E13: AI open letter debate, "pausers", and what we're all scared of with AI with Anton Troynikov and Flo Crivello [Moment of Zen]

Anton Troynikov of Chroma and Flo Crivello of Lindy AI join The Cognitive Revolution cohosts Nathan Labenz and Erik Torenberg to debate the issues raised in the AI open letter, which advocates for a 6-month pause on AI system trainings. This episode was recorded on March 31st and was first released as a Moment of Zen episode (airing April 1). Subscribe to Moment of Zen for more timely debates like this one! Also, check out the debut of Erik's new long-form interview podcast Upstream, whose guests in the first two episodes were Balaji Srinivasan and Marc Andreessen. This coming season will feature interviews with Ezra Klein, David Sacks, Katherine Boyle, and more. Subscribe here: Apple Podcasts: bit.ly/3z8TldL Spotify: bit.ly/40letd0 We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and more. For a list of JDs, check out: eriktorenberg.com. RECOMMENDED PODCAST: The HR industry is at a crossroads. What will it take to construct the next generation of incredible businesses – and where can people leaders have the most business impact? Hosts Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich have been through it all, the highs and the lows – IPOs, layoffs, executive turnover, board meetings, culture changes, and more. With a lineup of industry vets and experts, Nolan and Kelli break down the nitty-gritty details, trade offs, and dynamics of constructing high performing companies. Through unfiltered conversations that can only happen between seasoned practitioners, Kelli and Nolan dive deep into the kind of leadership-level strategy that often happens behind closed doors. Check out the first episode with the architect of Netflix’s culture deck Patty McCord. https://link.chtbl.com/hrheretics LINKS REFERENCED IN EPISODE:  Open letter: https://futureoflife.org/open-letter/pause-giant-ai-experiments/ Scott Aronson blog post: https://scottaaronson.blog/ TIMESTAMPS: (0:00) Preview of debate (3:10) Introduction from Nathan and explanation of the AI open letter (8:50) Anton’s skepticism of the open letter (12:14) Flo’s skepticism of the open letter (16:35) Nathan’s support for the open letter (22:52) Sponsor: Omneky (28:00) Differences between Flo and Anton’s positions (34:00) GPT4 is still dangerous (42:30) Luddites/“Pausers” are on the wrong side of history (47:44) Why not pause for 6 months? (56:30) Anton and Flo debate robotics (1:04:30) What we’re all scared of with AI (1:27:45) Is there an asymmetric risk with pausing or not pausing? TWITTER: @CogRev_Podcast @atroyn (Anton) @labenz (Nathan) @eriktorenberg (Erik) @altimor (Flo) SPONSORS: Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business. Shopify powers 10% of ALL eCommerce in the US. And Shopify's the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy's, and Brooklinen, and 1,000,000s of other entrepreneurs across 175 countries.From their all-in-one e-commerce platform, to their in-person POS system – wherever and whatever you're selling, Shopify's got you covered. With free Shopify Magic, sell more with less effort by whipping up captivating content that converts – from blog posts to product descriptions using AI. Sign up for $1/month trial period: https://shopify.com/cognitive Thank you Omneky for sponsoring The Cognitive Revolution. Omneky is an omnichannel creative generation platform that lets you launch hundreds of thousands of ad iterations that actually work, customized across all platforms, with a click of a button. Omneky combines generative AI and real-time advertising data. Mention "Cog Rev" for 10% off. More show notes and reading material released in our Substack: https://cognitiverevolution.substack.com/ Thank you to Graham Bessellieu for production.