Future of Life Institute Podcast

What Would a US-China AI Deal Look Like? (with Beatrice Fihn)

Beatrice Fihn is the director of Lex International and former executive director of ICAN. She joins the podcast to discuss international AI governance and potential agree

Why AI Hacking Is Becoming Hard to Control (with Benjamin Weinstein-Raun)

Benjamin Weinstein-Raun is head of research at Palisade Research. He joins the podcast to discuss how advanced AI systems are changing cybersecurity. We examine rapid gai

First 24 Hours of a Bioweapon Attack - Annie Jacobsen

Annie Jacobsen is an author and journalist. She joins the podcast to discuss biological war and her book Biological War: A Scenario. The conversation examines how lab acc

How AI Shifts the Offense-Defense Balance in Biosecurity (with Paul-Enguerrand Fady)

Paul-Enguerrand Fady is a Senior Biosecurity Policy Manager at the Centre for Long-Term Resilience. He joins the podcast to discuss how AI is changing biosecurity. We cov

Why AI Evaluations Are Broken and How to Fix Them (with David Manheim)

David Manheim is head of methodology at AI Evaluation Consensus. He joins the podcast to discuss how AI evaluations can become more reliable, transparent, and useful for

How AI Is Replacing Children's Ability to Think (with Randi Weingarten)

Randi Weingarten is president of the American Federation of Teachers. She joins the podcast to discuss AI in education. The conversation covers how screens and student-fa

The Gulf Between AI Progress and Political Understanding (with Dex Hunter-Torricke)

Dex Hunter-Torricke is founder of the Centre for Tomorrow. He joins the podcast to discuss why AI governance needs to move beyond technical fixes. The conversation covers

How AI Companions Trap Users Through Addictive Design (with Claire Boine)

Claire Boine is an assistant professor in technology, law, and AI governance at the European University Institute. She joins the podcast to discuss AI companions and huma

Why AI Chatbots Are a Rival to the Family (with Michael Toscano)

Michael Toscano is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Family Studies and Director of its Family First Technology Initiative. He joins the podcast to discuss family-cent

Why We Should Build AI Tools, Not AI Replacements (with Anthony Aguirre)

Anthony Aguirre is the CEO of the Future of Life Institute. He joins the podcast to discuss A Better Path for AI, his essay series on steering AI away from races to repla

How to Govern AI When You Can't Predict the Future (with Charlie Bullock)

Charlie Bullock is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Law and AI. He joins the podcast to discuss radical optionality: how governments can prepare for very adv

Why AI Is Not a Normal Technology (with Peter Wildeford)

Peter Wildeford is Head of Policy at the AI Policy Network, and a top AI forecaster. He joins the podcast to discuss how to forecast AI progress and what current trends i

Why AI Evaluation Science Can't Keep Up (with Carina Prunkl)

Carina Prunkl is a researcher at Inria. She joins the podcast to discuss how to assess the capabilities and risks of general-purpose AI. We examine why systems can solve

Defense in Depth: Layered Strategies Against AI Risk (with Li-Lian Ang)

Li-Lian Ang is a team member at Blue Dot Impact. She joins the podcast to discuss how society can build a workforce to protect humanity from AI risks. The conversation co

What AI Companies Get Wrong About Curing Cancer (with Emilia Javorsky)

Emilia Javorsky is a physician-scientist and Director of the Futures Program at the Future of Life Institute.  She joins the podcast to discuss her newly published essay

AI vs Cancer - How AI Can, and Can't, Cure Cancer (by Emilia Javorsky)

Tech executives have promised that AI will cure cancer. The reality is more complicated — and more hopeful. This essay examines where AI genuinely accelerates cancer rese

How AI Hacks Your Brain's Attachment System (with Zak Stein)

Zak Stein is a researcher focused on child development, education, and existential risk. He joins the podcast to discuss the psychological harms of anthropomorphic AI. We

The Case for a Global Ban on Superintelligence (with Andrea Miotti)

Andrea Miotti is the founder and CEO of Control AI, a nonprofit. He joins the podcast to discuss efforts to prevent extreme risks from superintelligent AI. The conversati

Can AI Do Our Alignment Homework? (with Ryan Kidd)

Ryan Kidd is a co-executive director at MATS. This episode is a cross-post from "The Cognitive Revolution", hosted by Nathan Labenz. In this conversation, they discuss AG

How to Rebuild the Social Contract After AGI (with Deric Cheng)

Deric Cheng is Director of Research at the Windfall Trust. He joins the podcast to discuss how AI could reshape the social contract and global economy. The conversation e