On this episode, physicist and hedge fund manager Samir Varma joins me to discuss whether AIs could have free will (and what that means), the emerging field of AI psychology, and which concepts they might rely on. We discuss whether collaboration and trade with AIs are possible, the role of AI in finance and biology, and the extent to which automation already dominates trading. Finally, we examine the risks of skill atrophy, the limitations of scientific explanations for AI, and whether AIs could develop emotions or consciousness.  

You can find out more about Samir's work here: https://samirvarma.com   

Timestamps:  

00:00 AIs with free will? 

08:00 Can we predict AI behavior?  

11:38 AI psychology 

16:24 Which concepts will AIs use?  

20:19 Will we collaborate with AIs?  

26:16 Will we trade with AIs?  

31:40 Training data for robots  

34:00 AI in finance  

39:55 How much of trading is automated?  

49:00 AI in biology and complex systems 

59:31 Will our skills atrophy?  

01:02:55 Levels of scientific explanation  

01:06:12 AIs with emotions and consciousness?  

01:12:12 Why can't we predict recessions?