Roko is famous for the idea of Roko’s Basilisk, which took the rationalist community by storm in the early 2010s. If you find the idea of a vengeful and all-powerful AI that will torture you plausible, you may want to skip the first 20 minutes or so of this conversation, as some believe that even learning about the argument increases your odds of punishment. According to Roko, one guy jumped out of a window after realizing its implications. Here’s the Wikipedia page if you’re brave enough.

We also go into Roko’s idea that the study of AI alignment should not come at the expense of thinking about the goals we program into these systems, along with the collective action problems that the technology presents. To learn more, you can either follow Roko on X, or join his X community, where he discusses this topic with others.

This is one of those conversations I am going to go back and listen to. I’ve read a few books and articles on how the blockchain works, but this discussion demonstrated how nothing can replace talking to someone who is knowledgeable about a topic. I highly recommend this podcast, and hope others find it as enlightening as I did.

Listen to us talk here, or watch the video below.