Hear This Idea

Dec 14 2024 88 ep. 98 mins 469
Hear This Idea Podcast artwork

Hear This Idea is a podcast showcasing new thinking in philosophy, the social sciences, and effective altruism. Each episode has an accompanying write-up at www.hearthisidea.com/episodes.

  Science  Society & Culture
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#82 – Tom Kalil on Institutions for Innovation (with Matt Clancy)

Dec 14 2024 77 mins  
Tom Kalil is the CEO of Renaissance Philanthropy. He also served in the White House for two presidents (under Obama and Clinton); where he helped establish incentive prizes in government through challenge.gov; in addition to dozens of science and tech program. More recently Tom served as the Chief Innovation Officer at Schmidt Futures, where he helped launch Convergent Research. Ma

#81 – Cynthia Schuck on Quantifying Animal Welfare

Nov 21 2024 97 mins  
Dr Cynthia Schuck-Paim is the Scientific Director of the Welfare Footprint Project, a scientific effort to quantify animal welfare to inform practice, policy, investing and purchasing decisions. You can find links and a transcript at www.hearthisidea.com/episodes/schuck. We discuss: How to begin thinking about quantifying animal experiences in a cross-comparable way Whether the ab

#80 – Dan Williams on How Persuasion Works

Oct 26 2024 108 mins  
Dan Williams is a Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Sussex and an Associate Fellow at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (CFI) at the University of Cambridge. You can find links and a transcript at www.hearthisidea.com/episodes/williams. We discuss: If reasoning is so useful, why are we so bad at it? Do some bad ideas really work like ‘mind viruses’

#79 – Tamay Besiroglu on Explosive Growth from AI

Sep 14 2024 129 mins  
Tamay Besiroglu is a researcher working on the intersection of economics and AI. He is currently the Associate Director of Epoch AI, a research institute investigating key trends and questions that will shape the trajectory and governance of AI. You can find links and a transcript at www.hearthisidea.com/episodes/besiroglu In this episode we talked about open source the risks and b

#78 – Jacob Trefethen on Global Health R&D

Sep 08 2024 150 mins  
Jacob Trefethen oversees Open Philanthropy’s science and science policy programs. He was a Henry Fellow at Harvard University, and has a B.A. from the University of Cambridge. You can find links and a transcript at www.hearthisidea.com/episodes/trefethen In this episode we talked about open source the risks and benefits of open source AI models. We talk about: Life-saving health

#77 – Elizabeth Seger on Open Sourcing AI

Jul 25 2024 80 mins  
Elizabeth Seger is the Director of Technology Policy at Demos, a cross-party UK think tank with a program on trustworthy AI. You can find links and a transcript at www.hearthisidea.com/episodes/seger In this episode we talked about open source the risks and benefits of open source AI models. We talk about: What ‘open source’ really means What is (and isn’t) open about ‘

#76 – Joe Carlsmith on Scheming AI

Mar 16 2024 111 mins  
Joe Carlsmith is a writer, researcher, and philosopher. He works as a senior research analyst at Open Philanthropy, where he focuses on existential risk from advanced artificial intelligence. He also writes independently about various topics in philosophy and futurism, and holds a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Oxford. You can find links and a transcript at www.hear

#75 – Eric Schwitzgebel on Digital Consciousness and the Weirdness of the World

Feb 04 2024 118 mins  
Eric Schwitzgebel is a professor of philosophy at the University of California, Riverside. His main interests include connections between empirical psychology and philosophy of mind and the nature of belief. His book The Weirdness of the World can be found here. We talk about: The possibility of digital consciousness Policy ideas for avoiding major moral mistakes around digital co

#74 – Sonia Ben Ouagrham-Gormley on Barriers to Bioweapons

Dec 19 2023 114 mins  
Sonia Ben Ouagrham-Gormley is an associate professor at George Mason University and Deputy Director of their Biodefence Programme In this episode we talk about: Where the belief that 'bioweapons are easy to make' came from and why it has been difficult to change Why transferring tacit knowledge is so difficult -- and the particular challenges that rogue actors face As well as las

Bonus: 'How I Learned To Love Shrimp' & David Coman-Hidy

Nov 24 2023 78 mins  
In this bonus episode we are sharing an episode by another podcast: How I Learned To Love Shrimp. It is co-hosted by Amy Odene and James Ozden, who together are "showcasing innovative and impactful ways to help animals". In this interview they speak to David Coman-Hidy, who is the former President of The Humane –League, one of the largest farm animal advocacy organisati