Future of Life Institute Podcast

498 episodes

How to Govern AI When You Can't Predict the Future (with Charlie Bullock)
07/05/2026 | 1h 7 mins.
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 advanced AI without locking in premature rules. The conversation covers why law often trails technology, and how transparency, reporting, evaluations, cybersecurity standards, and expanded technical hiring could help. We also discuss private oversight, state versus federal rules, and the risk of concentrating power in companies or government.

LINKS:
Radical Optionality website

Charlie Bullock

CHAPTERS:

(00:00) Episode Preview

(01:04) The pacing problem

(06:18) Defining radical optionality

(11:03) Assumptions under uncertainty

(16:00) Industry convenience concerns

(20:41) Political will realities

(26:48) Private governance limits

(30:28) Government misuse risks

(36:29) Balancing institutional power

(42:25) Transparency and reporting

(49:35) Evaluations, security, talent

(58:26) State law preemption

(01:04:20) Historical nuclear analogies

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Website: https://podcast.futureoflife.org

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Why AI Is Not a Normal Technology (with Peter Wildeford)
29/04/2026 | 1h 24 mins.
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 imply for the economy and national security. Peter argues AI is neither a bubble nor a normal technology, and we examine benchmark trends, adoption lags, unemployment and productivity effects, and the rise of cyber capabilities. We also cover robotics, export controls, prediction markets, and when AI may surpass human forecasters.

LINKS:
Peter Wildeford Blog

CHAPTERS:

(00:00) Episode Preview

(01:12) AI bubble debate

(06:25) Normal technology question

(15:31) Mythos security implications

(30:47) Robotics and labor

(40:27) Social economic response

(48:57) Forecasting methodology

(59:49) AGI policy timelines

(01:11:13) Forecasting with AI

PRODUCED BY:

https://aipodcast.ing

SOCIAL LINKS:

Website: https://podcast.futureoflife.org

Twitter (FLI): https://x.com/FLI_org

Twitter (Gus): https://x.com/gusdocker

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/future-of-life-institute/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-rCCy3FQ-GItDimSR9lhzw/

Apple: https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1170991978

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2Op1WO3gwVwCrYHg4eoGyP
Why AI Evaluation Science Can't Keep Up (with Carina Prunkl)
17/04/2026 | 54 mins.
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 hard coding and math problems yet still fail at simple tasks, why pre-deployment tests often miss real-world behavior, and how faster capability gains can increase misuse risks. The conversation also covers de-skilling, red teaming, layered safeguards, and warning signs that AIs might undermine oversight.

LINKS:
Carina Prunkl personal website

CHAPTERS:

(00:00) Episode Preview

(01:04) Introducing the report

(02:10) Jagged frontier capabilities

(05:29) Formal reasoning progress

(12:36) Risks and evaluation science

(19:00) Funding evaluation capacity

(24:03) Autonomy and de-skilling

(31:32) Authenticity and AI companions

(41:00) Defense in depth methods

(48:34) Loss of control risks

(53:16) Where to read report

PRODUCED BY:

https://aipodcast.ing

SOCIAL LINKS:

Website: https://podcast.futureoflife.org

Twitter (FLI): https://x.com/FLI_org

Twitter (Gus): https://x.com/gusdocker

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/future-of-life-institute/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-rCCy3FQ-GItDimSR9lhzw/

Apple: https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1170991978

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2Op1WO3gwVwCrYHg4eoGyP
Defense in Depth: Layered Strategies Against AI Risk (with Li-Lian Ang)
02/04/2026 | 55 mins.
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 covers engineered pandemics, AI-enabled cyber attacks, job loss and disempowerment, and power concentration in firms or AI systems. We also examine Blue Dot's defense-in-depth framework and how individuals can navigate rapid, uncertain AI progress.
LINKS:
Li-Lian Ang personal site
Blue Dot Impact organization site
CHAPTERS:
(00:00) Episode Preview
(00:48) Blue dot beginnings
(03:04) Evolving AI risk concerns
(06:20) AI agents in cyber
(15:52) Gradual disempowerment and jobs
(23:26) Aligning AI with humans
(29:08) Power concentration and misuse
(34:52) Influencing frontier AI labs
(43:05) Uncertain timelines and strategy
(50:18) Writing, AI, and action
PRODUCED BY:
https://aipodcast.ing
SOCIAL LINKS:
Website: https://podcast.futureoflife.org
Twitter (FLI): https://x.com/FLI_org
Twitter (Gus): https://x.com/gusdocker
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/future-of-life-institute/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-rCCy3FQ-GItDimSR9lhzw/
Apple: https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1170991978
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2Op1WO3gwVwCrYHg4eoGyP
What AI Companies Get Wrong About Curing Cancer (with Emilia Javorsky)
20/03/2026 | 1h 12 mins.
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 on AI and cancer. She challenges tech claims that superintelligence will cure cancer, explaining why biology’s complexity, poor data, and misaligned incentives are bigger bottlenecks than raw intelligence. The conversation covers realistic roles for AI in drug discovery, clinical trials, and cutting unnecessary medical bureaucracy.
You can read the full essay at: curecancer.ai
CHAPTERS:
(00:00) Episode Preview
(01:10) Introduction and essay motivation
(06:30) Intelligence vs data bottlenecks
(19:03) Cancer's complexity and heterogeneity
(29:05) Measurement, health, and homeostasis
(41:41) AI in drug development
(50:13) Regulation, FDA, and innovation
(01:02:58) Practical paths toward cures
PRODUCED BY:
https://aipodcast.ing
SOCIAL LINKS:
Website: https://podcast.futureoflife.org
Twitter (FLI): https://x.com/FLI_org
Twitter (Gus): https://x.com/gusdocker
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/future-of-life-institute/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-rCCy3FQ-GItDimSR9lhzw/
Apple: https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1170991978
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2Op1WO3gwVwCrYHg4eoGyP

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About Future of Life Institute Podcast

The Future of Life Institute (FLI) is a nonprofit working to reduce global catastrophic and existential risk from powerful technologies. In particular, FLI focuses on risks from artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, nuclear weapons and climate change. The Institute's work is made up of three main strands: grantmaking for risk reduction, educational outreach, and advocacy within the United Nations, US government and European Union institutions. FLI has become one of the world's leading voices on the governance of AI having created one of the earliest and most influential sets of governance principles: the Asilomar AI Principles.

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