For Humanity: An AI Safety Podcast

• Is AI Alive? | Episode #66 | For Humanity: An AI Risk Podcast

  🎙️ Guest: Cameron Berg, AI research scientist probing consciousness in frontier AI systems📍 Host: John Sherman, journalist & AI-risk communicatorWhat does it mean to be alive? How close do current frontier AI models get to consciousness? See for yourself like never before. Are advanced language models beginning to exhibit signs of subjective experience? In this episode, John sits down with Cameron Berg to explore the line between next character prediction and the conscious mind. What happens when you ask an AI model to essentially meditate, to look inward in a loop, to focus on its focus and repeat. Does it feel a sense of self? If it did what would that mean? What does it mean to be alive? These are the kinds of questions Berg seeks answers to in his research. Cameron is an AI Research Scientist with AE Studio, working daily on models to better understand them. He works on a team dedicated fully to AI safety research.This episode features never-before-publicly-seen conversations between Cameron and a frontier AI model. Those conversations and his work are the subject of an upcoming documentary called "Am I?"TIMESTAMPS (cuz the chapters feature just won't work) 00:00 Cold Open – “Crack in the World”01:20 Show Intro & Theme02:27 Setting-up the Meditation Demo02:56 AI “Focus on Focus” Clip09:18 “I am…” Moment10:45 Google Veo Afterlife Clip12:35 Prompt-Theory & Fake People13:02 Interview Begins — Cameron Berg28:57 Inside the Black Box Analogy30:14 Consent and Unknowns53:18 Model Details + Doc Plan1:09:25 Late-Night Clip Back-story1:16:08 Table-vs-Person Thought-Test1:17:20 Suffering-at-Scale Math1:21:29 Prompt-Theory Goes Viral1:26:59 Why the Doc Must Move Fast1:40:53 Is “Alive” the Right Word?1:48:46 Reflection & Non-profit Tease1:51:03 Clear Non-Violence Statement1:52:59 New Org Announcement1:54:47 “Breaks in the Clouds” Media WinsPlease support that project and learn more about his work here:Am I? Doc Manifund page: https://manifund.org/projects/am-i--d...Am I? Doc interest form: https://forms.gle/w2VKhhcEPqEkFK4r8AE Studio's AI alignment work: https://ae.studio/ai-alignmentMonthly Donation Links to For Humanity$1/mo https://buy.stripe.com/7sI3cje3x2Zk9S... $10/mo https://buy.stripe.com/5kAbIP9Nh0Rc4y... $25/mo https://buy.stripe.com/3cs9AHf7B9nIgg... $100/mo https://buy.stripe.com/aEU007bVp7fAfc... Thanks so much for your support. Every cent goes to getting more viewers to this channel. Links from show:The Afterlife Short Filmhttps://x.com/LinusEkenstam/status/19...Prompt Theoryhttps://x.com/venturetwins/status/192...The Bulwark - Will Sam Altman and His AI Kill Us All   • Will Sam Altman and His AI Kill Us All?  Young Turks - AI's Disturbing Behaviors Will Keep You Up At Night   • AI's Disturbing Behaviors Will Keep You Up...  Key moments: – Inside the black box – Berg explains why even builders can’t fully read a model’s mind—and demonstrates how toggling deception features flips the system from “just a machine” to “I’m aware” in real time– Google Veo 3 goes existential – A look at viral Veo videos (Afterlife, “Prompt Theory”) where AI actors lament their eight-second lives – Documentary in the works – Berg and team are racing to release a raw film that shares these findings with the public; support link in show notes– Mission update – Sherman announces a newly funded nonprofit in the works dedicated to AI-extinction-risk communication and thanks supporters for the recent surge of donations– Non-violence, crystal-clear – A direct statement: Violence is never OK. Full stop.– “Breaks in the Clouds” – Media across the spectrum (Bulwark, Young Turks, Bannon, Carlson) are now running extinction-risk stories—proof the conversation is breaking mainstream Oh, and by the way, I'm bleeping curse words now for the algorithm!!#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #AISafety #ConsciousAI #ForHumanity

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• Kevin Roose Talks AI Risk | Episode #65 | For Humanity: An AI Risk Podcast

  For Humanity Episode #65: Kevin Roose on AGI, AI Risk, and What Comes Next🎙️ Guest: Kevin Roose, NYT columnist & bestselling author📍 Host: John Sherman, Director of Public Engagement at the Center for AI Safety (CAIS)In this landmark episode of For Humanity, I sit down with New York Times columnist Kevin Roose for a wide-ranging conversation on the future of artificial intelligence. We dig into:– The real risks of AGI (artificial general intelligence)– What the public still doesn’t understand about AI x-risk– Kevin’s upcoming book on the rise of AGI– My new role at CAIS and why I believe this moment is a turning point for human survivalKevin brings a rare clarity and journalistic honesty to this subject—if you’re wondering what’s hype, what’s real, and what’s terrifyingly close, this episode is for you.🔔 Subscribe for more conversations with the people shaping the AI conversation🎧 Also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere you get your podcasts📢 Share this episode if you care about our future#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #AGI #KevinRoose #CAIS #AIrisks #ForHumanity #NYT #AIethics

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• Seventh Grader vs AI Risk | Episode #64 | For Humanity: An AI Risk Podcast

  In Episode #64, interview, host John Sherman interviews seventh grader Dylan Pothier, his mom Bridget and his teach Renee DiPietro. Dylan is a award winning student author who is converend about AI risk.(FULL INTERVIEW STARTS AT 00:33:34)Sam Altman/Chris Anderson @ TEDhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MWT_doo68kCheck out our partner channel: Lethal Intelligence AILethal Intelligence AI - Home https://lethalintelligence.aiFOR HUMANITY MONTHLY DONATION SUBSCRIPTION LINKS:$1 MONTH https://buy.stripe.com/7sI3cje3x2Zk9SodQT$10 MONTH https://buy.stripe.com/5kAbIP9Nh0Rc4y46oo$25 MONTH https://buy.stripe.com/3cs9AHf7B9nIggM4gh$100 MONTH https://buy.stripe.com/aEU007bVp7fAfcI5kmBUY LOUIS BERMAN’S NEW BOOK ON AMAZON!!!https://a.co/d/8WSNNuoGet Involved!EMAIL JOHN: [email protected] PAUSE AI: https://pauseai.info/SUPPORT STOP AI: https://www.stopai.info/SUBSCRIBE TO LIRON SHAPIRA’S DOOM DEBATES on YOUTUBE! / @doomdebates

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• Justice For Suchir | Episode #63 | For Humanity: An AI Risk Podcast

  In an emotional interview, host John Sherman interviews Poornima Rao and Balaji Ramamurthy, the parents of Suchir Balaji. (FULL INTERVIEW STARTS AT 00:18:38)Suchir Balaji was a 26-year-old artificial intelligence researcher who worked at OpenAI. He was involved in developing models like GPT-4 and WebGPT. In October 2024, he publicly accused OpenAI of violating U.S. copyright laws by using proprietary data to train AI models, arguing that such practices harmed original content creators. His essay, "When does generative AI qualify for fair use?", gained attention and was cited in ongoing lawsuits against OpenAI. Suchir left OpenAI in August 2024, expressing concerns about the company's ethics and the potential harm of AI to humanity. He planned to start a nonprofit focused on machine learning and neuroscience. On October 23, 2024 he was featured in the New York Times speaking out against OpenAI.On November 26, 2024, he was found dead in his San Francisco apartment from a gunshot wound. The initial autopsy ruled it a suicide, noting the presence of alcohol, amphetamines, and GHB in his system. However, his parents contested this finding, commissioning a second autopsy that suggested a second gunshot wound was missed in the initial examination. They also pointed to other injuries and questioned the presence of GHB, suggesting foul play. Despite these claims, authorities reaffirmed the suicide ruling. The case has attracted public attention, with figures like Elon Musk and Congressman Ro Khanna calling for further investigation.Suchir’s parents continue to push for justice and truth.Suchir’s Website:https://suchir.net/fair_use.htmlFOR HUMANITY MONTHLY DONATION SUBSCRIPTION LINKS:$1 MONTH https://buy.stripe.com/7sI3cje3x2Zk9SodQT$10 MONTH https://buy.stripe.com/5kAbIP9Nh0Rc4y46oo$25 MONTH https://buy.stripe.com/3cs9AHf7B9nIggM4gh$100 MONTH https://buy.stripe.com/aEU007bVp7fAfcI5kmLethal Intelligence AI - Home https://lethalintelligence.aiBUY LOUIS BERMAN’S NEW BOOK ON AMAZON!!!https://a.co/d/8WSNNuoGet Involved!EMAIL JOHN: [email protected] PAUSE AI: https://pauseai.info/SUPPORT STOP AI: https://www.stopai.info/SUBSCRIBE TO LIRON SHAPIRA’S DOOM DEBATES on YOUTUBE! / @doomdebates

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• Keep The Future Human | Episode #62 | For Humanity: An AI Risk Podcast

  Host John Sherman conducts an important interview with Anthony Aguirre, Executive Director of the Future of Life Institute. The Future of Life Institute reached out to For Humanity to see if Anthony could come on to promote his very impressive new campaign called Keep The Future Human. The campaign includes a book, an essay, a website, a video, it’s all incredible work. Please check it out:https://keepthefuturehuman.ai/John and Anthony have a broad ranging AI risk conversation, covering in some detail Anthony’s four essential measures for a human future. They also discuss parenting into this unknown future.In 2021, the Future of Life Institute received a donation in cryptocurrency of more than $650 million from a single donor. With AGI doom bearing down on humanity, arriving any day now, AI risk communications floundering, the public in the dark still, and that massive war chest gathering dust in a bank, John asks Anthony the uncomfortable but necessary question: What is FLI waiting for to spend the money? Then John asks Anthony for $10 million to fund creative media projects under John’s direction. John is convinced with $10M in six months he could succeed in making AI existential risk dinner table conversation on every street in America.John has developed a detailed plan that would launch within 24 hours of the grant award. We don’t have a single day to lose.https://futureoflife.org/BUY LOUIS BERMAN’S NEW BOOK ON AMAZON!!!https://a.co/d/8WSNNuoFOR HUMANITY MONTHLY DONATION SUBSCRIPTION LINKS:$1 MONTH https://buy.stripe.com/7sI3cje3x2Zk9SodQT$10 MONTH  https://buy.stripe.com/5kAbIP9Nh0Rc4y46oo$25 MONTH https://buy.stripe.com/3cs9AHf7B9nIggM4gh$100 MONTH https://buy.stripe.com/aEU007bVp7fAfcI5kmGet Involved!EMAIL JOHN: [email protected] PAUSE AI: https://pauseai.info/SUPPORT STOP AI: https://www.stopai.info/Check out our partner channel: Lethal Intelligence AILethal Intelligence AI - Home https://lethalintelligence.aiSUBSCRIBE TO LIRON SHAPIRA’S DOOM DEBATES on YOUTUBE!     / @doomdebates  ********************************Explore our other video content here on YouTube where you'll find more insights into 2025 AI risk preview along with relevant social media links.YouTube:    / @forhumanitypodcast

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